Where, why and how to use intelligent lighting solutions

Your favorite restaurant does it. So does your favorite nightclub and favorite spa...I'm talking about dimming the lights when you're in the mood to do so. Soft lights can ease away the tension of a hectic day in a way that nothing else can. And all of this is possible with intelligent lighting solutions with lighting controls and design.

Earlier, you would probably have had to install rows and rows of dimmers and switches. However, today, you don't really have to bother with all of that. Simply install a lighting control system and get the level of lighting you want and need.

If you choose to install an intelligent lighting solution in your home, you can rid your home of conventional light switches, or at least, simplify them. You can control an entire group of lights with the help of a small keypad with buttons. The lights to be controlled may be located in the same room or scattered throughout the entire house.

With a keypad, the same soft lighting effect that needed the adjustment of a half-dozen dimmer switches to create now takes the click of a single button. This single-button action is the basic premise of a lighting control system that can control the lighting in every major room of the house.

Many newer lighting control systems can also let users control all their lights and lighting scenes from a smartphone or tablet app. Lighting controls and design can be enabled in different rooms at home. For example, it can be installed in a media room, where a control system fades out the lights in preparation for a movie. In a foyer, a control system can command lights throughout the house and backyard to illuminate a pathway from the front door to the upstairs bedroom.

Some lighting control applications work really well in home theaters, while others make a bigger impact in big rooms and master suites. Here are some details about intelligent lighting solutions in different rooms in the home.

1) Multipurpose Family Room: A multipurpose family room is probably the best room for a lighting control system. For example, you may want the lights dimmed while watching a movie, but may want them a bit brighter for weekend football games or cartoons. You might also want to entertain friends or read books in this room. An intelligent lighting solution for this room could include multiple scene settings to accommodate all of the different uses. You can use a keypad or smartphone app to select the desired scene and can control all the lights as well as the motorized window shades, so that they automatically adjust to the proper level.

2) Master Bedroom: You should have a lighting control system for your master bedroom for what is most probably the most relaxing time of day. The fact that the bedroom is the place where you start and end your day, makes it an ideal room from which to control all of the lights in the house. For this, you should use a system that can send commands from a master bedroom keypad or app to any and all the light switches. You can even program your lights to automatically turn on slowly at a set time each morning, to help you greet the day.

3) Home Theater: An intelligent lighting solution can recreate the ambience of a commercial movie theater at the press of a button. Nearly every manufacturer of lighting control systems offers a solution that is perfect for a dedicated home theater room. An integrated home automation system with lighting control can not only dim the home theater lights, but can also control the audio and video components.

4) Master Bathroom: The master bathrom is the one and only place in your home that you can get uninterrupted, quality peace and quiet. Turning the lights on low instead of the ordinary bright lighting is the perfect antidote to an overworked mind and body. A single-scene lighting control system can switch off the main lights in this room and the remainder of the time, the system's keypad can function like an ordinary dimmer switch.

5) The Home Office: Your home office offers an ideal location to transition from work to home mode. You can install a dimmable lighting control system in your home office as well. You can use a keypad to select one of the several preset lighting scenes to match the lighting to your activity. For example, dim lights overhead and a few soft table lamps can establish an ambience that is perfect for listening to music. A brighter light might inspire you to finish up some paperwork. You can choose from a wide variety of lighting scenes for this room, to match the wide variety of tasks you complete in your home office.

So, these are some of the different ways you can use intelligent lighting solutions in the main rooms and living and working areas in your home. Once you are used to the right lighting controls and design, you'll wonder how you ever managed without it. Here's to intelligent lighting...always!