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Wireless light switch for switched outlet?

15 years ago

So we have no overhead lighting in any of our bedrooms, but every room has a switched outlet. Unfortunately the outlets they all control are in very poor locations. I've seen units that have a battery powered light switch you mount to the wall that controls a separate module, but I really don't want to mount a completely separate light switch right next to the one that controls the ill placed switched outlet. What I'd like to get is something I can't find but I have to imagine exists. I'd like to get two modules, one that plugs into a switched outlet and one that plugs into the outlet you want switched. When you throw the light switch on the wall, it sends power to the switched outlet which in turn signals the other unit to power on. Does something like this exist?

Comments (47)

  • 15 years ago

    Not exactly, but if you go to Smarthome.com you can get a switch that will replace your existing switch and a receptacle that you can put where you want then the switch will control 1/2 of that new receptacle. You will splice the present switch wires together to make the present switched recep always hot, and wire in the new switch as per the instructions. If you can, get the Insteon setup. It costs more than the X10 but is more reliable.

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  • 15 years ago

    You will need to get power for you new fixture from somewhere. If you can fish a wire from the new fixture to either the existing switch or switched receptacle it is easy to wire the switch to control the new fixture.

  • 15 years ago

    Thanks for the suggestions. Joefixit2, I'll check the outlet I want switched for that red wire. I also checked out that smarthome website, man there are a lot of things there! I can't really find the one you are referring to because I don't exactly know what I'm looking for. Can you point me at the right item?

  • 15 years ago

    This might get you started.

    Here is a link that might be useful: X-10 combo

  • 15 years ago

    If you don't want the current outlet to be on a switch and want to use one of the remote control light switches on another outlet instead, this is what I would do.

    Disconnect the current switch. Connect the 2 black wires from the switch together. That will make your current switched outlet into a regular outlet.

    Buy a solid cover plate for the box. You can get them at Home Depot or similar that are just solid with no slots for switches. You can stick your remote control switch right over your current switch position.

  • 15 years ago

    billl,

    That's what I was thinking of doing, but I was hoping to find a remote switch that would fit inside the old receptacle once I removed the original switch. That would make it look like a normal switch instead of one that sticks out off the wall. Have you seen one like that? All I can find are the various X10 style kits that do way more then I want to do.

  • 13 years ago

    Man, I'd love to get the thing the OP wanted. It would be SO much easier, and I wouldn't have to tear up the walls of my brand new house. It's been a while since he posted. Does anybody know if something like that exists now?
    Thanks.

  • 9 years ago

    I would also like to find the product the original poster was looking for. I have been Googling for a couple of hours with no luck. Anyone aware of it now? It has been another 4+ years....

  • 9 years ago

    I've done this for my son's house. Replace the switch with a remote controller (we use ZWave but there are others). Rewire the the switched receptacle to not be switched (how to do this exactly depends on how the switch was wired) and place either a remote controlled receptacle or jsut a plug in module where you want it.


  • 9 years ago

    Actually the devices that the OP wanted DID exist... I've had the pair since the 1960s. Rocker switch on a 3 ft cord and a receptacle on a separate 3 ft cord. I turned the rocker switch to ON and plugged it into the switched receptacle and thus get the desired effect.

    Sounds like they don't make them anymore?


  • 9 years ago

    Ron Natalie, after many hours of searching for the product the OP and I are looking for I have only found variations of what you described. For a matching light almond decora style switch and the receiver it is about $110 before shipping. That may be the only way to go at this time.


    saltidawg, I am looking for a way to do this that introduces no additional wiring and can be controlled by the existing light switch on the wall.

  • 9 years ago

    "saltidawg, I am looking for a way to do this that introduces no
    additional wiring and can be controlled by the existing light switch on
    the wall."


    As I said, I have one... from the 1960s. Not much help.

  • 9 years ago

    I dug out my wireless receptacle control... in a bag in my basement.

    I got it in the late 1960s from a neighbor . the only identifying info is, "CALRAD Wireless Control."

    I googled Calrad and it seems they've moved on to more complicated controls and it appears they are now owned by HP.


  • 8 years ago

    FOUND IT! SwitchFlip looks like it is exactly what you are looking for: http://switchflip.me/ Would you buy it?

  • 8 years ago

    It's vaporware so far.

  • 8 years ago

    SwitchFlip! It's EXACTLY what you want! Check it out: http://switchflip.me/

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Check out this thing that doesn't exist!!! It's exactly what you want! Too bad it doesn't exist!

    Seems like the spam artists are out in full force.

    Seriously. Create the product first and THEN spam the forums. This way is just rude.

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    We had a wireless lightswitch controller the receptacle plugged into an existing receptacle and the light switch wirelessly controlled it. This was about 10 years ago. Then we found out the item was recalled for starting fires. So maybe that's why you can't find this item? Now I only see remote controls (not a wall mount switch) or smartphone controlled plug in outlets like this (which have bad reviews):

    http://www.homedepot.com/p/iHome-SmartPlug-iSP55WWTC/206450167

    http://www.homedepot.com/p/Belkin-Wireless-WeMo-Insight-Switch-F7C029fc/204848070


    Oh no wait - Amazon has them. No guarantee they are safe I guess!


    http://www.amazon.com/Westek-RFK100LC-RFK101LC-Mounted-Receiver/dp/B000HJBE68/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455430745&sr=8-1&keywords=wireless+light+switch

    at least this one is GE brand should be safe:

    http://www.amazon.com/GE-18279-Wireless-Switch-Receiver/dp/B00R7Q7PT4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1455430745&sr=8-3&keywords=wireless+light+switch


  • 8 years ago

    That switchflip product concept is exactly what I, and I think the OP, am looking for. Yes, I would buy it if the concept is executed well and the price is reasonable.

    No need for anyone else to post about replacement or add-on wireless light switches. That's not what this thread is about.

  • 8 years ago

    The "switchflip" idea might be what you are looking for, but it doesn't exist so the posts about "replacement or add-on wireless light switches" might actually be helpful to you and others since they DO exist and can solve the same problem even if it isn't as nice and simple as you'd like.

    But at least they are solutions.

    The switchflip is NOT a solution because it DOESN'T EXIST and there is no guarantee that it will ever exist. It's just an idea to solve a very specific problem that only a few people will ever encounter. The market for it is very small.

    Plus, given that the few people that want it would also not want to pay a great amount for it since it's such a 'simple' device, I doubt there is much incentive to develop it.

    You either need a large market where you can sell it cheaply and make money based on the vast quantity that you sell or a small market that is willing to spend a lot for the product. This is neither.

  • 8 years ago

    I have been looking for a solution to the same problem. I have a light switch in my new apartment that controls the outlet right next to it but I'd rather have the light switch control the outlet on the far end of the room - that just makes sense, doesn't it?

    I do not want to add another switch as part of the solution, just a transponder in the switched outlet and a receiver in the desired outlet. I have found a bunch of different forum threads on this subject including this one but there just isn't anything out there right now!

    I even went so far as to try 2 Belkin WeMo switches and IFTTT, but was mistaken in thinking it would work (at present, there is no "if WeMo Switch loses power", just "if WeMo Switch is turned OFF" - not the same thing, of course... crud).

    I am posting here in the hopes of convincing any of the home automation powers that be to pursue this... or maybe SwitchFlip will actually have an offering soon versus just gathering email addresses (it must be hard, I don't mean to sound unappreciative of the difficult process that must be involved in starting up such a company). Fingers crossed over here in Orange County!

  • 8 years ago

    Brilliant, a switch that controls an outlet, the only controlled outlet, right next to it!

  • 8 years ago

    I'd say that the location of the optimal switched outlet totally depends on the layout of the furniture in the room. Sometimes the best outlet might be on the opposite side of the room, sometimes it might be near the door.

    That's why I think if you are going to wire a room to have a switched outlet, it's best to run the 'always on' and the 'switched on' power around to every outlet in the room (or at least a few). Then you can choose at any time to change an outlet from always on to switched. But I guess that would take a little bit of extra wire and everyone is trying to trim the budgets to the bone nowadays.

  • 8 years ago

    I get your point, but if you are going to have one outlet switched, don't choose the one that is right next to the door because you can reach over to lamp and turn it on that way.

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    I think you're looking at it backwards though. Yes ... if a lamp is across the room, it's less convenient to turn it on as opposed to the lamp right next to the door. But maybe you don't want a lamp across the room. If the outlet across the room was switched but you didn't want to plug a lamp into it, then the switch is utterly useless. I'd rather have a switch the controlled the lamp that was only a few feet away as opposed to a switch that did nothing.

    Ideally, you'd look at a room and place the lamp where it makes the most sense. Then that outlet should be switched. It doesn't matter where that outlet happens to be in relation to the door.

  • 8 years ago

    Good points. I ended up buying an (UGLY UGLY) extension cord to solve my problem. But maybe a bit of good news: the people at SwitchFlip are making moves so maybe we can all benefit from their product one day - fingers crossed, but for now an extension cord will just have to suffice... better that I can see where I am going even if I have to also see that ugly cord running around the apartment.

  • 8 years ago

    I have a related problem - the light in question is a ceiling-mounted porch light. It is always on! I can turn the light on and off by unscrewing the bulb (almost out-of-reach) or by putting in an adapter with a pull cord - very unaesthetic. For every remote switch I can find, the receiver is a receptacle, but none have a receiver which could be mounted inside an octagonal box to which I could mount a ceiling light.

  • 8 years ago

    There are led light bulbs that you can turn on/off or dim with your smart phone.

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    mtvhikeI had some lights that I could not locate a switch for. They were always on. The home was built ca. 1940. An electrician had his family grow up in it before I bought it after he died. These exterior garage lights, it turned out, were operated by a photocell gone bad. I replaced the photocell and they operated as they should. I did finally locate a switch that was very much obscured by some shelves and barely reachable as I stand on my toes. (I am 6' tall.)

    In the house proper, there is a photocell-controlled circuit that operates exterior lights and one outlet inside the house. although I found that switch before the garage control, it was some time before I located the switch for that circuit inside a closet. I was slowed there by a couple of switches that did, and still do not appear, to "do" anything.

    How old is your house? Has a lot of remodeling and enlargement occurred? If so, you might not have looked enough. Good luck with that. My father's house some more examples of hidden switches. The front yard lamp is controlled by a switch inside a closet near the front door. In another closet is a switch controlling an attic cooling (gable) fan circuit that no longer has a fan attached.

  • 8 years ago

    Greg, thanks for that advice, but I really want a wall switch. Ionized, the house is 125 years old, the wiring is probably about 90 years old. In the middle of the living room ceiling is an octagonal box with brackets for, I guess, a chandelier. This box is always on. A BX cable runs from that box through the outside wall and above the porch ceiling to the box I mentioned earlier. I thought about breaking into the ceiling near where the BX exits the house and insert a cable for a switch there, but I don't know how to do that legally without ripping down my plaster ceiling.

  • 8 years ago

    Fishing new cable just requires punching a few holes in the ceiling/walls. You don't have to rip anything down and repairing holes isn't very hard. Unless you have textured plaster, that is.

    I'd look into that instead of trying to find a high tech alternative.

  • 8 years ago

    It looks like SwitchFlip is getting a lot closer to reality, they've filmed a video for an indigogo campaign and have a working version.

  • 8 years ago

    I also think that SwitchFlip would be a wonderful product. In the meantime, I'm thinking about getting something like this GE product.



  • 7 years ago

    Ok after reading everyone's issues and suggestions I'm going to add a new problem to the mix but this seems like the right group of people to send me in the right direction. All of my top outlets are hooked up to the switch. That's not my problem. But what I was thinking about doing was adding a ceiling light and I really don't want a cord running to an outlet from my ceilings.


    Any idea if there are wireless lights that are connected to their wireless plug that I can plug into my powered outlets that I can just turn on the switch to?? Not sure if I explained that correctly.

    Light switch to powered outlet with wireless adaptor plugged into it to wireless overhead light.

  • 7 years ago

    Do you already have an box installed for the overhead light that is constant power? It would be weird if you did.

    If not, you are doing some wiring anyways to add the overhead box, so just do a little more wiring and hook it up to the switch. No need for fancy gadgets.

  • 7 years ago

    No wiring. I don't own the house so I was looking for something temporary without having wires everywhere.

  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    So you're looking for a battery powered overhead light? Seems impractical.

    Because there is no such thing as a device that can send power wirelessly. If there was, I wouldn't want to stand between the source and the destination. You're brain might get fried. :)

  • 7 years ago

    I think you are looking for this new gadget. It changes any outlet to be controlled by the light switch. This will work on a lot of things discussed in this thread:

    www.indiegogo.com/projects/switchflip-control-your-lights-power/x/6730810#/

  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Had to dust this thread off. There are now a couple of Ads on TV.

    Handy Switch



    Switch Flip

  • 6 years ago

    The only real professional looking solution I've found is to buy 1 smart outlet: https://www.smarthome.com/insteon-2663-222-on-off-outlet-white.html

    and 1 smart switch that can control that outlet: https://www.smarthome.com/switchlinc-on-off-insteon-2477s-remote-control-switch-dual-band-white.html

  • 6 years ago

    Looks like SwitchFlip is finally real! I was about ready to prototype and patent it myself, lol

    https://www.amazon.com/quirky-Portable-Power-Switch-VSF-WH01-R/dp/B074CWBTPT


  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    The reviews on Amazon don't give me that warm fuzzy feeling. :)

    There's only 6 reviews and half of them are bad. That is, if you read the actual review. There are a couple of 4 stars that don't sound like they should be 4 stars if you read the comment.

    Now that it actually exists, I wonder how many people are willing to spend 30 bucks plus shipping for it.

    As a side note, this thread seems like one that lots of people feel the need to sign up for a Houzz account, make one comment on this thread pointing everyone at SwitchFlip and then not participating in any other discussions. Is it possible that these people have an ulterior motive in promoting this product? :)

  • 6 years ago

    I almost hit the "add to cart" button, until I actually read the reviews comments. "loud click", "great, when it works", wth? "doesn't get the signal all the time"?? I guess the electronics that are available can't handle the 110v AC juice running through them.

    Oh well, it'd be nice. Got to check for red wire behind the outlet I want to work off the switch...

  • 6 years ago

    > I guess the electronics that are available can't handle the 110v

    > AC juice running through them.

    Nah, it's just a case of mediocre engineering.

    If you want one of these remote switches, but not urgently, I'd suggest waiting a year or two. If they get really popular, someone else will no doubt produce a knockoff at a cheaper price. It might even work better.

    Or, if they don't catch on, maybe you'll see one of these at half price at your local closeout store. :)

  • 4 years ago

    I think this may be what you’re looking for. Need the pair to operate. I’ve got a pair and they‘ve been working great thus far.

    Switcheroo - Sync Lights with No App or WiFi - Change Which Outlets Turn On/Off with Your Existing Switch (2 Pack) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BX6QF7Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_q.iKFbPVTH8NV?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1