Re: Re: Lighting Control (was Re: Adverts)

["Graham Howe" <graham@xxxxxxx>]

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Just a couple of thoughts here,

First off it sounds like a great idea to me, I have no real ha at the
moment
and am trying to identify best practice. I assume the IR receiver unit will
be intelligent enough to understand dim up/down as well as on/off, this
would certainly be a requirement for me. Could there be a problem with the
directional nature of IR, in that if you were the wrong side of the room
you
may not be able to control the light with your remote. I don't quite
understand the advantage of this approach over the IR light switches that
the likes of Lutron supply (other than maybe the cost) and these units are
possibly more intuitive in that if a single light switch controls four
lights then the single IR light switch would do the same, with the ceiling
rose approach, you would need to know which light to point at. I thought
your original suggestion about IR receivers in PIR boxes was great and
certainly plan to do this when I buy my comfort system (will run CAT5 to
every detector point) but are the lenses suitable for transmitting IR
through an could there be conflicts between best direction for detecting
movement and best direction for transmiting IR. Again if the IR receiver is
built in to the light switch then this is likely to be near the door which
is often the direction that PIR's point in anyway.

Anyway these were my thoughts, I am definitely in favour of IR control for
lighting (even with x10 I would be controlling many of my lights from my
Pronto) but I am probably more in favour of the IR receiver being built in
to the wall switch rather than the ceiling rose (unless I have missed
something obvious).

So if you can build IR/Manual light switch that fits standard boxes, has
dim
function, allows for a selection of control signals (so that I can have
separate control of switches within a room), can cope with two way
switching, looks good and costs less than £30 per switch then put me down
for 15 !

Regards

Graham
----- Original Message -----
From: "Nigel Orr" <Nigel.Orr@xxxxxxx>
To: <ukha_d@xxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2000 4:44 PM
Subject: Re: [ukha_d] Re: Lighting Control (was Re: Adverts)


>
> At 15:21 30/08/00 +0100, you wrote:
> >All sounds a bit hectic!  This will mean running wires from every
light
> >switch to your chosen location for the custom IR stuff too then?
>
> Nope.  I'm not explaining it very well, it would seem... I'll start
with
> the basic idea, which could do everything that X10 can do:
>
> Light fitting, with extra PCB inside the ceiling rose.  Connections to
live
> (for power supply) and existing switch on existing cable (for
> control).  Also an IR receiver for IR control.  If you switch the
switch
> off or on, the light will go off or come on.  If you send an IR code,
it
> will turn off or on as appropriate.
>
> The IR can come from a remote in your hand in the room, or from an
emitter,
> controlled centrally (eg built into a PIR movement detector).  IR
> distribution is something I will have anyway, so no extra wires are
needed.
>
> That's the basic system, uses existing cables to supply power to the
light
> fitting and to sense the switch position, all that's needed is a PCB
in
the
> ceiling rose to add IR control, and an IR transmitter somewhere in the
room.
>
> It's just like X10, but instead of the signal going down the mains, it
> arrives by IR.  So it's faster and probably cheaper, and you can
control
> the light locally from your Pronto or whatever, without even needing
an IR
> - X10 interface
>
> >Ah....now a dedicated PC comes into the equation :-)
>
> Only if you want more functionality (feedback from the lights), in
which
> case you will need some sort of additional system, which could be
included
> in an existing PC.  I don't think it will be necessary for my system,
but
I
> can leave capacity for it.
>
> I think I'll build some prototypes then draw some diagrams to explain
it-
> it seems you are envisioning something very complex and I am thinking
of
> something very simple...
>
> >All this talk of buiding and designing custom stuff is probably
very
> >rewarding but I guess I just like an easy life :-))
>
> Someone's got to design and build it, or you wouldn't have any
automation
> systems for your easy life... but I'm not asking you to design it or
build
> it, just wondering if and how folk would use it.
>
> If they would, there's a chance for some input before I design it
(which
> could be a few months yet...) and I can leave capacity for extra
features,
> if not, I'll just do it for my own enjoyment and maybe post schematics
when
> I'm done.
>
> If anyone has any ideas or feedback, or even understands what I'm
trying
to
> explain, feel free to email me directly or post here!
>
> Phew, sometimes it's like swimming through treacle on here... :-)
>
> Nigel
>
>
>
>
>