A recent new construction project we came across had a lighting system installed by unqualified individuals, in a way that was sure to cause problems. In fact, the problems occurred from the moment power was turned on, well before the project was completed. These individuals had committed the first sin of lighting control—they installed all of the dimmers in the basement and attic, and just installed a single multi-button keypad in each room.
The goal was clearly to prevent “wall acne” where rooms have several unsightly light switches or dimmers in long rows or sprouting randomly on the wall surfaces. Sure, the single keypad is a clean look, but won’t work in this design. Immediately, the various rooms were unresponsive. Signal repeaters were installed to attempt to correct the problem, but the individuals did not know that that would not solve the problem either.
Now there is a bigger problem—there was no wiring installed to allow dimmers to be installed in the rooms, so a centralized lighting system is required in the basement and attic. Really, that was the proper way to proceed from the start. The homeowner will be paying twice.
A systems integrator would have been the better choice to design an automated lighting system that was reliable and economical.
