DrunkenLizard
Active Member
Which UPB lines offer slave switches for use on wired 3way and 4way circuits?
UPB 3way switches
- Thread starter DrunkenLizard
- Start date
nightwalker
Active Member
I suspect they all do, however I am familiar with HAI and they have auxiliary switches for this very purpose.
DrunkenLizard
Active Member
I was planning on going the Insteon route but I've been reconsidering that lately. I have four or five 3way or 4way circuits in my house and a grand total of 72 switches so any route is going to be rather costly, but it looks like some upb slave switches are as low as $23 so that's going to help out a lot.
i just got done putting about the same number of upb switches in my house. started using some of the cheaper sai usr switches. ripped them out after about a week. they don't have the functionality of an 1140 or 240. probably my biggest issues was the inability to program the LEDs on the usr's to mimic what the 1140s 240s were doing. but hey, maybe i'm too obsessed with how they looked.
upstatemike
Senior Member
This is the big problem with using wired companion switches in any technology, not just UPB. It is always better to use the core automation technology and create virtual multi-way switch setups instead of using wired companions.
-Wired companion switches almost never look and and act the same as the master switches. They are always an esthetic compromise and often a functional disappointment.
-Wired companion switches drive up the cost of all products within the technology. The perceived difference in value between a wired companion switch and a full automation switch is greater than the actual difference in production cost. In order for manufacturers to achieve a marketable price difference between the two products they have to raise the cost of the automation master switches. Maintaining additional products in the line and the reduced economies of scale in producing multiple products also contribute to an overall increase in price to the consumer.
I would like to see all of the automation switch producers drop the idea of companion switches and reduce the price on their regular automation switches to the point that nobody minds using full switches in all locations of a multi-way switch application.
