Detached garage light switch in home

[brian1210]

I am a low voltage tech by trade. Internet, router, access points, 12 volt switches, 5 volt buttons and switches for a casino. I know it can be done. My question is what wire to use?

What I want to do is make it is easy for my wife to get ahold of me. Run a 12 volt power supply in the garage. Run wires into our home. Install a 12 volt switch. Would close the circuit. Wire back to the garage to a solid stat relay, that would turn on a light. I was thinking 14 gauge wire or 16 gauge wire. It would be a wire run of about 50 feet.

I'm more comfortable with low voltage plus wire run would be in same pipe as cat5 for access point in the garage. 110 volts can cause issues with cat5 cables. Might have to go with 5 volts to prevent issues.
Low voltage parts are cheaper also and don't have to be inspected

 

[tfi racing]

Hmm,I have a detached garage to make it more inconvenient for my wife to get a hold of me.I also have this new device called a cellular phone,I think they call it that,anyways I was skeptical at first but I think there may be a future for them and I hear that someday maybe women will be also allowed to own and use them...

 

[7thDimension]

Hmm,I have a detached garage to make it more inconvenient for my wife to get a hold of me.I also have this new device called a cellular phone,I think they call it that,anyways I was skeptical at first but I think there may be a future for them and I hear that someday maybe women will be also allowed to own and use them...

This haha...

And if a cell phone isn't good enough, you can buy a (wireless if you want) intercom to mount on the wall for very little money.

 

[gregtwojeeps]

I am a low voltage tech by trade. Internet, router, access points, 12 volt switches, 5 volt buttons and switches for a casino. I know it can be done. My question is what wire to use?

What I want to do is make it is easy for my wife to get ahold of me. Run a 12 volt power supply in the garage. Run wires into our home. Install a 12 volt switch. Would close the circuit. Wire back to the garage to a solid stat relay, that would turn on a light. I was thinking 14 gauge wire or 16 gauge wire. It would be a wire run of about 50 feet.

I'm more comfortable with low voltage plus wire run would be in same pipe as cat5 for access point in the garage. 110 volts can cause issues with cat5 cables. Might have to go with 5 volts to prevent issues.
Low voltage parts are cheaper also and don't have to be inspected

Your post is a bit confusing to me, you want a remote light system control or communication ? Either can be done remotely now... Many years ago for my detached garage I just run 18-2 LV cable in PVC along with a coax cable for TV underground from the house to the shop ....and installed a door chime in the shop with the push button in the kitchen so my wife could "ding" me if I was needed. ........................... Now its much easier...


http://www.lowes.com/pd_568971-85538-UT-7377-02___?productId=50226265&pl=1&Ntt=remote+door+chime

 

[Marcm157]

Hmm,I have a detached garage to make it more inconvenient for my wife to get a hold of me.I also have this new device called a cellular phone,I think they call it that,anyways I was skeptical at first but I think there may be a future for them and I hear that someday maybe women will be also allowed to own and use them...

And with Caller ID - I can decide if I want her to be able to get hold of me!

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Yeah theres easier ways to do this than wiring up a bunch of low voltage stuff.

 

[cg81]

My grandpa used to work in his detached garage a lot. He had a buzzer in the garage wired to a doorbell transformer. There is a doorbell switch inside the house by the telephone. If he got a call when he was out there working my grandma would buzz him and he knew to pick up the phone in the garage. They ran 18-2 thermostat wire along the overhead phone wire that runs between the garage and the house.

 

[bczygan]

You REALLY want your wife to be able to get you when you are in the garage?

I'm thinking deadbolt locks, sound deadening materials and blackout drapes so she can't tell you are in there. And turn off the phone!

If you MUST stay in contact, the above things will work, plus there are wireless solutions. How about a wireless doorbell?

Bill

 

[James-W]

I am not sure I understand your reasoning.

We have a Panasonic home wall telephone and it also came with a wireless portable phone that you can take outside, or wherever you want, up to about 100 feet. There is an intercom on the two phones which is pretty easy to use and works well. I just take the portable phone out to the garage with me and the wife can get hold of me without leaving the house. The two phones work great as an intercom and if I need to I can make a phone call, or I can answer the phone, right from the garage.

 

[Brian_WK]

Ya nothing would annoy me more then the light coming on and me having to walk all the way up to the house to see what is going on just to realize that she wanted the porch light on. My vote is wireless doorbell or intercom.

Brian

 

[simpler=better]

Your plan will work just fine, size your wire appropriately.

I'd still go with a networked intercom-I assume your cat5 runs back to your router...cheapo switch, and bam you're set.

Does 120ac really interfere with cat5? I always heard that you had to watch out for 480/CFL ballasts/that sort of thing, but not 120.

 

[brian1210]

If the air compressor is running, I won't be able to hearing door dell. I live in the middle of no where. Cell phones don't work in the metal building nor in my home. I just need low voltage to power solid state relay. The power can not screw up my internet (cat5) in the same pipe between. The garage and my home. Because of power over Ethernet, I was thinking about trying that, using cat5 for power

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Your plan will work just fine, size your wire appropriately.

I'd still go with a networked intercom-I assume your cat5 runs back to your router...cheapo switch, and bam you're set.

Does 120ac really interfere with cat5? I always heard that you had to watch out for 480/CFL ballasts/that sort of thing, but not 120.

Yes, AC electricity does effect CAT5. Its not so much the voltage as it is the 60hz magnetic field.

When i did ATT WiFi upgrade projects for Hilton hotels, we frequently had issues with lighting ballasts and electrical lines causing noise on the CAT6. When we certified each cable, some of them wouldnt pass due to excessive noise. We had to go back up into the ceiling and move those cables farther away from nearby electrical.

I always try to keep communication lines and electrical separate for this reason and it is also required by code because the insulation on communication lines isnt rated for higher voltage such as 300v or 600v...

 

[bczygan]

Mechanical solution:

Install a light in your shop, next to a window, so she can see when it goes on or off, and make sure it has a pull chain, like this:

Then attach a durable, non stretching string, to the pull chain, and run it with the wires, into the house.

Bill

 

[bczygan]

Fiber optics?

Air powered?

 

[CNGsaves]

Assuming you have internet out to the garage since you say you've got CAT 5e out there, below is what I'd recommend.

Easy cheap solution would be old school phone buzzer/bell and light.

I'd just add another telephone number for the garage using Magic Jack. That way wife can use the house landline to call the garage's phone number (Magic Jack) and when she does your buzzer/bell would ring and light up a light.

It would be up to you . . . whether you wanted to answer !!

 

[wes73]

If you have wired internet in the garage I would get at LiftMaster Internet Gateway (https://www.liftmaster.com/For-Homes/Accessories/MyQ-Accessories/model-828LM) and a LiftMaster Remote Light Switch (https://www.liftmaster.com/For-Homes/Accessories/MyQ-Accessories/model-823LM-(1)). I have this for my OHD and outside lights. Wire the switch to a light in the garage. Then using her cell phone or table with the MyQ app (free) over your home WiFi she can turn the light on and off from the house. Heck, she could even turn it on or off from anywhere to get your attention. I, on the other hand, have a simple rule, if I don't answer my cell and it's mission critical, walk out and get me.

 

[simpler=better]

Yes, AC electricity does effect CAT5. Its not so much the voltage as it is the 60hz magnetic field.

When i did ATT WiFi upgrade projects for Hilton hotels, we frequently had issues with lighting ballasts and electrical lines causing noise on the CAT6. When we certified each cable, some of them wouldnt pass due to excessive noise. We had to go back up into the ceiling and move those cables farther away from nearby electrical.

I always try to keep communication lines and electrical separate for this reason and it is also required by code because the insulation on communication lines isnt rated for higher voltage such as 300v or 600v...

That's good to know. If/when I run innernets to the shed I'll make sure to steer clear of the power lines.

 

[brian1210]

At work we make sure 110volt is at least 12 inches away from cat5. I placed my 220 volt 18 inches away from my cat5. I'm NOT use burial cat5. I'm just using standard because that is what I have. If it fails, I might spend the money for burial