Recently Filed in Lighting Control Systems

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

One of the main tenets of green building is “Do you really need that?” Less becomes more. Smaller becomes better. And 8,000-square-foot homes are not supposed to be. A home that size should not be considered green, says green designer and consultant Michael Anschel of Otogawa-Anschel Design-Build in North Minneapolis, Minn. “The resource consumption, water consumption, land-use are all obscenely out of scale with what is appropriate, let alone required, for living.” Custom homebuilder Margie Hamrick of Ecoexistence in Vail, Colo., would disagree. She’s the… View this story
Home Control • Home Control Systems • Lighting Control • Lighting Control Systems • Green Technology • Home of the Year Awards 2009 • Cool Homes

Few people who buy a spec home leave it as is. They might change the light fixtures, put in a better front door or repaint the walls. In this 12,500-square-foot Atlanta charmer, the owners added a slew of sophisticated electronic systems, from a powerful home theater to a home control system and a lighting system that offers convenience, potential energy savings and dramatic architectural highlights. The homeowners didn’t rush into this project, though. In fact, this well-lit house exemplifies the power of prodigious planning. These… View this story
Home Control Systems • Lighting Control Systems • Cool Homes • Slideshows

RadioRa 2 changes everything for Lutron, a pioneer in wireless lighting control. Ten years after RadioRa debuted—followed by several incompatible variations of the product—Lutron has standardized on a single RF technology for that class of wireless lighting controls: RadioRa 2. Goodbye RadioRa senior. Goodbye RadioRa SR. Goodbye AuroRa. “When we looked at coming out with the next-generation RadioRa, we wanted to do a lot of things that the architecture of RadioRa wouldn’t allow us to do,” says Lutron product manager Jeremy Kleinberg. RadioRa 2 is… View this story
Lighting Control • Lighting Control Systems • Product News

There are many variables that can impact the performance of a lighting control system. The amount of sunlight your home receives, the layout and size of the residence and even how the buttons on the controls all deserve careful consideration. Here are a few key things you’ll want to do (and not do) when your ready to invest in a lighting control system for your house. Do plan for 3-way switches. In a hallway or staircase, for example, put a keypad at both ends—so you… View this story
Lighting Control • Lighting Control Systems • 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

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

Money is tight, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up on your dreams of having a home control system. Just scale down your plans a bit. Instead of spending a fortune to trick out the entire house, you can economize by focusing on a single room. It’s a trend that’s really taking off, says Keith W. Harrison, owner of Total Home Technologies in Caldwell, N.J. “Not too many people are coming to us these days asking us to wire their whole house,” he… View this story
Home Control Systems • Lighting Control Systems • 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

Low-energy, eco-friendly LED lighting is being pitched as the next generation of lighting, but how easy or difficult is it to incorporate into a home? A new Web site from Lutron Electronics is devoted to LED lighting to help guide you. Intended as a public resource for designers, specifiers, contractors and homeowners, the Web site highlights important product compatibility testing so homeowners can avoid compatibility problems and retain significant energy savings by dimming LED lighting. As the LED industry enters the market of general illumination,… View this story
Lighting Control Systems • Home Control • Product News

Here comes Mi Casa Verde, yet another startup manufacturer who aims to bring home automation to the masses – with an Internet gateway, PC software and the ability to operate hundreds of wireless Z-Wave devices currently on the market. I figured it was destined to join its predecessors on the long road of broken promises and failed attempts. I could not have been more wrong. Mi Casa Verde represents a major leap in user friendly home automation. Mi Casa Verde sent me one Vera hub,… View this story
Climate Control Systems • Home Control Systems • Lighting Control Systems • Reviews • Home Control

President Barack Obama has announced his intention to “green” the White House, beyond former President Bill Clinton’s and George W. Bush’s efforts that saw more efficient heating and cooling systems and solar electric (PV) and solar thermals systems installed. According to Steven Strong Solar Design Associates, which designed and installed the current White House system in 2002, the White House has 10 kilowatts of Evergreen photovoltaic panels and two solar thermal systems, one for domestic hot water and another for the pool, hot tub and… View this story
Computer Systems • Displays • Multiroom Audio • Climate Control Systems • Thermostats and Sensors • Surge Protectors • Home Control Systems • Lighting Control Systems • Green Technology • Info and Answers