UPB

[xclusive]

I have some recessed lights I'm putting in outside on some columns and want to know what is the simpliest way I can get started with UPB.  These lights will be tied into my porch light switch and I would like to be able to control them on and off.  These will be be in sync with my other landscape lights that run off my low voltage transformer.
 
Thanks!

 

[Desert_AIP]

Do you want to be able to control them separately from the porch lights?
 
What is the total wattage of lights you want to control?
 
Do you have a controller; HAI, Elk, UPB Timer? 
 
Do you want them timed?  Tripped by a photo sensor?  Manually operated?

 

[tmbrown97]

The first step is generally to replace the porch light switch with a UPB switch, unless you're trying to do something tricky like split out the switch... If it's wired into a different circuit but you want it controlled by that switch, that's entirely possible too using Links.
 
With Landscape lights, often times there's a place inside where you can mount a timer - well it turns out a UPB Appliance module fits in there too, so you can get your landscape lights on UPB control pretty easily - even if you don't have that, you can usually use one outside the transformer to power the transformer as a whole.
 
Once everything is on UPB control, it doesn't matter much how it's wired - you have a lot of flexibility in how the switch works - you can use a single rocker that controls the local load and sends links, or an example of my back yard - single rocker is wired to my porch light, but if I double-tap that switch off/on it also controls my landscape lights.  An alternative could've (and will someday) be to put a US240 in there so I can have a half-rocker for the main lights, then separate rockers or buttons for the side yard lights and the landscape lights all separate.  UPB is very flexible.

 

[xclusive]

Thanks for the responses, sorry...I should have given more information.  I have 3 switches at my front door which control front flood lights, front porch light & foyer light.  I am not a fan of the floor lights on the front of the house so what I would like to do is tap into the line that controls the flood lights and hook up 5 recessed lights to go in my soffitt across the front of the house.  The lights are low voltage 3in recessed cans with an onboard transformer and each will have a 3 watt led light.  What I would like to do is have that circuit come on at night (timed) with only the recessed cans lights on while the flood lights are on motion sensors.  I am looking for the easiest way possible to do this as a stand alone since I don't have a ELK or HAI system yet.  The other landscape lighting is connected to my low voltage transformer in the garage and they are on a simple outlet timer for now I got from Wally World.  I wouldn't mind having control of those thru possibly an appliance timer as well.
 
Anymore suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
Thanks!

 

[pete_c]

I am looking for the easiest way possible to do this as a stand alone

 
I have recently migrated all of my outdoor LED lamps to 12VDC Meanwell DIN mounted DC transformers.  I am not dimming any of the LED lamps at this time.  I do though have the DIN mounted Meanwell DC transformers all connected to one UPB relay switch on a schedule or per an event on the automation side of things (either hardware HAI OPII or software Homeseer) and they are working fine.
 
You can take this to the individual 12VDC DIN tranformer switching by mixing in a low voltage solenoid managed by a HV switch (UPB) or you can use a wireless LV switch and DIY the remote for it connecting it to say a UPB switch or a direct output to a LV switch from the panel.   These switches are very reasonably priced these days.
 
My exterior motion sensors are wired to the security panel.  On the security panel are events and triggers for the lighting based on motion triggers.
 
You could probably DIY the 120VAC combo motion and nightime sensor that comes with a floodlamp; that said they are cheap junk these days and you could just buy one and play with it safely before using it.
 
Yup; here in our subdivision exterior floods are banned due to HOA rules.  That said security floods probably wouldn't be banned. 
 
Many folks have installed exterior lighting which basically just small mini LV halogen flood lamps angled down which are really not too discrete and are a real PITA to replace bulbs if they happen to be mounted way up hight.  (one reason to go with LED's).
 
Just in retrospect; remembered that some places in Colorado were pushing the green thing with no exterior lighting anywhere at night. 
 
Personally this though did cause me issues driving at night on a mountain road while there was a blizzard/ice storm going on. (btw not really recommended anyways).

 

[JonW]

Unless you have easy access to the circuit that is at your front door in order to re-purpose it, I would just run a new circuit for the recessed lights with their own switch somewhere else.  You can then use the switch location at the entry to put a UPB switch that can trigger the remote switch via a UPB link.  Likewise, your landscape lighting can be controlled via the link as well.  Alternatively, you could use the entry switch location to put in a multi-button keypad to set various outside scenes if you wanted.
 
You can program the timed events in a stand-alone timer like this: http://www.smarthome.com/22202/Web-Mountain-Technologies-TIM-01-Gen2-UPB-Timer-Scheduler/p.aspx

 

[az1324]

I am looking for the easiest way possible to do this as a stand alone since I don't have a ELK or HAI system yet.

Just get one of those switches with built in timer: http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-Econoswitch-RPLS740B-Programmable-Switch/dp/B004AP92N2/

Then it will power on the cans via timer. The power will also go to the motion sensor but naturally the flood light wouldn't come on unless motion was sensed.

Then when you get a control system you can replace it with something like UPB.

 

[az1324]

Unless you have easy access to the circuit that is at your front door in order to re-purpose it, I would just run a new circuit for the recessed lights with their own switch somewhere else.

I'm sure he intends to tap into it at the flood fixture which is most likely near where the cans are going to be installed. So that would be much easier than trying to run a new circuit.

 

[JonW]

I'm sure he intends to tap into it at the flood fixture which is most likely near where the cans are going to be installed. So that would be much easier than trying to run a new circuit.

Flood lights = ground level.  Unless he wants the wiring traversing up the side of the house somewhere, he needs to pull the power either from the existing switch or run something new.  Quite often a soffit area is easy to run new wiring to.

 

[az1324]

Flood lights = ground level.  Unless he wants the wiring traversing up the side of the house somewhere, he needs to pull the power either from the existing switch or run something new.  Quite often a soffit area is easy to run new wiring to.

Ground level flood lights with a motion sensor? That is unusual. I don't see anywhere that he says they are landscape floods and not overhead floods. But maybe you're right.

 

[pete_c]

Just last week I was looking for a digital timer and went to the local big box store.  I saw the older mechanical ones still there priced from about $60-100.00
 
They also had the in the gang box ones as pictured above for a bit more than the Amazon price.  I ended up purchasing a small 15 AMP digital LCD timer for some $15.00.  What was nice about it is that it had a sunrise / sunset feature and a hard set time schedule feature on it.
 
Easiest and cheapest would be using what you already have and just adding a timer; as stated above.
 

simpliest way I can get started with UPB

 
You would need some methodology of automating the UPB switch.  The switch does work by itself like a regular switch and you can remote controll it with the UPB Upstart program. You can't run the scheduling though with the UPB Upstart program.  The switch is pretty smart though and the UPB upstart program does offer some nice diagnostics. 

 

[JonW]

Ground level flood lights with a motion sensor? That is unusual. I don't see anywhere that he says they are landscape floods and not overhead floods. But maybe you're right.

He said "I am not a fan of the floor lights on the front of the house".... I took that to mean they were floor level floods pointing up at the side of the house.  Possibly he just meant "flood" and not "floor".  Guess they could be overhead floods.

 

[az1324]

He said "I am not a fan of the floor lights on the front of the house".... I took that to mean they were floor level floods pointing up at the side of the house.  Possibly he just meant "flood" and not "floor".  Guess they could be overhead floods.

Yes I took it as a typo. Who knows.

 

[pete_c]

Relating to spots here I use tiny single 1 watt LED narrow spots beams behind the bushes point up.  They look ok and they utilize only one watt.   You don't really see the light unless you go right over the lamp; but you really can't behind the bushes.
 
The neighbor redid all of his outdoor landscaping; new lamps, transformers, wires et al using incandescent lighting (halogen and just regular bulbs) about two years ago.
 
He put a few on the second floor soffits in cans facing down.  Actually on every side of the house and lower soffits.  Not sure if its related to a temperature difference or similar but he has been replacing his lamps (halogen failing) every few months.  It is a pita because the LV halogen (guess) lighting facing down is on the second floor.  Could be an issue with the quality of the halogen bulb.  Another issue though was that the transformer(s) were blowing the breakers all of the time and that too could have shortened the life of the halogen bulbs.
 
There are other homes in the area that use regular 120VAC lighting in a similiar fashion under the soffits facing down (1st floor level and 2nd floor soffit level) and I have not seen these having to be replaced every few months (or going out).

 

[xclusive]

Thanks for all the responses so far and sorry for the typo. I did mean to say they are floodlights and they are on the corners of the house.  I was going to tap into the flood lights (which would be easier for me than running a new line) on the corner of the house for the recessed can lights.  Since I don't have a controller it looks like the most economical way to run them would be the switched timer as stated above.
 
My next dilmea was that I wanted the cans to come on when it gets dark which would in turn power up the floods which would only come on with motion.  My intentions then was to have the cans and all the landscape lights turn off around midnight.  This is where my problem arises now because if the cans turn off, that would cut the power to the floods also which were on motion so thats not a good option for me.
 
If I go back to upb is there a simple way to split lights on the same circuit where I could have the cans turn off at midnight and the flood lights still have power?  If so that would be great, if not then back to drawaing board to figure out how to wire these lights (another one of my simple projects which was suppose to take a weekend, taking up more time as usual