LUTRON LIGHTING – A REVIEW BY FINITE SOLUTIONS

One of the main aspects of any smart home project is lighting. It’s a crucial element of any home but with more control over it, you’re able to benefit from it much more. Lutron lighting is well-known within the smart home industry for its capacity to facilitate stunning lighting scenes, maximise natural light and save energy in the process. Whilst other brands focus on a range of smart home capabilities, Lutron focuses on lighting only. But does this mean it’s the best lighting solution for you?

Lutron has been in the lighting industry since the 1960s. Their founder, Joel Spira, was credited with the invention of a light dimmer switch suitable for home use. At the time, light dimmers were used for larger rooms and buildings such as theatres but they were too large to fit in a normal home.

From the very beginning, Lutron has had the homeowner in mind, providing them with a means to save energy as well as leverage the elegance that precise control over lighting offers. Their products have been refined over a long period of time meaning they’re a trusted brand with high-quality products.

As we explain why Lutron lighting is worth installing as part of your smart home project, you’ll notice that their passion for elegance and energy saving hasn’t diminished over time.

LUTRON LIGHTING SYSTEMS

With Lutron lighting, the lights can be split into individual circuits and wired to a digital dimmer. This means you’re able to control and dim the lights independently of each other which allows you to create multiple custom lighting scenes throughout your home.

Lighting is usually controlled by custom keypads that can be installed on the walls of the room. They’re deliberately designed to be understated so that they look elegant but without standing out in the wrong way. Depending on which type of keypad you choose, you can select specific scenes or dim lights manually. There’s also the Lutron app, which lets you control those same lights using wireless controls for ease and convenience.

Whilst having full control over each light individually is a great function to have, the Lutron app is even more intuitive than that. With it, you can manually create your own lighting scenes and store them within the app so they’re ready to go at the press of a button. This useful feature means that you can prepare yourself for any situation, whether that is a party in the home, a movie night or a romantic dinner.

LUTRON BLINDS

Lutron doesn’t just make lights. They grew to specialise in lighting as a whole, which also covers natural lighting control. Lutron manufactures their own blinds and motors to allow for a fully comprehensive home lighting management system. With Lutron lights and Lutron blinds working together seamlessly, you’ll be able to maximise your natural daylight and reduce the power consumption of your lights.

The blinds themselves are available from Lutron in a wide range of different fabrics and colours, which allow you to coordinate them with your furniture and your lighting scenes.

All the blinds are made to move in unison with each other, which adds a touch of elegance to the home that Lutron lighting is famous for.

Whilst you’re most likely to be wiring them up to the smart home automation system in the property, some models of Lutron blinds are battery powered, allowing for easy installation, no matter where they’re placed in the home. The motors in these blinds are also some of the quietest motors in the smart home market, meaning that they won’t cause a disturbance when activated and maintain that elegance.

ENERGY SAVING BENEFITS

When integrated into a smart home system, Lutron lights can help to save energy. Enhanced control over the lights means you can light up only the parts of the room and house you are using. For example, if you have a large office and you’re only working at the desk, then you can control the lights so that the room is only lit around the desk. You can also perform a similar command for each room.

If integrated into a full smart home system that contains motion sensors, then lights can be programmed to turn off automatically when motion is no longer detected. You’ll be able to set the sensitivity and duration within the smart home controls.

GEOFENCING

Another great benefit to Lutron lighting is its geofencing capabilities. Lutron allows you to set a radius of up to 10,000 feet around your home. You can then program scenes to be active depending on whether you enter or leave the geofence radius. A typical example would be having the lights switch on when you’re returning home and it’s dark outside. Similarly, you can program the system to turn off all the lights when you leave, so that you don’t waste energy.

SECURITY BENEFITS

Remote control of the Lutron lighting system also has security benefits. When lights switch on and off within the home and blinds start to move, it suggests that someone is at home.  This acts as a great deterrent to potential intruders.

In addition, motion detectors and external lighting will also ensure you reach your front door safely.

LUTRON COMPATIBILITY

Lutron is an international brand, famous for its lighting solutions. As a result, you’ll struggle to find a smart home system that doesn’t support it. This means that whether you decide to opt for a smart home system like Crestron, Control4 or something else completely, you’re almost guaranteed to have Lutron lighting support from that brand.

In addition, Lutron offers solutions that don’t require you to rewire everything. Whilst these may not be as efficient and seamless when performing functions, it means that Lutron can easily be retrofitted into a home with the right products. As certified Lutron installers, we would recommend installing Lutron as early as possible in your project timeline, in order to benefit the most from its great capabilities.

PROS AND CONS

Like any smart home system manufacturer, there are pros and cons to the Lutron lighting system, which we’ve summarised below:

Lutron Lighting Pros:

• Lutron is compatible with almost every smart home system
• The company has specialised in lighting and shade manufacturing for over 50 years
• Precise control, flexibility and customisation
• Energy saving
• Offers wireless solutions
• The best solution for maximising and integrating natural light

Lutron Lighting Cons:

• More expensive than other smart home brands
• Doesn’t offer other smart home devices beyond lighting solutions

LIKE THE LOOK OF LUTRON?

Does Lutron sound like it could be the right lighting solution for your project? Finite Solutions are a registered Lutron dealer. Our expert team have taken exams to prove they can install and integrate complex smart home systems such as Lutron and we’re more than happy to explain or demonstrate how a Lutron system would work for your home project.