what’s the simplest way to achieve remote control of a single light switch in my house?
Well, with Gold Interactive service you can simply add a Z-wave light to your alarm panel Z-wave network and control the light through the Alarm.com app.
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If you do not wish to use Gold Interactive, the easiest way would probably be a Wifi enabled light that doesn’t need a hub to control it. They are widely available. I don’t have any recommendations, but here is an example.
i’d like to remote control exterior lights that are controlled by a switch indoors. i assume the z-wave solution requires replacing the actual light fixture, rather than just the switch?
going a step farther: is there a way to make these exterior lights turn on with a motion detector mounted outside (ideally only if it is dark outside), and still allow manual control of the lights as well via the light switch inside?
thanks
i’d like to remote control exterior lights that are controlled by a switch indoors. i assume the z-wave solution requires replacing the actual light fixture, rather than just the switch?
Both Z-wave bulbs and Z-wave switches are common. You can find Z-wave switches at local hardware stores. You can find other models online, though I’ve always had good results from GE models.
going a step farther: is there a way to make these exterior lights turn on with a motion detector mounted outside (ideally only if it is dark outside), and still allow manual control of the lights as well via the light switch inside?
If you want to do it with a motion detector associated with the alarm system, you would need a compatible outdoor motion detector like the Honeywell 5800PIR-OD.
You could set up a rule in Alarm.com so that the Z-wave lights turn on when the motion detector activates and stipulate it would happen only after sunset.
Note this would require solid wireless communication between the sensor and the panel, and between the Switch and the panel.
Would the motion detector know to turn on the lights by detection of the ambient light level, or by the time of day as specified by the user?
Can this motion detection plus manual control setup work without association with the alarm system if that’s not something that is needed?
Thanks
In the case I described it would be time of day.
If you want to go by light level itself you would need a photocell sensor to allow the voltage through or cut off based on light. This would not have any integration with ADC in any way, just added to the circuit.
Can this motion detection plus manual control setup work without association with the alarm system if that’s not something that is needed?
Yes, in fact, based on what you are asking it is probably better to just use a line-voltage motion sensor/photocell device. We do not sell or support such devices, but you can find more info by searching “outdoor security lighting motion sensor with photocell” or something similar.