X10 Community Forum
🔌General Home Automation => Automating Your House => Troubleshooting Automation Problems => Topic started by: AutoMan on January 28, 2009, 09:20:41 AM
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Hello All,
I have two recessed lights on my garage overhang that are programmed from dusk to dawn used mainly for property security. Presently they have standard 40w flood light bulbs in them. With the way things are and the need to cut down my electric bill I wanted to change the bulbs to low wattage types. But when I did this the X10 signal stopped switching the lights on & off. My theory is that there's not enough load to make the switch (WS457) change states.
I had a similar problem when I went to change over my courtyard wall sconces to L/W bulbs. In this case there are 3 fixtures and it didn't work initially. So I kept one bulb incandescent and changed two to L/W and it worked. Not ideal but......
Is there a certain type of switch to change out to for this application or should I just revert back to a stand-alone timer system? I'd rather not because I like the automatic adjustment to daylight savings and dusk/dawn times that X10 provides.
-:) I guess I could change to a regular wall switch and use a fixture module like the Leviton #6375 (I have one already)? That might work? What do you guys think is my best approach?
Thanks in advance. Mike.
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When you say low wattage do you mean cfls or led?
The problem in most cases is the wattage not being high enough.
You could try socket rockets and 13 watt cfls!
They work for me!
>!
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When you say low wattage do you mean cfls or led?
The problem in most cases is the wattage not being high enough.
You could try socket rockets and 13 watt cfls!
They work for me!
>!
What's a CFLS? These bulbs I used are the shape of an incandescent but inside have a florescent-looking spiral tubing set-up. ???
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What's a CFLS?
Compact Fluorescent Light S being the plural!
These bulbs I used are the shape of an incandescent but inside have a florescent-looking spiral tubing set-up. ???
That's what you have. Generally these aren't dimable bulbs so you can't use them on a dimable controller!
A Socket Rocket isn't dimable.
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These bulbs I used are the shape of an incandescent but inside have a florescent-looking spiral tubing set-up. ???
That's what you have. Generally these aren't dimable bulbs so you can't use them on a dimable controller!
A Socket Rocket isn't dimable.
I'm not trying to dim them.
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If your "WS457" is really a WS467, the WS467 is a two wire switch with no direct path to the neutral line for power to it's own internal circuitry. To work it needs "trickle current" which is normally drawn through the filament of the incandescent bulb.
A CFL, nor LED bulb will not supply that current, so the switch can not work. If you have multiple light sockets on the switch, leave one of them incandescent. Or replace the WS467 with a standard wall toggle switch and use Socket Rockets in each fixture.