Install a new light switch in 10 minutes

[Rhoob]

As an electrician, how often do you get jobs from homeowners to add a 2nd light switch into an existing lighting circuit?

Having recently re-wired my entire home I know how difficult this job can be, particularly if the house has masonry walls and the floor boards are difficult to pull up….this can be a time consuming and messy job.

What if there was an easier way?

I have developed a connected light switch which I know makes this job easier and quicker for the electrician as I’ve used it myself in my own home and if you used it potentially you can charge the customer less per job or make more profit per job or do more jobs in the same timeframe.

In it’s simplest form the system uses two products, the connected switch and the wireless switch.

1. The connected switch is a replacement device which is installed in place of the existing mechanical wall switch, in standalone operation this does exactly the same job as the existing mechanical wall switch.
2. The wireless switch is a surface mounted repeater switch which acts as the 2nd light switch.

Installation is as simple as removing the existing mechanical wall switch, installing the new connected switch in its place and sticking the wireless switch to the wall in the homeowners preferred location. The wireless switch can be screwed to the wall or stuck to the wall using double sided adhesive tape. You can even stick the remote switch on a piece of furniture or window if you wanted to. Installation should take no more than 10 minutes. The really neat part to this is that the smart switch uses energy harvesting technology which means that the remote switch is wire-less and battery-less so you don’t need wires for it to work and it’ll never need a battery to be changed.

I designed it to work with UK wiring installations so it doesn’t need a neutral to work, it draws its power through the unswitched and switched live conductors only, it fits into 25mm back boxes and can turn ON/OFF any type of light and DIM dimmable lamps. Aside from this it is able to be connected to the internet so if you have Alexa you can ask her to turn on your lights, do it through an app or automate your lights to turn on & off as you wish.

You can use it as a simple way for wiring up 2-way circuits, it works great as an all off switch to turn all of the lights off from one location, you could use it to add bedside lighting control, etc.

Say you would charge a homeowner on average £150 to install an additional light switch. If you used my product then at an approximate purchase combined price of £80 for the connected switch and wireless switch you would have £70 profit for a job which should take no longer than 10 minutes and have minimal impact to the homeowner.

So if you have made it this far into my post then thank you. I’m planning on launching my product on Kickstarter in a month or two and the reason I am posting this is to get valuable feedback from potential customers. Is this a product you would actually use? Do you think it would make your job easier?

Please let me know any thoughts you may have.

 

[Dannyg8810]

Any samples to send out ? Get some feedback on installation that way

 

[Octopus]

My minimum charge is 1 hour ............... so please don't state it can be fitted in 10 minutes ................. you have to arrive, unpack, prepare, isolate, test, ..........

 

[Octopus]

Like the bit about 25mm back boxes ............... the OP obviously hasn't seen many with multiple neutrals at the switch!

 

[telectrix]

i'd like to see a 16mm back box replaced with a 25mm, chased into hard brick, in 10 minutes.

 

[NDG Elecs]

I'm sure there is already other devices already on the market that do what the OP states..

 

[The Ghost]

So could be the death knell for us electricians, who needs them when you can stick your own light switch on the wall. Two way hall switching no longer needed the strapping cable and so on. We must hunt this inventor down with burning torches and pitchforks brother electricians (yeh and sisters!) Is it CE marked and approved. Does it meet BS7671 requirements for isolation of circuits. Which BS EN does it meet i.e. for isolation, servicing etc.

 

[Rhoob]

Like the bit about 25mm back boxes ............... the OP obviously hasn't seen many with multiple neutrals at the switch!

That's mostly the reason I've made this post as I need to understand what problems are faced so thanks for the comment.

I've wired it into some fairly tight back boxes which have cabling for 2-way switching. But how frequent is this the case in your jobs, most of the time or some of the time? What would you normally do if the back box was full of cables?

 

[davesparks]

The problem with powering devices like this via the L and SL is that they can cause CFL and led lamps to either flash or glow dimly when they should be off.

 

[Rhoob]

i'd like to see a 16mm back box replaced with a 25mm, chased into hard brick, in 10 minutes.

My query was related to the time taken to add a second light switch, not to install the first.

To add a second light switch in a new location normally you would have to chase out the route from the ceiling to the new back box location, chase out the hole for the back box, install the new back box, install conduit/capping for cabling, pull through the cable from the first switch and pull up any floor boards as necessary, install the switch, replaster, paint, etc. This is the work I am proposing can be replaced in 10 minutes.

I do accept that if the back box for the first switch was 16mm deep and it needed to be chiseled out to 25mm to accommodate the connected switch then this couldn't be done in 10 minutes. But the time taken to chisel out an extra 10mm, install the first (connected) switch then mount the second (wireless) switch would still be less than outlined above.

Or at least, thats the question I am asking.

 

[Rhoob]

I'm sure there is already other devices already on the market that do what the OP states..

Do you have any experience of using the alternatives? How did you hear about them?

If you know of something similar I'd be keen to know of them so I can better understand how my product compares.

 

[ChrisElectrical88]

I like the idea, seems similar to radiolink smoke detector bases. I am by no means someone who works in houses though. How many people ask for an additional light switch, I would inagine not many? New builds easy enough to install a wired switch, requires surely not too hard to get a 3 core across and down whilst your getting everything else in?

What's the battery life? How easy is it to change a battery?

 

[Rhoob]

So could be the death knell for us electricians, who needs them when you can stick your own light switch on the wall. Two way hall switching no longer needed the strapping cable and so on. We must hunt this inventor down with burning torches and pitchforks brother electricians (yeh and sisters!) Is it CE marked and approved. Does it meet BS7671 requirements for isolation of circuits. Which BS EN does it meet i.e. for isolation, servicing etc.

I'm not intending it to replace electricians and there will be many people not comfortable doing it themselves. I see it more as something which can help you along the way by making your job easier.

Ultimately the device will be CE marked and compliant with UK standards and relevant RF certifications. I am at a pre-launch stage and gearing up for a crowdfunding campaign to help me raise funds to complete all testing and manufacture tooling, etc.

 

[davesparks]

As
Say you would charge a homeowner on average £150 to install an additional light switch. If you used my product then at an approximate purchase combined price of £80 for the connected switch and wireless switch you would have £70 profit for a job which should take no longer than 10 minutes and have minimal impact to the homeowner.

Where does this figure of £150 come from?

Whilst it might be possible to install the switch in 10minutes the whole job will take longer than that.

 

[ChrisElectrical88]

Also I went on a tour of Tamlite last October, they are devoloping pr it could even be out along with lots of other lighting manufacturers a device which you will connect into the back of your switch which means you can just switch the lights on anywhere in your house through your phone. How is your product better than that?

Don't mean to come across as challenging but it's something you should be thinking of?