Lutron Loosens Reins on Level-Setting Features Of Tablet and Smartphone Apps

Energy savings and a “new level of convenience” for users are at the heart of tablet and smartphone features introduced recently by Lutron for its lighting and shade control products, the company told Consumer Electronics Daily.

Most recently, Lutron has added temperature control and an adjustment function to the iOS app for its RadioRA 2 and HomeWorks QS Total Home Control systems. Home Control+ App 3.1 enables users to manage lights, shades, HVAC and standby power from an iPad, iPod Touch or iPhone through a $19.99 app available from iTunes, said Jeremy Kleinberg, product manager for RadioRA 2. With the app, users can also select a “green mode” that sets back levels to energy efficient levels and engages appliance modules that shut off phantom power to devices that waste power in standby mode, including powered subwoofers, amplifiers, printers and monitors, Kleinberg said. A “level editor” allows users to adjust levels of lighting and shades and store those changes. Users can’t add devices to a system or add a device to a scene button, a programming process that remains the purview of dealers and is part of their design fee, he said.

A free Android app, without Control+, is also available but limited to viewing and controlling lights and shades. An enhanced version including more advanced features is in the works, Kleinberg said.

Lutron’s $149 appliance modules address phantom power draw, which Lutron estimates accounts for as much as 10 percent of a homeowner’s electricity bill, Kleinberg said. The plug-in device, which goes between the wall outlet and the appliance, can switch up to 15 amps of current using a full-conduction air-gap relay that doesn’t allow phantom draw to pass through, he said. A user who forgot to turn off a home theater system could do so from an iPad next to the bed by controlling the appliance module through the app, he said.

Interest in energy savings is increasing among Lutron customers, Kleinberg said. “The level of mindshare is increasing as energy costs go up,” he said. As global warming, environmental awareness, the cost of oil and the dependence on foreign oil are in the news more, “people are paying attention more to their overall energy use,” Kleinberg said. He said energy savings is a “contributing factor” to purchase decisions for lighting control -- along with convenience, he said.

Regarding where Lutron may extend its energy-savings resources in the future, Kleinberg said, “A lot of manufacturers are looking at how they can reduce energy consumption.” He cited opportunities with smart appliances that can be put on a timer. Some refrigerator companies are working on designs that allow a consumer to set the fridge to a cooler temperature in the period prior to a period of high energy costs. “If energy is going to cost more from noon to 5 p.m., the refrigerator can cool way down from 11-12 and less later on,” he said. As more smart appliances companies look at how they might save energy in the home, “we're certainly interested in how we might work together on a whole ecosystem of products” that save energy, Kleinberg said. No such projects are currently in the works, he said.

Meanwhile, Lutron has grown its list of dimmable CFL and LED-based bulbs to 99, said Matt Donati, product manager of Lutron’s C.L. dimmer line. The company began the testing program last fall (CED Nov 3 p7) as a way to ease consumers’ concerns about which dimmers would be able to control new-format bulbs coming to market, especially with the phase out of incandescent lights bulbs that do not meet the new standards of energy when the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 goes into effect next year.

Currently, the Lutron compatibility chart lists 44 CFL bulbs and 45 LEDs that are compatible with Lutron C.L. dimmers, Donati said, but the ratio will skew in LEDs’ favor when a crop of bulbs currently undergoing UL-testing will be added to the Lutron list. In a few months, the chart will list about 50 CFLs and 75 LEDs. “There seems to be a lot more effort to launch LEDs in the marketplace than there is to launch dimmable CFLs,” Donati said. He cited dissatisfaction with CFLs from early on in color temperature and safety and said perceptions have lingered despite improvements in the CFL technology. “A lot of R&D dollars are going to LEDs” and not to CFLs, he said. “CFLs have improved a lot,” he said, “but I can’t say they've improved enough to where everyone’s happy,” he said.

As of Oct. 15, the most recent report available, Lutron had tested and certified 85 bulbs from suppliers including Cree, Ecosmart, GE, Halo, Lighting Science, Philips, Sylvania and TCP as dimmable by its devices. The list is published and updated monthly on the Lutron website and tests are based on protocols from the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), Lutron told us. Bulbs are tested according to objective and subjective criteria, Donati said. They have to be able to support 150 watts on an LED and provide “acceptable dimming performance,” he said.

Although LED bulbs are currently about five times the price of their CFL counterparts, Donati expects LED bulb prices to drop rapidly and consumer adoption to increase accordingly. As companies like Samsung and Vizio bring bulbs to market as a way to leverage their LED-based LCD TV business, that will “lower the barrier to entry,” Donati said. That’s good news for dimmer makers because “LEDs are easier to dim,” he said.

Donati predicts LED pricing will follow the cellphone model where cost efficiencies in manufacturing bring lower prices and “added features.” Currently a 60-watt-equivalent dimmable CFL runs $7-8 each and comparable LEDs could run $35-$40 apiece, he said. Features of LED bulbs could include a remote-controlled type that might cycle through colors, he said. He also mentioned Google’s announcement in May at its developer conference that it was working with Lighting Science Group on a wireless protocol that will connect an LED bulb to the Android operating platform, as well as other devices in the home, like appliances and thermostats.

Regarding consumer awareness of the lighting changes ahead, Donati told us the issue is getting more publicity, “but I don’t think as many people know about it as should.” Many consumers are confused and think “their bulbs are being banned when they're just becoming more efficient,” he said. “Where you had a 100-watt incandescent, now you can have a 72-watt halogen,” he said. Consumer education about the lighting act “is definitely going to be part of our messaging,” he said.