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Basic smart lighting system for use with EA-1?


elee532

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I'm using the EA-1 for control in my media room. I've got half-dozen recessed lights in the room. It would be nice to add some light control to my system. I was thinking the Philips Hue system seemed like a nice, relatively affordable smart lighting system. It looks like the Hue is compatible with Control4, correct?

Are there any other systems I should be considering?

Thanks!

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The C4 lighting stuff is good but it can be expensive as you are looking at over $100 for each dimmer or switch.  Hue stuff can be way cheaper (depending on bulbs per dimmer and other things) than that but isn't as flexible or controllable in C4.  And there can be other issues - like someone might shut off the switch feeding the C4 bulbs.  Hue lights are about $12/bulb for white.  But they come in a limited number of form factors.

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8 hours ago, koxkp said:

Why not get a control4 keypad dimmer? It will control a lighting load, volume and whatever else you want to program in.


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Didn't realize this C4 dimmer existed. I have just one switch that controls all 6 of these bulbs. So, cost of the C4 dimmer might actually be a little cheaper than the Hue. But, the ability to control the temperature and color with certain Hue lights seems like a pretty cool benefit of the Hue.

Where can I learn more about the C4 dimmer?

Thanks!

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Didn't realize this C4 dimmer existed. I have just one switch that controls all 6 of these bulbs. So, cost of the C4 dimmer might actually be a little cheaper than the Hue. But, the ability to control the temperature and color with certain Hue lights seems like a pretty cool benefit of the Hue.
Where can I learn more about the C4 dimmer?
Thanks!

https://www.control4.com/solutions/products/wireless-keypads
They are a little pricey, but pop-up on eBay once in a while. This combines the functionality of a keypad and a dimmer into one. The regular dimmers are cheaper. Also, this doesn’t require a hub or any third party drivers to make work, just a quick binding from a dealer and you can program all buttons the way you like in HE


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7 minutes ago, k3nnis said:

You will need an electrician to fit these wireless keypads correct? Since it involves power?

I save up a list and have the electrician do it. Just me, but that's what I do. Depending on where you live, what wires are in the box already, and how confident you are in avoiding the shock treatment... you might be able to DIY it. 

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ok thanks. I have a very silly question, I want to be able to have the feature of turning off the lights automatically when I hit play on a movie on my projector and when I press pause or stop the lights will come on again. What do I need to purchase to achieve this? I have normal 7W LED downlights , 4 of them in my HT. Does it need to be  a particular make to be compatible with C4?

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ok thanks. I have a very silly question, I want to be able to have the feature of turning off the lights automatically when I hit play on a movie on my projector and when I press pause or stop the lights will come on again. What do I need to purchase to achieve this? I have normal 7W LED downlights , 4 of them in my HT. Does it need to be  a particular make to be compatible with C4?
4 x 7 w led on on third generation C4 keypad will work just fine
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I would recommend a Lutron Caseta system. You can get everything on ebay/amazon/best buy/home depot and install it yourself. Then, you ask your dealer to integrate it with Control4. Just make sure to get a PRO version of the Bridge. Any Caseta dimmer will work.

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I would stay with control4 dimmers. Less headache integrating third party product. Much more flexibility with the keypad dimmer as you could create scenes and program the individual buttons to activate those scenes. It gives you the ability to do more then just lights.


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2 hours ago, k3nnis said:

Ok thanks. What colour keypad will look better on a black wall?

You'd be safe with midnight black or black because they are optionally illuminated and engraved. (So you can still find them in low light). There are two options for black. Never seen either in person. I'm basing this on the assumption you want to keep it subdued (black walls).

https://www.control4.com/solutions/products/wireless-keypads

As far as an electrician goes, C4 switches/dimmers/keypads all have "pigtail" wiring connections. I hate it and my electrician hates it -- too many wire nuts to fit in a lot of my boxes. Electricians are much more adept at making it work and I feel like I'm paying for peace of mind.

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21 hours ago, elee532 said:

Philips Hue system seemed like a nice, relatively affordable smart lighting system

You could use both a C4 keypad for the reasons stated AND the hue bulbs to change colors. My hue bulbs are on my front porch and we change the color for the various holidays. But the on/off is controlled through a non-hue smart switch. Turning the power on and off can confuse the hue hub sometimes, so if you have kids that want to change colors a lot, it might frustrate them. The lights have to be powered on to connect, of course.

There are a lot of other RGB lighting solutions discussed here on the forum that might also be an option.

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38 minutes ago, Elvis said:

You could use both a C4 keypad for the reasons stated AND the hue bulbs to change colors. My hue bulbs are on my front porch and we change the color for the various holidays. But the on/off is controlled through a non-hue smart switch. Turning the power on and off can confuse the hue hub sometimes, so if you have kids that want to change colors a lot, it might frustrate them. The lights have to be powered on to connect, of course.

There are a lot of other RGB lighting solutions discussed here on the forum that might also be an option.

i highly recommend not using a smart switch + hue - terrible experience

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22 hours ago, elee532 said:

I'm using the EA-1 for control in my media room. I've got half-dozen recessed lights in the room. It would be nice to add some light control to my system. I was thinking the Philips Hue system seemed like a nice, relatively affordable smart lighting system. It looks like the Hue is compatible with Control4, correct?

Are there any other systems I should be considering?

Thanks!

it depends on how many switches/dimmers you want to automate , if ifs only a few and are located close to your ea1 go with control4  but if you want to add a lot of switches c4 gear will be too expensive , i will recoomend you lutron or insteon , bit of them you can integrate their hub to control4 and both are way cheaper than c4 

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