low voltage switches for high voltage lights

[anwalt2]

Daughter & s-i-l house, new to them.  

switches for all lights original to the house are low voltage switches.  Lights are standard 1950's - 1960's fixtures on 110-120.  

several circuits have more than one fixture illuminated by a low voltage switch.  Where is the relay for this situation?  one for each fixture? one relay for all on the circuit?  

I have never seen lighting wired with low voltage switches.  There must have been a reason to this wiring, although it makes no sense to me.  Is/was there a logic behind this wiring?  

thx for any input

tom

[Roly]

Daughter & s-i-l house, new to them.  

switches for all lights original to the house are low voltage switches.  Lights are standard 1950's - 1960's fixtures on 110-120.  

several circuits have more than one fixture illuminated by a low voltage switch.  Where is the relay for this situation?  one for each fixture? one relay for all on the circuit?  

I have never seen lighting wired with low voltage switches.  There must have been a reason to this wiring, although it makes no sense to me.  Is/was there a logic behind this wiring?  

thx for any input

tom

This system was used in the 60's. Suggest Googling GE touch plate system .   One relay for each part you want controlled.  Their were different companies besides GE making this system. Some had low voltage ac for the relays and some used dc on the relays. The relays were normally mounted in the ceilings but could be anywhere.   Some installations had a master control panel in bedroom so you could turn lights on and off from there for the house. A common mounting spot for the relays are outside of the fixture box it is controlling.
High tech for then.   Roly

[EdL]

It was supposed to be the "wiring of the future"....lol. Never worked out that way.

Ed

[MstrCarpenter]

It was supposed to be the "wiring of the future"....lol. Never worked out that way.

Ed

Still is! They just didn't have PIR's (passive infrared sensors) or LED lights back then.

[anwalt2]

Daughter & s-i-l house, new to them.  

switches for all lights original to the house are low voltage switches.  Lights are standard 1950's - 1960's fixtures on 110-120.  

several circuits have more than one fixture illuminated by a low voltage switch.  Where is the relay for this situation?  one for each fixture? one relay for all on the circuit?  

I have never seen lighting wired with low voltage switches.  There must have been a reason to this wiring, although it makes no sense to me.  Is/was there a logic behind this wiring?  

thx for any input

tom

Roly,

thanks for your input.  Good to know parts are available.

tom

[EdL]

Someplace in the house is a master relay....attic or basement, most likely.

Ed

[Snipe Hunter]

Someplace in the house is a master relay....attic or basement, most likely.

Ed

Usually I find them in the basement.. when I find them

[fredhargis]

Learning for the day for me. Here I am, a child of the 60s, and I've never heard of such a thing.

[Cabinet Monkey]

There are still a couple of systems that do the same thing today and several others that have landed on the scrap heap of history along with the GE one.

Lutron and Vantage are still doing remote type switching systems with Vantage’s being most like The GE one. Local switches were run to a remote location and it was from there that the power is sent to the load.

Savant and Crestron also have (had) power control systems that were configurable from a remote location.

The issue with ALL of them is that they are not common, require specialized training and or certification, and are expensive.

[Snipe Hunter]

It was supposed to be the "wiring of the future"....lol. Never worked out that way.

Ed

I ran into those recently on an old house. I don't see them very often.