The remote light switch is a high-tech device that closes the circuit using a radio signal. The design includes a remote control and a receiver, which is installed near lighting fixtures. The radio-controlled switch has many advantages, it can be installed without damaging the decorative decoration of the room.
Scope of the device
The device is designed for the convenience of residents, especially useful for the elderly and people with disabilities. If the room is large, you don’t have to go to the traditional switch - just put the remote control nearby and adjust the lighting.
With the help of a radio-controlled switch, you can make any manipulations - turn on and off the light anywhere in the house, change the brightness of the devices. You can also connect street lighting to the remote control.
The device is used in the following cases:
- You need to move the old switch, but its new location is prevented by interior items. It is possible to install the switch on furniture or in any convenient place.
- Errors of installation of electrical wiring in the house. There is no need to redo repair and troubleshoot.
- The area of the room is small and there is no way to allocate a separate place for the switches.
- The repair has just been done, but the location of the switches is not suitable for the residents. Overhead devices are installed in a few minutes, without having to think about where the cable goes and how to hide it.
- It is necessary to organize lighting control from several points of the house, for example, from the second and third floors, from the hallway and bedroom. There is no need to lay a cable to each point - this can be done remotely.
- The room is very large, for example, non-residential complex. Turning the lights on and off on each floor and in rooms faster with the remote control. This will save energy, as the remote control radius of up to 350 meters.
Devices are available in various design solutions, so they can be selected for any style.
Often, remote switches are installed in wooden houses, where the rules must comply with fire safety rules. In order not to mount the wiring openly, you can secure the main cables to the electrical devices, and turn off the remote.
Design and principle of operation
The main part of the 220 V light switch radio is a relay, which is activated by the remote control. At the signal of the relay, it opens or closes the circuit. The relays are mounted near the light source - lamps, chandeliers - or inside its body. For point systems, a special junction box is equipped with a signal receiver inside it.
A switch is a transmitter that activates a relay. It works from a voltage generator (more expensive models) or from a finger battery. The transmitter converts the electrical pulse into a radio signal. Mounts the device anywhere. No wires are connected to it, so it can be made portable - not tied to any place. The transmitter can be used without a remote control.
The remote control transmits a signal using infrared radiation, so you can turn on the light only from the room where the switch and receiver are located.The radio signal is more universal - lighting control can be carried out from different points of the room.
Switches are:
- Sensory. To turn on the lamp, just touch the control panel.
- Push-button. You need to press a button. There may be one or more.
- With a remote control. There is also the ability to connect to a phone or computer with a router.
Some transmitters have a special device - a dimmer, which is able to adjust the degree of lighting.
In addition to the remote switch, automatic sensors can be found on sale. The principle of operation of these devices are different. Sensors can be clapped, activated when there is movement in the room, turned on when there is little light around - suitable for lighting the courtyard and the surrounding area. Automatic sensors are several times cheaper than remote switches.
In addition to the remote control, lighting control can be carried out using a key fob, adjusted according to a special program on the days of the week, for example, from 5 pm in the winter to 10 pm, then from 6 to 8 in the morning. Next, the program turns off all the lighting in the house. On weekends, tuning is done according to a different schedule.
All radio switches can be connected to the Smart Home system. In this case, they are connected to the system control board. Installation of the power unit - the receiver - can be carried out covertly - into the wall during repairs or over ceilings.
Circuit breaker design
If you disassemble the switch with a screwdriver, you can find inside:
- electronic board;
- control button in the center;
- place for the battery;
- LED lamp, which signals the binding of the unit to a specific device.
The radio module has a 10A fuse, although in practice it can withstand only 5A, i.e. 1 kW.
Management and range
By the radius of action, all models of the relay and the switch are different, as they are designed for a certain room size - from 30 to 350 m. The cost of a switch with a remote control in each case will differ.
Typically, the remote control has two control channels, but there are devices that have 3 or more channels. The maximum number is 8.
With one remote control, you can turn on a single light source or a group of electrical appliances.
GSM switches work in two ways: via SMS or by call.
Advantages, Disadvantages
The advantages of such systems include:
- Simple quick installation. This can be done by a person who is completely unfamiliar with electrical engineering. For installation, you do not have to spoil the walls for laying the cable.
- Safety, especially if small children are in the house. The current generated by the generator is so small that it will not harm the child if he disassembles the device.
- The ability to connect several devices to the power unit at once.
- It is possible to select a device according to the radius of action, depending on the size of the room.
The biggest drawback is the cost of the system. Given the number of lamps, chandeliers and spotlight groups in an apartment, the remote control of the light may become unavailable for financial reasons.
Operating the switch can be problematic due to a finger-type battery that has suddenly discharged. Such systems are cheaper, but require periodic replacement of batteries. Switches with their own current generator are usually more expensive, but they last a long time and stably.
If the radio light switch is connected to the computer, but the signal of the router is weak, there may be problems with turning on the devices, so you should consider an alternative control method, for example, conventional switches.
Wiring diagram
For installation, you can select a device operating at a frequency of 315 or 433 MHz. Most people buy 433 frequencies. You can mount on tape or screws. In the second case, the installation is made in the socket, already built into the wall.
A voltage of 220 V is supplied to the power module, it is installed in the cap of the chandelier, behind the ceiling or in the junction box.
The circuit may include a contactor for street lighting, as the power of outdoor lamps is higher.
Two buttons can be soldered to the single-key switch, and it will become a three-key, then it is possible to install 2 more power units.
Input and output are determined by the number of terminals:
- 2 - input, wires with voltage are connected here;
- 3 - output, contacts connected to the lighting device are connected here.
Next, you need to bind to a specific lamp.
When a power outage occurs, if the device was turned on, it will not turn on by itself; if it was turned off, it will not turn on.
When choosing a device, you need to clarify how the system behaves when rebooting after a power outage. This is important, because in the absence of the owners can be turned on, and the meter wraps a lot of kilowatts.
The system of remote control of light in the apartment
Light control in the apartment can be carried out by switches, the radius of which is up to 100 m or less, depending on the area of the room. If there are load-bearing walls in the signal path or iron reinforcement in the walls, there are radio signal repeaters that allow you to bypass obstacles and increase the power of the transmitting device.
In the apartment you can install 2 light control systems:
- Local if one light source is connected to one switch.
- Global. In this case, all lamps and spot groups will be connected to a single control panel. The scheme may include air conditioners, ventilation systems and other electrical appliances, such as automatic blinds or shutters.
In large apartments, it is possible to combine the operation of sensors and a remote switch. This is necessary for temporary lighting of passage areas. The sensor is installed in the direction of travel and is triggered if a person enters a certain area, then turns off.
The device can work in several modes:
- Temporary. When you press the button, the light turns on for a certain time, then it goes out on its own.
- On / Off. When the button is pressed once, either the devices are turned on or off.
- In monostable mode, holding down the button will light up. If you let go, it goes off.
- Bistable mode is a cyclical change in the state of operation of the device.
The more modes, the more expensive the equipment.
What does the market offer?
On sale you can find budget models, the radius of which does not exceed 30 m, as well as advanced devices with various additional features:
- inclusion delay;
- a large number of channels;
- touch control;
- the ability to connect to a smartphone or tablet.
If you have an internal voltage generator, you do not have to regularly buy batteries for replacement. However, if there is no alternative way to turn it on, you can remain without light for the whole evening.
You can choose a device according to the brand of the manufacturer, which will cost more, especially when buying imported products. The plus is that there are many design solutions.
The quality of soldering can also be doubtful if you buy cheap Chinese products. Unfortunately, this can only be determined with a tenfold increase in the soldering area. The rest will have to focus on the number of system failures.
At the cost of the product are from 400 to 5000 rubles. In the first case, these will be Chinese-made switches, in the second - European-quality switches.
What you need to pay attention to when buying:
- Type of lighting and lamps used in them.
- The number of channels required to connect all electrical appliances. The control panel must be designed for a certain number of channels.
- Working voltage.
- Maximum fuse load. The device works without a transformer, so it can burn out when the voltage is exceeded.
- Radius of action - is determined by the size of the room and surrounding areas, if it is a private house.
- Working voltage.
- Dimensions of the power unit and switch.
- Rated current.
- The complete set of the device. Usually it does not include a battery.
In electronics supermarkets you can find the following brands of wireless switches: Feron, Zamel, Inted, BAS, Smartbuy, Z-Wave, as well as their various modifications.
How to connect a do-it-yourself wireless remote switch
First of all, it is necessary to disconnect the voltage on the wires to which it is planned to connect the power unit. Then the module is mounted to the wires, observing the incoming and outgoing current direction.
For the switch to work, you need to bind to the power unit. To do this, hold down the button and hold until the LED indicator flashes quickly. In this case, press the key on the switch. If the receiver is correctly linked, the relay should click. It will trigger to turn on one of the lighting fixtures. To connect a second lamp to the circuit, the procedure is repeated again.
The same light can be programmed to different switches to activate them from different points of the house or apartment. The binding can be repeated for the key fob or other portable signal transmission devices, for example, a lighting control panel.
To untie the receiver from the switch, you need to hold down the central button again for 5 seconds or more until it starts to flash slowly, then release the button on the switch.
