[Sppooky]

Hi Guys*I wonder if you can help me. I just need advice on setting up a wired Rako lighting system. We'll be currently building an extension to our house so will be running cat6 cabling. I would like a wired rako system to be installed in new bedroom, new sitting room, new kitchen, existing kitchen and existing lounge. Each room will have 15 to 18 led/halogen spotlights and 2 table lamps. Each room will have 4 channels, with exception to existing lounge which I'd like 8 channels, as that room also has 2 chandeliers. Now I am at a loss as to where I need to run the cabling and what to tell the electrician with regards to installing the lights. I'm aware each keypad needs to have cat6 run back to the distribution board? Also that I'll need something like rako star distribution board and rak4 cards???

Can you advise me how the electrician should wire the spotlights and table lamps with regards to electrical supply and also where the cat6 cables should run from and too. Does each individual spotlight need cat6 running back, or just each channel?? Does any rako equipment need to be in the ceiling/lamp or would everything just be where the distribution board etc is installed?

Can someone give me a detailed breakdown of rako equipment I'll need to run the various channels in the 5 rooms, taking into account dimmers will be for LEDs, table/floor lamps and 2 chandeliers. Also if you can add what I'll need to control it via iPhone, plus control sonos, as well as a option to also add wireless modules in future to retrofit other existing rooms in the future.*

Any help is much appreciated.

Many thanks

John

[WillHopkins]

Happy to help with this for you... if you PM me your email/tel I can send something over.

Best,

Will

[DIYlady]

Originally Posted by Sppooky

Hi Guys*I wonder if you can help me. I just need advice on setting up a wired Rako lighting system. We'll be currently building an extension to our house so will be running cat6 cabling. I would like a wired rako system to be installed in new bedroom, new sitting room, new kitchen, existing kitchen and existing lounge. Each room will have 15 to 18 led/halogen spotlights and 2 table lamps. Each room will have 4 channels, with exception to existing lounge which I'd like 8 channels, as that room also has 2 chandeliers. Now I am at a loss as to where I need to run the cabling and what to tell the electrician with regards to installing the lights. I'm aware each keypad needs to have cat6 run back to the distribution board? Also that I'll need something like rako star distribution board and rak4 cards???

Can you advise me how the electrician should wire the spotlights and table lamps with regards to electrical supply and also where the cat6 cables should run from and too. Does each individual spotlight need cat6 running back, or just each channel?? Does any rako equipment need to be in the ceiling/lamp or would everything just be where the distribution board etc is installed?

Can someone give me a detailed breakdown of rako equipment I'll need to run the various channels in the 5 rooms, taking into account dimmers will be for LEDs, table/floor lamps and 2 chandeliers. Also if you can add what I'll need to control it via iPhone, plus control sonos, as well as a option to also add wireless modules in future to retrofit other existing rooms in the future.*

Any help is much appreciated.

Many thanks

John

Cat 5/6 runs from key pads back to a central point, but you do not need to run each one separately. So, if you have 2/3 key pads in the same area then run cat5e from A to B to C and then back to a central point which will house your Rakstar

The power cables (one per channel) need to run from the light positions back to a central location, which will also probably need to house a new consumer unit). You don't generally need cat 5 to the actual lighting positions.. Each cable then connects to a rak4 (max of 4 channels per rak 4). There are different types of rak 4 depending on the type of light fittings, but the most commonly used are rak4T which will be ideal for your halogens.

Each Rak 4 needs its own power supply from the consumer unit. Up to 7 rack4s can be joined together in a stack with cat5s(supplied with the rak4) and joined to a raklink the raklink is joined to the rakstar with cat 5. ( if needed you can add another raklink and another stack of 7 rak4s). The raklink also needs its own power supply (the rak star takes power from the Raklink via the cat 5 cables)

The table lamps are probably easiest to do with wireless dimmer modules, one per lamp (or wireless switch modules if they are not dimmable). However, I guess you could put in lighting sockets connected back to a rak4 in the same way as a lighting channel. Downside to the wireless dimmers is that the current ones only remember 4 scenes whereas the wired channels can cope with 16

Get a WTC bridge. This connects to your home network (or router) and either to the Rakstar or, preferably, the raklink. It is the bridge that allows you to add wireless modules to the system, control the lights with an iPhone, set up timed events etc.

I haven't got sonos but I believe you will just need an acm module to plug into the bridge to interface the systems.

So to summarise

- WTC bridge + ACM module
- Rakstar
- Rak link
- 6 or 7 rak4s, possibly of different types depending on light fittings
- key pads wherever you want them

Couple of notes:
If you are using the wired system then you don't have any Rako in the ceiling as it is all central. If you are retrofitting with wireless then you either use a pill in the existing light switch back box OR you put a Dimmer module in the ceiling to interrupt the power supply to the fitting

Consider running cables for blinds and curtains at the same time. These can then be connected to a rak 4R and controlled from your key pads. Different systems require different cables though (anything from 4 core mains to 2core LV) so do some homework.

[Sppooky]

Thank you DIYlady that's so much help. If I was to go for wireless dimmers with the lamps, what would I need for them to work together in scenes with the wired system lights? And with regards to running a cable for the blinds, I assume you need to have a power socket installed near the blinds?

[DIYlady]

The bridge will receive messages from the keypads and transmit wirelessly to the wireless modules

Blinds and curtains more variable. The rak4r will control the blinds and may also be the route for providing the power in which case you don't need a socket. All depends on the type of motor. The wireless system uses rakub which I guess you could hid behind a curtain if there was a convienient socket

[Sppooky]

Thank you again. If i was to add wirless dimmers just to the table lamps - with the rest of the system wired - how would they incorporate into the system with regards to scene settings? I know wired system has up to 8 scenes and a wireless system up to 4. If i was to add wireless table lamps dimmers to the fully wired system, would they work within the 8 scenes?

[Sppooky]

Also the need for 6 to 7 rak4 units soon pushes the price up. Does anyone know if a similar spec Lutron wired system would be alot more cheaper?

[DIYlady]

Be careful not to confuse key pads and scenes.

The wired rak4s (and the wireless rgb led controller) can have 16 scenes set.
The other wireless dimmers can remember 4 scenes (new ones due out end of year-ish will be able to remember 16).

Wireless key pads can send signals for scenes 1-4, off, and fade up/down.

Wired key pads are individually set up, so if one of your keys sets scene 7 for the room then only wired dimmers will respond. However, you can also state that the same key also sets the wireless dimmer on channel x to whatever you want. So it is possible to set a specific key etc to operate the wireless dimmers as well as the wired. (Alternatively you can use the bridge mapping to set the wireless dimmer when scene 7 is selected, which is a better option if you wish to set scene 7 via your iphone)

It is not anywhere near as complicated as it sounds; I promise