Remote light switch

[kryters]

Hi,

quick question..

i have 2 ceiling lights in my bedroom. The first is controlled by a standard light switch next to the door, but the second is controlled by a cord switch which hangs from the ceiling about a foot from the wall, originally intended to hang over a bed, therefore enabling the light to be turned off from the bed. However now i am decorating the room and moving everyhing around, and wall which it hands infront of will now have shelves and the TV on. Therefore i want to know if i can simply get a Wireless Remote switch, (something like this Infrared Remote Control Light Switch > Maplin) and simply take the old cord switch down and place the receiver for this remote in its place.

basicly i want to be able to control the light but without having the cord there or channelling the walls / rewiring.

having a remote for it would also be cool.

so yh, would that work? or do you have any other selections?

thanks alot.

[hornydragon]

Have a look at the Varilight dimmers from tlc electrical. Also do both switches operate the same lights? or different lights?

[kryters]

no both lights have thier own switch. the main light is controlled by a standard wall switch, thats fine, im going to leave that one..

the only problem is the secondary ceiling light which is controlled purely by the ceiling cord. which is the one i want to replace with a remote switch so i dont have the cord hanging down infront of shelves.

[Jammie dodger]

Home Easy (available from B&Q) do an in ceiling cavity module, they also have light-switch modules, so you could make both lights radio controllable, if you wish.

A remote control can usually be bought with a set of 3 sockets for about £5 more than buying the control on its own.

Home Easy Ceiling Module White, HE304

[kryters]

hey thanks for the response.

i dont really know anything about lighting, im nore into home cinema and music production.

so to clarify... would the ceiling module that u linked me to go on the ceiling where the Cord switch is?

also curently the cord switch controls a 4 light spotlight bar thing. would that still be ok to use with this wireless remote?


so yeah just to be clear.. does that ceiling module go where the cord switch used to be..

and do they make any noise or anything when the lights are off like any humming or anything?

also if i buy the remote with the 3 sockets like u suggested, can i control all 4 items (light and sockets) with that one remote? and can i use extension sockets that run to like a mixing desk, sound card and TFT monitors with that?

thanks, u have already been very helpful

[Jammie dodger]

That particular module requires phase and neutral so it has to be wired between the mains feed and the light fitting, rather than simply replacing the switch. I was thinking about gettting a couple for my living room lights.

HE do actually make a switch conversion module which is designed to be fitted behind an exisiting switch ( http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.js...&isSearch=true ), however it is dimmable so won't work with non-dimmable light fittings, or standard energy efficient fluorescent lamps etc. It connects to the switch wires and it has a couple of flyleads to connect to the existing switches terminals. I guess it might be possible to use that without a switch, I would think that it would need to be fitting in a pattress box with a blanking plate hidden in the ceiling void, with the flyleads terminated in a connection block and insulated. (I should warn you I'm not an electrician - just in case you hadn't already guessed )

The remote I have, which came with the set of 3 switched socket adaptors has 5 pairs of buttons and a slider to change the codes of 4 of them. Each device can be programmed to respond to one or more pairs of on/off button, so it can independantly work 5 devices easily, and up to a maximum of 17 using the slider. They do have some much nicer remote controls at a price.

I haven't really looked at the dimmer modules other than when trying out the in-store display when they came out so I couldn't say if they cause any noise, the sockets just make a click when they switch so I assume use a relay, I use them with a PC and cctv camera and haven't noticed any electrical noise.

You can find the instructions on the home easy website Home Easy - SAVE your environment!!! they also have a forum so you should hopefully be able to get better answers to your questions.

[kryters]

now ive had some time to do some research on this, i THINK i can get the ceiling module thing that you first suggested.

Then simply take the cordswitch down and put the ceiling module in its place.

i dont know anything about electrics but luckily my dad is pretty good at at, so it will be him doing anything if i get it.but i havent had a chance to talk to him about it yet.

basicly yeah i think the ceiling module can just replace the cord switch as it should be attatched to the mains and the light fitting in the same way.

but obviously i will confirm all this before purchasing.

thanks for your help