Control of ceiling fans and coloured LED strips

Discussion in 'C-Bus Wired Hardware' started by GDR, Aug 25, 2017.

  1. GDR

    GDR

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    Hi Guys,

    I'm a complete C-Bus newbie, but have a lot of experience in automated control systems (PLCs etc.)

    We are looking at a substantial renovation to our house which will involve a complete ground-up re-wire, and we are looking at a complete home automation system, including remote control via phone/tablet/PC. C-Bus with a Wiser 2 looks like it has all of our bases covered, but I'm having difficultly finding details on how to control ceiling fan speed and coloured LED strips.

    I'm aware of the L5501RFCP, but I was hoping for analogue fan speed control. Is analogue control going to be more hassle than it's worth?

    For the LED strips, I was thinking along the lines of 5050 RGB SMD LED strips that are readily available on e-bay. Has anyone has any experience dynamically setting the colour of these via C-Bus/Wiser 2?
     
    GDR, Aug 25, 2017
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  2. GDR

    NickD Moderator

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    It depends on the fan..

    If it's a 240V AC fan motor, you can put a sweep fan on a universal dimmer, and the dimmer will be fine, however this may cause the fan itself to buzz.

    There are also more and more fans with DC motors available. These have better speed control.. I'm not aware of what's around to integrate these but I've heard it's not easy.

    As for the LED strips... there are all sorts of drivers available...

    Much of the cheap stuff comes with a driver with an IR remote, so you could control this with an IR blaster.

    You could spend more to get the Philips Hue stuff and integrate that via IP.

    You could buy a 0-10V controller and use the C-Bus Analog Output unit (L5504AMP).

    You could get a DMX controller and use the C-Bus DMX gateway (5504DMX) or I'm told the new 5500SHAC can also do DMX (and you wouldn't need a Wiser2),or

    You could get a DALI driver and use the C-Bus DALI gateway (5502DAL).

    There are probably more I haven't thought of...

    Nick
     
    NickD, Aug 25, 2017
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  3. GDR

    tobex

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    There are different types of LED strips and you have to decide now if you want to go with addressable 5V digital strips or generic RGBW strips.

    There is a guy I know who operates a LED business out of his lounge room in Sydney. It would be well worth your time to speak with him and get a solution based on your needs.

    The comments on controlling LED strips (above) are all accurate. It comes down to whether or not you wish to go down the DALI, CBUS or Raspberry Pi pathway.

    Either way, it is highly likely you will be investing in a single board computer of some kind in the next 10 years. Mainly because there are already voice control gateways in the pipeline for CBUS <-> AI platforms.

    On that basis I would expect to see a number of "Raspberry Pi" type projects in your house by 2020.
     
    tobex, Aug 25, 2017
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  4. GDR

    GDR

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    Going down the single board computer route is definitely doable - I have a lot of Linux and embedded processor experience. I know a lot of the RGB LED strips have I2C interfaces which was my initial thought for colour and intensity control.

    5500SHAC/LSS5500SHAC info is very thin on the ground - a quick google of those part numbers doesn't lead me to any concrete documentation or ordering information. The most info I managed to find was right here (http://www.cbusforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16423&page=2). The scripting looks very promising and seeing a Modbus tab certainly piques my interest.
     
    GDR, Aug 25, 2017
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