CEPro ULTIMATE GUIDE to Lighting Control © 2009 EH Publishing CE PRO’S ULTIMATE GUIDE TO LIGHTING CONTROL CE Pro’s Company/Web Site Lighting Control Brands Uniqueness / Integrator Benefits (from the company) CentraLite Systems Elegance, Elegance XL, Elegance is designed for larger new construction. Elegance XL is designed for medium to small www.centralite.com JetStream, StarLite new construction. JetStream and newly introduced StarLite are targeted as retrofit solutions for existing homes. The company’s design philosophy is to create control products that enhance living and increase security. This concept includes an open system design that makes it easy to integrate ULTIMATE GUIDE complementary, third-party devices with our products. Colorado vNet Colorado vNet Lighting & Colorado vNet Lighting Systems provide a solution for both new construction and retrofit opportunities to www.coloradovnet.com Control System, Colorado vNet with seamlessly integrated wired and devices. The company offers a distributed architecture Wireless Lighting & with no central processor that creates a highly reliable and scalable system. vNet Builder, the indus- Control System try’s only floorplan-based software, makes configuration easy. The system can be sold to homeown- Lighting Control ers with touchpads customized to match the décor.

Control4 Home Controller, Wireless Dimmers Control4 wireless dimmers and switches integrate with the company’s Home Controller to automate and Switches lighting throughout the home. The system integrates with a complete home control solution for dealers. Here is a list of brands on the mar- www.control4.com

ket and opinions from dealers about Cooper Wiring Devices Aspire RF Wireless Lighting Control Aspire RF provides simple and intuitive programming with a basic handheld and tabletop controller why they choose a certain manufac- www.cooperwiringdevices. System or use of a PC software. It also offers flexibility to control the system locally, through the Web or with com any control system using RS-232. Powered by Z-Wave technology, each device serves as a repeater turer. by Jason Knott ensuring superior reliability and interoperability with up to 232 devices. Crestron Electronics Crestron Green Light, iLux, infiNET, System designers prefer the scalability and full integration of a single-vendor solution, which Crestron www.crestron.com infiNET EX, infiNET EX PRO provides. Crestron offers centralized and distributed systems plus wired and wireless options for all types of lighting — including LEDs, higher capacity modules and cabinets — require fewer products and save programming time. The systems offer a single platform using the same programming language to control lighting, HVAC, security, A/V and shades is much more efficient than connecting disparate systems.

HAI (, Inc.) HAI Lighting Control (HLC), Lumina There is no need to run new wires as long as you have standard residential wiring. For retrofits or www.homeauto.com Energy Management Home Controller, expansion, simply replace the existing light switch with an HAI “smart” switch. Homeowners may Lumina Pro Energy Management easily change settings at any time without a service call. HLC is a modular system, so you can easily Home Controller, Load Control Mod- add rooms or lights anytime, updating as your needs change. Opportunity for upsell with additional ules (for fluorescent/outdoor lighting) automation and energy management features.

Leviton Manufacturing Co. Vizia RF + Wireless Lighting and Vizia RF + is part of the Z-Wave Alliance, which allows it to work with many devices from other www.leviton.com Home Controls manufacturers in the Z-Wave network. Z-Wave technology effectively transforms any component – switches, lighting controls, thermostats, shades and more — into an intelligent device that can be wirelessly controlled and monitored. And the expandability of the system will allow the options to grow along with the alliance.

LiteTouch LiteTouch, Specialty Wired Lighting LiteTouch lighting control is designed with the installer and integrator’s business in mind and offers a www.litetouch.com Control for New Construction, complete array of lighting control solution for any size project. From integrated whole-home, powerful LiteTouch Hybrid, Conventionally retrofit and expandable single-room lighting control systems, LiteTouch’s products are backed by a Wired Lighting Control for Retrofit & Limited Lifetime Warranty. Remodel, LiteTouch Neo, Expand- able Single-Room Lighting Control

Lutron Electronics HomeWorks, RadioRA 2, Sivoia QS Integrators count on Lutron for continuous lighting control innovation at all price points, including www.lutron.com Wireless Automated Shade and single light, entire room and whole-home solutions. Lutron offers integrators robust marketing, sales Drapery System and training programs to help integrators sustain healthy Lutron lighting control businesses.

Powerline Control Systems PulseWorx PulseWorx uses the company’s patented Universal Powerline Bus (UPB) technology to allow transmis- (PCS) sion of lighting control signals over existing electrical wiring in the home. The installation process for www.pcslighting.com the systems is streamlined because no new wires are required. The systems are scalable and backed by a money-back guarantee.

Schneider Electric C-BusTM, Powerlink, Square D Schneider Electric lighting controls are aesthetically pleasing and highly reliable. Installation is www.schneider-electric.us Occupancy Sensors quick and simple and the company’s lighting controls also give dealers a virtually limitless variety of options, all tailored to an integrator’s specific needs. The result is a unique, capable system that is attractive, dependable, code-compliant, fully scalable and completely integrated. S HOMEOWNERS BECOME more keenly aware of the tremendous energy savings of lighting control (in addition to ambiance-enhancement benefits), Universal Remote Control Universal Remote Control Lighting URC Lighting by Lutron is a single-room lighting control solution that is well-suited for home theaters, www.universalremote.com by Lutron media rooms, bedrooms and more. The line includes dimmers, lamp dimmers and switches, all of integrators are poised to reap a harvest of revenue from the category. In that which can be controlled natively by URC remotes. The cost-conscious URC Lighting by Lutron solution vein, CE Pro has compiled the Ultimate Guide to Lighting Control, a quick allows integrators to build small systems; one dimmer and one URC remote can control the lights in reference guide aimed at giving you an at-a-glance look at the landscape of lighting control a room. No interface or additional parts are required when used with URC remotes, which control the A dimmers and switches directly via RF. Simply press-and-hold to reprogram lighting scenes. Lighting solutions, both inside offerings from 13 key manufacturers. Each participating manufacturer has listed its brand and outside the home, can pres- names, its unique advantages and key benefits for integrators. The guide also includes tes- Vantage Controls InFusion, Enspire, RadioLink, Vantage provides a scalable lighting controls system for integrators. The InFusion system can be ent many benefits to www.vantagecontrols.com WireLink, Design Center configured for centralized and distributed dimming. As the Design Center’s software is common to all your clients. Installation shown timonials from various integrators about why they use a certain brand. InFusion products, integrators have th e ability to also configure hybrid systems that combine both wired here by Calif.-based The Ultimate Guide to Lighting Control will be posted on www.cepro.com for easy and wireless systems. Vantage gives integrators the ability to put their unique stamp on every home. DSI Entertainment Systems. downloading as an electronic reference.

PHOTO BY GLENN CAMPBELL Ultimate Guide to Lighting Control

WHAT FEATURES is an added selling tool; the energy conserva- market. It has simple installation/program- therefore new features are incorporated without DO DEALERS LIKE? tion aspects are a strong selling point; RadioRa ming, making it easier for clients to afford.” having to replace each switch/dimmer.” CE Pro polled integrators about which lighting allows me to retrofit a space where the hom- Todd Sandler, Naturally Wired, James Bond, Home Automation & Control, control system they use in the field and why? eowners do not want to redesign or paint; and Overland Park, Kan. Ashburn, Va. Some of the key features that attract dealers to a one of the better selling tools is security and the particular brand are reliability and aesthetics. Here flashing lights.” HAI Leviton is a sampling from the hundreds of responses. Marcelo Serafini, Pure Audio Video, ■ “I use the HAI Omni-Pro controller. I like the ■ “I first installed [Leviton PLC based Green Fort Lauderdale, Fla. whole-house automation/integration package Series] six years ago and it was a cost-effective Crestron with lighting (UPB), security, thermostats, CCTV, solution at that time. It’s easy to install, can be ■ “Why? For one, we are Crestron dealers and ■ “We currently use Lutron and are begin- zone audio, and ‘value’ pricing. It’s an easy-to- retrofitted and does not cost as much as other it’s a quality product. It’s easy to set up and has ning to use Vantage. Each company shows its scale system from just lighting to everything. It hardwired products.” lots of different type of switches, colors and support by product offering, training as well also offers a very good value point and it’s easy Enrique Gamez, iHome Systems, Miami, Fla. custom engraving.” as field support as well. They are easy to use to program and install. HAI is easy to work with, Manny Escobar, PSS Electronics.com, Hayward, Calif. and both provide products for each of our tar- and the ‘icing on the cake’ is the remote control- Colorado vNet get markets. Also, both offer a wide selection ability with iPhones, smart phones and PCs.” ■ “I like it because of the ease of design and use. Lutron RadioRA 2 Hybrid ■ “Crestron provides a larger variety of user of controls, décor plates and color options to Bob Thunell, Diversified AV Construction, Clients can operate it with little or no training URC lighting dimmer interfaces. It has additional features such as meet just about any need.” Alta Loma, Calif. due to its intuitive design. I can show the client HVAC, and its lighting fully integrates with Jerry Pagell, JP Technology, Fort Lee, N.J. how it will look with the programming software Crestron control systems, offering more feed- LiteTouch in simulation mode. Using the software, the back and a finer level of control.” ■ “We use Lutron exclusively. Quite sim- ■ “[It’s] very versatile and flexible with a good touchpads can be configured for one- to eight- Josh Oebel, MODIA, Dallas ply, their systems are bulletproof and Lutron profit margin for the higher end client. The buttons so there is only one SKU.” support is amazing right down to the design keypad selections make it designer friendly. Dave Matthewman, McKay’s Home Theatre ■ “It has the best feature set we could find and software. Using their design software virtu- Also the ‘conditional’ programming provides Center, Victoria, B.C., Canada we didn’t want to carry more than one brand. ally eliminates design omissions and makes more autonomous control.” Since we already sell Crestron, reducing our the project budgeting process extremely accu- Todd Sandler, Naturally Wired, Vantage Controls product lines just makes sense. We wanted to rate. Most of our clients spend a lot of time Overland Park, Kan. ■ “We recommend Vantage Controls because make fewer better relationships for this eco- away from their homes. Lutron Homeworks it is a full-function , very nomic climate.” can record their usage patterns while they are Universal Remote Control easy to program with Design Center, and is a Colorado vNet TD1-xRF Scott Bourquin, Rustic Creek, Kingwood, Texas here and then replay those patterns while they ■ “We use URC’s RF dimmers, switches, and strong platform for integrating and controlling are away. This is much more effective at creat- table-top dimmers for 90 percent of our light- all the other systems we offer (security, access Lutron ing the illusion of someone being home than a ing control. The combination of cost, quality control, CCTV, HVAC control, A/V, motorized ■ “I can install some basic lighting control at a simple timer feature.” and ease of use for the client make them ideal window coverings, and more). Vantage offers a reasonable price. I have integrated it with Drap- Mike Ruger, Art and Automation, Inc., solutions for most small- to medium-sized very wide range of keypad styles and colors that Schneider Electric Saturn DLT er motorized screens and window shades as Wailuku, Hawaii projects. A solid feature is the client-friendly impress and please homeowners and decorators. well. I can set up a system with a programmable scene reprogramming, with only a couple of Depending on style, the buttons are easy to read universal remote control and do a one-button CentraLite simple steps our users can change lighting — perhaps the most readable. Button engraving function and have all the macros perform pro- ■ “[It] does what I need it to do. It’s easy to scene levels to their liking. Nothing like a little can be done after the fact, and keycaps replaced in jector, screen, window shades, lighting, and A/V program and has a reasonable cost. It also has empowerment to win people over.” the field — very important when the homeowner device functions with that one remote key func- seamless compatibility with Lifeware.” Orlando Ayala, Audio Video Authority, needs to experience his new home and lighting Vantage TPT1210 tion. This provides a very user-friendly (mini- Tom Olson, D&D Fine Homes, Darien, Conn. Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. control system and requests minor adjustments HAI switches mal training/anyone can operate) environment.” to the initial program. For more modest homes Stephen Davis, Video Technology Services, ■ “CentraLite JetStream. It’s easy to set up, Control4 under 3,000 square feet, we suggest Control4. Commerce, Texas reliable, scalable and priced reasonably. It has ■ “We prefer Control4 lighting controls as part The price is considerably lower in these cases, and most of the features of high-priced systems. It of an overall automation system. The Control4 we still have a good integration platform.” ■ “I use Lutron for many reasons, but here are also allows clients to decide what lights they lighting modules give us the flexibility of in-wall Rick Gaskell, Cobalt Automation Inc., a few: It covers a good spectrum of price points; want to automate after they have lived in the replacement dimmers and switches as well as Durango, Colo. it’s easily compatible with third-party controls house awhile. A customer can easily add to external outlet plug-in versions of all lighting (like Savant, HomeLogic, RTI, etc.); it looks system at any time.” control components. The price point is much Powerline Control Systems nice, which is a selling point for homeowners Bob Sims, Trend Technologies, Louisville, Ky. more reasonable than other products and com- ■ “[PCS PulseWorx UPB] is inexpensive, and designers; it offers a usually attainable mar- munications via ZigBee (now the new ratified works with most home automation software gin; retrofits are easy with RadioRa; it’s flexible ■ “It is very value-oriented and appeals to the ZigBee Pro standard) require no additional wir- and is easy to configure.” Cooper ASPIRE RF in terms of programming, button structure and masses of clients. Its wireless product is eas- ing to each outlet/switch. Finally, the switches Terry Coupe, Coupe Automation, scene creation; the Lutron Experience Center ily retrofitted, making existing homes a target are easily upgraded via the Control4 system, Woodland Hills, Calif. CE Pro

66 CE Pro December 2009 www.cepro.com www.cepro.com December 2009 CE Pro 67 CEPro ULTIMATE GUIDE to Lighting Control

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