This is probably an easy question, but I’m looking for best practice. We have a bedside lamp that I’d like to automate. It must also have local control (that is, an on/off switch you can use without whipping out your phone). The local control needs to be on the night stand (not at the bulb, not at the wall plug). My system is 2GIG/ADC.
I was considering one of these with an extension cord http://amzn.com/B0013V6S0Q but that doesn’t seem super elegant. Maybe one of those plus a mini mote? I have no experience with remotes. Other ideas?
Well, depending on how involved you want to get, you can add something like this anywhere in the house:
Any on off switch would work.
Otherwise, an extension cord would allow you to simply press the button on the appliance module. Of course you can locally control the lamp with its own switch, but in the off position, Z-wave can’t control it. (Sounds like you are already working around this, just mentioning it)
I assume the lamp is plugged into a wall switch controlled outlet already?
If so, go to lowes, get a $35 GE zwave switch. Done easy.
If it just plugs into a normal outlet that is not switched (or you want one within easy reach from bed), just get a dimmer zwave module that plugs in, and create your own switch for it like shown above using a DW10 (if you don’t want the zwave bulb), and make your own wall switch to control it where ever you want.
Get the box, switch from home depot or lowes (get a keyhole saw too for drywall)
Thanks for the help guys. Photos attached of what I ended up doing. Works great. It was for my wife’s birthday and my preschool daughter was in charge of decorating.
The RE101 looks wireless… for clarification, am I looking for a sensor that gets hardwired, or a regular wireless one where I’d be pulling a wire from the inside.
Like the DW10, the RE101 has external hardwired inputs to act as a wireless transmitter for hardwired sensors. In this case, the on-off switch acts as the hardwired “sensor.” On and off, open and close, are wirelessly transmitted to the panel.
The automation rule then controls the light based on the open/close state of the switch.
