Lighting Control
Grahams have been designing and installing lighting control systems for a number of years. We first found the need to integrate with lighting as our home theatre systems started to evolve, and we found it necessary to combine all of the home theatre control functions into one simple-to-use interface.
Our clients' delight with what we had provided in their home theatre systems led to requests for us to install and provide whole house control of lighting.
Using these type of systems has a number of advantages over conventional dimmers e.g:
- Setting different 'scenes' of lighting at the touch of a single button. This provides a luxury feel to a room which is very difficult to achieve using 3 or 4 'rotary' dimmers.
- Dim lights and areas from more than one location.
- Prolonging bulb life by running the lamps more effectively.
- Easier to install than regular multi-way light switching.
- Allowing grouping of areas for whole house control.
- Integration with touch screen systems.
- Integration with security systems.
- Advanced timer functions to allow different on and off settings whilst you are away.
- Web interfaces that allowing remote access and control. as well as remote support from Grahams.
- Timeclocks that operate at sunset and sunrise, changing automatically throughout the year.
- Integration with smoke detectors to turn on lights in the case of smoke detection.
Energy saving and lamp life facts
One of the major benefits of controlling your lighting in this way is to not only reduce the amount of energy used, but just as importantly, increase the lamp life considerably. "Soft starting" the lamps by bringing them on gradually, improves lamp life by not "shocking" the lamp filament. Take a look at the table below to see how much longer the lamp will last by dimming even just a small amount. Reducing the output to around 90% (almost negligible to the human eye) will virtually double the lamp life. This can save a huge amount of time in maintenance costs alone.
| Light level | Energy saved | Lamp life increased by | |
| 90% | 10% | 2 times | |
| 75% | 20% | 4 times | |
| 50% | 40% | 20 times | |
| 25% | 60% | Greater than 20 times! |
We recommend and install Lutron Grafik Eye controllers for some of the smaller projects and Lutron Homeworks for the whole house solutions. Grahams are one of Lutron's first residential Elite dealers in the UK. Our Custom Installation staff are fully factory trained in system design and programming allowing us to offer first class support and services to our client base.
Key points for whole house control
Control and Monitor Lighting
Connect dimmers and switches to Master Controls so you can turn lights on and off from Master Controls located throughout your house.
Increase Security
In emergencies, push ALL-ON button to instantly illuminate all home lights. Or, integrate your lighting and security systems to increase your peace of mind.
Save Energy
A glance at the Master Control shows which lights are on. Turn all lights off at the touch of a button.
Create a Path of Light
Simply press one or more Master Control buttons to light a pathway though your home or office.
Consolidate Switching
Sleek Master Controls reduce the number of switches on your walls for a clean attractive appearance. We combine these with our audio keypads providing a neat one plate solution.
Why use Homeworks?
Lutron HomeWorks Interactive, the world's leading whole house lighting control system, provides simple, convenient control of all home lighting, as well as the ability to control audio, video, and many other sub-systems in a home. HomeWorks provides the following benefits:
- increased security
- added convenience
- improved aesthetics in the home
Security
We can make your home safer by automatically turning on landscape and security lighting each night. The built-in timeclock automatically adjusts for changing seasons, as well as for daylight savings time.
For peace of mind, you can turn on all lights instantly using a single button on a Keypad.
Every day, the system automatically memorises your actual lighting usage patterns, which can be replayed when you are away. This unique feature allows for a realistic appearance of activity that standard timers cannot achieve.
We can integrate with the home's security system and in the event of an alarm, interior lights can turn on, illuminating a safe exit, while exterior lights can flash, drawing immediate attention.
Convenience
Each light in a home can be controlled from any keypad, providing instant access to all areas of the home and landscape. This eliminates the tedious task of setting the home lighting just right for daily activities, bedtime, or special occasions.
When most lights are off, one button on a Keypad can create a "path of light" to softly light the way to another room, allowing for late-night trips to the bathroom or kitchen without fumbling for switches in a dark hallway. And monitoring lighting in individual rooms or areas throughout a home requires no more than a quick glance at a Keypad's discrete status LEDs.
Improved Aestetics
Scene control gives you the power to enhance the beauty of your home with an endless variety of customized room and whole house lighting scenes. One button dims the lights for a soft romantic dinner while another button lights the house for a festive party.
Keypads provide a clean, elegant look on the wall by combining the functions of many standard switches and dimmers into a single control. Contrast the elegant simplicity of a single Keypad to the large bank of switches often found at the front door.
Keypads come in a wide variety of styles and finishes. All are eventually engraved to show the function of each button.
