Centralite Elite or LiteJet

[Edge540]

My wife and I are building a new house and im seriously thinking of going with a Centralite system. I search and i find some information on their LiteJet system and everyone seems to be happy. I search for their Elite system and the info becomes very limited. Is anyone using the Elite and happy with it? Is the Elite just too close to the LiteJet and there fore not mensioned often? I plan on installing an Elk M1, however, i dont see too much need to have the Elk control the Elite except for a few instances, i.e. alarm go off.
Any opinions? good and bad.
thanks
eric

 

[Edge540]

Anyone have experience or opinion on the Centralite stuff? Ive serached for Elite and very little to nothing comes back.

 

[AutomatedOutlet]

The Centralite systems are good systems. The primary difference between the LiteJet and the Elite is the sizing.

How many loads to you plan to control?

 

[Edge540]

Thanks for reply,
Going off my house plans i figured 42 loads, however, i figured in items such as a couple closets. I did this just to over estimate. There will be more than the 24 loads of the LiteJet 24.

 

[86turbodsl]

Anyone have experience or opinion on the Centralite stuff? Ive serached for Elite and very little to nothing comes back.

I just got done putting a Litejet 48 in my new house just before they pulled the plug on the LJ48's. The elite is the replacement.
It looks like it uses the STAR setup that comes on the elegance stuff. the only real difference for you would be the STAR controllers
are wired to the main box with 22-4 or equivalent and can be mounted somewhere else beside the load controller.

It appears to be about the same price as the LJ48 was too.

I think you can't go wrong with it. I love my LJ48!

 

[Edge540]

turbodsl,
Thanks for your reply.
I didnt realize the LJ48 was officially pulled, however, i did read it would be and be replaced by the Elite unit.
If i may ask, how many loads did you end up with and do you have the LJ controling things such as closets/pantry? Im thinking not, but...

 

[brotsten]

turbodsl,
Thanks for your reply.
I didnt realize the LJ48 was officially pulled, however, i did read it would be and be replaced by the Elite unit.
If i may ask, how many loads did you end up with and do you have the LJ controling things such as closets/pantry? Im thinking not, but...

I have an Elegance system. I didn't allot any loads for closets, but I did put switches on the doors. I have since added UPB to control the lights in some of the closets. Assuming the Elite is the same as the Elegance and LiteJet, you can piggy-back the UPB onto the system at a later time. It gives you a chance to create a larger system and put off buying it all now if that is a concern.

Brian

 

[ctay]

I have a LJ48 and love it! I did put a few closets on the system (pantry for one) but left off some others. I also tied the light and the fan together in one of the powder rooms. This helped me get down to my 48 loads but I'm not sure if I would do that if I had a chance to do it again... When you turn on the light the fan comes on too which is usually the right thing to do but can get annoying sometimes.

The new system looks pretty nice as it gives you contact closures that I didn't have on my LJ48. If the price is roughly the same I would say it is the best deal in hardwired lighting.

Chris

 

[Edge540]

Thank you guys for your replies. I think i am definately going to go with the Elite system.
I have yet to really read or hear anything bad about it. I will be sure to document
my installation when the time comes. I plan to be installing everything and doing all the LV
wiring myself. The HV connections will be done by an Electrician.

 

[kayemsi]

I have a LiteJet48 and a LiteJet24 for 72 loads. I love mine as well. I have them tied into my CQC system so I can set control loads/scenes from touchscreen interfaces as well as get a status of all loads at a glance. I can also cause loads or scenes to activate based on event logic from other systems tied into CQC (like the ELK or Russound).

 

[86turbodsl]

turbodsl,
Thanks for your reply.
I didnt realize the LJ48 was officially pulled, however, i did read it would be and be replaced by the Elite unit.
If i may ask, how many loads did you end up with and do you have the LJ controling things such as closets/pantry? Im thinking not, but...

When I counted up all my loads, minus the closets and such, I had about 30. I think closets are a good idea if you have the spare circuits because you
can turn everything off then when you go to bed. A bit of extra wire can save electricity over the long haul if you have family members that leave lights on
all the time like me.

 

[Herdfan]

I think closets are a good idea if you have the spare circuits because you
can turn everything off then when you go to bed. A bit of extra wire can save electricity over the long haul if you have family members that leave lights on
all the time like me.

I don't know if Centralite can be programmed this way, but I have my Lutron system set up to turn off closet lights after 20 minutes unless they get a double tap in which case they stay on. Closet lights are also controlled by bedroom entry locations so when you turn the bedroom lights off, the closet light goes off as well.

 

[Captain Caveman]

I think closets are a good idea if you have the spare circuits because you
can turn everything off then when you go to bed. A bit of extra wire can save electricity over the long haul if you have family members that leave lights on
all the time like me.

I don't know if Centralite can be programmed this way, but I have my Lutron system set up to turn off closet lights after 20 minutes unless they get a double tap in which case they stay on. Closet lights are also controlled by bedroom entry locations so when you turn the bedroom lights off, the closet light goes off as well.

The automation controller can provide the logic, in this case "Edge540" will be integrating the lighting with an ELK system.

 

[Edge540]

Thank you for everyones comments. Because we do not have dealers in our area (that i can find in OKC), ive gone ahead and ordered a couple switches. Id like to see them in person before ordering a bunch. I have a 6 button Finesse and 2 button Europa coming. Im thinking of the Finesse keypads in public areas and Europa in less public, i.e. laundry.

Eric

 

[86turbodsl]

I think closets are a good idea if you have the spare circuits because you
can turn everything off then when you go to bed. A bit of extra wire can save electricity over the long haul if you have family members that leave lights on
all the time like me.

I don't know if Centralite can be programmed this way, but I have my Lutron system set up to turn off closet lights after 20 minutes unless they get a double tap in which case they stay on. Closet lights are also controlled by bedroom entry locations so when you turn the bedroom lights off, the closet light goes off as well.

The automation controller can provide the logic, in this case "Edge540" will be integrating the lighting with an ELK system.

I agree. The centralite with the ELK integration is a near perfect marriage. I have an ELK too and it can handle all the stuff the litejet can't.

It's a bit of hassle to homerun all your lighting wiring to the controller, but it's payoff is pretty big in my opinion.