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Outdoor Controls
It seems RR2 should have some all weather controls. Outdoor living spaces are more and more common. While RR2 can control outdoor devices in appropriate enclosures, there aren't any good controls for the modern outdoor living rooms of today that may see extreme temperatures. I would love to have a refined keypad that would enable people to change scenes out in the space. For example, a transition from low-level firepit lighting, to lounging in a gazebo, to dinner on the patio, and yard flood for backyard play. While a mounted wired keypad would be most ideal with its status lights, perhaps a new all weather engravable pico could be designed and fit the bill due to just being battery operated. In fact, the picos are cheap enough that certificates could be purchased that then come with the complete engraved pico.
Are there any plans for these? I'm looking at an install for an outdoor living space yet to be constructed and just can't come up with a good way to control it.
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Authorized Lutron Contributor
You are correct - our controls are not rated for outdoor applications at this time. However, we have seen customers use 3rd-party enclosures to house Lutron devices/keypads that meet current specified operating environments (found on the device's spec sheet).
Nevertheless, thank you for your input! I will pass it on to the development team.
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Thanks very much, and I hope it is clear about the opportunity RR2 would have in these controls. Until you have such components, it would be nice if you could pass on any thoughts of which enclosures work well in your experience.
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Authorized Lutron Contributor
We know of some dealers using Pass and Seymour plastic weatherproof boxes. As the RadioRA2 system is an RF system we would recommend using a plastic box for these types of installations. Even with the devices in a weatherproof box they are still only rated for temperature of 32-104 degrees Fahrenheit
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Please don't forget about the dealers in Canada if there is some serious thought about extreme weather devices. The temperature drops to -40 on average where i am during the winter. Its only for a couple months....buts its -40....
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I don't imagine a lot of control use outside below freezing, but certainly an outdoor control needs to at least exist powered on at lower temps.
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Would be great if Lutron made outdoor occupancy sensors that could be used as motion detectors. I have several applications where something like this would be fantastic.
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Authorized Lutron Contributor
I would like to thank everyone for their feedback on this topic
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Originally Posted by
totalcontrol
Would be great if Lutron made outdoor occupancy sensors that could be used as motion detectors. I have several applications where something like this would be fantastic.
I'm debating the use of a 3rd party setup using an Elk system with outdoor sensors. Not as elegant as RA2-integrated sensors would be, but it might offer a bit more choices of outdoor sensors. That and it'd bring along the programmability of that outside system to add a bit of logic to this and other parts of the lighting system.
I know it wouldn't be without complications, but a VCRX-like gizmo designed to handle inputs from external motion sensors would be a welcome gizmo to the RA2 lineup...
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Going back to the status quo, where items are only rated 32+ operating conditions. Could a wired keypad be installed in a weather resistant outdoor enclosure and simply be active yet not used below 32? I understand that it's operating even if not pressed, so I assume the answer is no. However, if it could just sit there, I can't imagine needing to use the keypad below freezing anyway. What about for a Pico? I guess there's not too much to lose if one gets destroyed, and one could even take the pico in seasonally since they're so easy to pull out. Picos are clearly nice because they don't have enough power to create a safety issue. Thoughts?