Remote controlling a chandelier

Question

My house was built in 1833. In our dining room, there is old wiring in the ceiling. I am hoping to be able to pull in new wiring to hang a chandelier over the dining table. Here is the problem. I want to use the switch on the wall (which controls an outlet) for control, but without ripping my walls apart. Is there any way to convert the chandelier to a remote controlled light?

Answer 1

You can use a wireless ceiling fan switch for this purpose. I also have an older home that has plaster walls, and a ceiling that I don't want to touch. The only thing I needed was power to the ceiling fixture.

The remote control has 2 main parts. There is a small relay box which is attached to the fixture, and there is a wireless remote control that can be attached to the wall. All you need to do is wire the relay to the fixture, and you are good to go. The relay can usually be hidden in the junction box or the fixture itself, so it would be invisible.

The other option would be to fish some NM wire across the ceiling, and down the wall. This will involve some cutting of the wall and ceiling in a few places. You would also need to drill through the top plate of the wall, which is probably quite thick in such an old house. There are electricians out there that do that kind of work, but it won't be cheap.

There are also controls out there designed to be used in a smart home, but you would also need the infrastructure in place to use it. At minimum, you would need internet access and a smart hub to use it. The cost of setting up one of these systems is generally not worth it for a single fixture.