Centralite Cost

[Target]

I just wanted to see if any other Centralite users were out there. I am building a home, and I hired a home automation firm to install a full Centralite Elegance system. My installer won't update me on prices for various things, so I'll lay out what I can piece together, and was hoping that other users would pipe in with their experiences.

Hardware- $5600
Programming- $1500 (he is going to reduce this a bit)
Wire and Labor- $3000
Total- $10100 (I was hoping to spend $4000)

This is for a 24 load system. I would appreciate any input on price, as I am concerned that I am significantly overpaying.

Target

 

[brotsten]

I installed my own, 96 load system. I paid ~14k for the hardware, I had the electricians do the HV side. It took me three or four hours to program mine, it's simple, you can download the software for programming from the Cenralite site.

Brian

 

[Herdfan]

Total- $10100 (I was hoping to spend $4000)

This is for a 24 load system. I would appreciate any input on price, as I am concerned that I am significantly overpaying.

You would be hard pressed to do a RadioRA 24 load install for $4000, much less anything hardwired.

I sent you a PM.

 

[ctay]

Is this in addition to what the electrician is charging for the rest of the house?

The hardware price for a 24 load Litejet seems high. The programing is pretty high IMO and the charge for material seems high if he is also charging for the rest of the house wire separately.

Programming the litejet is really easy. Literally just click through drop downs to assign loads to buttons. Programming Litejet to work with an automation controller like an Elk can get a little more complex but still is pretty easy.

I did my system myself including HV, LV and programming so I don't really know what an electrician would have charged me. I can tell you it is really simple and not that different than wiring for traditional lighting.

$4000 is probably not realistic to have someone else install but I think it would be totally reasonable if you DIY.

 

[brotsten]

The hardware price for a 24 load Litejet seems high.

He's quoting an Elegance, but I'm not sure why he wouldn't go with a Litejet with that number of loads.

Brian

 

[Kevin L]

The hardware price for a 24 load Litejet seems high.

He's quoting an Elegance, but I'm not sure why he wouldn't go with a Litejet with that number of loads.

Brian

That's what I was thinking, the LiteJet seems perfect for this and it's a snap to program. Of course, you still have the homerun wiring plus the cat5 to the keypads. That's what I did in my own house. Had to keep costs down so I only did the first floor with a LJ 24-load but I'll be looking into the JetStream for upstairs. Both systems can talk to each other according to Centralite. Not as ideal as an Elegance or LJ48, but I was doing a long-distance build and had to make decisions based on time and cost. If all you want is 24-loads, LiteJet is an excellent system that's reasonably priced, easy to program, flexible, and rock-solid.

Kevin

 

[Target]

Well, I gather from the responses that I should have gotten a LJ system, and that the quoted prices for the Elegance system aren't too bad. Can I program it on my own? I'm going to do independent research on this, but if it will really only take 3 or 4 hours to do it, I would very much like to save the $1500. Has anyone here programmed an Elegance system before?

Target

 

[86turbodsl]

Well, I gather from the responses that I should have gotten a LJ system, and that the quoted prices for the Elegance system aren't too bad. Can I program it on my own? I'm going to do independent research on this, but if it will really only take 3 or 4 hours to do it, I would very much like to save the $1500. Has anyone here programmed an Elegance system before?

Target

If you're only doing 24 loads, why are you putting in an elegance? You can get a lightjet 24 load for around 2K and program it yourself...

Elegance is really more for a higher end house with more loads. Elite is for 48 loads, and the old lightjet 48 load was similar.

I've got a lightjet 48 and it's dead simple to program with a laptop and serial port.

If they haven't started yet, I'd say cancel and do it yourself. Save 8K.

 

[Captain Caveman]

Don't let the difference in cost be the deciding factor when choosing between the 2 systems. Instead compare the features between the two, such as maximum # of scenes, timed events, dimmer capacities, keypad styles, etc.