Feb
24
Remote Control Lighting
Filed Under Lighting Control
Home Theater is more than just a big screen and precise sound; it’s about the overall experience. It’s a means of entertainment, relaxation and or being scared out of your wits especially if you’re into horror films. Regardless of your personal likes and dislikes of movie genre’s you want the film to be the main focus, not the associated technology or hassle therein. Lighting control is a great way to improve your theaters overall functionality and enjoy-ability, and hey nothing beats being able to control the lights from the couch, well except maybe Ed Mcmahon with a big check at your front door.
This is a subject we’ll delve into with greater detail in the future but for now we’ll stick to the switch-for-switch (infra-red) remote control lighting solutions on the market. What do I mean by switch-for-switch? In essence these solutions involve removing your existing light switch (or switches) and replacing them with one that has the ability to be remotely controlled. Note: always have an electrician perform this task.
The infra-red lighting control products we most often use come from Lutron, whether it’s the Maestro, Spacer or Grafik Eye series, all of these products are UL listed, reliable and most importantly remote controllable. Single gang light switches with included IR remotes in the Spacer lines can be found for under a hundred dollars. More customizable solutions in the Grafik Eye range can go for several hundred dollars and can control up to 4 (or more) gangs of lights from a single wall box.
Once installed, the Lutron codes can be programmed into existing universal remote controls and can even be used as a part of macros. For example its possible for one button on the remote (TV, play, movie, what have you) to turn on the system, select a specific source and slowly dim the lights. Pause could trigger a macro to pause the DVD and bring the lights back up to 50% while “off” could turn off the entire system and bring the lights back up to full, the possibilities are limitless. Later we’ll explore some of this advanced control scenarios.
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