BraveSirRobbin
Moderator
Carson:
Get to know the Automated Outlet store. Martin provides excellent pricing and customer service!
Get to know the Automated Outlet store. Martin provides excellent pricing and customer service!
X10 Compatible Decora-Style Dimmers
- Thread starter Carson
- Start date
Indeed. I recently put in my first order with AO and was very impressed with the price and delivery time. I ordered late Sunday and had the package at my door by noon Wednesday.BraveSirRobbin said:
As a home automation novice I am not truly qualified to rate any products yet, but as a consumer, I would rate Automated Outlet with five stars at this point. I am, initially, very impressed with their selection, pricing, and order responsiveness.
It look like I will soon be placing another order.
BraveSirRobbin
Moderator
I know what you mean John. In my previous house this was the case. That plus they used the smallest junction boxes to mount the light switches! Real PITA trying to automate that house.jwilson56 said:
One trick you might want to consider (will not apply to all situations though). Sometimes you have a ganged switch box where one switch controls an outlet. You could give up using that outlet (remove the outlet and just mount a blank plate), then remove that switched feed from your light switch and wire the neutral wire from the outlet to this switched feed. You now have a neutral wire for that switched junction box. You can now mount something like a switchlinc8 in place of that outlet switch as well as use that neutral wire for other light switch replacements for that junction box.
As always I offer this advice for the "savy qualified individual" only :blink:
Threadhead
Member
Why remove the switched outlet? Just pig-tail into the neutral in the switch box and use it for your switchlinc (or any other device that requres neutal). All neutrals should terminate to a common bus bar in your service panel, therefore all neutrals can be joined, regardles of phase (though this may not pass code). Just check your service panel.
Remember, the neutral is not for passing the load of the controlled device, only to provide power to the swithlinc (a few hundred mA only).
In my house, all neutrals that appear in every switch box are joined. You should see one of the 4 switch boxes has 8 neutrals all bundles. It's like trying to bend rebar to move it :blink:
Remember, the neutral is not for passing the load of the controlled device, only to provide power to the swithlinc (a few hundred mA only).
In my house, all neutrals that appear in every switch box are joined. You should see one of the 4 switch boxes has 8 neutrals all bundles. It's like trying to bend rebar to move it :blink:
BraveSirRobbin
Moderator
Hmmm, Maybe I'm not understanding something here, but my suggestion was so you can provide a neutral in a switch gang box when no neutral is initially present there. You can't pigtail the neutral from the switched outlet itself to the switch box without using the "switched" hot wire which is running from the outlet switch to the outlet itself. So what you are doing is running the neutral in the switched outlet to the switch box via this "switched" hot wire. If both outlets (top and bottom) are switched this would then make the outlet useless. If just one outlet is switched (say the top one) you could gang the bottom outlet's hot to the top one, but again it would not be switched.Threadhead said:
Threadhead
Member
You are right, but that is only one way the switch could be wired. I was talking about when the panel power arrives at the switch box first (common around here). And I wanted to point out that you can pigtail off any other neutral that appears in the switch box, whether it belongs to your switched circuit or not.
Using a switched neutral brings neutral in to the switch box, still allows the outlet to be switched, and then you have neutral for use with your Switchlinc to control *a separate* ciruit. Which I think is what you, BSR, are speaking of. But some devices that you plug into that switch outlet may 'run' if they have ground/neutral strapped (becuase hot is always being applied). Just use a 3prong-2prong adapter to eliminate ground.
Another option, if the panel power comes to the switch first, is to use the ground wire (if you have it) to carry the neutral to the switch. Again, it blows code, but it will work. If it's a single switch box, you will lose ground, but hey, they did without ground for a few decades :blink:
Like you, I'm just trying to come up with alternatives that don't require fishing any new wire, which can be very difficult or impossible in some situations.
Oh yea, I almost forgot, Smarthome has Switchlincs for retro-fits that don't have a neutral, but they do require a ground. Another possibility.
Am I making sense? I've been snorting paint fumes all day, so I may be a bit fuzzy :unsure:
Using a switched neutral brings neutral in to the switch box, still allows the outlet to be switched, and then you have neutral for use with your Switchlinc to control *a separate* ciruit. Which I think is what you, BSR, are speaking of. But some devices that you plug into that switch outlet may 'run' if they have ground/neutral strapped (becuase hot is always being applied). Just use a 3prong-2prong adapter to eliminate ground.
Another option, if the panel power comes to the switch first, is to use the ground wire (if you have it) to carry the neutral to the switch. Again, it blows code, but it will work. If it's a single switch box, you will lose ground, but hey, they did without ground for a few decades :blink:
Like you, I'm just trying to come up with alternatives that don't require fishing any new wire, which can be very difficult or impossible in some situations.
Oh yea, I almost forgot, Smarthome has Switchlincs for retro-fits that don't have a neutral, but they do require a ground. Another possibility.
Am I making sense? I've been snorting paint fumes all day, so I may be a bit fuzzy :unsure:
I ended up going with SwitchLinc. I installed a 2384 and a 2382 companion and I have to say that I am satisfied with the value for my dollar. They do everything that I need, installed without a hitch (though I can see where they might be a pain in small boxes), setup easily, and provide a quality look and feel.
Indeed, my life has come to being entertained by watching my lights fade on and off. I did decide to stop before the neighbors thought something was up. Back to my old standby of surfing the net.
Once again, I also have to give kudos to Automated Outlet for their excellent pricing and rapid order processing.
Indeed, my life has come to being entertained by watching my lights fade on and off. I did decide to stop before the neighbors thought something was up. Back to my old standby of surfing the net.
Once again, I also have to give kudos to Automated Outlet for their excellent pricing and rapid order processing.
Glad you like the SwitchLinc. I've got two of them myself and find them very easy to use and the feel is pretty slick.
My only problem is the same as Wayne's. I was gone on a trip and when I returned I found both switches reverted back to the A1 house code. Oddly enough another SwitchLinc that's a PLC did not.
I'm a little boggled by this and hope it doesn't become a recurring issue. I really prefer the switch to the pad but as far as I know the SwitchLinc is the only switch style.
My only problem is the same as Wayne's. I was gone on a trip and when I returned I found both switches reverted back to the A1 house code. Oddly enough another SwitchLinc that's a PLC did not.
I'm a little boggled by this and hope it doesn't become a recurring issue. I really prefer the switch to the pad but as far as I know the SwitchLinc is the only switch style.
Yes, I was glad to see that after shutting off power to the circuit to replace some other switches after testing the SwitchLincs (after all, I had to replace the other standard style switches in the room with Decoras) that they had retained their programmed house code. I was also pleased to find that they were much easier to program than I had feared. This is something that I should have checked out before buying, but it ended up being a non-issue. The rumors that I had read/heard seemed to indicate that the SwitchLincs had issues when power was shutoff and that they were a hassle to program. This does not seem to be the case so far.
AutomatedOutlet
Senior Member
Yes,
The SwitchLincs are a very reliable switch. I have both SwitchLincs and Lightolier installed in my house and have not had a single failure. Returns from customers are also almost non-exsistant. Most returns come from people letting the smoke out of them during installation!
The programming should stay in the switches for 10 years after losing power.
The SwitchLincs are a very reliable switch. I have both SwitchLincs and Lightolier installed in my house and have not had a single failure. Returns from customers are also almost non-exsistant. Most returns come from people letting the smoke out of them during installation!
The programming should stay in the switches for 10 years after losing power.
The Switchlinc housing is deeper and probably a bit wider than a standard light switch. My house has deep gang boxes too, but it still takes a little work getting the Switchlincs into the box along with all the existing wires. Installation is alot easier if you spend a minute before hand to arrange and compress the existing house wires as far back into the box as possible.
The Switchlincs have performed well for me, and I recently installed a Keypadlinc in the home theater, kitchen and master bedroom to handle macros and scenes. They are very cool.
The Switchlincs have performed well for me, and I recently installed a Keypadlinc in the home theater, kitchen and master bedroom to handle macros and scenes. They are very cool.
Thanks for the "how to get a neutral wire" tips. I was just saved from having to send back a Keypadlinc-6 Dimmer (with boosterlinc--I really needed the signal boost in this area of my house).
I just ran 12g (for neutral) and 14g (for ground) wires from my lacking switch box to a near by box (below) that had a ground and a neutral "octopus." Now off to the Depot to get a bigger gang box and finish up the job...
I just ran 12g (for neutral) and 14g (for ground) wires from my lacking switch box to a near by box (below) that had a ground and a neutral "octopus." Now off to the Depot to get a bigger gang box and finish up the job...
