Which HA system would this be?

[ghurty]

I saw in two residences a HA system that had all the wiring for all the lights going to a wiring closet. It looked like they were hooked up to relays.
The switches in each room didn't directly control the light, rather they spoke to the wiring closet. Each switch had the ability of being disabled, etc...

I know there may be a few systems that fit that criteria but looking for some names.
Thanks

 

[pete_c]

C-Bus does this
 
C-Bus is a communications protocol based on a seven layer OSI model for home and building automation that can handle cable lengths up to 1000 meter using Cat-5 cable. It is used in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the Middle East, Russia, USA, South Africa, the UK and other parts of Europe including Greece and Romania. C-Bus was created by Clipsal Australia's Clipsal Integrated Systems division (now part of Schneider Electric) for use with its brand of home automation and building lighting control system. C-Bus has recently become available in the USA under the 'SquareD Clipsal' brand name.

C-Bus is used in the control of domotics, or home automation systems, as well as commercial building lighting control systems. Unlike the more common X10 protocol which uses a signal imposed upon the AC power line, C-Bus uses a dedicated low-voltage cable or two-way wireless network to carry command and control signals. This improves the reliability of command transmission and makes C-Bus far more suitable for large, commercial applications than X10.
 
Using a Leviton OmniPro II you can do OmniBus
 

 
 

 

[Dean Roddey]

He's a CQC user, which has a direct driver for C-Bus, should he choose to use that of course.

 

[Desert_AIP]

Centralite?

 

[WayneW]

centralized relay controls of lights has been done for years.
 
this leads to more info
http://www.kyleswitchplates.com/identify-your-low-voltage-lighting-system/

 

[tmbrown97]

Wow - great link!

 

[NeverDie]

I imagine it would be problematic for a retrofit, without tearing things up, but for new construction, is there any downside to this approach?  Done properly, it would seem to offer very high reliability and practically no lag.
 
It almost seems like you could cobble it together using one or more arduinos for GPIO to manage the relays/dimmers, provided there's an easy way to import the resulting  "nodes" into whatever home automation software you're using.  Could it be as simple as that?

 

[Del91574]

Touchplate style systems are extremely reliable. The only difficulty is when people modify them from "as-installed" or don't understand how they really work. The big item of wear was the ratchet relays.
 
Also very easy to automate or move into another technology. The forerunner of the centralized load products of today.

 

[SSNH]

Sounds like a Centralite system - awesome stuff, but definitely not a retrofit option.  Additions later MAY mean arduous installation or going hybrid with UPB or others.  I installed a UPB system in a home during new construction because uniformity was understandably a concern to the owner.