We have a garden room office in the garden with some nice lights built in externally , unfortunately you have to go into it to turn them on.
What options are there to make the lights remote or could I have a switch wired inside for them ?
Do you mean external lights fixed to the outside of the garden room?
When do you want the lights to turn on?
I have my external garage and house lights on light sensors so they turn on automatically at dusk and off again at dawn. That may or may not be suitable for your requirements.
I have the same situation. I use SmartThings power outlets to switch on both the garden lights and an internal shed light. You can do the same with Hive or many other similar systems. However, if your shed is a long way from the house, it may be out of range.
Perhaps lightwave switch will do what you want, however they are not as cheep as I remember
https://lightwaverf.com/lighting/11508541268
Or these are cheaper and available via screwfix
https://energenie4u.co.uk/mihome/the_range
Assuming you have a strong WiFi in the office.
Note: I haven’t used ether system IRL just making suggestions
Last edited by Captain Morgan; 13th January 2018 at 22:03.
You can get timed light switches to control what time they are on or even fit a photo cell inline (externally) so they come.on dusk to dawn.
Every option available now days.
Sent from my [device_name] using TZ-UK mobile app
I bought some dawn - dusk LED bulbs which work well for some regular lights can't easily build a photo-cell into the circuit for.
Best choice is a timer and darkness centre built into the circuit however - the one I have only need to change the hour with the clocks as is programmed to come on at 16.30 but the light sensor then knocks them off until sufficiently dark.
Like this one - http://www.bladespowergeneration.co....iABEgIYlPD_BwE
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mini-Remote...DXXRHF73X8A886
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Integral-Du...DXXRHF73X8A886
Last edited by MB2; 14th January 2018 at 01:11.
I really just want to turn them on and off without having to go out into the office open a locked door and turn them on at the switch
is it much work wiring in these z wave things ?
I have exactly this, and works a treat.
My one only has one plug though
F.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-pack-Sm...IAAOSwZetXPDhL
Assume you have WiFi in the office?
Replace the switch with a remote WiFi one and use a phone app.
If you have WIFI coverage you can use these
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
These are the business, and App controlled with schedules.
But who has building mounted external light fittings wired via plug and socket ? Bad idea.Originally Posted by Kiloman
Thanks all
plugs won’t work as these are outdoor lights wired to a switch
Phillips hue might be an easy if expensive solution
I do much the same with the light in my kitchen.
I have a philips motion sensor on the back fence when it detects motion after sunset it switches the kitchen hue bulb on for 5 mins ( long enough for me to get inside with the rear garden lit ).
Last edited by Nogbad The Bad; 14th January 2018 at 18:55.
So just saying....
How far away is the garden shed from the house, if it's close you can use a lightwaverf switch as Captain Morgan suggested, but with a standard rf remote rather than the expense of the wifi hub, total cost about £45.
Thanks all
it’s not far maybe 10m from the house
where do light wave things get wired in ?
- - - Updated - - -
Thanks all
it’s not far maybe 10m from the house
where do light wave things get wired in ?
Well this is some of the info on lightwave
https://lightwaverf.com/about/how-it-works/installation
Beijing switches both replace the light switch that controls the lights in question....
Just stick 'em in instead of the existing switch. They look like an existing switch and behave like an existing switch, but you can also turn on\off with either a rf remote (similar to small tv remote) or add a hub for wifi/app control.
Philips Hue are good. Switch wise we also bought a cheap RF one from Maplin (was a very low price for four, and a small remote control). Those have worked really well - use them for plugging all Christmas decorations into, so can flip them all on/off in one go.
Thanks
I’ll need dimmable bulbs I presume ?
I bought LightwaveRF for my garden room. It works a treat (I had a few problems at first but I think that was a router issue rather than the LightwaveRF).
I have a plug in radiator, for example, so when I work from home I wake up, switch on the radiator using my phone, have breakfast, go to the garden room which is now nice and toasty.
I had the lights for the inside, the soffits and the garden path wired in in the same way and it's really handy to be able to switch them on an off from inside the house, particularly at this time of year.
If it is just a couple of lightbulbs, some smart bulbs (Philips Hue?) might be an easier and cheaper solution.
Cheers
it’s probably the exact same set up as yours
I was looking there are 8 bulbs so hue isn’t cost effective !
mind linking what exactly you got and did you need to change all bulbs to dimmable ?
I have a lot of LightwaveRF devices all through the house. They have a solution for almost any situation, though you will need a stock of CR2032 batteries to keep some of them powered.
Highly recommend them, they've been reliable (4 years installed so far), but prices have really shot up since I first started using the brand.
This is the hub:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This is the 3-gang lighswitch (inside lights, soffit lights, garden path lights):
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This is the plug socket for floor lamps, radiator and so on:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/LightwaveRF...B3HMEDE3Y0A7WG
As it was a new installation, I didn't have to replace any bulbs but I did make sure I bought dimmable bulbs. I'll try and take a few photos to show you what it looks like.
Super I would really appreciate it
What state do LightwaveRF devices default to after a power outage? I've read that their sockets default to off for safety reasons, whereas a simple switched socket would not have changed. That's probably OK for a garden room but might be a problem for some household appliances. That advice comes from 2011 and so the latest versions may be different...as may their lighting controls. Do any of them have a memory, please?
I got Phillips hue but it cost a fair whack as there are 3 or four bulbs to a light
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