Why you should pay attention to the wireless version of lamps

06/30/2016 master

Today you can create high-quality lighting in any room using a wide variety of lighting devices. Their assortment is so large that many are slightly confused by such diversity. Recently, in the world, an increasing emphasis in matters of indoor lighting has been placed on modern wireless models of lamps.

Trends towards simplification and increased comfort have been observed for a long time. But not everyone knows how to equip their home with modern technologies for greater comfort for a relatively small fee. Devices such as wireless lighting, especially those equipped with motion sensors, will help you get closer to the futurological dream of a smart home system. Today’s article will tell you how to organize lighting in your home using such lamps.

Wireless is better

When creating lighting on the street or at home, you need to think through a lot, since a person’s health and comfort depend on how well the light was organized. A number of parameters need to be taken into account:

• placement of lighting fixtures;
• their degree of protection from moisture, as well as wiring protection;
• level of outgoing luminous flux. Its standards for each residential and non-residential premises are prescribed in SNiP;
• protection from mechanical damage.

Room lighting

Sensor switch

By using products such as wireless lighting, you avoid many problems. The peculiarity of such lamps is that they do not have the usual wires and operate on batteries. As a result, there is no need for wiring if you decide to install an additional light source. Such a lamp will work independently of the electrical network, i.e. offline. This type of lighting is controlled in two ways:

• using a remote control;
• using the touch switch.

Such control options are very convenient and allow you to make the lighting system as close as possible to “smart light”. The most convenient is a wireless lighting device with a motion sensor, since in such a situation the light will turn on or off automatically as soon as a person appears in the area controlled by the device.

Optical expansion of balconies

Increasing the luminous flux near any of the walls will help to optically expand the balcony space Place the light source closer to the wall and your narrow balcony will seem more spacious. Spotlights built into the floor will visually raise the ceiling of the balcony. When combined with ceiling lights, they create a fun combination of indirect and direct light.

If you opt for recessed floor lamps, then choose cool-down 12-volt LED lamps with a step-down transformer.

For recreation areas, LED ceiling lighting around the perimeter with adjustable light brightness is more suitable.

Wall lights

On open balconies it is better to use façade lamps adapted for outdoor conditions - they are not afraid of humidity, heat or frost. However, it is not recommended to place them under direct exposure to rain and sun. At the same , balcony lamps in any case must be waterproof - regardless of whether the balcony is closed or open.

Great opportunities for simulating increased balcony space are provided by spots - rotating lamps . They can be installed both on the walls and on the ceiling, and in some cases even on the floor. The play of shadow and light creates the most unpredictable effects in the perception of space, increasing not only the area of ​​the balcony or loggia, but also the room as a whole.

Advantages and disadvantages

Installed device

Among all the variety of lamps at the moment, wireless models are very popular. This is due to the following advantages that can be obtained from their use:

• autonomous operation - on batteries, which can be replaced with more profitable batteries;

Note! The average operating life of a wireless lighting device depends on the capacity of the battery (battery) and is approximately one year.

• simple installation, which avoids such labor-intensive processes as wiring, installing additional sockets, etc. In this case, the installation is carried out cleanly, without dirt and dust, in just a couple of minutes. All you need here is double-sided tape and a couple of screws;
• affordable price;
• the possibility of purchasing lamps that are additionally equipped with a motion sensor;
• Possibility of installation anywhere (outdoors, at home, in closets, swimming pools, etc.).

Wireless lamps are also good because they have small dimensions and weight, which allows them to be mounted on almost any surface. At the same time, they can illuminate a sufficient area with soft and diffused light.

Note! The best option would be a wireless LED lamp with a motion sensor, which consumes minimal energy and is absolutely harmless to human health.

That is why such lighting products are becoming more and more popular every year. But, despite such positive characteristics, there are still some disadvantages that you should be aware of when purchasing wireless lamps. The disadvantages here include:

• Battery operated. On the one hand, the operation of battery-powered lamps is an advantage, but on the other hand, it is a disadvantage. This is due to the fact that they need to be changed periodically, and to do this you must remove the lamp to get to the battery compartment;
• the use in the manufacture of such lamps of materials that are not always natural. This must be taken into account when placing devices near heated devices.

As you can see, there are only two disadvantages here and they are lost in a number of advantages that can be obtained when installed in the house or on the street.

Field of application of the wireless switch

It happens that one or more switches are located inconveniently and it would be great to move them to another place. Or you need to turn the lights on and off from two or more different points in your apartment or house. Everything would be fine, but installing wiring along concrete and stone walls is a long, difficult and expensive process, and in a wooden country cottage it is completely unrealistic.

But there is a way out, simple, modern and quite affordable, no more than 1000 rubles. But the main thing is that all the work on installing the kit will not last more than 30 minutes. In this case, you won’t need a meter of wire or the help of a professional electrician. And you don’t need to pay any fines.

A wireless or radio switch will help organize this miracle.

Through and cross switches

Pass-through switches are very convenient in lighting schemes for long corridors and flights of stairs in office buildings and entrances of residential buildings. It is very convenient to turn on the light at the entrance to the corridor or on the first floor of a flight of stairs, proceed to your office or go up to your floor and turn off the light when you are near your apartment or office.

This scheme allows you to seriously save energy. However, to implement it, it will be necessary to carry out a large amount of construction and electrical installation work and replace standard serial key blocks with special ones - pass-through ones, characterized by a large number of contacts.

The use of cross switches makes it possible to control lighting from three (or more) different points in the room.

The principle is the same as for pass-through devices. The difference is as follows:

1. There are no special crossover key blocks. Conventional devices are used as crossovers.
2. Cross switches are used in circuits only in conjunction with pass-through switches.

This is convenient in large apartments or country houses, and in ordinary two-room apartments too. Imagine that you went to bed with the intention of reading a board book before bed, turned on the night light, but forgot to turn off the overhead light. Usually, in such a situation, you will have to get up, turn off the light and go back to bed. With the cross switch located next to the bed, there is no need to go anywhere. We lay down, turned on the night light, turned off the overhead light and that’s it!

This is great, but the amount of construction and installation work, the installation of hidden wiring and its sealing will turn anyone away from such ideas, as in the case of a pass-through circuit. The advent of wireless lighting control has simplified these tasks so much that the implementation of through and cross circuits has become the most popular in modern residential construction, especially in individual projects.

Smart switches

Another type of wireless devices. Used in smart home systems. Their installation does not require construction work or wiring. The fundamental difference is that its use requires constant access to the Internet, a smart home system controller (gateway) and smart light bulbs. Communication between the control device and the lighting device is carried out via Wi-Fi, ZigBee, Z-Wave. The use of smart circuits allows the user to configure the operation of lighting fixtures according to various scenarios:

1. Turning on and off the light from the motion sensor;
2. Turning on street lighting at a certain time (for country houses);
3. Adjustment of light intensity depending on the time of day.

There are many options for smart lighting. The most common ones are listed here.

How radio switches work

The simplest kit includes two electrical installation units: a keypad and a power radio module.

The first one acts in this pair as a radio transmitter, the signal of which is received by the receiver - the radio module. Communication is carried out at frequencies of 315 and 433.92 MHz.

Interesting! The 433.92 MHz radio channel is used for remote control of garage doors, barriers, and activation of car alarms. Remote control key fobs, which are used in this case, can also be used in lighting circuits as a portable control device.

For the circuit to work, you need to connect the radio module to the voltage supply wires to the lamp. On its board there are two groups of contact terminals, with two and with three contact terminals - input and output.

To make it easier for the user to navigate when assembling the circuit, the terminals are labeled. On one side of the module there are two terminals labeled “input”. This is the entrance. Two power wires, neutral and phase, from the existing distribution box are connected here. On the other side of the module board there are three contact terminals. The two extreme ones are the way out. From here two wires are connected to the lamp socket. The dimensions of the radio module (width, depth and height) do not exceed the size of a matchbox and can be easily hidden in the lamp body. That's the whole installation.

In addition to the input/output terminals and other electronics, the board contains a 5 A fuse and a central button used to configure the system. How to connect the radio module to the lighting device is described in detail in the product instructions

The lighting control unit (let's call it that) can be installed in any place convenient for you, at a distance not exceeding the operating radius of the device. Depending on the chosen model, this distance ranges from 25 to 100 m. The block with keys can be attached with self-tapping screws to the wall or with double-sided tape on any smooth surface: window glass, facing tiles, the outer wall of the refrigerator, etc.

Under the key there is a board with an antenna and a central power button, a battery and an LED indicating that the transmitter is bound to the radio module.

The type of battery may vary. Most often it is 27A12V. Its minimum working life is at least two years. In addition to the central button, there are free spaces on the board for mounting two more buttons. If desired, you can replace one key with two or three.

How to bind a wireless keypad to a radio module

In order for the control unit to start functioning, it must be programmed (linked to the radio module). This is done as follows:

1. Find and press the center button of the radio module.
2. Wait until the LED on the key blinks.
3. Without releasing the radio module button, smoothly press the transmitter button. At the same time, a characteristic click of the triggered relay will be heard.
4. Wait until the LED lights up continuously without blinking.

The setup is complete. If necessary, you can program the device. To do this, just press the radio module setup button and hold it pressed for 5 seconds. When the LED starts blinking, the operation is complete

Criteria for selecting wireless switches

In terms of design and principle of operation, products from different manufacturers are almost identical. They are distinguished by certain parameters.

By type of control

There are three main types of switches: key, touch and remote. Keyboard - a traditional single-pole control unit with one, two or three keys. Turning the light on and off is done by pressing a key.

Touch control units are those in which the keys are replaced by a touch panel. To turn the light bulb on or off, simply touch a specific icon on the panel with your finger.

The remote type requires the presence of a remote control (or key fob).

By the presence of a dimmer

A regular unit can either turn the light on or off. Using a special device - a dimmer, the intensity of the light flux can be controlled by rotating the rotary handle on the device panel clockwise to increase it, or in the opposite direction to decrease it.

By number of control channels

One channel is the simplest circuit, consisting of one key block controlling one source. Two and three-key units make it possible to control two and three lighting fixtures located in different rooms.

Using the remote control you can organize the control of four, six and eight devices.

By price

The choice of a certain type of product directly depends on how much it costs. Inexpensive products most often cannot boast of a rich set of functions. Their task is to turn the lamp on and off. Multi-channel kits, with a built-in microgenerator, the ability to be integrated into a smart home system, and with a dimmer function - cost several times more.

By material

Most often, the case and keys are made of plastic. The frames of hidden switches can be plastic or metal in premium models. The plastic surface of the product is often glossy. Combinations are possible: glossy surface of the key and matte surface of the keys.

When choosing a radio control unit for lighting devices, you should determine for yourself the type of application, the number of lamps you want to connect to it, and whether regulation of the lighting intensity is required. A separate topic is the use of a smart switch. Setting it up and developing scenarios for its use is more complex than just connecting a wireless unit. But the wide range of possibilities for controlling home lighting devices is worth it.

What else should you pay attention to?

1. The range of the device. Budget kits work without failure when the distance between the control unit and the receiver does not exceed 30 meters.
2. More “long-range” products can be located within a radius of 100 meters or more from the receiver (lamp). The most advanced ones control the light at a distance of 250 m. These are especially useful when organizing outdoor lighting in a suburban area.
3. The range of the device is significantly reduced if there are brick and reinforced concrete walls between the transmitter and receiver. To neutralize their negative impact, repeaters should be used to increase the signal transmission range.
4. When deciding on an acceptable price, remember that the simpler the product, the less it costs. “Long-range” modules with extensive functionality are always more expensive.
5. Most car alarms, gate openers and barriers operate on the 433 MHz radio frequency. By purchasing a model with such a “noisy” operating frequency, you also acquire some problems. The number of circuit failures increases due to numerous interferences. To overcome them, the radio signal must be more powerful, and this reduces the battery life. The range of the product at this frequency does not exceed 30 m. Modules with an operating frequency of 868 MHz lack all this. The service life of batteries in such devices is many times longer, electricity consumption is significantly lower, and the operating range is 200 m or more.
6. A number of manufacturers produce products that operate without batteries. In the housing of the control unit, under the key, there is a microgenerator that converts the mechanical energy of pressing the key into electrical energy in an amount sufficient to generate a radio signal at the operating frequency of the radio module. Such devices relieve the user of the need to buy and promptly change batteries.
7. When purchasing a wireless kit, pay attention to the manufacturer's warranty. If the warranty period does not exceed one year, the manufacturer allows for the possibility of breakdowns after 12 months of product operation. Whether it is worth purchasing such a model is up to the buyer to decide. It is better to opt for products with a warranty period of 3 years.

Which company is the best product to buy?

There are a lot of suppliers of such equipment on the market. Which model should you choose? Of course, from well-known companies. As mentioned earlier, all wireless units are structurally similar to each other. The difference is expressed by the presence or absence of detailed functionality of the product. The simplest and most inexpensive radio control kits for lighting devices come to our market from China:

1. ZDK Z-Light. Its products are equipped with a built-in mini generator that converts mechanical energy when pressing a key into radio signal electricity. The company's devices operate without batteries. The warranty period does not exceed one year.
2. Agara. Lighting control units of this brand are used in the smart home system of the Xiaomi ecosystem. Users give the best reviews about the products of this manufacturer.
3. Feron is a Russian development with production in China. Simple budget products enjoy a good reputation among buyers.

One of the oldest companies in the electrical products market is the French company Legrand. Its products are distinguished by wide functionality, stylish design, high quality and price. These are premium models.

The Polish company Zamel, a supplier of advanced wireless switches, with a range of at least 200 m, the ability to configure five lighting control modes and many other useful characteristics. In demand among demanding customers.

The Belarusian company Nootekhnika produces electrical products Noolite. Its products are distinguished by innovative solutions, wide functionality and affordable prices.

The best manufacturers in Russia

1. Gritt Elegance produces popular models of kinetic control modules (with a built-in microgenerator), operating frequency of 868 MHz and range of 250 m.
2. Hite Pro. The wireless control units of this company are powered by one battery for at least 7 years. The manufacturer guarantees flawless operation of the device for 3 years, at a frequency of 868 MHz with a range of 250 m.
3. Delumo. It also guarantees the proper operation of its products for three years. The operating frequency and range are the same as the Hite Pro. Uses CR2032 batteries for its devices.

Listing all the companies whose models are undoubtedly popular will take a lot of time. Before purchasing, listen to the recommendations and advice of experienced users and experts from various online stores, carefully read the descriptions of devices on online store websites and make your choice. Having found out what types of radio lighting control modules there are and familiarized ourselves with their features, let’s move on to our review, which presents some popular models.

Where are they used?

Due to their advantages, wireless lighting devices are widely used for various purposes:

• home lighting;
• illumination of the interior space of cabinets and wall-mounted kitchen units;
• use as night lights or night lighting for home premises;
• pool lighting. There are models that are able to float on the surface of the water, creating a very beautiful and romantic backlight;

Floating pool lighting

• lighting of shopping centers, counters and shop windows;
• illumination of industrial facilities for various purposes;
• lighting of streets, landscapes and building facades;
• lighting of dark places that are quite problematic to illuminate: attics, basements, garages, etc.

As you can see, the scope of application of wireless lighting devices is quite extensive. When choosing battery-powered lamps, you should take into account the place of work and the purpose of the device. This will allow you to buy a wireless lamp that will serve well throughout the entire period of its operation.

Variety of choices

Ceiling model

At this point in time, wireless lighting devices are divided into several types:

• ceiling Designed for ceiling installation. Due to their light weight and size, such devices can be easily installed on suspended stretch and plasterboard ceilings;
• wall-mounted This type of lamp is used most often, since a vertical surface is much easier to find than a horizontal one;

Wall model

• desktop These are portable models that can easily change their location. They are often used to create decorative lighting or as a night light in a children's room.

Tabletop model

In addition, wireless lamps, depending on the installation location and purpose, are divided into two large groups:

• internal. Installed in the house. They have a low moisture resistance class and are not able to function outdoors for a long time;
• external. Such devices are designed to create street lighting. They, on the contrary, have a high level of moisture resistance and are able to function without problems in various climatic conditions.

When choosing wireless lamps, you should definitely pay attention to the degree of protection from moisture, since the duration of operation of the device directly depends on this. In addition, battery-powered lighting products come with or without a motion sensor.

Models with motion sensors allow you to automate the operation of lamps, without a remote control or touch switch.

Here, the light turns on only when the sensor sensor detects movement in the controlled area. To minimize the risk of false alarms, fine tuning of the built-in motion sensor is necessary.

Some tips for choosing a product

There are a huge number of wireless lighting devices; when choosing them, you should pay attention to several key points:

When organizing lighting for a living space, it is recommended to install several wall and ceiling lamps of medium power; if one of them discharges, the lighting will be supported by other lamps.

For street lighting, a powerful LED lamp equipped with motion sensors would be more practical.

Wireless lamps with increased moisture resistance can be seen in the photo and should be used not only for outdoor lighting, but also for the bathroom, kitchen, and rooms where there is a high level of humidity.

One of the parameters that affects the size of the illuminated area is the dispersion angle. It is the size of this parameter that distinguishes long-range models (for illuminating an area located far from the light source) from lamps with a uniform glow (for illuminating an area located close to the light source).

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Capacity of the accumulator (battery). It is this property that affects the battery life of the lamp. As a rule, a lamp with a large battery capacity is used as the main light source for residential premises. Products with small and medium capacity can be used for street lighting or as an additional light source.

The modern range of wireless lighting devices for indoor and outdoor areas is an excellent solution that will eliminate unnecessary wires. In addition, their installation provides a lot of advantages, with minor disadvantages, and thanks to the huge assortment, you can choose a device that will solve any lighting problem.

Model Light Angel

Model Light Angel

Among wireless models, the Light Angel motion sensor lamp is very popular today. This is an LED lamp that can well illuminate an area of ​​five meters. The light turns on for 55 seconds. This time is quite enough to overcome the dark space. If you need to spend more time in the room, the device will leave the lighting on.

The advantages of Light Angel include:

• compactness;
• mobility;
• maneuverability. The lamp can rotate 360 ​​degrees, and the maximum tilt is 90 degrees.

Note! The advantages listed above allow you to effectively place the lamp in any room of the house or anywhere else.

Light Angel has the following technical parameters:

• motion sensor;
• seven LEDs;
• LED operating period is 10,000 hours;
• material of manufacture: plastic;
• weight - 160 g;
• Installation method: three dowels and double-sided tape.

You can not install Light Angel at all, but use it as a portable flashlight. The light can also be turned on/off manually - there is a switch on the lamp. The lamp is powered by four AA batteries, which can be replaced with similar batteries. According to many evaluation criteria, such a wireless lighting device will be an excellent purchase, which will allow you to efficiently and effectively illuminate any corner of your home. In addition, Light Angel has waterproof fastenings, so it can be installed in entrances and small courtyards.