# nLight



## HertzHound (Jan 22, 2019)

> I connect all 5 devices together with CAT5. Will I then be able to control one power pack with the top half of the switches and the second power pack will be controlled by the bottom set of switches.


Yes. They will control whatever power packs they are programmed to control



> Will nLight operate these switches as 3 ways and 4ways?


Yes, if that is how it is programmed. In your example with two power packs, that seems how it would be programmed. If you added another power pack, the top switch could be programmed as a three way, and the bottom switches could be separate single poles. 



> How much more are nLight enabled lights compared to regular fixtures.


I have no idea. I would think they’re more money? Until I read that, I had no idea it was even a thing.

I like nLight. I think it’s a good product. Last one I did was in an all exposed ceiling job. All conduit, even the cat 5e. Two floors. The guy was set up for eight hours of commissioning. He was out of there in two hours. No issues. All cat 5e connections were tested ahead of time and labeled to / from, bridge and room #. It should make it real easy for the next guy. Especially at the bridges.


----------



## darren79 (Dec 20, 2011)

We do work at the local university and they are updating everything to nLight. Makes it real easy to wire, bring a constant power to your light and daisy chain all lights and controls with cat5. No power packs needed.


----------



## Cow (Jan 16, 2008)

I really need to learn this stuff.

Most of our work is ag and industrial, so nothing fancier than an astronomic time clock for exterior lighting usually.

I signed up for the nLight and wattstopper online courses though.

Are you guys only installing the wiring and equipment and then having someone else doing the startup and commissioning?

Our other shop does this work regularly, they have a different customer base than we do, and from what I hear they've pretty much self taught themselves how to do it since they have trouble getting programmers in this area.


----------



## HertzHound (Jan 22, 2019)

They buy the startup/commissioning/programming from the vendor that they buy the equipment through. We install everything. The vendor also supplies shop drawings. This covers everything needed during the submittal phase to the A&E as well as spells out the system and how it’s wired through one line risers, floor plans and device cuts. 

Pretty simple. You can deviate from their drawings if it makes it easier to install. Just note it all. It doesn’t really matter what rooms go back to what bridge. Basically each room is its own cat5 circuit. It leaves a bridge and goes to each device in a room and ends. If you had to you could hit other devices. From what I’ve seen and done they just keep it to one room. 

Each bridge/splitter has eight ports. 1 and 8 are the ports in and out to the next bridge. 2 through 7 go out to the rooms and dead end there. Even the 1 and 8 port thing doesn’t really matter. The system maps itself. I try and stay to the plans though, for troubleshooting later.


----------



## Tek Services (Oct 8, 2020)

darren79 said:


> Just starting to get my hands into nLight for the first time, looks like a decent product.
> 
> Just trying to figure out if what I am thinking is how it works.
> 
> ...


----------

