C4 light switches

[Zbee]

Remodeled our house and upgraded our C4 system including all new wall switches. The mechanical quality of these switches that cost $100+ is worse than a cheap switch from a bargain basement electrical supply house. I know they have wireless electronics, etc. beyond a conventional $5 on-off switch, but those additional electronics are fairly inexpensive these days. Is this standard for these pricey C4 switches or did I just get a bad batch?

[Andrew luecke]

14 minutes ago, Zbee said:

Remodeled our house and upgraded our C4 system including all new wall switches. The mechanical quality of these switches that cost $100+ is worse than a cheap switch from a bargain basement electrical supply house. I know they have wireless electronics, etc. beyond a conventional $5 on-off switch, but those additional electronics are fairly inexpensive these days. Is this standard for these pricey C4 switches or did I just get a bad batch?

You'd have to be more specific by what you mean by "mechanical quality"? When I was an installer, we really didn't have a huge amount of failures in the field.

[Zbee]

As I said, poor quality rather than outright failure. Some move only slightly in the off direction with longer action for on, Others are the opposite. Some are evenly balanced. The general mechanical feel of these switches is crappy. My contractor thought they were so poor that he said he will only specify Lutron switches in the future.  

[Andrew luecke]

20 minutes ago, Zbee said:

As I said, poor quality rather than outright failure. Some move only slightly in the off direction with longer action for on, Others are the opposite. Some are evenly balanced. The general mechanical feel of these switches is crappy. My contractor thought they were so poor that he said he will only specify Lutron switches in the future.  

Which model C4 switches were they using?  C4 has a huge range..

Also, don't forget that these are basically "software" switches. They trigger an internal relay, so will feel different to a normal momentary switch. Were they configurable keypads or something else??   

Also, has the contractor never used C4 keypads before? Or was this a standard electrician installing on behalf of someone else?  

[Zbee]

I think they are these: Control4® Wireless Switch, 120V/277V—C4-SW12027

They have 2 'waves' on the surface and two small LED lights. I don't remember the cost, but my recollection is north of $100 per switch. I also have a number of other C4 switch types of various sizes and number per 'gang', but these are the basic model everywhere.

[Andrew luecke]

14 hours ago, Zbee said:

I think they are these: Control4® Wireless Switch, 120V/277V—C4-SW12027

They have 2 'waves' on the surface and two small LED lights. I don't remember the cost, but my recollection is north of $100 per switch. I also have a number of other C4 switch types of various sizes and number per 'gang', but these are the basic model everywhere.

..  To be brutally honest, I'm not sure how professional the electrician is either (anyone who is a Control4 dealer surely would have had experience with the keypads during training), but if he can't sell C4 gear, that would be further incentive for him to actively try to discourage it's use.

 

(Removed info which was based on essential line. Which this is apparently not

[RAV]

Something odd.....

Essentials only have 1 LED.

Might take a wall plate off, might be pinching the button.

[Zbee]

That model number shows 2 LEDs on the C4 website

 

[Matt Lowe]

sounds like your installer did not make appropriate room in the electrical boxes. Alot of electricians like to just shove everything in a box and use an impact to screw the switch down pushing everything to its limits. When this happens the frame of the switch can be distorted and not work correctly. Also if the plates are not aligned in a multi gang box the wall plate pressing against the switch will cause the same issue. Using the screwless faceplates from c4 can greatly improve placement accuracy if they are not skilled enough to fit standard plates correctly. If they are installed correctly I have only seen very consistent action from the switches. I will say the essential line has a much better two button rocker actions and i hope that its tech can be applied to the rest of the decora line some day.

 

[Andrew luecke]

4 hours ago, Zbee said:

That model number shows 2 LEDs on the C4 webs

 

 

4 hours ago, Zbee said:

That model number shows 2 LEDs on the C4 website

 

Actually, you're correct. I saw the wrong code (didn't realize the essential codes were so similar).

Matt is most likely correct. Like I said, I've never used the essential line, but I personally didn't have much trouble with their lighting gear 

 

[Cyknight]

7 hours ago, Matt Lowe said:

and use an impact to screw the switch down

Oh the horror every time I see this...

 

[Zbee]

12 hours ago, Matt Lowe said:

sounds like your installer did not make appropriate room in the electrical boxes. Alot of electricians like to just shove everything in a box and use an impact to screw the switch down pushing everything to its limits. When this happens the frame of the switch can be distorted and not work correctly. Also if the plates are not aligned in a multi gang box the wall plate pressing against the switch will cause the same issue. Using the screwless faceplates from c4 can greatly improve placement accuracy if they are not skilled enough to fit standard plates correctly. If they are installed correctly I have only seen very consistent action from the switches. I will say the essential line has a much better two button rocker actions and i hope that its tech can be applied to the rest of the decora line some day.

 

Thanks, I'll check that.  Very helpful and much appreciated!