Need help/advice with my new home...

[bjornolf]

Closed on the new home on Friday, and we're in the process of moving.

I needed some help/advice. I have a switched outlet in my family room that's in the wrong place. I don't want to tear up my walls rewiring stuff, so I was trying to find something I could plug into the switched outlet, then another piece into the outlet I want, so that I could plug the lamps into the second outlet I want and work them using the switch. I've found all kind of wireless transmitters/receivers that allow you to remotely control a lamp. I don't want to use a remote that I'm gonna lose to control it. I just want to use my already existing switch to control lights at a different outlet. I guess I'm just entering the wrong search terms. Anyway, does anyone know of such a product?

Thanks.

[hughgs]

Closed on the new home on Friday, and we're in the process of moving.

I needed some help/advice. I have a switched outlet in my family room that's in the wrong place. I don't want to tear up my walls rewiring stuff, so I was trying to find something I could plug into the switched outlet, then another piece into the outlet I want, so that I could plug the lamps into the second outlet I want and work them using the switch. I've found all kind of wireless transmitters/receivers that allow you to remotely control a lamp. I don't want to use a remote that I'm gonna lose to control it. I just want to use my already existing switch to control lights at a different outlet. I guess I'm just entering the wrong search terms. Anyway, does anyone know of such a product?

Thanks.

Are you looking to use both outlets for lamps and such? Depending on what you're envisioning it sounds either impossible or very difficult.

If you still want to use both outlets then I'm not sure it can be done.
A traditional switch operates by essentially opening the wires at the outlet. That control is hard-wired into the circuit. What you seem to be asking is to change that hard wired control of one outlet to another outlet without actually changing the wiring. Unless you're extremely lucky with how the room is wired I don't know of anyway to do it.

That being said if you posted an electrical diagram of the room there's a very slight chance that you could simply interchange some wires at the switch.

On the other hand if you're willing to sacrifice the one outlet then you're looking for a device that sends a remote signal from the one outlet to a remote control on the other outlet. The issue is that the remote signal can't be continuous so the device has to sense the power change both on and off and send the correct signal. I've never heard of a mass produced device that does that and I think the engineering would be really hard.

The primary engineering issue is that commanding the device to turn either on or off uses the same signal from the remote sender. So, what happens when the sending device doesn't detect the power on/off correctly? With a manual remote you simply hit the switch again and may hold it down a little longer. You can't do that with the wall switch.

[Kimist]

Unobtrusive (clear, along base boards) extension cord from switched outlet to lamps (assuming we are not talking about too much amperage) ??

k

[hughgs]

Unobtrusive (clear, along base boards) extension cord from switched outlet to lamps (assuming we are not talking about too much amperage) ??

k

I thought about the extension cord, but I hate using extension cords as a permanent solution in a house. If it was a garage or shed, not as much of a concern, but not in the place where my family sleeps.

[Jim3k]

Depending on the age of the house, you may be able to access the wiring in the attic or in the crawlspace. If they are exposed, say BX or some conduit, you might be able to swap the wiring.

Otherwise, bite the bullet, call the electrician and start following the wiring with your drywall saw. Such fun. And BTW, the drywall job isn't so bad. You probably wanted to paint that room a different color anyway. ;)

[hudlow]

http://cdn.asseenontv.com/prod-pages/images1/theclapper_thumb.jpg

Or

Let an electrician take a look. It might be as simple as Jim3k suggested.

hud

[OZZIE4DUKE]

The Clapper +. It comes with a remote control. :cool: No rewiring needed!

[alteran]

Have you ever heard of X10? It's a protocol for automating/remoting stuff in your house. X10 can do all sorts of wacky stuff, like allowing you to control lights in your house through the Internet or your smartphone.

You could skip the crazy functionality and get a wall-mountable x10 switch, and one of the remote controlled outlet devices, and bingo-- you're controlling a different socket with a switch located wherever you want. Of course, the old one will still be there, which may annoy you.

I agree with the last two comments about getting an electrician. I had a serious remodeling project in my house done a few years back, and I was surprised by how many times mine got around going into sheetrock to do various things.

Can't hurt to get a quote.

[devil84]

X10 is AWESOME! I love climbing into bed and with one button on my remote, I can turn off ALL bedroom lights AND the foyer light! I can also address them all individually. Dimming is a possibility, too (provided one isn't using standard CFLs).

I love the automation, too, allowing us to program lights to turn on and off on a regular schedule while we're on vacation. Even better, the kids' bedroom lights used to turn off at a reasonable bedtime (in the event they fell asleep studying or if they needed a prompt that it really IS time to go to bed) and the foyer light comes on at dusk.

You can use an adapter that plugs into the wall, swap out the outlets, or replace a light switch and access them by remote control -- all very inexpensively.

[-jk]

If you're looking at automation, go a step beyond X10 and look at Insteon (http://www.smarthome.com). I've been very happy with it - several lights and a thermostat, and a web accessible control box. I can control it from my blackberry from anywhere.

-jk

[devil84]

I've thought about Insteon and Z-Wave. We got started in X10 when it was the only consumer protocol available -- we've been using it maybe 15 years? It's incredibly inexpensive -- under $100 for the software and controller plus enough pieces to automate 4 or 5 devices. For $200, you can do most of a 4-bedroom house.

Insteon and Z-Wave are the next level. Our X10 system works well, so I can't really justify the $500-1000 it's going to cost to move to the next level (well, not when paying tuition for two, anyway). Insteon is X10 compatible, so at least I could use the devices I already have. You do get what you pay for, however. The newer protocols have much better styling than X10's early 70's Radio Shack design and they have more robust features that address the limitations of the original X10 standard.

Home automation is quite fun to play with. Back in 2003, I developed a system to send text messages from any text-enabled phone to a local computer that changed the lights and thermostat. Now that I've finally got a smartphone, I'll look into controlling it from the phone.