Lutron Vive Powpak RMJS-8T-DV-B Install

[KPack]

I'm finally at the point of hanging lights, and have been able to enjoy my Vive Powpaks in my shop. I wanted to post some pictures of how I installed them to hopefully help someone else who might be thinking of using them. I'm a novice at this, so understand that my work is probably not up to professional standards.

My shop is split into two main rooms, both 36'x36'x14'. Each room uses 9 Lithonia Lighting CPHB 15k lights (link), with one Powpak for each room. The ceiling is finished with drywall and insulated with blown-in R48, so I planned out the locations of the lights prior to that. I ran MC in the ceiling and dropped to each light location. I strapped the MC against the joists with MC straps, except for the drops, which I did with EMT straps (larger) to allow me to push the MC up and down when installing. I ran class 2 signal wire along the side of the MC and dropped with it.


The Powpaks are located in the ceiling in the center of both rooms, with 4x4 metal boxes. They are attached to another box which houses the power wires. The dimming signal wires are separate and enter the box containing the Powpak. With this setup I can access the Powpak and repair/replace if necessary.


At the lights, I attached the MC directly to the light housing (one MC coming in and one MC going out to the next light). The signal wires from the light can be fished through the many holes in the light, to outside where I connected them with the signal wires running up into the ceiling. My understanding is that signal wires cannot be in the same junction box as the power wires, unless they have the same insulation rating. The signal wires from the light have the same insulation as the power wires, and the connection is made outside the box, so I believe I'm good there.




The Pico remotes (two for each room) work great and have no problem reaching all the way across the shop to control the lights.


At full power the lights are extremely bright, almost too bright. The dimming function works great and I'll be using it quite a bit.


I didn't want to run any more wires for 3 or 4 way switches, and I wanted to be able to dim my lights. The Lutron Vive system was a good solution for my needs. Hopefully this helps someone else who may be considering going this route.

 

[cybrdyke]

Well done. This system is probably the easiest and cheapest solution for dimming groups of new fixtures.
Some constructive advice...
The Powpak isn't normally mounted in a box in the ceiling board. It's normally mounted outside of a junction box that would be attached to one of the structural members in the ceiling. The way that you did it makes access a lot easier from below, especially if you wont be able to get into the space above the ceiling in the future. I wonder if the extra effort you put in is worth it.
There is now MC cable that has the low voltage control wires built into it. Using this might have made the install a little easier for you.
For the future, you can put up battery powered motion sensors without having to run any wires at all.
Thanks for sharing!
CD

 

[KPack]

CD - thanks for the tips. The boxes are mounted to the ceiling joists. I did double 4x4's because I wanted the boxes mounted above the ceiling for a clean look. If I had the Powpak hanging off a single box, I wouldn't be able to access it unless I cut in an access hatch. So essentially the same thing, I think.

The local electrical supply stores did not have the Luminaire cable, which would've made things much easier. They could've ordered it in, but it was significantly more expensive than normal MC and signal wire. But it would have made for a much cleaner install.

I'm considering the motion sensors. It's a really nice system overall.