Now that I have received some good answers to my remote speaker switching, I have another question.

In my theater room, I would like to be able to control the lights remotely. I am aware of the Lutron Spacer system and think that will work for my needs. There is a potential shortcoming (I think) but am not sure. Looking for some help.

Situation

As I walk down the stairs there is a 3 way Lutron dimming switch that lights up five 75 watt sconce fixtures. These sconces are situated so that I can light anywhere in the basement with this one switch. In the theater room, there is a 4-way on/off switch that also operates these sconce fixtures. Finally, coming in from the outside to the lower level is yet another switch (3 way ) to turn on/off the sconce fixtures.

In the theater room is another three way switch (in the same box as the on/off sconce switch) that dims 4 recess light fixtures. This paragraph is only for informational purposes - don't think it comes into play here.

Ideal Set-up

Walk down the stairs and flip on the sconce lights. Walk into the theater room. Pick-up the remote control and hit a button that switches everything on. Insert dvd and hit play. As I hit play, the sconce lights slowly fade to off. Hit pause, and the sconce lights come on to light the way to the bathroom. Hit play, and the lights slowly dim to off again. Hit stop, lights come up to light way out of room. Flip switch near the stairs to turn off sconces.

I think this scenario would work for me 90% of the time. The other 10% would involve the use of the 4 recessed fixtures that I may want to somehow control seperately from the sconces.

Dilemma

I have been told that I cannot put a spacer ir dimmer into the the 4-way switch. This is not good as my remote eye is located right near this switch. This way, I can point the remote in one direction and have everything work. My TV sits straight in front of me and the ir eye and light switch are about 30-45 degrees off center to the right.

Questions

1. Is this true about the 4 way not being able to be replaced with a spacer ir dimmer?

2. Can I replace the 3 way on/off switch in the dimming circuit near the lower level outside door with the ir spacer dimmer instead of the 4 way? Then use the accessory dimmers to replace the 4-way in the theater room and the 3-way near the stairs.

3. If I do #2, do typical universal remotes spread their ir beam wide enough? Worst case would be 45 degrees in each direction from the center line between me and the TV.

4. Do I need to buy the Lutron remote with the dimmers of can I pick-up the codes here or elsewhere? I have a Harmony SST-768 due to arrive this Thursday.

5. Would the 600W dimmer be enough? 5 X 75 only comes to 375 Watts but I don't know if you need to figure something else into the equation.

If I have left off some important piece of info, let me know.

Thanks again for the help, it truly is appreciated.

Mark

Have you tried asking Lutron, they have a very helpful customer support staff. You'll need to know a bit about the way the 3 and 4 way switches were wired (there's more than 1) to answer the first two questions. #3 depends on the remote, the Harmony has a fairly good spread, 45 degrees is alot. #4 codes are available in many formats, Harmony will be able to tell you if they have them. #5 If the loads are incandescent, then the equation is correct, other loads have different factors

jcmitch

[Link: lutron.com]

I believe you can use Lutron spacer system dimmers in 3 or 4 way situations. You put the dimmer in the theater room and accessory dimmers in the other locations. (SPS-AD-WH). These dimmers never turn the power off entirely like a switch, therefore it is essential that your "travellers" between switches are not crossed. Consult an electrician for installation. I would definitely use the 1000W dimmers. They are only slightly more expensive and they give you extra capacity in the event someone puts 100W bulbs in the fixtures. Also, if the dimmers are ganged with other switches you have to break off some of the heat sink tabs on the sides of the dimmer which reduces the capacity. (Known as derating). I would definitely consult Lutron Techical Support before installing any dimmers.

i have a customer with some Lutron equipment...

The best way to do this is with a central dimmer, and programmable switches where you now have 3 and 4 way switches... They have 4 buttons for 4 different scenes on them...

Also, if you use an infrared repeater system, you don't have to worry about where your remote is pointed...