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Infrared controllers for lighting

Former Community Member
Former Community Member
Morning Chaps and Chapesses, 


Has anyone had any experience with infrared lighting controls? I've seen the downlights you can get with a remote control, but this situation is different. The lighting in the space is LED strip recessed in the ceiling coffers, and the client has no mobility so would be turning the lighting on and off with a remote that they also use for other things. Thing is the lighting also needs to be operation by a switch for the other people in the house, and in some rooms they would like it dimmable. Would love to hear if anyone has done something similar.
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    Maybe with Aico alarms the wired versus wireless connection issue is being backwards compatible.


    There are presumably millions of wired alarms that can share a limited amount of information through the wiring, if new alarms are “upgraded” to share more information then presumably all the alarms would have to be replaced at the same time, you could not just replace one alarm that is say six years old. You can however extend a wired system wirelessly, I have been doing that for many years.


    Going back to the original post, the first thing that Amanda needs to do is to determine what the user interface will be and how it will be activated.


    I presume her client already has an infrared remote that is activated by visual recognition, put presumably it needs to be roughly lined up with an infrared switch to work. It would presumably be on a par with installing a infrared switch and tuning it to a spare button on the TV remote?


  • 0
    Sparkingchip:

    My dad’s Alexa is paired with my phone, I have his complete playlist.


    “Alexa, play Winifred Atwell”.




     




    I finally got the Freeview catch up working on his Panasonic TV last night, it kept saying there was not an internet connection when you went back on the TV guide, although the apps worked.


    After numerous attempts over the last couple of months I switched the WiFi router off, did two dry retunes with the aerial disconnected, then reconnected the WiFi whilst the router was rebooting, then reconnected the aerial and retuned the TV, finally getting Freeview to accept that there’s an internet connection.

    However I then had to sign back into BBC and ITV using my mobile phone, because he doesn’t have a device to use to link accounts.


    Older people, such as my dad who is in his nineties really need someone to act as their IT department to set up and run their TV for them, generally many of people like him normally spend hours a day watching TV and even more during lockdown. But even a “simple “ TV is no longer user friendly, the days of the TV aerial guy putting an aerial on the chimney and tuning the TV being all that was required for the life of the TV have gone, all the TVs need retuning every so often and little bits of routine maintenance.


    If you start to add in electric front door access controls with a audio visual link,  an electric bathroom door, heating lighting, and so on and so forth you begin to wonder if the end users will need IT support on an almost daily basis.


    I have very mixed feelings about connecting everything to work through a phone or tablet and still think an override switch on the wall has a lot going for it.


  • 0
    Chris Pearson:

    So what sort of natter are three or four smoke alarms going to have?


    I thought that the idea was that if one detects smoke or heat, they all go off, but that may be out of date.




    Some adjust their sensitivity according to changes in room temperature, they react to the rate of temperature change to reduce false alarms whilst people are cooking.

    Then if you have a combined system with CO alarms you need to differentiate between alerts.

    There all sorts of little upgrades to the alarms that are a few years old. 


    Also if they are connected to a fire suppression system it isn’t actually a good idea to interlink all of them, so in some areas you might want two systems in the same room. You don’t want the kitchen and lounge dowsed with water because someone set an alarm off in the loft bedroom, but it you are in the loft bedroom you want to know if there’s a fire in the lounge or kitchen.


  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Sparkingchip:
    Chris Pearson:

    So what sort of natter are three or four smoke alarms going to have?


    I thought that the idea was that if one detects smoke or heat, they all go off, but that may be out of date.




    Some adjust their sensitivity according to changes in room temperature, they react to the rate of temperature change to reduce false alarms whilst people are cooking.

    Then if you have a combined system with CO alarms you need to differentiate between alerts.

    There all sorts of little upgrades to the alarms that are a few years old. 


    Also if they are connected to a fire suppression system it isn’t actually a good idea to interlink all of them, so in some areas you might want two systems in the same room. You don’t want the kitchen and lounge dowsed with water because someone set an alarm off in the loft bedroom, but it you are in the loft bedroom you want to know if there’s a fire in the lounge or kitchen.




    Sounds quite OTT for domestic though? Sprinkler systems aren't linked to the fire alarm, they operate individually at each head. I can't imagine housing developers wanting to pay for it? maybe people building their own home though. 


    Could I ask what the Aico training course was? I have been spec'ing them for our domestic projects and would be interested in learning more. 


  • 0
    The Plumis domestic fire suppression systems which mist rooms with water are operated using Aico heat alarms, typical applications are where there’s a bedroom loft conversion and the escape route takes you down and out through a sitting room and/or kitchen.

    https://plumis.co.uk/


    The Aico alarms in my dads flat are linked to a call centre through the combined door entry and the pull cord request for assistance system, if he burns something in the kitchen and sets the heat and smoke alarms off the call centre speak to him over the intercom to determine if they need to call the emergency services  or not. As yet they have not had to call the fire brigade, but have sent an ambulance several times and let the ambulance crew in by opening the floors from the call centre. The alarm system within the flats are stand alone, then there’s a whole building alarm system with a heat detector in the entrance hallway of each flat to evacuate the building if there’s a fire in the flat that may burn through the flat entrance fire door.


    You can do the Aico courses online, book them through the link on their website. The Aico alarms can be part of quite elaborate system with relays to operate all sorts of equipment, they are nothing like the two for fifteen quid standalone  battery only alarms that landlords and letting agents seem to think it okay to put in privately rented homes, because that’s the minimum standard in England.
  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    You could maybe check out EX-OR by Honeywell, they do lots clever applications for lighting control, have used their products extensively over the years, albeit in commercial applications. They pretty much cover everything from the wireless side, dimming etc, daylight dimming etc.
  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    AJJewsbury:

    There are plenty of remote control dimmers - e.g. https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/VLJDQE101S.html  - which I presume are IR based and I guess you could just use as on/off if you need. As they replace the normal wall switch, there'd be no issue about others still being able to operate the lights.

       - Andy.


    Just bobbing back to say thanks, I'm hoping we can use something like this. We are going to need to get hold of the control equipment to make sure it works which is a pain given the Pando but fingers crossed :) 


  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Nikp:

    You could maybe check out EX-OR by Honeywell, they do lots clever applications for lighting control, have used their products extensively over the years, albeit in commercial applications. They pretty much cover everything from the wireless side, dimming etc, daylight dimming etc. 


    Thanks I will check them out, I've not used them since early 2000's and had forgotten they existed, as the companies I've worked for since have tended towards Hager and CP


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