Lighting scene control (dimmer)

jabaroon

Hi all,

I am looking for a remote lighting dimmer for my home cinema. I have seen plenty of ones that you just replace the switch on the wall and then program your remote to send the appropriate on/off signal.

This would work perfectly, but I would ideally like to have something that could allow me to preset lighting levels. For example, on, off, very dim, etc...and then use my fancy remote to setup scenes by sending IR signal to the switch.

Has anyone done anything like this and/or know of a product that I could use?

Thanks,
Jab

johnnyflav

This sounds very interesting. Is this an easy job to do? Had a look at a few on ebay, they look to be relatively cheap too. Can you just program a universal remote to dim and increase the light.

Homer

There are quite a few options for what you are looking to do but need more info!
How many circuits are you looking to control or is it just one light in particular?
What type of lighting are you using? Magnetic low voltage, electronic low voltage, incandescent, etc?
You talk about scenes, but scenes are usually created with MORE than just one circuit. e.g. movie scene, readin scene, entertaining scene where different lights are set to different levels to achieve a mood/ambience.
Do you have a learning remote control already that you want to use to control the dimming? Most systems come with their own remote that can be learned into a learning remote or alternatively use the supplied remote.
Let me know if you need any more info.
Cheers.

jabaroon

industria wrote: »

There are quite a few options for what you are looking to do but need more info!
How many circuits are you looking to control or is it just one light in particular?
What type of lighting are you using? Magnetic low voltage, electronic low voltage, incandescent, etc?
You talk about scenes, but scenes are usually created with MORE than just one circuit. e.g. movie scene, readin scene, entertaining scene where different lights are set to different levels to achieve a mood/ambience.
Do you have a learning remote control already that you want to use to control the dimming? Most systems come with their own remote that can be learned into a learning remote or alternatively use the supplied remote.
Let me know if you need any more info.
Cheers.

Hi Industria,

Right now I just have a single set of lights (all on one circuit) that I want to control. As such, I take your point about there not really being a traditional scene to control. I may in time choose to add more light circuits, but for the moment, I would just like to use my Nevo (universal programmable remote) to execute macros such as:

1) Turn on amp
2) Turn on ...
n) Dim lights to 20% illumination

When I am finished, I usually use a different macro to switch everything off. This could bring the lighting back up to 100% illumination etc...

Thanks,
Jab

Homer

Hi Jab,

It is possible to do what you want for sure, but it's not possible to do with a standard wallbox dimmer (i.e. by just replacing the existing light switch with a remote controlled dimmer) they simply dim up and down and do not have presets.
I would recommend going with a wireless solution that would incorporate a receiver for the light fitting in question, an rf remote control that could be used independantly of your nevo and an infra red receiver for the nevo to send commands to for preset levels such as you have mentioned.
Not sure whether you had a budget in mind or not?
One of the advantages of this solution is that it is expandable when you want to add more circuits then you can start to create scenes!
Let me know if you need any more info.

Cheers,

Industria

jabaroon

Hi Industria,

Can you give me more info on the receivers that you mention above? Currently the lighting circuit that I want to dim has 6 GU-10 recessed mains voltage light fittings.

Cheers,
Jab

Homer

Ok,

Kinda difficult to explain very well in this format but i'll give it a go.

http://www.rakocontrols.com/products.php?product_id=2&cat_id=8

Goes "in-line" before the first of your GU-10 downlighters. Remove the downlighter from the ceiling and the dimmer goes up into the ceiling space, then replace your downlighter.

http://www.rakocontrols.com/products.php?product_id=4&cat_id=9

This remote talks RF (as in not infra red) to any of the dimmers you have in the room (or house) and tells them to dim up/down or go to a particular preset scene/level. You don't HAVE to have this piece but it's handy sometimes for people who are not used to using the nevo and simply want to turn the lights on or off!!

http://www.rakocontrols.com/products.php?product_id=14&cat_id=9

This unit then sits anywhere you want in the room with an infra red eye connected to it to interface with your nevo learning remote!
Codes are learnt into your nevo for the presets you want, added to your macros and voila!

eddiem74

For my living room, I went with a Varilight switch, same a this.

I had a double switch in my living room, one switch turned on/off two 5amp lamp sockets and the other switch 4 downlighters.

With this Varlight option I can now; turn on/off either the lamps or lights, and if I hold down the switch it dims either the lamp or lights up or down. I programmed the same into my Harmony remote, and it works fine.

Homer

As eddie mentioned that is the cheapest and easiest solution for dimming one or two circuits but won't allow you to do preset light levels or scenes. Still effective though for the price.

jabaroon

Hi Industria, sorry for the delay in getting back to you....thats interesting information indeed....can you suggest where I might purchase these or similar?...

Also, as I think of it......you seem very knowledgable in this areas....so do you know of a device that can convert IR into RF?....basically, I want my IR remote to be able to send an RF singnal to lower my projector screen....!!...long shot, but Im sure someone has wanted to do this before!!!!!

Ta,
Jab

Homer

Ok, well it is in theory possible to convert from IR to RF when it comes to remote controls but not in such a way that would overcome your problem!
There are quite a few learning remote controls on the market that can be used IR (infra red) or RF (radio frequency).

If you use it in its native format (IR) then you simply point the remote at the devices you want to control (providing they are IR controlled) and it works.. simple!
However if like me all your hardware (sky box, dvd, server, etc) is hidden behind closed doors then the IR remote won't see the equipment to control it! You can buy IR extenders/repeaters which involve an external IR receiver mounted outside of your cabinet in line of sight wired back to a small connecting block which sends IR commands to the equipment inside.
A better solution is if your learning remote supports RF transmission then use this instead of IR.
RF is not prone to interference from plasma TV's or sunlight or any other source that can affect IR signals!

Slightly long winded explanation of why you can't do what you want to do with your projection screen but it's useful information anyway!

Depending on the make/model of your projection screen you may be able to replace the RF relay with an IR version? It is only a simple contact closure type relay i'd imagine to tell the screen to raise or lower. Then you could incorporate it into a learning remote.

If you can get me the make model etc of the screen i'll check if that can be done.

Cheers

davybaby40

Hi Jabaroon , both guys above are correct , cheapest option - and reliable funnily enough is the varilight unit, and you CAN set scenes with it as the remote control for this unit has 4 or 8 buttons (depending on the single or dual version) I think its a 400watt unit , so should suit even the fanciest chandelier/lightfitting. Industria is on the money with RAKO as its designed specifically for retro-fitting.You could plug in a table light/standard lamp in your room and in a very short time create a fully functional RF dimming system.I'm not sure , but if memory serves RAKO do a keypad with IR receive capability.
Hope this helps
Dave