HA in a RV?

[jakebullet70]

A friend of mine is getting a RV and asked about HA'ing it.
Wants to do the lights and shades. I took a look around the internet and
a good quality Sine Wave inverter would handle all the 110v stuff.
Problem is ALL the lights are 12v. Any ideas?

 

[DavidL]

A friend of mine is getting a RV and asked about HA'ing it.
Wants to do the lights and shades. I took a look around the internet and
a good quality Sine Wave inverter would handle all the 110v stuff.
Problem is ALL the lights are 12v. Any ideas?

Do relay switching of the 12 volt lights.

Be careful of powerline technologies with an inverter due to noise issues.

You could run the HA system on a laptop and USB to Input / Output hardware.

Take a look at the ATOM CPU / Intel motherboard for building a low cost / low energy use system controller. Don't use Vista, use XP and preferably XPembedded for CPU / energy savings.

Lots of shades are really low voltage as they require a wallwart in a typical home installation.

 

[electron]

Can he run more wire? If so, I would probably hardwire it all and use relays.

 

[mustangcoupe]

The only problem with using relays is he will only get an on/off for any light no dimming....

 

[DavidL]

The only problem with using relays is he will only get an on/off for any light no dimming....

True, but ...so?

My experience with RV 12 volt lights is that they come dim out of the box - even with solid 12 volts applied

 

[Brightan]

The only problem with using relays is he will only get an on/off for any light no dimming....

True, but ...so?

My experience with RV 12 volt lights is that they come dim out of the box - even with solid 12 volts applied

The best part about any lighting system is the dimming, especially the soft on/off features and having a scene dim lights over time. I have done a number of DC systems and will have new hardware coming out soon that will work on either AC or DC systems.

 

[jakebullet70]

Thanks guys. OK - relays. I will take a look on the inet. (I am a simple Powerhome, eHome, X10 guy so its new to me.)
My friend said yeah, running extra wire is ok as mild remodel is in the plans.
Any good links on relays?

Just finished looking at 1 wire stuff. very cool! That can be used to read the water tanks without to much problems.

 

[jakebullet70]

Brightan
Time frame on your hardware? What will it do? cost? or is it too soon?

 

[CollinR]

Another vote for plain old automotive relays, exactly like the ones that control the headlights, taillights and whatnot.

You'll want a good controller with lots of IO.

 

[Brightan]

Brightan
Time frame on your hardware? What will it do? cost? or is it too soon?

i keep promising soon but unfortunately it is a side line to my main business and it always takes longer than expected. You can read some of the details here
http://www.cocoontech.com/index.php?showto...amp;hl=brightan
I have had working hardware and software in place for over 5 years and this system is all based on the previous successes. For the new hardware I have 5 different boards (including an 8 channel DC dimming system) done and all the software is in place and I even have a CQC driver but I am completely behind on the documentation and web site. I think what I might have to do is start sampling the hardware to those brave enough to go with limited documentation (actually, isn't that a given?) just to get the ball rolling.