Six light switches, hastily cobbled together and set to control six different lights. Beyond just looking bad, it also doesn’t seem all too convenient. Can you imagine going through those one by one in the middle of the night?
Another set of lighting switches from the same house, this one labeled with duct tape to show that one switch controls the “FOUNTAIN ONLY”.
Home automation is really about the small details. Everything from programming the system to suit the nuances in your day-to-day life to the way the all the hardware looks once installed needs to be taken into account. At MHA our first priority is improving peoples’ lives, not cutting corners.
Somfy has announced its WireFree Solar Pack that uses renewable solar energy to prolong battery life for all WireFree motorized window coverings. You can read more about the product and download a brochure here.
It’s definitely a handy feature for something like motorized window shades where changing batteries can be a pretty big hassel.
Just to show that we aren’t completely obsessed with Apple products, here’s a short video of me fooling around with the lights using Josh’s new Samsung Galaxy S II and the SuperLink Android app.
Mile High Automation is now a preferred systems provider for Lutron’s new RadioRA2 system. Gerard attended a training session on the new system and shared it with the rest of us at the office.
RadioRA 2 is a wireless total home control system that gives you the ability to adjust the amount of daylight and electric light (using light controls and automated shades) as well as temperature in a single room or throughout your whole home.
Lutron.com features a lot of helpful information about lighting control and energy efficiency as well as an online tool that gives users an idea of what their energy savings could be if they equipped their home with Lutron dimmers.
Lighting
Imagine waking up at 3 o’clock in the morning to go to the bathroom only to be blinded by the bathroom lights. As you can envision, depending on your now compromised ability to see, lighting control is a system that quickly becomes a necessity in any home. HAI’s UPB Dimmer Switch will make sure this won’t happen again. Your home automation system allows you to set light brightness levels. For example, set your bathroom lights at 40% during the night and never worry about being painfully jolted early in the morning again. And try HAI Scene Switch to set up to 4 lighting scenes in a zone: dim for a party or bright for breakfast- you’re in complete control because you set it up. HAI’s lighting control switches work alone and with the control panel, soif your automation system malfunctions, your lights will continue working.
Your HAI Scene Controller creates perfect lighting scenes in any room of your house. The lights can be turned on, off, dimmerd, brightened, or set to four different scenes to provide limitless options to bring security and aesthetic lighting into your home.
Once the Scene Controller is installed there are only a few simple steps to configure it to control any light in your home.
Configuring scene controllers:
- Press and hold the ON and OFF buttons. The keypad will start blinking.
- Go to the LCD keypad:
- From the LCD Keypad
- Press 6 (status)
- Press 1 (control)
- Scroll down to the room you are configuring, press #
- Press # to configure it.
- It will go through a 30-40 second procedure to find and program the device.
- The device can now be controlled by your automation system.
- Repeat for each scene controller.
- From the LCD Keypad
To Set a Scene:
- Press a scene button (A, B, C, D)
- Adjust room dimmers as desired
- Push scene button five times – the room light will then blink
- The scene is memorized!
Setting a scene in any room is easy and you will forget how you ever lived without your Mile High Automation lighting control!
Product of the Day
Th Mile High Automation Product of the Day is the HAI Powerline Interface Module (36A00-1)
The PIM is a crutial piece to any HLC lighting control system; it sends and receives UPB signals over the powerline and connects your lights to your automation system or computer. This gives you direct control over your lights from anywhere: your touchscreen, computer, or from any location over the internet.
Universal Powerline Bus (UPB) transmits signal over your existing house wiring, and the PIM receives that signal, sends it to your automation panel or computer and allows you to control any light in your home. UPB is a digital technology that has been tested in residential environments and found to be 99.9% reliable, so feel confident that your home’s lighting will never fail to impress.
Every Mile High Automation lighting control system includes the PIM because without it there is no control over your lights. For more information on a lighting system for your home read our post on the Benefits of Lighting Design and call 1-800-610-5280 or go to www.milehighautomation.com to learn how to integrate a HLC lighting system into your home.
Lighting design is an important and often overlooked aspect of home automation and is probably the feature you use most in your home. You may or may not use the multi-room audio daily but you will definitely use your lights every single day. You need your lights to navigate through your home at night, to answer a child’s cry, or to stumble to the bathroom. These are problems that are easily solved through a home lighting design. Lights are not simply functional; they can be expressive as well. Lighting design can set a mood for every type of room in your home for any particular occasion.
Lighting design increases your enjoyment with your home. Lights are a very powerful element in creating moods. Ever notice how dining out at that chic café is so much more enjoyable as opposed to your own kitchen table? The answer lies within the lighting design. Lights create anything from a warm comfortable atmosphere while dining with guests to softly lit pathways to the bathroom for the children at night.
Lighting design not only increases your satisfaction with your home, it also adds security, value, and energy savings. With HAI Lighting Control (HLC) you can experience all of the benefits of a sophisticated lighting control system that is affordable and easy to install. The HLC product line includes dimmers, switches, remote controls, and plug-in modules. Lighting design can become part of your security system several ways; when a motion detector is tripped the outdoor flood lights can flash on or if the smoke detectors are set off your lighting control can make your front porch lights blink on and off to signal distress.
Lighting design is multifunctional in that it creates moods, is a key element in safety, makes your home more valuable, and can put money back in your pocket. But all of these attributes mean nothing if creating your own lighting concept is not easily accomplished. Let’s face it: navigating your home at night can be dangerous. Feeling blindly along the wall for the nearest light switch is the last thing any sleepy homeowner wants. On the other hand, home owners do not want to have to walk around the entire house to turn off lights or accidently leave them on overnight, wasting energy.
Remote control lighting is the answer. This gives you the ability to turn on or off a hallway light or an outside light or the rec room light from the touchscreen in your bedroom. Your lighting design will ensure that no lights will ever have to be left on overnight.
As you have seen, lighting control can enhance the enjoyment and value of your home, add security for peace of mind, and decrease costs on your energy bill. You can experience all of the benefits of a sophisticated lighting control system easily and affordably. Homeowners can have sophisticated lighting control in a home theater or living room and add rooms as needs grow. Additionally HLC switches can be tied into an HAI home control system or any UPB compatible automation controller for full-fledged integrated lighting control coordinated with other events, such as time, motion, security modes, etc.
All HLC products are extremely easy to install – no modifications to the home are required. These plug and play products are an easy way to add a touch of class to any home.
Product of the Day
The Mile High Automation Product of the the Day is the HAI Automated Lamp Module (59A00-1) This device may look simple but it’s actually quite useful. It Controls lamps and other accessories from any location you plug it into. You can control and dim the lighting controlled by the module, set times for the lamp to come on and go off, and set the brightness of the lamp according to the time of day.
But this little device is not only useful for lamps, it is great for the Holidays. Plug your Christmas tree lights into the module and control when to turn them on and when to turn them off, so no wondering whether you turned off the tree when you go out at night. Also plug your holiday house lighting and decorations to the module and make sure your home is only lit up when you want it to be. No wasting energy and money.
Mile High Automation carries the full line of HAI products, and can help you control any lamp or any device in your home.
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