Recently Filed in Fixtures and Switches

Forget the dinner at a fancy restaurant, a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates. They’ve been staple gifts for Valentine’s Day for way too long. It’s time to shake things up. With a few simple electronics additions, you can turn your own home into a romantic hideaway with some mood lighting, music and more. Plus you can use them and stay in on birthdays, too. Click here for 4 Tech Gifts for Valentine’s Day. View this story
Multiroom Audio • Fixtures and Switches • Shades and Blinds • Product News

We’ve been hearing a lot of about LED (light emitting diode) lighting lately, mainly because it’s such a green, energy-efficient mode of illumination. However, these tiny bulbs are also a great way to add visual impact to your home. Tiny and fairly easy to install, they can be tucked inconspicuously into all types of surfaces—walls, ceilings, even floors. They can be built into cabinetry, tables and other pieces of furniture. They can go into trim-work and stairwells. LEDs can also add a splash of color… View this story
Fixtures and Switches • Outdoor Lighting • Green Technology • Enhancements • Product News

Who says there are no good green tech gifts to give, without looking like a pompous, boring environmentalist? In fact, green tech gifts can be fun. Well, almost fun. Or at least useful and cool and interesting. Oh, what the heck, these gifts are fun. And they’re affordable. We’ve put together a list of last minute “green” gifts you can present to your love ones without feeling like preachy old Al Gore. For that reason, we’ve eliminated utilitarian things like surge suppressors and smart surge… View this story
Surge Protectors • Fixtures and Switches • Cell Phones • Gadgets • Green Technology • Info and Answers

He calls himself Lord Dumpling, and his island “nation” has a zero-tolerance policy for incandescent lights. In fact, he claims to have the first fully self-powered nation. He is Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway electric scooter and other devices, some of which are responsible for making his island home self-sustaining—along with a lot of LEDs (light emitting diodes). Kamen’s vacation home is a lighthouse on North Dumpling Island, off the Connecticut coast but technically a part of New York state (click here to view… View this story
Lighting Control • Fixtures and Switches • Lighting Control Systems • Outdoor Lighting • Green Technology • Cool Homes • Slideshows

Energy efficiency and technology are big topics at this year’s Greenbuild show taking place in Phoenix, Ariz., where the movers and shakers of the growing green movement are urging attendees to go beyond plucking the “low-hanging fruit” of energy savings and take the extra steps toward deep energy savings. “We are in a time now where we really have to make big changes,” said Al Gore, in the show’s opening plenary session on Wednesday night. “It’s time for us to shift to a new kind… View this story
Lighting Control • Fixtures and Switches • Power Management • Home Control Systems • Green Technology • Info and Answers

The world lives, eats and breathes for new technology. It’s what CE pros and enthusiast consumers do every day. The pursuit of technology is relentless. Everyone wants the latest in electronics, from flat panels to iPhones. It’s great news for integrators because it means upgrades, upgrades, upgrades. But are some of those upgrades even worse than the previous technology? A recent study revealed that in an effort to save fuel, trans-Atlantic freighters have cut their average speed to 10 knots. But cargo sailing ships from… View this story
Fixtures and Switches • Green Technology • Movies and Music • Info and Answers

Everyone knows that CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps) and LED (light emitting diodes) fixtures conserve electricity. CFLs are four times more efficient and last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, while LEDs use less than 10 watts of electricity and have even longer lifespans. They’re both great energy-savers, no doubt. But a 4,000-square-foot green home in Raleigh, N.C., proves that it’s possible to get even more efficiency out of these new lighting technologies. A variety of different occupancy sensors and timers installed inside the National Homebuilder… View this story
Fixtures and Switches • Lighting Control Systems • Shades and Blinds • Cool Homes

Thinking of buying energy-efficient LED (light emitting diode) fixtures for your home? There are a lot of LED lights on the market today, but buyer beware. Good, long-lasting LED lights are also available—and will generally cost more. Here are some things you should check out as you shop: Where’s the power supply? Most LEDs require low-voltage, so they must have an AC-to-DC adapter, transformer, or power supply to operate them. These can be internal or external to the fixture. Color Temperature, or Correlated Color Temperature… View this story
Lighting Control • Fixtures and Switches • Green Technology • Info and Answers

Lighting control has become nearly as popular as home theater and security. The technologies of lighting control have are now much more accessible to mainstream consumers, enabling a growing number of homeowners to reap the benefits. Low-cost solutions and Web-based controls are fueling innovation in lighting control. But consumers are also attracted to the falling prices and the category’s eco-friendly qualities, including the ability to monitor energy consumption. According to the CE Pro 100 Brand Analysis, the five most popular lighting control brands are: Lutron… View this story
Lighting Control • Fixtures and Switches • Lighting Control Systems • Product News • Slideshows

One of the easiest ways to save money on your energy bills? Buy dimmer switches for your lights and use them. Dimming a traditional incandescent bulb just 15 percent, which is hardly noticeable, can save you 15 percent in electricity costs and triple the life of the bulb. Dim it by 25 percent and you can save 20 percent. A dimmer can pay for itself pretty quickly. Lutron is upping the ante with new Maestro and Meadowlark eco-minder switches that turn small LEDs on their… View this story
Lighting Control • Fixtures and Switches • Green Technology • Info and Answers

Lights are a staple in every home, but that doesn’t mean your switches should be like everyone else’s. With a few simple tweaks, the fixtures can do more simply illuminate your home as a bit of lighting control. They can curb your energy use, evoke ambiance, and protect your home, for example. Here are 10 simple ways to realize your lights’ full potential.  1. Put Them on a Timer. Most families follow a fairly routine weekday schedule: out the door at 7 a.m., back at… View this story
Lighting Control • Fixtures and Switches • Lighting Control Systems • Info and Answers

Concerned about swine flu or other bacteria? Purely Products sells a portable Pocket Purifier that uses a 4-watt germicidal ultraviolet bulb (UV-C) that sterilizes surfaces like countertops. UV-C technology is widely used in hospitals for sanitation—and it is used to sanitize water. The bulbs do contain mercury, though, so you be the judge on how green and healthy that makes them. If you buy a UV-C product, keep in mind that ultraviolet purifiers utilize germicidal lamps that are designed and calculated to produce a certain… View this story
Fixtures and Switches • Gadgets • Green Technology • Info and Answers