How to Live Greener with a Smart Lighting Control System

Lighting is undoubtedly an important aspect of our lives, but it can be taken for granted. Strategic control of lights can enhance your interior design, improve comfort, increase home security, and reduce your energy use. Even better, a smart lighting control system makes it easy to harness all these benefits.

In this blog, we’re focusing on how to live greener with smart lighting control. Having the right solutions in place can ensure you use light only when and where it’s needed most so that no electricity is wasted throughout your Manhattan Beach, CA home.

Read on to learn four lighting control tips to make the most of your lights while reducing energy use.

SEE ALSO: Refresh Your Interiors with Ketra LED Lighting Solutions

 

Take Advantage of Dimmers

Historically, lighting control has offered two settings: on and off. Lights with an on/off switch provide the same amount of light, no matter the time of day or activity at hand. That output isn’t only energy-draining, but it can be cumbersome for tasks like reading and can disturb the ambiance of your spaces.

Dimming allows you to lower the brightness of light anywhere along the spectrum of 0% and 100% so that you can use light much more effectively for different times of day and activities. Because dimmers reduce the flow of electricity to a light fixture and allow lights to operate at lower power outputs, they’re an excellent solution for reducing energy use and expanding the life of your light fixtures.

Regulate Light through Daylight Harvesting

Rather than turning on lights to brighten a space, use natural light first to help reduce electricity use through daylight harvesting. Motorized shades paired with light sensors and dimmers can create the perfect balance of artificial and natural light so that you enjoy the right amount of lighting for any task or occasion while saving energy.

When daylight floods into your home and offers the targeted amount of light needed for your spaces, your electronic lights will stay off or dimmed. Then, as shades lower to keep out heat or daylight fades into the evening, your electronic lights will gradually brighten to make up the difference of light lost.

Use Occupancy Sensors

As the name suggests, occupancy sensors turn lights on and off based on a room’s occupancy so that you don’t have to deal with switches or remember if you turned lights off after you leave a room. They’re among the easiest types of lighting controls that you can use for greater energy efficiency.

Occupancy sensors don’t make sense everywhere, but they’re excellent for spaces like garages, pantries, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and closets. Vacancy sensors, which also turn lights off after you leave a room but require you to manually turn lights on upon entering, work well in areas like bedrooms or the home theater where you may not necessarily want lights to turn on as soon as you walk into the room.

Create Automated Light Scenes

Sophisticated lighting control systems like those from Lutron take true light control even further by allowing you to create and automate lighting scenes for one room or all rooms of the home. These light scenes are as easy to activate as pressing a button or saying a command. They can also activate based on specific events or times of day and can be accessed remotely via a mobile app.

For increased energy efficiency, create a scene that turns off all lights (save for security lighting) at the touch of a button when you’re ready for bed or leaving for the day. A “Relax” scene can also turn off lights where they’re not needed, dim living room and kitchen lights to 50% and illuminate the patio where you may enjoy a nice glass of wine after work with your partner. The possibilities are endless.

As a Lutron dealer and HTA-certified home technology professional, Vision and Sound can design and install a custom lighting control system for your property and needs.

To learn more about our lighting control solutions or start your project, request a free consultation here or send us a message in the chat box below. We look forward to working with you!