Bmwbball88 Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 Hey all, I’m redoing my yard in a few months. I don’t have any watering or lighting controls so starting fresh. what offers the best intg for lighting? Thinking I’ll need 3-4 zones. for watering I’ll probably just go with a Rachio (had one at my last house) and it pretty much just ran itself. Unless there is one that is better with c4. thanks as always for the replies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 Rachio works with C4. For lighting your best case is to use C4 dimmers or switches to control the lights. So you will likely want everything wired back to one central place that is somewhat protected from the elements. I have dimmers for my landscape lighting in my pool cabana. This is unheated and it gets cold here in Toronto in the winter but they have lasted 13 winters without issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmwbball88 Posted January 4, 2021 Author Share Posted January 4, 2021 So you don’t have traditional 12v dc landscape lighting then? I do have some free spots on my panelized lighting but the only way I could think of using them was to run an outlet for each one to outside but then I would need to have that many transformers also (usually one per zone) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 I do have 12V AC landscape lighting (I think landscape lighting stays as AC rather than be converted to DC) but the transformers in my setup must be downstream from the C4 dimmers. I have 3 zones in the back and one in the front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyknight Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 Another possibility for low voltage is using relays per zone - if you want 4 zones and have 4 relays available on a controller....(and can wire to it) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekohn00 Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 I'm using the WEMO switch with my 12v lighting. Chowmain driver made it simple and I have the ability to also use apple home. Also less $$ than the C4 switch. Oh and +1 for Rachio (though I don't see the need to integrate into C4) msgreenf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 I am also using a rachio and I am using a ring low voltage landscaping transformer that is not integrated into control4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejn1 Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 I have Rachio as well and works very well... Is there a C4 driver for it now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 10 minutes ago, ejn1 said: I have Rachio as well and works very well... Is there a C4 driver for it now? There is. I am happy to help you with it if you would like Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eggzlot Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 my landscape people ran low voltage lighting into a transformer. that transformer is plugged into a C4 outlet switch (not dimmer) and works great. For lawn I use Rachio too. I need it in C4 because its easier for my sprinkler service company to use a T3 by the door to control it vs walking through my entire basement to get to the rachio unit itself (my water stuff is in a far closet on the complete opposite end of the basement) whereas I have a T3 fairly close to the garage door entry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave w Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 By far the BEST landscape lighting integration is the Luxor system by FX Luminaire, you can zone dim and control color with individually addressable fixtures and integration is seamless. If you limit the number of colored fixtures and mix them with non-color ones the cost is also very reasonable. https://www.fxl.com/products msgreenf and C4 User 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 I have Rachio and it works great with C4. As for landscape lighting, I have a volt transformer and use their LED bulbs and lighting with a Lutron RadioRA2 switch (https://www.voltlighting.com/). to turn it on at dusk and off at dawn. Simple and reliable. GregCAMS 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinom Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 5 minutes ago, Gene said: I have Rachio and it works great with C4. As for landscape lighting, I have a volt transformer and use their LED bulbs and lighting with a Lutron RadioRA2 switch (https://www.voltlighting.com/). to turn it on at dusk and off at dawn. Simple and reliable. I was looking into Volt lighting as well. How is the quality? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejn1 Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 18 minutes ago, dinom said: I was looking into Volt lighting as well. How is the quality? I use Vista Pro/LED and have been extremely happy with it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinom Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 Vista Pro looks to be professional install only - true? Volt caters to the DIY crowd, but the quality seems to be better than most in that segment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejn1 Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 3 minutes ago, dinom said: Vista Pro looks to be professional install only - true? Volt caters to the DIY crowd, but the quality seems to be better than most in that segment. You can buy their stuff online and install yourself... I installed most of mine. I've had LED bulbs running now 5 years and still running strong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinom Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 Ok, thanks, I’ll check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejn1 Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 2 minutes ago, dinom said: Ok, thanks, I’ll check it out. I suggest going all LED no matter which brand you choose... I would avoid mix and match standard and LED bulbs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinom Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 Yes, was looking for LED only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekohn00 Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 23 hours ago, eggzlot said: my landscape people ran low voltage lighting into a transformer. that transformer is plugged into a C4 outlet switch (not dimmer) and works great. For lawn I use Rachio too. I need it in C4 because its easier for my sprinkler service company to use a T3 by the door to control it vs walking through my entire basement to get to the rachio unit itself (my water stuff is in a far closet on the complete opposite end of the basement) whereas I have a T3 fairly close to the garage door entry. The beauty of Rachio is your sprinkler service company can access it on their phone. But then again, not all companies figured that out. msgreenf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekohn00 Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 13 hours ago, Dave w said: By far the BEST landscape lighting integration is the Luxor system by FX Luminaire, you can zone dim and control color with individually addressable fixtures and integration is seamless. If you limit the number of colored fixtures and mix them with non-color ones the cost is also very reasonable. https://www.fxl.com/products Definitely.....!!!! But expensive. However, for us...we went with the really cheap controller and a wemo..... (no dim, no color needed). we have 2 controllers (one in back, one in front) that's our zones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eggzlot Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 14 minutes ago, ekohn00 said: The beauty of Rachio is your sprinkler service company can access it on their phone. But then again, not all companies figured that out. Yeah mine can’t. Older guy and tech isn’t his thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 I’ve got the Rachio but haven’t bothered to integrate it with C4...don’t really see the point. The only reason I got the Rachio is I was sick of walking across the yard to the pool equipment where the sprinkler timer is located to turn it off and back on the rare occasion I needed to do so. For landscape lighting, I haven’t completed install of that yet as our trees still aren’t planted (we landscaped in 2020). We’ll do all of our trees in a few months, at which point our guy will place the light fixtures on the line he ran and install the control box. I think it’s the FC Luminaire mentioned above, but now I’m going to go double check. I wasn’t planning to integrate it either as the landscaper said he’d just automate it with sun up and sun down, but thought if I wanted to I’d just use a C4 outlet to cut the power to the unit. msgreenf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejn1 Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 1 minute ago, ILoveC4 said: I’ve got the Rachio but haven’t bothered to integrate it with C4...don’t really see the point. The only reason I got the Rachio is I was sick of walking across the yard to the pool equipment where the sprinkler timer is located to turn it off and back on the rare occasion I needed to do so. For landscape lighting, I haven’t completed install of that yet as our trees still aren’t planted (we landscaped in 2020). We’ll do all of our trees in a few months, at which point our guy will place the light fixtures on the line he ran and install the control box. I think it’s the FC Luminaire mentioned above, but now I’m going to go double check. I wasn’t planning to integrate it either as the landscaper said he’d just automate it with sun up and sun down, but thought if I wanted to I’d just use a C4 outlet to cut the power to the unit. I just use a KASA outlet plug for ~$10... Works perfect and complete control from their app or you can buy the C4 driver... msgreenf and evil0ne 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 On 1/4/2021 at 7:19 PM, dinom said: I was looking into Volt lighting as well. How is the quality? I have the all brass fixtures and love them. A lot of options too. Easy install. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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