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I have a garage which is about 150 feet from the house. The electrical service line has already been run out the the garage. Along with the 100 amp service line, there were also several runs of telephone wire run to the garage.
My dream is this: I would like to be able to turn on the garages exterior lights from inside the house. Is there any sort of low voltage light switch relay that could use telephone wire to control the switch in the garage which turns on the garages exterior lights? Or does anyone have any other ideas on how to help me realize my dreams?
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Eric
There are low voltage controls made for this purpose. They where popular 20-40 years ago. GE was one brand. I have some in my house. But I am not sure how available they are today.
But there are power line (X-10) and RF controls. See http://www.smarthome.com and http://www.homecontrols.com
*I've used X10 for a while now. Easy and reliable...Sounds like a perfect solution for the garage
*Definitely X-10. The one thing you have do do is run neutral into all the switch boxes for it. I have some of the old SwitchPack relays, it's impossible to get replacements. X-10 is very deeply entrenched, so long term parts availability should be good.-- J.S.
*I use X-10 also, and for along run to the garage: 200 feet or so. It's not 100 percent reliable: sometimes I have to ask twice for the lights to go on or off before it actually happens. But that's not a big deal.
*The X-10 solution looks like it would work well, but after looking at the web sites that sell the stuff, I'm a bit confused. Since I don't wish to control the universe from my couch, as they would make me think is the goal of x10, can anyone tell me what exactly I would need to simply control my garage lights from inside the house? Do I just need two switches? Or is there a more elaborate series of stuff required?
*Go to any good electrical supply house and get a low voltage contactor. The coil is 12 to 18v, the contacts are rated at whatever you buy. Mount the contactor in a box, like a plastic electrical box you can also buy there, and a doorbell transformer. The telephone wire from the house via the transformer controls the coil on the contactor. Run 110v to the contacts and on to lights, whatever. You flip the switch at the house, the coil in the contactor in the garage activates and energizes the lights. I've got several around my place to control remote lights.
*Eric;We just ordered some relays from a GE supplier here in Va.They are 120 volt relays using low voltage and are #rr-7.Had some difficulty finding them;had to discuss this with a tech to find just what we wanted.Have not recieved them yet so I hope they are what we needed,About 38.00 each but was reguired to buy a 100.00 dollar limit.Don L.
*rr3 and rr7 and other GE low voltage relays are available on a number of webb sites, but unfortunately do not recall the sites. Cost was about $20 per relay last October. I have over 50 of these in my house (they were a LOT less expensive 30 years ago) and have never had one fail. The relays snap right into a box knockout (metal box) with the 120V inside the box and the low voltage outside th box. PS: the nice feature about the old GE relay technology is it fits right in with newer controls also, only momentary switch contact needed for on or off and you can set up diode or PLA logic to gontrol any number fo switches from any number of differents switches or combinations.
*All of the above guys know what they're talking about, but if you want simple, just mount motion sensitive lights, and let your dog out as long as you want them to stay on, or wave your arms a lot?(sorry)
*web site referred to earlier, RR-7 current priceshttp://www.dale-electric.com/olddale/gelvrc.htm $26aerospace surplus store, Kent WA, RR-7 occasionally in elec. parts bins for $1, have heard some of these were from a bad lot from GE. http://www.cds-lighting.com/Relays.htm -- descriptions
*Mad Dog, My Dog, a ten year old Basset Hound, who just fell off my ten foot high back porch last week, making her rather lame, is not a reliable source of motion, thereby creating my need for an alternative way to activate the garage lights.
*Another option if you have power is forget the switch. They make wireless plug ins that I saw recently installed. It will turn on or off multiple lights once installed. You can even get it attached to a key fob so you can turn on lights from the car. Sorry don't know the brand name.
*If you are talking about Lutron's Radio Ra it has a distance limit. Repeaters are available, but not practical at this distance.Jeff
*A simple X-10 setup for your wants could be as simple as the X-10 Minicontroller for inside the house and the X-10 Wall Switch to replace the 'manual' switch that is presumably in your garage. Set the controller code to match the switch code (say A-5) and you should be set for less than $30.00.Devices and prices from smarthome.com-gregg
*You can use what's called a 'fan center' used to thermostatically control a heater fan. It fits in a 4" square box, has a transformer and relay already in it and will handle enough current to handle the lights. You put the fan center in the garage hooked to the light circuit and use 2 phone wires to close the 24volt relay. Easy. No stinkin' electronics. Lasts forever. Get one at Grainger for about $20.