Wireless 3-way light switches

[Rob Stirling]

I have a large room with a door at each end. There is a light switch
near one door and I want one near the other door (3 way light switch)
but I can't rewire inside the walls.

I wonder if there is a wireless solution where I can add a 2nd wireless
switch that transmits to a receiver inside the existing switch. I'm not
looking for a full home automation setup costing megabucks though.

Thanks in advance
R

 

[mark jb]

I have a large room with a door at each end. There is a light switch
near one door and I want one near the other door (3 way light switch)
but I can't rewire inside the walls.

I wonder if there is a wireless solution where I can add a 2nd wireless
switch that transmits to a receiver inside the existing switch. I'm not
looking for a full home automation setup costing megabucks though.

Only thing I can find that may help would be a wireless IR remote switch
from HPM
(hpm.com.au, products, electronics & automation, excel range remote
controlled switch)

Install in place of one switch, secure remote where you want "switch #3" to
be located.

-mark

 

[David L. Jones]

Rob Stirling wrote:

I have a large room with a door at each end. There is a light switch
near one door and I want one near the other door (3 way light switch)
but I can't rewire inside the walls.

I wonder if there is a wireless solution where I can add a 2nd wireless
switch that transmits to a receiver inside the existing switch. I'm not
looking for a full home automation setup costing megabucks though.

I saw a wireless light switch at Bunnings a while back, can't remember
details though, worth taking a look.

Dave

 

[Chris Jones]

Rob Stirling wrote:

Thanks to all who replied. I used the solution from Bunnings mentioned
by Dave - thanks!

This consisted of a SwitchLink 240V AC receiver ($40) and two
SwitchLink 12V battery-powered transmitters ($30 each). The receiver
is about the size of a deck of cards and I installed it inside the
ceiling light fitting - if you had space inside your wall cavity behind
the light switch you could put it there - and it was a breeze to wire
it up. The transmitters are also about the size of a deck of cards and
stick to the wall with double-sided tape. They use radio frequency
with a range of about 50m and there are 256 channels to avoid
interference. I then needed a 3-gang light switch ($10) to replace the
4-gang one, since the receiver is now always on. Came to $110 all up,
plus half an hour's work.

The only thing I don't like about it is that the transmitters do not
look much like a normal light switch. I looked at putting the
transmitter's electronic guts into a normal light switch case, but it
is not trivial because the transmitter uses two momentary switches for
on and off. So now I have a SwitchLink transmitter with a normal light
switch next to it for the other lights. Oh well... still much cheaper
and less messy than cutting a channel into the walls and repainting.

Cheers
R

What's the standby power consumption of the receiver?

I hope you don't get too much lightning where you are, otherwise it might be
worth having a spare receiver in case they stop making them by the time you
need one. I have replaced several ELCBs over the years, and I expect this
Rx could have the same kind of lifespan. With things like the TV you can
pull the plug if a storm gets too close, but if it's wired in then it has
to take whatever punishment it gets.

Chris

 

[Rob Stirling]

David L. Jones wrote:

Cool.
You'd think they'd be able to make the transmitter smaller though,
keyfob size.

The electronics is small enough, I had a look inside the case. It's
designed to be stuck to a wall. If you hardwired the frequency
selecting dials you could shrink it quite a bit.

Definitely easier than running cable in some walls!

Much!

Are the remote buttons rugged enough to last with daily use?

I think they will last, the switches are similar to what's used in a
mouse button so they should outlast the other wiring in the house! I
don't know what battery consumption is like, the battery is a tiny 12V
cell smaller than a AAA.

Chris, I don't know what the power consumption of the receiver is like,
I guess it may be written on the original packaging. Most of what is
inside the case would be a ACDC transformer, it doesn't seem to get hot
like a downlight transformer so I hope its not as much. (I found out
too late about how much power DC downlights use... I fell for the
salesperson's "240V downlights are a horrible yellow colour" pitch.
Now I have about 200W of lighting in my kitchen to get the same
brightness as a 60W incandescent... or a 14W Philips energy saver! :-(
)

Good idea of getting a spare receiver, though I'm not really lightning
prone. I could have left the original switch on the wall, but that
would have been non-optimal .

Cheers
R

 

Rob Stirling wrote:

Now I have about 200W of lighting in my kitchen to get the same
brightness as a 60W incandescent... or a 14W Philips energy saver! :-(

But you wouldn't want the dismal ghostly light of one of those fluoros
would you?