LightwaveRF Wireless Control Plug-In Socket Kit on-off for Electrical Devices with Remote, Pack of 3, White

My Mum is loyally devoted to an antique analogue television, which she watches with the help of an ancient Freeview box. Unfortunately every now and then the sound from the digibox cuts out, and the only way to restore it is to turn the box off and on again at the mains. Being disabled, my Mum can't reach the switch on her wall socket. This Lightwave product is the solution to her problem.The kit arrives in a heavy-duty blister pack, containing a Lightwave catalogue, an exceptionally lucid instruction leaflet, three 13 amp sockets and a remote control, the latter already fitted with a coin-type CR2032 lithium battery. Each component bears a sticker confirming that it has been passed by a quality controller.Installation could hardly be simpler. You plug a socket into the wall; a flashing LED indicates that it has entered its five-second learning mode; and you push one of the three Off buttons on the remote control. The socket is now linked with that particular Off button and the On button next to it. (If you want, all three sockets can be linked to the same pair of buttons.)The system works via radio rather than infra-red, so there doesn't need to be a clear line of sight between the sockets and the remote. The remote has an LED that flashes to confirm that a button has been properly pressed.Subjectively, every element of the kit feels well designed and well made.

I originally bought the Siemens version from B & Q and found that after a few weeks one failed. I had it replaced and then this failed. I have realised this is probably due to the switches not being able to handle the inductve loads of flourescent lighting. I have two small florescent lights under my kitchen cupboards - much less than the 20 Amps of the relay specification, nevertheless the units keep failing. I rather foolishly thought that they may have improved the design and bought this version from Amazon - the one driving the fluorescent tubes failed within 3 weeks of installing. One also failed that was driving an LED 30W strip but that was perhaps because the LED power supply failed first (the well know electrolytic capacitor swelling problem). It seems that the relays in these need changing for more rugged ones or some extra protective circuitry added. From reading elsewhere on the web the contacts may become welded together because of the inductive load. There is no mention in the instructions, are far as I can see, about these not being suitable for switching fluorescent lighting circuits.

Being disabled with ms I use numerous I/R and R/F remote sockets and find that there is sometimes annoying crossover, where a remote will operate something it shouldn't.One problem which became more of a problem as time went on was my Sky box needing to be unplugged now and then to reboot, a simple task but now almost impossible for me, let alone simple. Having searched and searched eBay and Amazon, because of the neat design and also because these sockets could be controlled at a later date from my 'phone if I want to and buy the extra part needed, I decided to buy this LightwaveRF set of three sockets. They arrived more quickly than expected and my Partner plugged one in for me. Linking the remote to it was so simple and it worked with no oroblem - the red LED remains lit whether the socket is switched on or off, by the way - and none of my other remotes interferes with it, so really pleased with these quality sockets. Many thanks LightwaveRF!

Pros: You can connect and control via the internet (though a relatively expensive add on required)Cons: If the power goes out so does the link with the remote. No "all on" or "all off" buttonI have a much cheaper set that stay connected after a power cut and have "all" buttons, I bought these new ones because of the optional internet control. Although I was aware of the lack of a button to control all of them, the text did not mention that the link with the remote is lost after a power failure (or if you switch the wall socket off or unplug to move it, for example). Without this significant flaw they'd have had 4 stars (losing one for the lack of an "all" button).

I bought several of these, to replace old X10 (controlled via the mains) switches, assuming the wireless control of these switches would be more reliable. Problem is they don't work consistently - their range is normally OK throughout our house, but sometimes they inexplicably refuse to work (possibly through interference with other wireless equipment?) and quite often (depending on which equipment is connected to them!) they switch on, but then refuse to switch off - which seems to imply that when the load is switched on, it influences the reception of the on/off signals.

I bought this kit for my elderly mother who is in a care home, and is bedbound. She found the main wall lights in her room far too bright for her, and her bedside lamp wasn't enough for the room. I therefore bought her a small floor lamp, but obviously she couldn't get to the controls. This remote control set is ideal. I set it up (extremely simple to do so), and now she has the remote control by her bed, and can turn the floor lamp on and off as she pleases. We have had a set of these before for our house, and use it to turn televisions etc. on and off, just using the one remote control unit. Highly recommended.

These on/off switches plug directly into your socket and are easily linked to the remote control. Each unit can link with several remotes, the Lightwave Hub, and even a home automation system that uses the correct 433MHz frequency. You can also control 2 or more units by linking them to the same button on the remote. They neat and quite discreet.