Lighting Automation and Design Adds Lifestyle Value to Homes
by Randy Vaughan

Lighting automation controls lights and window treatments, simplifies the lives of your customers and adds value to the homes you build. Through current technology options installed in the house, a homeowner can create different lighting scenes according to their tastes.

Setting the Scene

Examples include a lighting scene with pools of down lighting produced to illuminate a room. Task lighting can be incorporated to light everyday activities (cooking, reading, shaving), and accent lights can be utilized to show off art or architectural features. With lighting automation homeowners can get this perfect look, every time, at the push of a button.

Timed events can also be added to lighting scenes. A home can turn porch lights and outdoor security lights on at sunset and off at sunrise — the landscape lighting can go on fifteen minutes after sundown and off at midnight — or the holiday lights will automatically go on at dusk and off at 11:00 p.m. from Dec. 1 through Jan. 5.

Thanks to an astronomic clock built into lighting automation systems, homes installed with this technology know the sunrise and sunset times each day based on their geographic location.

The drapes on the eastern side of a home can be programmed to automatically close five minutes before sunrise to block the rising sun’s glare and ultraviolet (UV) rays — and open them again once the sun rises above an angle that would allow direct sunlight into the room, letting in more diffuse sunlight.

In the afternoon, the home can be set to close the drapes on the western side of your home as the sun sets. If a customer doesn’t want to miss the spectacular sunset or would like to incorporate stargazing as part of a lighting scene — the house can open the drapes five minutes after the sun dips below the horizon, and close them at 11:00 p.m. when they go to bed.

Lighting and Automation Syncs with Green

Green lighting design reduces utility bills and is a major factor in energy conservation. It makes the home friendlier to the environment, safer, more comfortable, and more enjoyable. With lighting automation the consumer can get a perfect look, every time, at the push of a button. Efficiency, beauty and green — all at once.

Control of natural lighting is also an essential addition to lighting design and energy conservation. Automated lighting systems can control motorized shades and draperies to incorporate natural light as part of a lighting scene, reducing your dependency on electricity and adding warmth and beauty to your home.

But the amount of natural light streaming into the room must be carefully controlled to reduce glare and protect furniture, carpets, and artwork from harmful UV rays of the sun, which cause fading. Control of natural light also helps control the temperature of the home — saving on cooling and heating costs.

This article is provided by CEDIA (Custom Electronics Design & Installation Association).

Jerald R. Vaughan, (Randy) is President, AE Systems Home Automation & Entertainment and past president of Ambassador Enterprises, Inc. of Portsmouth, Va. He graduated from the University of Miami with a B.S. in industrial engineering. Randy started Ambassador Enterprises, Inc. in 1969 and served as its CEO until he sold the business in 2008. Randy spent nine years on the board of the NSCA (National Systems Contractors Association) ending his term as the National President. Randy is the recipient of the 2007 NSCA’s Education of the Year Award. He currently serves on the board of CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association) as their National Treasurer.

 

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