Recently Filed in Fixtures and Switches

So what’s the best course of action for adding dimmers? Should you change out every single switch in your house or start with just a couple of rooms? According to the experts, you’ll get the biggest bang for your buck in the kitchen and bath. “These two rooms have a tremendous amount of installed lighting,” says Phil Scheetz, home systems marketing manager at Lutron Electronics. In a kitchen, for example, there might be recessed lighting over the stove and cooktop, pendants above the island, a… View this story
Lighting Control • Fixtures and Switches • How To • Home Control • Info and Answers

Lights are a beautiful thing. Softly dimmed, they can evoke relaxation and play up features of your home’s décor and architecture. The controls that you use to adjust the intensity of the lights can be just as eye-catching. Manufacturers of lighting control system offer a myriad of different styles of switches. You can go with something sleek and minimalist like the Vierti dimmer from Lutron or a keypad that’s trendy like the Euro-style models from LiteTouch. Colors run the rainbow, from trendy blues and browns… View this story
Lighting Control • Fixtures and Switches • Home Control • Info and Answers • Slideshows

In-wall speakers have come a long way. They look great and can sound just as good as free-standing models. Still, if you look hard enough, they are noticeable. Some speaker manufacturers believe they can do better at blending speakers into the home decor—and they have, by creating models that are completely invisible. One of the pioneers of the invisible speaker category is Sound Advance. The company’s flat-panel loudspeaker technology was acquired by Sonance a few years ago, giving Sonance an even broader lineup of speakers.… View this story
Home Control • Touchpanels and Keypads • Lighting Control • Fixtures and Switches • Lighting Control Systems • In-Wall Speakers • Home Control • Info and Answers • Slideshows

Love your home theater? But does it compare to the real thing? For a home theater to beat a genuine movie theater, it needs more than high definition, widescreen action. I’m talking about accessories. So as the saying goes, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. By spending some time and money, you can bring that genuine movie theater flavor (more than just popcorn) into your home. Signs & Posters Every movie theater has impressive signage. Proclaim your theater to the world with a “cinema”… View this story
Home Theater Accessories • Seating • Fixtures and Switches • Enhancements • Info and Answers • Slideshows

Who isn’t looking for a way to jazz up their home these days? One way is some new lighting, and an elegant and green way to go about it is LED style. Now there’s a new option for LEDs in the U.S., as Lighting Science Group has announced the availability of its Eyeleds solid-state decorative lighting systems. The ultra-thin, recessed Eyeleds can provide surface lighting pizazz to indoor spaces like bedrooms and kitchens, and outdoor areas such as sidewalks and driveways. Eyeleds are only 1/4-inch… View this story
Lighting Control • Fixtures and Switches • Outdoor Lighting • Miscellaneous • Green Technology • Enhancements • Product News

No matter what type of color scheme you’ve got going on in your house, On-Q/Legrand’s got you covered with its new wall plates and devices. No more worrying that off-white just won’t fit in with that shade of green or magenta in your bedroom. On-Q’s new Studio Collection features “global art and living influences,” according to On-Q, and the result is 17 contemporary color options for these sleek decorative and functional pieces. The curvy design includes titanium edging and a screwless finish for added flair… View this story
Home Control • Touchpanels and Keypads • Lighting Control • Fixtures and Switches • Multiroom AV • Enhancements • Product News

So you want home control but shudder at the thought of the thousands of dollars it will cost you. Fear not, says Homemanageables, which has introduced its Starter Kit control solution for the budget-minded homeowner. The kit allows homeowners to control lights, appliances, thermostats, doors and windows via the Internet, cell phone or Homemanageables’ toll-free voice command system, the company says. And it’s all for $199, plus a $9.95 monthly fee. There’s a 30-day free trial, if you just want to check it out and… View this story
Climate Control • Home Control • Home Control Systems • Lighting Control • Fixtures and Switches • Home Control • Product News

Do you feel it? It happens every year about this time. That overwhelming desire you have to spruce up your home. It’s spring fever, and the only cure is getting involved in a good home improvement project. Our suggestion: change the lights. You don’t have to go crazy. Choose a room that could use a little pick-me-up then swap the traditional switches for ones that’ll let you dim the fixtures. Dimmer switches are very affordable and easy to install. But the best thing about them… View this story
Lighting Control • Fixtures and Switches • Info and Answers

It could soon be lights out for most incandescent reflector lamps. Those cone-shaped bulbs that look so pretty in your TV or dining rooms could soon be eliminated, according to a new release from the Home Lighting Control Alliance (HLCA). The bulbs are typically used in ceiling-recessed “cans” or track lighting, and their reflective coating typically displays off a nice “spotlight” effect. With these bulbs gone, the hope is that demand will shift to halogen and exempted incandescent lamps, which boasts better dimming as well… View this story
Fixtures and Switches • Manufacturers • Home Control • Product News

Reducing the electricity you use for lighting in and around our house is a great idea. If you believe in helping the environment, this helps to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide put into the atmosphere by power plants, many of which burn coal. Even if you don’t believe in the greenhouse effect and climate change, it makes sense to lighten your lighting load—if only to save you some bucks. Compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs are a great way to do this, as they use only… View this story
Fixtures and Switches • Green Technology • Info and Answers • Opinion/Soapbox

While your friends and family are busy running around the house flipping switches, you can show off what home control can really do via Lutron’s HomeWorks. The company just announced two new HomeWorks products: midnight-colored tabletop keypads with seeTouch-style buttons and a Maestro-style fan control. Choose from 5, 10 or 15 buttons on the keypads. The fan controls wire directly to fans up to 2 amps. The fan controls will ship by February 22; the keypads are expected by end of Q1 2008. Read the… View this story
Touchpanels and Keypads • Fixtures and Switches • Home Control • Product News

If you’re thinking about adding some dimmers to your lighting setup and are wondering how much electricity and dough you’ll save, Lutron Electronics has done the math for you. The manufacturer has launched a branch of its website, www.lutron.com/energy, devoted to calculating savings in both of those green ways. The interactive setup includes a bunch of facts about lighting energy and dimming technology’s influence. You can choose from a variety of typical rooms in a house, and input information such as how many bulbs and… View this story
Lighting Control • Fixtures and Switches • Lighting Control Systems • Outdoor Lighting • Green Technology • Home Control • Enhancements • Product News