Recently Filed in Shades and Blinds

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

CEDIA Expo is not just for exploring new technologies and enlightening CE Pros. It’s also a great place for doing your own virtual shopping – virtual as in, “If I had the money, I would buy ….” Virtual shopping also applies to products that are not yet available, and ones that are inexpensive enough, but you couldn’t be bothered to install them. After CEDIA Expo 2009, I came away with a nice shopping list for my own home—some items I’ve coveted for years; others that… View this story
Displays • Flat Panel • HDTV • Video Screen • Furniture • Lighting Control • Shades and Blinds • Safety and Security • Product News • Slideshows

It’s easy to get lost in a sea of technology when you’re a window shade, drape or blind. That wasn’t the case at this year’s CEDIA Expo, however. Lutron Electronics introduced a bounty of innovative motorized shading solutions at the Atlanta-based show. The most unique was a system called Kirbe. Instead of traversing a panel of draperies to the left and right, as is done with conventional system, the motorized roller moves the material up and down. In the up position, the fabric rolls out… View this story
Lighting Control • Shades and Blinds • Product News

You can say a lot of nice things about my house. It’s uniquely laid out. It’s spacious. It has an awesome view. But it’s definitely no high-tech wonderland. Built in the early 80s, it boasts no high-speed wiring network to support much of anything. Yes, I could always pay to have Category 5 routed throughout, but based on the obstacles we ran into when having satellite system wired up, I’d rather not. My poor broom closet has more holes in it than a slice of… View this story
Blu-ray • Multiroom Audio • TV Mounts • Locks and Hardware • Shades and Blinds • Product News

New and greener shading solutions have been announced by lighting control company Lutron Electronics. The company’s Sivoia QS wireless solution includes a clock that allows the programming of “scenes,” much like lighting scenes that bring certain lights on at certain levels for specific tasks like art or mood lighting. Lutron will promote energy-saving shading scenes such as winter warmth and summer cool. A “winter warmth” scene, for example, would open shades or drapes to let in light to warm a space and use less lighting,… View this story
Climate Control • Lighting Control • Shades and Blinds • Green Technology • Product News

Q. What are some suggested manufacturers of automated blinds for shading windows?—George A. George, there are a handful of respected companies that you can check out, or work with a custom electronics pro to have professionally installed for your windows. Many of these offerings can be integrated into single-room or full housewide automation systems, to help make your home more energy friendly if that’s influencing your decision. Our sister publication CE Pro surveys a list of 100 custom pros each year and asks what brands… View this story
Lighting Control • Shades and Blinds • Home Control Systems • Ask a Pro

Guess what? Motorized window treatments can be green. Shades and drapes that open or close at the press of a button can save you energy by helping to keep a room cool in the summer months, warm it with sunshine in the winter or illuminate it with natural light. This is nothing new. The motorized window treatment crowd has been touting the energy efficiency of its products for decades. Only no one cared until now. How times change. Now saving energy is fashionable. And that… View this story
Home Control • Lighting Control • Shades and Blinds • Green Technology • Enhancements • Info and Answers

It used to be that motorized window coverings could only be operated from an automation system when attached to the automation processors with cabling. In newly constructed homes, getting the wire from the windows to the automation system was fairly straightforward, but in an existing home the task could often be tedious and labor intensive. To simplify the process, manufacturers of motorized window coverings and automation systems have started working together to develop wireless connectivity solutions. Lagotek, a manufacturer of home automation systems, for example,… View this story
Home Control • Lighting Control • Shades and Blinds • Home Control • Product News

Home control software developer Lagotek is forging into new territory: window coverings. The company recently inked a distribution agreement with Budget Blinds, and international retail franchiser of window covering products. Budget Blinds will market Lagotek’s Home Intelligence Platform, that includes a motorized window covering application, at more than 1,000 franchise locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. The arrangement will allow consumers to purchase motorized window treatments and have them automated to open and close according to predefined conditions, such as the time or day or… View this story
Shades and Blinds • Home Control • Product News

When the economy has everyone pinching their pennies and tightening their belts, investing in your home may not seem like the best thing to do. But there are a number of ways that you can use home technology to save money on your utilities, including your electric and heating bills. Here are three ways to save money using home technology. Energy Management Energy monitoring and management is an increasingly popular way to cut down on your electric costs. Research firm Parks Associates expects the number… View this story
Climate Control • Lighting Control • Shades and Blinds

I recently ran across a unique home theater installation. The entire space, from top to bottom, was covered with draperies. It looked so unlike other home theaters I’ve written about in the past, I just had to learn more about this room. Anika Ruff, president of Integrated Electronic Interiors in Winter Park, FL, presented a strong case for the curtains, saying that they simply looked better than typical fabric acoustical wall coverings. Because the room is so tall—15 feet—the acoustical panels would have broken up… View this story
Acoustics • Home Theater Accessories • Shades and Blinds • Home Theater • Info and Answers

A green home? For Electronic House’s Home of the Year? Yes and you bet. For the first time, our grand-prize winner is an energy-efficient, sustainable home that’s made largely from environmentally friendly materials. And yes, it has plenty of electronics. In fact, the home’s control system, lighting and shading systems help to save energy. Energy efficiency and sustainability are important to many of us today, and this home proves that you can be a good steward of the Earth while enjoying the benefits of the… View this story
Climate Control Systems • Home Control Systems • Shades and Blinds • Green Technology • Home of the Year Awards 2008 • Multiroom AV • Home Control • Cool Homes • Slideshows