help for lighting control

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londonw4
Posts: 2
Joined: 01 Nov 2017 12:23

help for lighting control

Post by londonw4 »

Morning
I like to start a project and for the 1st step I would like to control 1 room starting with lighting

easy you can say but I would like to keep the actual switch
http://cdn.toolstation.com/images/14102 ... /87420.jpg

I am struggling to find what to use
thanks for you help and idea ( sorry I am a bit a dummy ) with this
Provo
Posts: 112
Joined: 19 Oct 2016 19:54

Re: help for lighting control

Post by Provo »

That's too little information, really. But from a reverse google image search, it seems like what you have is a "normal" dimmer. Most such dimmers function in a way that makes the amount of dimming dependent on the physical rotational position of the knob. (More in depth, they use a mechanical potentiometer which together with a few other components generate a control current to a thyristor which starts conducting when that control current is above some threshold, and since the control current is proportional to the mains voltage at any given point, it cuts off part of the mains sinus.)

Getting this to work would probably require a pretty major disection of the internals of the dimmer. Basically you would either have to hack in some kind of servo motor control of the knob, or remove the internals completely and make your own internal circuit translating the relative movement of the knob (no longer restricted to the mechanics of the potentiometer) to a control signal for an existing z-wave dimmer module, emulating some kind of switch press. Both require a somewhat extensive knowledge of electronics and solid DIY-skills.
londonw4
Posts: 2
Joined: 01 Nov 2017 12:23

Re: help for lighting control

Post by londonw4 »

@ provo
thanks for your reply. then realistically or I add a module on/off or I change the switch for a z wave !
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