Let’s face it, lighting can make or break your home. It sets the tone and atmosphere as soon as you step foot onto your property. Whether it is having exterior or interior lights, having the proper lighting can really transform your home.
The standard, old-fashioned lighting controls usually consist of a multitude of switches on a wide panel. This takes up an excessive amount of wall space and looks cluttered on walls. Not to mention, the amount of time that is compensated trying to figure out which designated switch controls which lighting area. It isn’t just a hassle for homeowners, but any guest that tries to maneuver through your home. I think many people confuse having lighting controls in the home as some sort of luxury, but soon enough, it will be a modern-day necessity. There has been an increase in the presence of smart lighting controls in homes and from our experience of implementing these into our clients’ homes, it has been life-changing development in everyone’s daily routine.
Here at AIC, we have partnered with Lutron Lighting Systems for the best lighting solutions that go into our clients’ homes. Some may correlate the luxury of having smart lighting controls to a high cost or budget, but the magnificence of Lutron is that it works with any size home and on any budget to create the perfect lighting setup for your home. Whether you decide to integrate this system in one room or your entire home, you’ll see what a dramatic difference it makes in your everyday endeavors. One of the benefits of this system is having the option to expand on the controls in other rooms or areas of the house in the future.
The beauty of these switches is the accessibility of the switches on a remote and virtually any device. You’ll be able to have easy access to your lighting controls with a simple intuitive app you can download on any smartphone or tablet device.
There is nothing more satisfying than seeing the diminished wall clutter after we have installed these lighting controls. The backlit-engraved keypads fix the issue of recognizing all the different switches. Each switch is customized to the preferred lighting arrangement of the homeowner. For example, you have a “Welcome” lighting arrangement that may exclusively include hallway, kitchen, and foyer lights with just a touch of a button as soon you step foot into your home. You can also have an “Away” lighting arrangement for additional security benefits while you are away from home and can automatically dim to save energy. Another great security benefit while you are in your home, is the ability to access all lights, at any time, on any device. This means that you can turn on exterior lights around the perimeter of your home if you ever feel unsafe and threatened.
Think about having to get up from your bed to turn on or off the lights, or manually dimming the lights throughout the day. Let’s say you spend at least 10 minutes a day using your regular lighting controls, which includes having to walk to each switch. In a year, you’ll have spent about 3 days of your life dedicated to just turning on//off the lights; 3 days! It seems minuscule in an everyday sense, but in the grand scheme of things, we truly underestimate the amount of time we spend on daily mundane activities. Installing smart lighting controls could cut over half the time you spend utilizing your current lighting situation. It is time to overcome living in the past and focus on living for a better present and future.
By Wendy Wang, AIC
