Why Lighting should be the first upgrade to any home!

News / 01.03.21

With the evenings drawing in and working from home a likely way of life for many over the coming months, home lighting is an essential way to brighten up the mood and keep spirits high.

In many ways, lighting has the ability to enhance our lives.  Whereas traditionally, we have used lighting just to see in the dark, in recent times, we have started to use appropriate lighting for the environment. Having the right brightness levels, contrast and colour help us to see properly, set the mood and highlight features such as art, hazards etc. It can create the illusion of space, remove glare, reduce eye fatigue, and even help with our health by synchronising the lighting with our internal body clock. 

Lighting is often considered an important part of home cinema development and, as an industry, we have often used it for this purpose.  But what about the rest of the property?  At RGB, we have been working with Lutron, the world’s leading lighting company, for over 21 years, and we class ourselves as experts.  Not only do we have vast experience of working with Lutron, we also have unparalleled knowledge of working across both commercial and residential lighting, working on both entry-level home cinema systems right up to corporate offices and hospitality locations.  Crucially, we also carry the entire Lutron range, allowing us to help you pick and specify the right products for the job.

If you are new to Lutron or would just like a reminder of the range, here is an overview of who they are and what they are able to offer your clients.

Who is Lutron?

Lutron is the world’s best-known designer and manufacturer of smart lighting systems, offering more than 11,000 products that make it the most recognised brand in the industry. Formed in 1961, Lutron provides lighting controls, architectural lighting control systems, window treatments and blinds. Its products range from single room dimmers to comprehensive architectural systems, which can operate lighting throughout an entire building (controlling natural light along with virtually any lamp source). As the inventors of the solid-state dimming, Lutron systems are in high demand, reflecting the high quality of its products. 

Lutron’s products can be easily integrated with major control systems including Savant, Control4, RTi and Crestron.  Alternatively, all Lutron’s products can now be controlled by a dedicated Lutron App. 
 

Why Lutron?

Combining quality of products and care for its customers, Lutron is a technology-centred and people-driven company. With a long history of significant growth and smart innovations, starting with a solid state-dimmer in 1959, it has expanded its product offering from two products to over 15,000. To date, Lutron is still the only company to create systems utilising lighting dimmers and motorized window shades that control both electric light and daylight, to create the perfect ambient light-level at any time of day for any living environment.

Starting with the invention of the rotary dimmer, marking the birth of the lighting control industry, Lutron’s innovations have resulted in multiple patents worldwide. Their light control products range from individual dimmers to total light management systems to control entire building complexes. Commercially, light controls are essential in many business – offices and meeting spaces, hotels, hospitals, and retail stores to name a few. For residential properties, customers can enjoy a high-quality smart lighting system that can be operated from many smart devices. 

As well as its outstanding products, Lutron makes every customer feel valued with their commitment to customer service. Since the founding of the company, customer service has been a vital aspect – offering 24-hour technical support for all products and a friendly customer service department. These close relationships with Lutron clients set the company above many others.

 

RA2 Select

RA2 Select provides the user with personalized smart lighting and shade control. A professional yet easy-to-fit solution for residential properties, RA2 Select is very much a retro-fit lighting solution, with its concise range of hardware easy to instal in UK homes.  Once fitted, RA2 Select allows the user to stay in control of their home wherever they are, without compromising on style. 

The RA2 Select main repeater controls the system, allowing any user the ability to control lights and shades on their smartphone or tablet using the free Lutron App. When combined with in-line dimmers, switches and now a dedicated plug-in dimmer for table-top lamps, all connected lighting can be simply controlled and set up within the app. 

Other features include:

·      Personalisation: add personalised scenes to control multiple lights and shades together at the touch of a button (for example, a “goodnight” scene that turns off all lights and closes shades before you sleep)

·      Scheduling: schedule lights and shades to adjust automatically at set times

·      Geofencing: This feature controls lights based on your location. If you often leave entryway lights on in the morning, they will turn off as you head out of the door.

·      SmartAway: Perfect for home security, this feature randomly turns lights on and off during the evening when you are not at home.

Users can also use the versatile Pico remotes for control throughout their homes. Various models are available, each enabling a physical control to set scenes, or as a remote to control individual light and shade. Battery controlled, it can easily go in place of an existing light switch, without the need for any wiring into the system, and offers simple yet stylish lighting control, with several colours and finishes to match any home.

The RA2 Select main repeater supports up to 100 devices, more than enough for the average UK home.  To add a new room, install the relevant dimmer or switch and the app will find it, allowing for simple set up. Multiple users can be connected via their smart devices, making sure everyone in the household can be connected, whilst all well-known smart devices can also be integrated into the system.  Amazon Alexa, Google Home and Apple Home Kit all provide VR control, whilst Sonos can be easily integrated to supply audio.

The Lutron App provides an easy system setup, which automatically configures light and shade levels for typical activities. The pre-engraved Pico scene keypad offers single-press access to pre-configured lighting scenes, depending on the users wishes.

RA2 Select is an affordable yet extremely sophisticated entry point into the Lutron smarthome ecosystem, and one of the most easily retro-fitable systems on the market.

 

HomeWorks QS

Lighting in the home is an important element of comfortability and productiveness. HomeWorks QS has been redefining expectations around control of light in the home for over three decades, combining best in class dimming technology, window coverings, and now, fixtures. 

Designed for exclusive homes, HomeWorks QS offers total control of lighting in the home, be it interior/exterior, electric light or daylight.  Based on sophisticated technology that allows for integration with many of the leading home automation systems such as Savant, Crestron and Control4, HomeWorks QS offers unlimited possibilities as the ultimate home lighting solution.

HomeWorks QS ensures each home is complimented by dynamic light that suits the customer. Morning routines can be energized with natural light, with blinds working to protect your privacy. Light can be shifted to accommodate your mood, sunlight, or your daily tasks. 

HomeWorks QS easily integrates with third-party manufacturers. As well as lighting, users are also able to control window treatments (blinds, shades etc.), audio-visual equipment and HVAC from a single keypad, ensuring ease of use for anyone in the home. It also integrates perfectly with home security systems – in the event of an alarm, interior lights illuminate a safe exit, whilst exterior lights flash to provide a distraction.

For customers looking to save energy with an efficient system, HomeWorks QS is a perfect fit. Having whole-home control when settling down for the night or leaving on holiday provides an easy way to save energy.

The QSX processor for HomeWorks creates a link between your system and the cloud, meaning you can control and monitor HomeWorks from a smartphone or tablet using the Lutron app. This makes setting up the system a dream, allowing users to control any system in one place.

Other features include:

·      Personalisation: add personalised scenes to control multiple lights, shades, and temperature.

·      Voice command: lights, shades and music can be controlled by voice commands.

·      Colour: Fabric collection for blinds, as well as a variety of styles and finishes for keypads.

·      Smart Living: Your lighting can automatically know when you come and go, and the system can be controlled from anywhere in the world. 

Whilst RA2 Select offers sophisticated lighting in a simplistic solution, HomeWorks QS takes things to a significantly higher level of both sophisticated lighting planning and implementation, through to the wealth finishing options for its hardware.  A good example is the Palladiom range of keypads.  Offering a wide range of glass, metal and matte options, the keypads can be matched to practically any interior design theme.  The modern yet discrete keypads feature flush-mounted buttons in the same material as the surround and can be personalised with bespoke engraving.  The quality of finish is exceptional and fits into any high-end home with ease. 

Also within the Palladiom range are the latest motorised window shades and blinds.  Designed to be on show, the unibody aluminium brackets and hem bars are meticulously hand-finished and available in a variety of finishes that blend into any architectural style seamlessly. And of course, there is the blind material itself, which offers limitless choices.  Extremely quite when in use, when combined with the lighting system, users benefit from having the perfect ambient light in any room at any time of the day, without even noticing the change.  As Lutron puts it, Palladiom is ‘engineered to be beautiful’ and who are we to disagree!

Ensuring safety whilst providing control in style – you won’t find another system like HomeWorks QS.

LIMITED TIME OFFER

Buy a Lutron RA2 Select Kit - part code: LU-RRK-KITREP-2D 

Get a free Lutron Lamp Dimmer - part code: LU-RRK-P20-240G-BL  and LU-RRK-P20-240G-WH

Offer ends Friday 16th April 2021

To learn more about the huge range of possibilities available from Lutron control systems, contact RGB Communications at info@rgbcomms.co.uk or call 01488 73366  – the UK’s premier distributor to the custom installation industry.