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 Lighting controls systems can really enhance good lighting making the subtleties and impact of the design easy to access.
Lighting schemes frequently use a number of individual lighting circuits which together create an overall effect. The intensity of the different circuits, the speed of dimming, even the colour of the light can combine to give magical lighting effects. Lighting control systems take away the complexity of the elements involved allowing users to access different pre-programmed lighting "scenes". Home Cinema
One obvious application of lighting controls in the home is in the growing area of Home Cinema. It has become a bit of a Smart Home cliche to describe the pressing of one button to see the screen descend from the ceiling, the projector turn on, the curtains close and the lights dim, but Home Cinema really has opened people's eyes to the possibilities of lighting control systems in the house. Other Applications
There are many other applications. Lighting controls can replace large arrays of manual dimmer switches and provide one button access to pre-programmed scenes for eating, reading, entertaining.
"Avenues" of light can be created for the night time Multiple rooms or even whole house lighting schemes can be integrated. With systems allowing the user to turn off the whole house with one button and the convenience of remote controls, it is possible to lie in bed and switch off all lights in the house with a simple remote control. "Avenues" of light can be created for the night time, so a scene can be created that just lights the route from a bedroom to the kitchen for example. Integration with other home control systems mean that this "avenue" can be intelligently triggered by motion rather than requiring a switch and for this motion sensitivity only to be triggered at certain times of the day. Security
Lighting can be integrated into security schemes with lighting mimicing an occupied house. Again this can be programmed to be more convincing than a simle timer operated system. With some systems it is possible to "record" normal occupancy and play that back when required. We'd summarise the benefits of lighting controls systems as offering: - Ease of use
- Quality feel
- Convenience
Degree of Reluctance
One thing we admit here is that it's initially difficult for many people to see the application of lighting control systems in the home. People are worried by the thought of major rewiring exercises and the cost. It's also difficult to visualise the effects for a lighting scheme that doesn't yet exist. Yet those of our clients who have followed down this route are now fierce advocates of these systems. Our favourite quote? "Why didn't you convince me to do this before?" ( a client for whom we have now retro-fitted a wireless control system to a lighting scheme we developed last year) The Future
Maybe that last example points to the future of lighting control systems in the home. Wireless technologies will increasingly provide the benefits of lighting control without the necessity of major rewiring scehmes simply to add controls. On new build or major rennovations lighting control can be factored in at the start of a project - there are fantastic wired systems that we will continue to use because of their power and flexibility.
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