Recently Filed in Outdoor Lighting

It’s a light! It’s a speaker! It’s a light speaker! Although “LightSpeaker” is the registered trademark of Klipsch, several other vendors fit the bill. During the recent Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) in Amsterdam, a few European companies and at least one American manufacturer demonstrated high-quality speakers that double as light fixtures. Those products, as well as the European version of LightSpeaker, are described in the slide show. Speaker Lights: That Was Then The concept isn’t new. One of the best “real” implementations so far has… View this story
On-Wall Speakers • Outdoor Speakers • Outdoor Lighting • Info and Answers

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

Mike McDonald is proud of his green home—and justifiably so. The stunning 4,600-square-foot Margarido House is the first custom home in northern California to achieve the highest “Platinum” rating in the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green homes program, and it exceeds California’s energy-efficiency Title 24 requirements by 55 percent. It has all the green amenities: 4.2 kilowatts of solar panels, a solar thermal system that provides domestic hot water and that for a radiant-floor heating system, and all kinds of green building… View this story
Home Control • Home Control Systems • Lighting Control • Lighting Control Systems • Outdoor Lighting • Shades and Blinds • Green Technology • Cool Homes

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

Having basic audio in the backyard that you can set up from inside and leave alone is fine for most. Being able to fully control it, and integrate other important controls back there (like security and intercom) is another ball of wax. At first, this pool area in the backyard was just going to have rock speakers around it. The homeowners could program from inside the house what music will be played on it. “That was fine, but they really wanted to be able to… View this story
Multiroom Audio • Home Security Systems • Surveillance • Lighting Control Systems • Outdoor Lighting • Home of the Year Awards 2009 • Cool Homes

As much as your spectacular home theater might make you want to stay inside all day watching movie trilogy marathons or baseball from noon until midnight, it’s okay to venture outdoors once in awhile. If you install some entertainment components in your backyard, by the swimming pool, or on your patio, you’ll be spending more time out there, doing a lot more than just cutting the grass. You know that great multiroom audio system that allows you to pull a song from any source to… View this story
Video Projectors • Outdoor Speakers • Irrigation • Pool and Spa • Outdoor Lighting • Deck and Patio • Exterior • Multiroom AV • Home Control • 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

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

Your Thanksgiving leftovers haven’t even congealed yet, and it’s already time to start thinking about the Christmas decor. Instead of dealing with the daily chore of turning on and off lights, Z-Wave has a nifty new Holiday Lighting Starter Kit to kick off the 2007 season. With this easy-to-install setup, you can set lights to turn on and off at preset times or save a couple of bucks on energy—you’ll need those to stuff your stocking. The kit includes one master controller, two plug-in modules,… View this story
Lighting Control Systems • Outdoor Lighting • Gadgets • Home Control • Product News

It takes a good imagination, close collaboration and strong determination to pile a mountain of electronics into a home without disrupting any of its natural beauty and tranquility. The electronics design team at Art and Automation in Wailuku, HI, demonstrated those qualities by infusing this 25,000-square-foot Hawaiian rendezvous with miles of cabling, dozens of speakers, several flat-panel TVs, and one control system intelligent enough to manage the operation of everything from a music server that can hold as many as 250,000 songs to an assortment… View this story
Flat Panel • HDTV • Plasma • Video Projectors • Video Screen • Outdoor Speakers • Multiroom Audio • Cabinets • TV Mounts • Zone Controllers • Home Control Systems • Touchpanels and Keypads • Outdoor Lighting • Bedroom • Deck and Patio • Exterior • Media Room • Home Theater • Audio • Home Control • Enhancements • Cool Homes

In suburban Phoenix, Jack and Sandy Lindskog sought a pleasant soundtrack to their nightly sunset viewing on the patio. And they found it. Now they can select whatever CD they’re in the mood for that night, kick back and adjust the volume—depending on how loud the crickets are—without returning inside. Across town, Bobby Kelly and Janet Duval hoped some cool tunes would make hanging out in the pool or holing out on the putting green more fun for their family and friends. With six pairs… View this story
Outdoor Speakers • Home Control Systems • Pool and Spa • Lighting Control Systems • Outdoor Lighting • Deck and Patio • Exterior • Audio • Home Control • Enhancements • Cool Homes • Info and Answers

If a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it, does it really make a sound? Apparently it does, when it’s loud enough to wake the neighbors. That’s what systems ithe installation firm Criteria of Naples, FL, found out when it remotely loaded the control programming for this Florida homeowner’s lush outdoor space. Unbeknownst to technicians Chris Locadia and Rich Magliozzi, as the system was being programmed that morning from their office, it was also booting up at the home—with… View this story
AV Components • LCD • Video Projectors • Video Screen • Surround Sound • Home Theater Accessories • Outdoor Lighting • Deck and Patio • Home of the Year Awards 2007 • Home Theater • Audio • Enhancements • Cool Homes