This is great information. For bathrooms I agree it makes more sense to use 1140s for the reasons you gave. I intend do something along those same lines. So how many total switches do you have in the bathroom, 4 - is it is master bath? Toilet, Shower, Fan, Main? Can you override the toilet fan from staying on, by shutting off that switch? If you do, then if you turn on the toilet light, will the fan come on again or no? I wouldn't want the toilet fan to spin for 10 minutes, for a quick vein drain...lol
I have a similar setup in all my bathrooms (3) but the Master is the most complex.
I have a shower light that has a fan in parallel, it was originally wired to a single switch.
I replaced the switch with an 1140 and use it as the load control for the light.
I split out the fan in the attic and wired it to be controlled by a relay module (you could use an 1140 in box in the attic in a similar manner, bonus the 1140 has a higher wattage rating and over temperature protection the relay module does not - both have the timer function).
I have a toilet light and fan on separate switches, both replaced by 1140s.
I have a vanity/makeup area controlled by a single switch, replaced by an 1140.
The main overhead can lights and the sink mirror lights are all on the same circuit, and controlled by a single switch at the entrance to the bathroom. Once in the bathroom you couldn't adjust the lights. I replaced the switch at the entrance to the bathroom with an 1140.
Next to one of the outlets by the sink I removed the single gang box and replaced it with a double gang old work box. I replaced the outlet and added a 240 here with a half rocker plus 4 button faceplate.
The 240 is set to respond identically to the same links as the main bathroom overhead light 1140, so the LED on the 240 tracks the main lights status the same as the load control 1140 outside.
Total five 1140s, an inline relay module and one 240.
Operation:
In the shower.
Turn on the shower light, it turns on (with a 1 hour delay set just in case I forget to turn it off).
It also sends a link (Master Shower Light On) that turns on the shower fan and toilet fan (right next to the shower), these have a 1 hour delay so that they will automatically go off when the light goes off.
When I turn the shower light off, it sends another link (Master Shower Light Off). That resets the fan timers on both fans to the 1 hour. So they will stay on a full hour after I turn the light off, even if I showered for 30 minutes already, in order to purge all the moisture from the bathroom.
In the morning I hate the glaring light, sometimes I shower with the light off. If I tap the bottom of the light rocker (turning the light "off") it transmits the links and the fans come on without the light.
I use the same function if I ever want to turn the fans on for some reason, smoke (hopefully not), chemical smells from cleaning, etc.
In the toilet area.
Turn on the toilet light (with a 1 hour delay), it sends a link (Master Toilet Light On), to the toilet fan only (with a 1 hour delay). The shower light does not respond to it.
When I turn the toilet light off, it sends a link (Master Toilet Light Off), to the toilet fan only (with a 5 minute delay).
The toilet fan switch turns on the toilet fan only, single tap and double tap have different time delays (5 min and 30 min IIRC).
Sometimes I use the toilet without turning on the light so I wanted a way to turn on the fan independently.
Turning the toilet fan off at the switch (bottom rocker), sends a link to turn off the shower fan as well. That way I always have manual override of the timers. Since I use the toilet fan in conjunction with the shower fan after a shower, I can't think of an instance where I would want the shower fan running but not the toilet fan.
Also, if I use the toilet after the shower, and turn on the light, the timed program for the toilet fan will get overridden to the new 5 min limit when I switch the light off, but will not affect the shower fan. So the shower fan will still run the full hour to exhaust the moisture.
The vanity/makeup area light switch only affects the vanity area.
The main lights.
The 1140 at the entrance ramps on the main lights at 40% (default for morning), double tap ramps to 70% (we don't really need 100%), both with a 3 hour timer just in case. Dimming up and down still work.
The bottom rocker turns off the main lights and sends a link (Master Bath All Off), which turns off the toilet light, the shower light, the main lights, the vanity lights and the two closet lights (on their own 1140s and which are accessed only from the bathroom). So regardless of what I turned on when I was in the bathroom, this single switch turns off all the lights without going around hitting the individual switches, and it leaves the timed fans undisturbed. Also if I walk through the bathroom to the closet, never turning on the bathroom light, turn on the closet light, and then walk out and forget to turn off the closet, I only have to go to the bath switch to turn off the closet rather than all the way back to the closet.
I can't recall what the bottom double tap does (I believe it snaps off the lights, but I don't use it much).
The 240 inside the bathroom next to the sink is used as a link transmitter only, there is no load attached to it. So it is like a super 3-way switch with LED tracking of the main lights. The links the 240 sends to the 1140s activate the delay timers for the lights too, so there is still the 2 hour automatic off delay in case I forget to turn off the bathroom lights.
The top half rocker on the 240 operates identically to the 1140 at the entrance. So I can enter the bathroom without turning on the lights and turn them on from here. This is nice in the morning so I can enter the bathroom, close the door and then turn on the lights and not disturb my wife with the "click" from the 1140 at the entrance, or the cascade of light into the bedroom with the door open. This was not possible with the original configuration.
This rocker has dimming control as well.
The lower 4 buttons toggle the main and vanity lights on and off and toggle both fans on and off all independently.
Holding these buttons for the lights toggles dimming of that individual light.
That's one of the most complicated setups in my house. I put a lot of thought into how things interact and how we use the fixtures on a daily basis. The kitchen is similarly complicated due to the number of fixtures and the daily activities there, but most of the other rooms are fairly straightforward. Good thing is it is easy to modify and tailor to our particular habits.
When you say 240s for the remote switches, what are you referring to from a use case perspective? Like where you shut off the lights behind you as you leave and enter rooms? How do you have that configured?
As I tried to describe in my long winded diatribe above, I use the 240s in place of 3 and 4-way switches generally. Or I add them where no switch existed before to use them as link transmitters.
I put one next to my master bedroom lights 1140 with an 8 button faceplate. It has links for all security on/off, garage off, downstairs off, all on/ off, etc. The LED on this 240 tracks the garage lights. So if I go to bed and leave the gorge lights on I know it by the LED, and can turn them off from the bedroom, and confirm they are off with the LED.
I used one to split my garage lights into different bays, and use the double half rocker faceplate. So I don't have to turn on all banks of the overhead lights when I don't need them all. The switch on the other wall that was the 3-way companion to the main switch is the second load control. So each switch controls a different load (Bay 1&2 or Bay 3), but both have the double rockers to send links to the other bank. The off link for top half of the main switch (by the laundry door) turns off both banks, so I only have to press a single rocker to turn all the garage lights off. There is another 8 button 240 next to the main garage control for controlling exterior lights and the laundry room (connected to the garage).
In the hallways, I also split the 3 way circuits. An 1140 is the load control for the hallway lights and the switch on the other end is a 240 link transmitter. Usually that 240 has a double rocker faceplate so I can control the hallway lights and the niche lights independently.
I also have my security lights controlled through 240s, with the 240's in boxes in the attic. Since I don't need local control in that situation I use the 240 without a faceplate similar to a wired in module, but with over temperature protection. I got a good deal on some 240s, quite a bit cheaper than the 1140s or wired in modules so that's why I used them in this application. Each of the security lights is a member of several groups so depending on the link sent; front, right, rear, left, etc., different lights come on in different combinations. The lights are usually controlled by motion sensors (with manual override) so I didn't need the timer delay backup. If the 240s had the timer delay I would use it as a failsafe, but the price on these was too good to justify getting the 1140s.
What would you do in a great room, where you have say 12 high hats, where with 3 zones of 4 lights? Would you get 2 1140s and a single 240? The 240 would then control the scenes for the other 2 1140s?
Depending on what other functions you wanted at that location, I might use three 1140s, two 1140s and one 240 or one 1140 and two 240s (those are the options? No kidding Dr. Obvious!).
Do you always or usually turn on all three zones together? Or do you usually use a single zone and turn the others on only occasionally.
Do you have an Omni or other controller that you want to see the status messages from the 1140s while you are turning the loads on?
I'm thinking I might use one 1140 and two 240s.
I would probably set them up 1140, 240, 240, with the 1140 closest to the door jamb or side of the room you use/operate the switch (if that makes sense).
I'd make the 1140 the "master" for the 3 zones of lights, so it had local control of itself, and send links to the other two zones.
They'd all turn on and off from the single switch via links from the 1140.
The first 240 (middle switch) would have load control for zone two of the lights but probably have an 8 button face plate for use as a scene/link transmitter.
The second 240 (third switch, furthest away from the door jamb and least used) would have load control for zone three of the lights but probably have a double half rocker face plate to control the second and third zones independently of the first.
So you could turn on/off just zone 2, turn on/off just zone 3, or turn all zones off, then turn off zones 2 & 3 leaving zone 1 on.
Does that make sense?
It all depends on how you use the lights.
What about a kitchen - Would you do something similar breaking up dimming, under counter lighting, high hats, and a chandelier?
I guess where I struggle is, the benefits of flexibility and what separates standard configurations from really beneficial, utilitarian, and fun configs.
I won't waste time here yet describing my entire kitchen setup until you've had a chance to read all of the above.
But I have kitchen lights, kitchen sink lights, under cabinet lights, breakfast nook lights, and kitchen desk under cabinet lights, and the family and dining rooms next to the kitchen area all controlled though a combination of several 1140s and 240s.
I was working as a remodel, you have advantages working from scratch.
I sat down with pen and paper and wrote out a list of lights and drew a rough sketch of the switch locations.
Then I thought about how I use each area.
I pictured myself waking up and walked myself around the house for a typical day, then going to bed.
Were there groups of lights I always used together?
Were there lights I seldom used?
Did I want to split control of lights or fans that were currently under tandem control?
Was there a single box where I really wanted two switches?
Was there a location I passed often that didn't have a switch?
Once I was downstairs, did I really want to go all the way back up stairs to turn off that hall light?
When I was going to bed did I want to go down stairs to turn off the kitchen and family room?
Did I leave the garage light on again?
I really need a dimmer in the bathroom because 650W of light at 4am is too much of a shock to the system!
40% is really a lot nicer on the eyes, and I want the bath ramp rate to be slower than the other switches.
But when I come in during the day, I need more light and my eyes are adjusted.
Those are the kinds of things I wrote down.
I don't have all loads controlled on 1140s, but I try to make most that way.
I have a couple of loads that are on 240s because I needed a second switch for something in that location, like a desk lamp in the office I wanted to control separately from the overhead lights.
Then I made a list of the switches and loads and links I wanted and figured out what went where.
It's much easier to reconfigure link behavior, or switch out a faceplate, than it is to replace a switch or add a switch.
And VERY difficult to fill in the hole left by removing a switch
