Local or Remote Power for Buildings, Accessories, etc.?

Excellent idea.  My only hesitation would be knowing I would sometimes leave power on.  My Run Room has half of all duplex receptacles switched so all layout power can be turned off at one location.

You may want to be sure you have smoke detectors in the room that you can hear in other parts of the house.

I'm kinda with Susan on this. It'd be better if you could switch the hard wired portion of the electrical and add a few outlets where you need them . Since the warts don't pull alot you could use a power strip with several plugged in. Me when I leave the train room I can throw 2 switches at the control panel and know everythings off.
Alot of the wireless stuff isn't designed for a lot of load so be careful.

David

Sounds like a neat idea.  

 

There are some things to consider. These outlets use batteries. You'll have to figure out life of them so you know when to change them, sort of like smoke detectors, change the battery on the fall clock change. Also, 100' for most remotes is a pretty far distance. Be sure these remotes will operate that far in your train room. 

 

The good ones aren't cheap, there are $6 ones and then there are the $15 ones that really work, so if it is wire cost vs the outlet cost, wire may win. Obviously, the plug in feature will win on labor. 

 

Have you considered a wire bus for your lites with relays? With this approach you could lite up a lot with small gauge wire [22AWG] from the relay to the control center on/off switches that activate the relays centrally placed which operate off of a 14/16AWG depending on amps/volts you are trying to lite. One relay 3pdt can do three units of 10 lites most varieties. 

 

Something similar with accessories is doable, though more thought about which accessories are in play - do they have motors and lites, etc.

 

You can imply which way I went.

 

Ralph

I would just run an ample bus in a complete loop around the perimeter of the entire layout. Wallmart sells 16-2 gauge extension cords 15 feet long for $1.37. Using both wires as a single feed they together are a little better than a single 12 gauge wire and a real cheap source of wire. Simply plug them in end to end. They can then be tapped with a plug every 15 feet. If in a complete loop even at 100 feet the voltage drop should be acceptable. If controlled from a panel I would switch them with relays described here

 

http://www.jcstudiosinc.com/BlogShowThread?id=635&categoryId=426

 

For the common I use a large single common bus described here so the common is available conveniently along the layout. No need to run a wire all the way back to and fro

 

http://www.jcstudiosinc.com/BlogShowThread?id=432&categoryId=426

 

Dale H

Dale, doubling the wire is good for 3 gauge steps. 

 

16-3 = 13  better than 14 gauge, but not as good as 12 gauge

Alex, I had similar thoughts, but the path I took was a little bit diferent. I centralized a computer 12vdc power supply that has 4 outputs that were regulated and protected. I used one cable from the centralized supply to terminal boards in each "zone"(one per output) of the layout. The connections to buildings are then really short by comparison, and you get one ac disconnect. I do think Bill Bramledge from Cincinnati who writes in OGR talked about something very similar to run accessories on his layout, and automate the controls. I can't remember the issue, maybe someone else does.

Dale

 

Thanks for the correction. How much does it decrease resistance by putting it in a loop? Say the layout is 10 feet wide and 100 feet long and instead of running one bus down the center you run the bus in a loop around the perimeter instead? From the chart 2, #16 wires used as one would have about 2 ohms resistance per 1000 feet or .2 ohms per 100 feet .Does putting it in a loop increase ampacity?

 

Dale H

This thread described a similar application and a low-cost 3-channel remotely switched AC outlet system.  I use this $10 Home Depot single-channel unit for outdoor lights which reliably reaches 50 but not 100 ft.  It only needs a battery in the remote. The supplied battery has so far lasted 3 years with daily use.

 

If you additionally want command control rather than just remote control, I’d think you could wire AIU switch outputs across the remote’s switches.

 

Okay,
I feel like an idiot saying this after the heated discussion we all had about extension cords and their uses. BUT I wouldn't use them. Don't matter all the reasons it's just better to do it right by wiring in some receptacles.
Another option you have is using a ceiling fan remote These are 120 volt and are hard wired. they're heavy duty and will handle all you want to put on them in the way of load you can tuck it in behind a receptacle and the receptacle would then be switched.
You can turn it on and off with the remote

Will they work 100 feet away? I don't know never tried it.

David

Another option is the x10 outlets. There is a little bit of a cash outlay for either the wireless or wired controller but the outlets aren't to bad. They have one that would plug into an extension cord or direct wired. I use them a lot and they work great.

Ron

Consider these two cases:

1. A single run down the middle of two X gauge wires bonded together at frequent intervals.

2. A loop of X gauge wire.

We will neglect the resistance of feeders in either case since they presumably carry only a small current compared to the bus.

 

The resistance at the far end of the loop will be slightly higher than the double-wire bus because the loop is spread in the middle, requiring more wire.

 

If the source is at 12:00 on the loop, and the far end is at 6:00, the resistance at 3:00 and 9:00 positions of the loop will be at least 50% higher than for Case 1.  This penalty increase to near 100% as you get close to the source, and drops to near 0% as you move toward the far end of the loop.  (The "near" is due to the differences in lengths because of the horizontal spread to make a loop.)

 

I don't think it would be fair to compare a single-wire bus with a loop because you are using less than half the amount of wire for the single-wire bus.

Since you have 100 feet to play with, if you can describe the area to me and maybe some pictures? I could help you with getting some switched receptacles wired in.
It's really not hard to do(Just sounds like it)
It's one of the most basic house circuits.
But I need to know is the area finished?
How far is it to the electrical panel?
How many outlets do you plan to have?
This way like my train room you can make sure everythings off with the flip of a switch.

David