lighting control

[Rolyasm]

My HT has regular light switches right now. If I buy a Lutron type system and put that on, is that all I need for one of the Universal type remotes to dim it. If I had a Logitech and Lutron light, does that work together without anything, or would I have to wire something special to each light switch?
Roly

[Bmac]

How many lights do you plan to control? Lutron has some basic 600w dimmers that you can control with universal remotes. The Maestro line will work as will the Grafik eye.

[Snap]

:agree: If you are only using a few dimmers the Universal Remote and Lutron works great.

[Azeke]

I use the MX-850 with the Lutron Maestro with great success. You can program through learning the remote codes, or go on to remotecentral and search for the applicable file. I use a base station (MRF-250 RF), to ensure that my Macros work from any location in the room.

Peace and blessings,

Azeke

[Chris D]

Many good universal remotes have Lutron codes pre-programmed. I use my MX-700 remote with my Grafik eye with great success.

[Parsonsk]

Hi guys
I’m also looking to control my theater area with Lutron (Spacer or Maestro). I talked to the rep yesterday and he said that if I have 4 zones and all the switches in the same spot (say a bank of 4) that I could change the different scenes but could NOT change the specific zone.
For example I sit down press the watch move button, which turns on the TV, DVD player, receiver and then turns the lights to scene 1. Now if my wife starts to come down stairs and I want to turn the stair lights on.... I couldn't do it, I would need to change the scenes.....DOES THIS SEEM RIGHT????

THANKS

[Chris D]

Sorry, I'm not quite understanding the issue.

[Kevin D]

Sounds right. Even the graphic eye will have the same problem. You can control a scene controller, but not individual loads.

Kevin D.

[dyazdani]

Sounds right. Even the graphic eye will have the same problem. You can control a scene controller, but not individual loads.

Kevin D.

Doesn't sound right to me at all. His wife should immediately realize that he's busy watching a movie and continue down the stairs in darkness so as not to disturb the movie watching experience. :rofl:

[Bmac]

That is correct, but you have four scenes. I would use one scene for just that.

P.S. See the spacer system .

[Parsonsk]

but the scenes are set to specific levels. what if i wanted to turn up one light and not the others. From what i understand from the reps this is not possible see the email i recieved today from the rep..........
THERE'S GOT TO BE A WAY!!!!!!!! :x


Thank you for your email.

All of the Spacer System dimmers work on the same frequency and same set of codes. If they are all in the same wallbox, you will not be able to control any of them individually via the IR remote. If they are in different wallboxes, you will have to point at multiple locations to control the dimmers.

The dimmers are able to save up to 4 scenes each. You could set up scene 1 at a certain level, then when someone comes down the stairs, set a second scene as the dimmers at the exact same level except for the stairs, which would be set higher.

The Spacer System dimmers have a list price of $90.00 each.

If you want more independant control, you will want to look at either the Grafik Eye or the Radio RA system. These are more powerful, and consequently more expensive, systems.

If you still need help, please feel free to call our 24-hour Technical Support hotline at 1-800-523-9466.

Brian Willingham
Electronic Technician
Lutron Electronics Co., Inc.
1-800-523-9466
bwillingham@lutron.com

[Chris D]

Ah... now I see! You want to individually control individual zones on a multi-zone system. Yes, even with my $$$$ Grafik Eye, I can't turn up or down lights in just one zone without affecting the others. Not a real big deal in my eyes, though. All you have to do is anticipate lighting needs for various situations. So make one a "wife coming down the stairs while I'm watching a nudie flick" scene and it will not only snap to that scene, it will do so more easily and reliably than if you were trying to crank just one zone.

[Parsonsk]

So let me get this right...
if you have the lights set in a particular scene you can not adjust one particular zone??? Even with the GRAFIK EYE?????
that does not seem right.
is there any product out there that would be able to do this?

it seems like it would be easy...the only thing missing is that each remote sensor needs it own frequency and remote which would be solved using the Harmony and specific buttons.

[Parsonsk]

let me look into this more.....
i'm pretty sure the LUTRON GRAFIK EYE 3000 SERIES would be able to do this
i just need to talk to the rep again

[Chris D]

I have a Grafik Eye, a 3106 if I remember right. First off, it doesn't come with a remote. But using the pre-programmed database in my Theater Master MX-700, I get the ability to choose various set scenes that will be the same every time. I also have "Up" and "Down" buttons, but they raise and lower every zone simultaneously. I don't have a way of controlling individual zones from my remote. (I can, of course, do so on the actual controller unit)

[Parsonsk]

Ok
is this possible?

I STILL CAN'T FIND OUT IF WHEN I'M WATCHING A MOVIE IN SCENE 1 AND THE SAID WIFE STARTS COMING DOWN THE STAIRS TO BRING ME A COLD BEER IF I CAN TURN UP THE STAIR ZONE VIA REMOTE AND ONCE RECEIVED THUS SAID BEER I CAN PRESS SCENE 1 AND EVERYTHING RETURNS TO NORMAL....
DOES THIS SEEM COMPLICATED TO YOU....AM I ASKING FOR THE MOON AND THE STARS?
IT SEEMS VERY SIMPLE TO ME

WHEN I SAY SIMPLE I THINK OF THE FOLLOWING.......*sigh*

ON YOUR REMOTE YOU HAVE A BUTTON SAYING LIGHTS WHICH I PRESS

UP COMES OPTIONS
1 - SCENES
2 - ZONES

I PRESS 2 AND APPEARS THUS OPTIONS

1 - ZONE 1
2 - ZONE 2
3 - ZONE 3
4 - ZONE 4
5 - ZONE 5
6 - ZONE 6

I PRESS ZONE 2 (FOR STAIR LIGHTS)

AND THEN USING THE INCREASE OR DECREASE ARROWS I INCREASE THAT ONE ZONE AND THAT ONE ZONE ONLY LEAVING EVERYTHING ELSE THE WAY IT IS, ONCE FINISHED I PRESS THE BUTTON FOR LIGHTS
AND UP COMES
1 - SCENES
2 - ZONES
I PRESS 2 AND UP COMES...

1 - SCENE 1 MOVIES
2 - SCENE 2 INTERMISSION
3 - SCENE 3 OFFICE
4 - SCENE 4 GAMES - zones 4 & 5 @ 75%

I PRESS 1..... AND I'M BACK TO WATCHING A MOVIE


SO with that being said....what do you think, is this possible? and is it possible via the Lutron 3106 Grafik Eye?

i really do appreciate all your input
thanks

[Kevin D]

I've checked again, no in-wall graphic eye is going to give you zone control from remote. It looks like you can get an 8 scene remote for any of the graphic eye's. Scene's 5-8 would only be available from the remote.

You could have scene's 1-4 be normal and scenes 5-8 be normal+full stairs light.

Otherwise I don't think Lutron has anything for you. I doubt you'll get a different answer asking over and over.

While I don't recommend them at all, have you looked into PLC (x10) style switches with an IR controller?

Kevin D.

[Chris D]

Parsons, what you can do is have Scene 1 set for movie watching. So you're watching a movie, using scene 1. Wife comes down the stairs with beer, so you press "Scene 2", which is set up to be the equivalent of scene 1 PLUS increased stair lighting. You get beer, are happy, give wifey a kiss, and press Scene 1 again after she goes back upstairs. Lights return to normal.

[Bmac]

Chris D is dead on. The Scenes are programable, you just set one for all off except stairs.

[Parsonsk]

ok ok, I'm starting to believe you guys...

One thing that i need to clarify is a conversation i had with a gentleman at Home Depot who said that the frequency on the Maestro dimmers could be changed via dip switches which meant that i could put 3 or 4 dimmers in the same box and control each separately with the corresponding remote....not that it changes anything but now it's getting personal! :lol:

I'm leaning towards the Spacer system, i think that will work the best :T

[Bmac]

NO, Maestro will not work. You can't change the Maestro, and you can only have one scene. Stick with the spacer with four scenes.

[Bent]

Greetings all - I haven't been here for quite a while, but this subject piqued my interest.
I'm using an Applied Digital Ocelot PLC to do powerline carrier dimming (advanced X-10 via Leviton Decora Home Controls) and scenes with my URC HTM MX-500 remote. I have it programmed for 6 different scenes on four zones, and can also control on-off functions on all zones individually as well. I could add a few lines of code to allow 32 (IIRC) individual lighting levels per zone as well, but haven't had the need to do so.
The ocelot will not allow real time dimming, but the number of individual scenes that can be asigned per zone make this a non-issue.

Only drawbacks are you need to be prepared to deal with the potential issues that can present themselves with an X-10 installations, as well as the processing lag that can be present with the Ocelot (which can be as much as 2 seconds between pressing the function on the remote and having the dimmers respond.)