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Lighting Control
Using Lighting Control to Save Energy PDF Print E-mail
 
By now you've no doubt heard the most common home energy conservations tips: turn down the heat, switch to compact fluorescent or LED bulbs, and unplug chargers when not in use. While effective, they can at times feel like a compromise. But you may not have heard of another low-cost tip for saving energy: installing lighting control products. Not only do lighting control products, solutions ranging from inexpensive dimmers to whole-house automation, save energy, they add luxury, convenience and safety as well. Finally there's a no-compromise way to conserve energy and live green.

Consider this: a light bulb dimmed by just 10%--an imperceptible amount in most rooms--will use 10% less energy than one burning at full intensity. Regularly dimming lights in rooms with multiple high-wattage light fixtures, like kitchens, can make a very noticeable dent in your energy consumption. Dimming lights also offers a side benefit of extending the life of your bulbs, which contributes to less overall waste.

Not only are lighting control products good for your wallet and the environment, they also help you create the mood and ambience in your living spaces. Dimmers with memory let you preset various lighting conditions based upon how you live. In the kitchen you can set lights bright for cooking and cleaning, medium intensity for eating and entertaining, and dim for when you want to enjoy a midnight snack.

So what are you waiting for? Put lighting control at the top of your home improvement to-do list. Take a look at some of the lighting control solutions available from consumer electronics, home improvement and lighting specialty retailers, as well as home builders and TechHome integrators.

Dimmers

The most basic lighting control solutions, dimmers replace the existing wall switch and allow you to tailor the light level as you wish. For multi-purpose areas, like kitchens or family rooms, consider a multi-scene dimmer that lets you preset the perfect amount of light using memory buttons.

Multi-Location Dimmers

Perfect for hallways and entryways, multi-location dimmers allow you to adjust the lighting from multiple entry points.

Wireless Solutions

New wireless systems allow you to control multiple rooms or even your entire house without retrofitting any new wires.

Remote Control

Remote controlled lighting control allows you to turn on and off lights from anywhere in the house, or select preset lighting scenes right from the remote. You can even light a path from your car as you pull in the driveway.

Occupancy Sensor

Occupancy sensors are perfect for closets, walk-in pantries or other rooms where you only need light when someone is physically in the room. You can set them to operate only when there is no natural light in the room, so they don't come on when someone enters the room during the day. They're also very convenient when you have your hands full and can't reach for the switch.

Daylight Sensor

Daylight sensors can adjust the amount of lighting—both the number of lights turned on and the intensity of the lights—based on the amount of sunlight in the room.

Whole-House Automation

The ultimate in lighting and convenience control, home automation systems grant you access of many of your home's systems from central keypads or even remotely via the Internet. You'll have the ultimate in programming flexibility, convenience and security features, as well as the ability to integrate just about any home automation or entertainment features for a truly custom solution.

Consult with a TechHome Installer, which Link Your House is, to learn about solutions for bring the lifestyle and energy saving benefits of lighting control home.
 
Lutron Blends Low Cost and Integration with ‘Single-Room’ RadioRa-SR PDF Print E-mail
The affordable single-room wireless lighting control system supports up to 10 RF devices and integrates with third-party control systems
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01.28.2009 — Lutron's new RadioRa-SR is much more than a single-room version of the popular RadioRa wireless lighting control system.

It is Lutron's only ultra-affordable wireless lighting solution that integrates beautifully with Lutron shades and third-party control systems.

The solution borrows from several Lutron families including RadioRa, AuroRa and Maestro Wireless. But the SR is the only one that blends low cost with two-way integration.

AuroRa and Maestro Wireless are both affordable, but they lack two-way communications.

RadioRa is robust and almost infinitely expandable but its cost of entry is high due to the need for a separate repeater and CPU.

"It becomes cost prohibitive to scale down to one room," says Lutron product manager Jeremy Kleinberg.

On the other hand, an SR system with three SR-compatible devices (dimmer, keypad, sensor, motorized shades, etc.) can be had for about $850.

"That would cost about $2,000 for RadioRa," Kleinberg says.

The key to the SR's relative affordability is the integrated hub that combines a repeater, scene controller and Ethernet/RS-232 ports for integration – all sold separately with RadioRa.

The system accommodates 10 wireless SR devices, including dimmers, keypads, sensors, motorized shades or other compatible products.

The SR's wireless protocol is different than other Lutron solutions, so you can't mix-and-match with the other product families.

But the company has developed a suite of compatible products around the SR system. Most notably, the SR integrates natively with Lutron's Sequoia QS wireless shades. RadioRa, on the other hands, requires keypads for each shade.

Lutron has created dimmers and keypads for the SR, as well as some devices that are exclusive to the line. The in-line lamp socket that Lutron showed at CEDIA 2008 will become part of the SR family. It screws in between the fixture and the light bulb for an unobtrusive installation.

In addition, Lutron's new occupancy sensor also will be exclusive to the SR line … for now.

At CES 2009, Lutron demonstrated RadioRa-SR in a home theater vignette. Kleinberg controlled the lights and shades via an SR keypad and two-way Philips Pronto remote.

Lutron has not written drivers for all of the third-party control systems, "but we'll have them for all the usual suspects," says spokeswoman Melissa Andresko. "We'll be showing that at EHX."

EHX (Electronic House Expo) is March 11-14 in Orlando, Fla.

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Lutron's Jeremy Kleinberg controls the lights and shades via an SR keypad and two-way Philips Pronto remote.
 


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