Can someone direct me to a remote control that I can use to turn on ANY electric device, such as lights?

I would imagine it would involve something that plugs into the wall and could interrupt the flow of power to the device when the remote turned it off, and supply power when the remote turned it on. Someone out there must have thought of this by now.





In scenes in movies where the bachelor has an elaborate bachelor pad, they had remotes that control the lights. I want one :)Can someone direct me to a remote control that I can use to turn on ANY electric device, such as lights?
If you're looking to control only power and dimming for lights, appliances, etc. (as opposed to your TV and DVD player), there are lots of so-called power line controllers (PLC) out there.





As you guessed, you need (at least) two items: a transmitter and a receiver. The receiver can be as simple as a ';lamp module'; which plugs between the light plug and the wall. For built-in light fixtures, there are PLC light switches and even in-line controllers.





Most PLC transmitters are wired, meaning you plug them in and they transmit commands over your power line. There are also wireless transmitters which send radio frequency (RF) signals to a transceiver. The transceiver hears the RF signals and re-sends them over the power line.





I have a house full of these and they work pretty well. Some suppliers for the older style ';X-10'; protocol units are http://www.x10.com/ and http://www.smarthome.com/ . Smarthome also has a proprietary system called ';Insteon'; which is reputedly better than, and backward compatible with, X-10. If I were starting from scratch, I would use that.





If you are looking for a single remote which controls both lights and A/V equipment, you might find success with the Harmony 890, which transmits both infrared (IR) and RF. You can find out more at http://www.harmonyremote.com/ .Can someone direct me to a remote control that I can use to turn on ANY electric device, such as lights?
The clapper!
im not sure they have any like what your saying but the closest thing is probably a universal remote well maybe they have the kind you want but they are probably pretty spendy