Low Voltage Switch Solutions?

[Elvis]

My electrician is pushing low voltage LED lighting on the boat house, even though there is 220 service for the boat lifts, 110v for the fans and floods... but anyway. I guess in areas it could be safer.

How do I control these lights. I think the low voltage switches/dimmers that C4 has are only up to 10v?

https://www.control4.com/docs/product/wireless-0-10v-dimmer/data-sheet/english/latest/wireless-0-10v-dimmer-data-sheet-rev-a.pdf

Suggestions welcomed. Thank you.

[mujtaba.khokhar]

My electrician is pushing low voltage LED lighting on the boat house, even though there is 220 service for the boat lifts, 110v for the fans and floods... but anyway. I guess in areas it could be safer.
How do I control these lights. I think the low voltage switches/dimmers that C4 has are only up to 10v?
https://www.control4.com/docs/product/wireless-0-10v-dimmer/data-sheet/english/latest/wireless-0-10v-dimmer-data-sheet-rev-a.pdf
Suggestions welcomed. Thank you.

You would do

C4 switch —> driver (110v or 230v to whatever low voltage you need) —> to low voltage fitting

Most low voltage fittings come with drivers

Simple as that

Same thing if you need to go the other way with power boosters etc

Thanks
M


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[Elvis]

8 minutes ago, mujtaba.khokhar said:

driver (110v or 230v to whatever low voltage you need) —> to low voltage fitting

Most low voltage fittings come with drivers

Okay, I'll discuss this with him. No experience with low voltage stuff "fittings" "drivers" etc. is all new to me. 

[mujtaba.khokhar]

Okay, I'll discuss this with him. No experience with low voltage stuff "fittings" "drivers" etc. is all new to me. 

No worries

If you need any more help just let me know

I deal with this stuff day in day out

Thanks
M


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[WhyPhy]

16 hours ago, Elvis said:

Okay, I'll discuss this with him. No experience with low voltage stuff "fittings" "drivers" etc. is all new to me. 

What mujtaba is saying is that the switch can't directly dim / color change the low voltage LEDs. The low voltage LEDs needs to be controlled by their own power supply/controller, and then C4 controller uses a driver to communicate with the LED controller. The C4 switches would send commands to the C4 controller, which would send commands to the LED controller, which would control the lights.

Some examples of this are Philips Hue (C4 controller -> Philips Hue controller -> Philips Hue LED light strip) and DMX (C4 controller -> DMX controller -> LED light strip.) This allows dimming control and color change control.

But this is only if you need dimming capability or color change capability. If you don't, the easiest solution is to have a Control 4 wall switch (SW120277)  turn the LED power supply on / off. The LED power supply is what converts high voltage to low voltage. This is the solution I'd recommend unless you're set on dimming or color change.

[Elvis]

I think that's all I need, is on off. Going by the electrician today to discuss.

[mujtaba.khokhar]

What mujtaba is saying is that the switch can't directly dim / color change the low voltage LEDs. The low voltage LEDs needs to be controlled by their own power supply/controller, and then C4 controller uses a driver to communicate with the LED controller. The C4 switches would send commands to the C4 controller, which would send commands to the LED controller, which would control the lights.
Some examples of this are Philips Hue (C4 controller -> Philips Hue controller -> Philips Hue LED light strip) and DMX (C4 controller -> DMX controller -> LED light strip.) This allows dimming control and color change control.
But this is only if you need dimming capability or color change capability. If you don't, the easiest solution is to have a Control 4 wall switch (SW120277)  turn the LED power supply on / off. The LED power supply is what converts high voltage to low voltage. This is the solution I'd recommend unless you're set on dimming or color change.

Thanks for explaining it that’s exactly what I meant.

In the Uk we also get dimmable low voltage drivers. These are mainly used for single colour led tape but I’ve used them elsewhere too.

No need for drivers on c4 - one less point of fail.

Thanks
M


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[Cyknight]

Assuming all you do is 'white' light, if you use dimmable powersupplies, do can use a dimmer instead of a switch

[jebt2921]

Could simply plug the low voltage transformer into a C4 outlet if on/off is all you need. What I’m planning to do for our hardscape lights in wall around pool.

https://www.control4.com/docs/product/wireless-outlet-dimmer/data-sheet/english/latest/wireless-outlet-dimmer-data-sheet-rev-b.pdf


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[atxled]

Did you complete this project?   We are installing a solution that connects C4 to low voltage LEDs with full dimming - so you can skip the 120/240 completely.   We have lots of these systems communicating with C4, it is all DC at either 24 or 48v, the LEDs are driverless for the longest lifetime of the LEDs.   Can send details on request.

[jebt2921]

We completed our install for lights around the pool. Ended up using a Kasa Outdoor plug and the chowmain driver with low voltage transformer and lights from Volt. Works perfectly including Alexa. Bonus is we installed the plug inside our outdoor kitchen and our LED string lights plug into the second outlet of the Kasa unit. Highly recommend this route.





Kasa Outdoor Smart Plug by TP-Link, Smart Home Wi-Fi Outlet with 2 Sockets, Works with Alexa & Google Home, No Hub Required, Remote Control, Sunset & Sunrise Offset (KP400) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M6RS2LC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_H3HwFb01XZN2W


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[RAV]

Low voltage lights are powered by a 'driver', what we class as a power supply, which converts the 110/220v AC to typically 5, 12 or 24 volts DC.

If not doing color selection, than the driver needs to be dimmable to use a dimmer before it, or if not use a switch before it, or plug into a switched outlet. The driver needs to be relatively close to the LED lights due to voltage drop, the farther it is, the larger the gauge the wire between the driver and the LEDs. Also LEDs cause voltage drop, so on average more than 5 meters of say strip LEDs and you insert power again, which generally comes from the same supply. The supply needs to be sized in amps based on the total number of LEDs it's driving and the drop.

If doing color, than between the driver and the LEDs will live a controller. Controller's offer selection of color, and brightness, and patterns and such. Strips and Controllers come in analog and digital types, analog the whole strip changes color at once, digital than each LED can be addressed individually. Depending on products, controllers may have multiple outputs to control several strips from one board and power supply. If a controller is involved, than you would typically not use a dimmer or switch on them, but send commands from Control4 to the LED controller.

DMX comes from stage lighting. Each light has a sub controller and it's own power supply, all controllers are linked into a universe, then the DMX controller can tell all the others what to do: brightness, color, pan, tilt, etc. Isn't limited to lights, can be screens, smoke effects, etc. Think of it like an orchestra, with the conductor being the DMX controller.

[Elvis]

For my boathouse, the installation is complete without any automation. All lighting is white, low voltage. The floods are dimmable, although they did not install dimmer switches. The inside sitting areas and boat slips use 12-15" light bars. There are enough on different circuits that we can control the brightness by only turning on one or two lights. Interesting side note: The LED light bars are white, and I wanted warm light. Installing them on dark stained wood beams, "warms" the light color up as there is nothing but stained wood to reflect the light.

We went with Minka Fans, which have relatively dim lights on them that are very "warm" plus they are in darkened globes, so these work well as they don't attract as many bugs as the white LED bars. Important as these are the only lights that are directly above the sitting area -- the light bars are all perimeter lights.

Nothing is integrated into C4 or my Lutron lighting yet. But all lights just require switches swapped out. I could put dimmers on the floods if I want. Nothing special required, unless I want to integrate the Minkas (I won't.) I am happy with the lighting package. My wife is happy with the Minka fans, but I am not. They look great. Theoretically, their CFM airflow is high, but the wind speed they create is low. When you get out of the water in the 100* day, and get under a fan, I expected better evaporative cooling effect. Not from these fans. So if I had it to do over again, I would have used four fans with higher windspeed rather than two big fans.

I don't know about everyone else, but contractors and trades here in northeast Texas are still swamped with business. 9 month wait for the boat house. We're at 6 months on a minor kitchen remodel, and he just slipped a few weeks. And I'm on 3 contractors' list for the same project -- at their recommendation. "Line up as many guys as you can, first one there gets the job." It is just crazy. The contractor that told me he couldn't get to me until October is probably going to get the job. The other two are slipping past that date.

[brantlmcdonald]

I don't know about everyone else, but contractors and trades here in northeast Texas are still swamped with business. 9 month wait for the boat house.

I can’t take on any new projects until February of next year. That’s as of today. By the end of this month i will probably be booked up until April.


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