Lutron Touts Energy-Saving Features in New Integrated Lighting Control Systems

ATLANTA - Lutron Electronics said it’s upgrading its flagship HomeWorks lighting control system with energy-saving features and additional control functionality to manage HVAC, shades and appliances. HomeWorks QS will launch in select projects in December and roll out to all dealers in February, with add-on products available in April, company executives said. HomeWorks QS includes phase-adaptive dimmers that can control and dim energy-efficient light sources including LED and fluorescent, the company said, and works with radio-based occupancy sensors so that lights are on only when the room is occupied.

The occupancy sensors can contribute to lighting energy savings of up to 20 percent, Lutron said. Programmable temperature control can save up to 16 percent of HVAC costs on utility bills, and plug-in appliance modules -- which turn off standby power to AV equipment and other electronics via keypads, sensors or the system time clock -- can help save up to 10 percent of a home’s electricity usage, the company said. A new keypad, built around a 4.2-inch capacitive touch interface, was developed for HomeWorks QS and system dimmers and switches are available in Lutron Maestro style.

The system includes a “green button” feature that sets back lights, shades and temperature to energy-saving levels, the company said. Default levels include 15 percent dimming for lighting, which company executives said is barely perceptible to room occupants. The green button settings can be set to default or can be programmed and modified by the installer or homeowner, Lutron said. The system can also be programmed to automatically dim or turn off lights in spaces where lights are left on, it said, and turn off power to appliances in standby mode. Lutron called the expanded system “smart grid and demand response-ready,” because it enables homeowners to reduce energy use from lights, shades, HVAC and appliances during peak electricity usage hours.

HomeWorks QS is based on Lutron’s Quantum platform which was developed by the company as a control system for commercial applications, capable of scaling to accommodate thousands of lighting and shade zones, it said. A radio-frequency version for retrofit applications, HomeWorks QS Wireless, uses Lutron’s Clear Connect Wireless technology.

Also at CEDIA, Lutron announced it’s expanding its Radio RA 2 residential lighting control system with wireless thermostat wall control and temperature sensors, enabling homeowners to save up to 16 percent on energy usage by programming temperature set points. New appliance modules can be integrated into programmed scenes that control energy usage on schedules, the company said. The thermostat can be integrated with lighting scenes, the company said, allowing temperature to be adjusted with lights and shades based on the amount of sunlight coming into a room. Radio RA 2 also comes with a green button feature, which reduces lighting levels and HVAC output, and turns off power to appliances when not in use. New Radio RA 2 add-ons will be available in April, the company said.

Lutron said its new phase-adaptive dimmer, which automatically adapts to control different lighting load types, allows homeowners to use energy-efficient bulbs including electronic low-voltage, magnetic low-voltage, some dimmable compact fluorescent (CFL) and LED, as well as incandescent lighting.

Lutron also introduced an LED driver that the company said is the first to offer continuous dimming down to one percent for any LED fixture, whether it requires constant current or constant voltage. The Hi-Lume A-Series LED driver can work with “almost any” manufacturer’s LED fixtures, Lutron said, and supports constant-current and constant-voltage outputs over a wide range of current and voltage levels for driving LED loads up to 40 watts. The driver lets homeowners “use, and control one of the most energy-efficient sources on the market,” Lutron said.

In its electronic shade line, Lutron introduced Intelligent Tilt Alignment technology, which is said to maintain uniform tilt and lift positions across several sets of blinds. Presets hold programmed height and tilt angles, and homeowners can adjust shade positions according to sunlight intensity. Range of tilt can be adjusted from full in either direction down to a fixed tilt angle, the company said. In the future, the blinds will be integrated with daylight sensors and HVAC controllers so that shades automatically respond to outdoor light conditions and use the sun to either raise or lower a room’s temperature.