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Thread: Caseta overload solution using relay?

  1. #1
    Junior Member
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    Caseta overload solution using relay?

    Hi All! First time post-er with a Caseta issue I'm having trouble with.

    I have a single pole standard light switch (in a single box) at the top of my basement stairs. It turns on and off a 15 amp circuit in the basement that handles all my basement lighting, probably 1000 watts or so, a mix of LED and fluorescent.

    In the box I have only 3 wires available : line (white) load (black) and ground.

    I replaced the single pole switch with a Lutron Caseta PD-5WS-DV (no neutral required switch). So far, so good. It works as expected.

    The problem I'm having is that the load is too much for the Caseta, and it's getting hot (upwards of 90 degrees using an infrared thermometer.)

    So my thought is to use a relay - have the Caseta power the relay on and off and have the relay power the load on and off in turn.

    The question: Specifically, what relay would work in this application and how would I wire it to the PD-5WS-DV? (Keeping in mind, I have no neutral in the box.)

    Thanks so much for any help!

    G

  2. #2
    Senior Member
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    Lutron makes then PHPM-SW-DV for this application. However, it requires a neutral and it requires the controlling device (if it is electronic) to have a neutral.

    Rather than doing all that rewiring, is it possible to reduce the load? Convert some of the fluorescent to LED?
    Convergence Technologies Raleigh, North Carolina
    www.convergenceusa.com

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by randyc View Post
    Lutron makes then PHPM-SW-DV for this application. However, it requires a neutral and it requires the controlling device (if it is electronic) to have a neutral.

    Rather than doing all that rewiring, is it possible to reduce the load? Convert some of the fluorescent to LED?
    Yeah, because I have no neutral, it won’t work in my application. I've got 4 two-tube fluorescents in the circuit, so each should be pulling roughly 68 watts (34 watts per tube) and maybe another 15 for the ballast, so 83 watts each. Comparable LED's would be 50 watts per fixture, only saving me 120 watts or so in total, so not enougfh to correct my problem. I have tried turning off 50% of the lights (a number of the fixtures have pull chains) and that will get the switch down into the mid-80m degree range, but then that defeats the purpose of having the switch at all - I’d be better off going back to a single pole 'dumb' switch.

    I think a relay is the answer, just don;t know which one or how to wire it in.

    Thanks for your thoughts! Appreciate it! I'll check out the PHPM-SW-DV. I may end up having to rewire that box with a neutral.

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