Panic Switch

Housezealot · June 2, 2009, 09:13 AM

I am not planning on building a new house any time soon but I had an idea.
we all worry about HD flash lights but what if a guy had a centrel panic switch that would turn on every light in the house at once?
This seems like it would be a major pain to wire (probably near impossible in an existing house) but man would that be a great thing to have (untill you lost power!)

5whiskey · June 2, 2009, 09:25 AM

It's an excellent idea for a deterrent. Most of the time said BG is going to run away if every light in the house instantly comes on.

If said BG is one of the 1 in 100k that would still like to continue the hunt, then you will be tactically equal with him in that concern. He's coming into your turf, that you should be able to walk around in even in ultra low light. With the lights on you lose that advantage. Also, I'm still a big believer that a HD flashlight is a defensive tool in and of itself. If the house is in total darkness and someone takes a shine to the eyes with a good surefire or streamlight, they can't see to fight. Of course, if they have the proper tools then they could do the same to you.

It's an interesting idea though, the panic button that is. I could really see a use for doing it with all outside lights, and believe it or not it wouldn't be as hard to make happen as you think. I would rather keep the inside dark so I have an advantage, though.

hogdogs · June 2, 2009, 09:53 AM

If you let a "commercial" electrician design and install the wiring, you could have lighting thru out the home come on from one or a bunch of switch locations... Just requires some creative engineering and pretty colors of wire drawn thru conduit tubing.
I am not sure I would like to convert to lighted home defense since I spent 22+ years planning a dark defense...

Brent

Lee Lapin · June 2, 2009, 10:32 AM

Look into the X-10 protocol for plug-in controls, which use your existing home wiring. No 'special' wiring necessary, everything plugs into existing outlets, and it works. They used to offer a 'panic button' controller too, once upon a time, but I don't know if they still do or not. Either way, a simple press of the "ALL ON" button will do the same thing.

See http://www.x10.com/homepage.htm (wow, did they ever turn that page into a geek-a-thon since the last time I saw it) or any of several other outlets on the web- heck, even Radio Shack used to sell X-10 components.

lpl

Housezealot · June 2, 2009, 10:40 AM

thanks for the link, I think it has something I may be able to make due with.
on a funny note when it first opened at a casual glance it looked like an "adult" site, my wife was walking by and gave me the "what the hell are you looking at?" and then lost intrest when she found it was security!

stargazer65 · June 2, 2009, 11:32 AM

It might be great to rig it so a really loud claxon starts sounding at the same time as the lights go on.

jfrey123 · June 2, 2009, 07:07 PM

I'm thinking the process could be a lot simpler if you had a set of lights installed and hardwired, dedicated lights that are only for the emergency system. Using "existing" lights would be tough, since most of my lights plug into the wall...

One 100w bulb every 144 sq ft would be pretty effective, maybe up in a can light or something. Theoretically we could have all of them done on one circuit, and a panic switch put in every room....

Goatwhiskers · June 2, 2009, 07:28 PM

When dad built this house back in '58, he put in a lighting system controlled by low voltage relays operated by a rocker switch on the wall just like conventional switches. In the master bedroom there was a master control panel where you could control any or all of the lights in the house. The only reason I took it out when we remodeled was that some of the relays weren't working right and they had gotten horribly expensive and hard to get. You can probably still buy such a system.

Deaf Smith · June 2, 2009, 07:35 PM

Housezealot,

Ever thought about having alot of stand-alone LED lights throughout the house. All wireless, and a centeral button that will turn them on? They make LED lights that plug into wall sockets and recharge and you can turn them on by remote. Just get the sockets imbedded and all the LEDs on the same frequency. One 'click' and they all come on. And they are independant from your regular light system.

Lee Lapin · June 2, 2009, 08:43 PM

One thing that might well be worth thinking about in building a new house is installing a coupleof 'power failure' lights of the sort used in commercial establishments. It's a 'belt and suspenders' thing, I know, but the reason I mention it is that thugs will sometimes snatch out the meter base or otherwise pull the power on a home they're about to break into.

On a less expensive note, there are night lights that have a 'power failure' mode as well, and they just plug into existing outlets. There are also relatively inexpensive (> $10) battery powered indoor motion detector lights available.

Same deal goes with keeping a cell phone in the bedroom, in case the landline gets cut.

lpl

June 2, 2009, 09:13 AM	#1
Housezealot Senior Member Join Date: January 20, 2009 Location: Michigan Posts: 606	Panic Switch I am not planning on building a new house any time soon but I had an idea. we all worry about HD flash lights but what if a guy had a centrel panic switch that would turn on every light in the house at once? This seems like it would be a major pain to wire (probably near impossible in an existing house) but man would that be a great thing to have (untill you lost power!) __________________ We must, indeed, all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.

June 2, 2009, 10:40 AM	#5
Housezealot Senior Member Join Date: January 20, 2009 Location: Michigan Posts: 606	thanks for the link, I think it has something I may be able to make due with. on a funny note when it first opened at a casual glance it looked like an "adult" site, my wife was walking by and gave me the "what the hell are you looking at?" and then lost intrest when she found it was security! __________________ We must, indeed, all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.

June 2, 2009, 11:32 AM	#6
stargazer65 Senior Member Join Date: April 6, 2009 Location: Connecticut Posts: 761	It might be great to rig it so a really loud claxon starts sounding at the same time as the lights go on. __________________ "I assert that nothing ever comes to pass without a cause." Jonathan Edwards

June 2, 2009, 07:07 PM	#7
jfrey123 Senior Member Join Date: July 7, 2006 Location: Reno, NV. Posts: 1,026	I'm thinking the process could be a lot simpler if you had a set of lights installed and hardwired, dedicated lights that are only for the emergency system. Using "existing" lights would be tough, since most of my lights plug into the wall... One 100w bulb every 144 sq ft would be pretty effective, maybe up in a can light or something. Theoretically we could have all of them done on one circuit, and a panic switch put in every room.... __________________ Rock out with your Glock out!

June 2, 2009, 07:35 PM	#9
Deaf Smith Senior Member Join Date: October 31, 2000 Location: Texican! Posts: 4,453	Housezealot, Ever thought about having alot of stand-alone LED lights throughout the house. All wireless, and a centeral button that will turn them on? They make LED lights that plug into wall sockets and recharge and you can turn them on by remote. Just get the sockets imbedded and all the LEDs on the same frequency. One 'click' and they all come on. And they are independant from your regular light system. __________________ “To you who call yourselves ‘men of peace,’ I say, you are not safe without men of action by your side” Thucydides

June 2, 2009, 09:25 AM	#2
5whiskey Senior Member Join Date: October 23, 2005 Location: US Posts: 3,657	It's an excellent idea for a deterrent. Most of the time said BG is going to run away if every light in the house instantly comes on. If said BG is one of the 1 in 100k that would still like to continue the hunt, then you will be tactically equal with him in that concern. He's coming into your turf, that you should be able to walk around in even in ultra low light. With the lights on you lose that advantage. Also, I'm still a big believer that a HD flashlight is a defensive tool in and of itself. If the house is in total darkness and someone takes a shine to the eyes with a good surefire or streamlight, they can't see to fight. Of course, if they have the proper tools then they could do the same to you. It's an interesting idea though, the panic button that is. I could really see a use for doing it with all outside lights, and believe it or not it wouldn't be as hard to make happen as you think. I would rather keep the inside dark so I have an advantage, though.

June 2, 2009, 09:53 AM	#3
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	If you let a "commercial" electrician design and install the wiring, you could have lighting thru out the home come on from one or a bunch of switch locations... Just requires some creative engineering and pretty colors of wire drawn thru conduit tubing. I am not sure I would like to convert to lighted home defense since I spent 22+ years planning a dark defense... Brent

June 2, 2009, 10:32 AM	#4
Lee Lapin Senior Member Join Date: September 7, 2004 Location: SE NC Posts: 1,239	Look into the X-10 protocol for plug-in controls, which use your existing home wiring. No 'special' wiring necessary, everything plugs into existing outlets, and it works. They used to offer a 'panic button' controller too, once upon a time, but I don't know if they still do or not. Either way, a simple press of the "ALL ON" button will do the same thing. See http://www.x10.com/homepage.htm (wow, did they ever turn that page into a geek-a-thon since the last time I saw it) or any of several other outlets on the web- heck, even Radio Shack used to sell X-10 components. lpl

June 2, 2009, 07:28 PM	#8
Goatwhiskers Senior Member Join Date: April 8, 2009 Location: Batchelor, La. Posts: 579	When dad built this house back in '58, he put in a lighting system controlled by low voltage relays operated by a rocker switch on the wall just like conventional switches. In the master bedroom there was a master control panel where you could control any or all of the lights in the house. The only reason I took it out when we remodeled was that some of the relays weren't working right and they had gotten horribly expensive and hard to get. You can probably still buy such a system.

June 2, 2009, 08:43 PM	#10
Lee Lapin Senior Member Join Date: September 7, 2004 Location: SE NC Posts: 1,239	One thing that might well be worth thinking about in building a new house is installing a coupleof 'power failure' lights of the sort used in commercial establishments. It's a 'belt and suspenders' thing, I know, but the reason I mention it is that thugs will sometimes snatch out the meter base or otherwise pull the power on a home they're about to break into. On a less expensive note, there are night lights that have a 'power failure' mode as well, and they just plug into existing outlets. There are also relatively inexpensive (> $10) battery powered indoor motion detector lights available. Same deal goes with keeping a cell phone in the bedroom, in case the landline gets cut. lpl