Electrical Articles Directory » Lighting

Leviton Switching - The Basics of Home Automation

Summary: Home automation is about delivering practical control of your lighting, home and personal lifestyle which provides comfort and control and energy savings which is what the leviton home automation systems provide.

Every room in the home benefits from home control and home automation. Here are just a few examples of popular applications:

• Kitchen and Dining Room: Create scenes for the different tasks such as dining, cooking and cleaning.
• Home Theater and Media Room: Create a dramatic “dim the lights before the show” integrated with your home theater system.
• Master Bedroom: Control zones of lights from the bedside to turn ON and OFF lights outside, downstairs or throughout the entire home.
• Landscape and Garden: Schedule when the garden path lights turn ON and OFF, or combine all the outdoor lights to activate at once for security.
• Staircase and Hallway: Ensure safety by turning on lights at appropriate lighting levels throughout the day and night.
• Living Room: Add elegance and intimacy. Lighting is one of the most powerful methods Interior Designers use to change moods in a room.
• Family Room and Great Room: Select a lighting scene for one person to read a good book, or the entire family to celebrate a birthday party.

Home automation is about delivering practical control of your lighting, home and personal lifestyle.

Automation manufacturers such as Leviton provide two lines of residential home automation products, Vizia™-RF and Decora® Home Controls (DHC). These lines establish powerful levels of control and customization—which allow Leviton to be the leader in home automation products that installers, builders and homeowners trust.

Home automation and Lighting
Enjoy convenience and energy savings with automated switching of outdoor lighting

Lighting displays have become a staple of American front yards and home automation programmable light switching makes the inconvenience of switching these displays ON and OFF every night a thing of the past… as well as providing an easy way to comply with town restrictions or energy management objectives.

Decorative Lighting In Brief:
Plug display lighting into an existing receptacle using a DHC Plug-In Receiver Module
or replace the existing switch or receptacle controlling the lights with a DHC Switch or
Receptacle Receiver Module. DHC is ideal for Christmas trees or other seasonal decorations, which can be awkward to unplug easily. A home automation programmer transmits unique coded commands over a home’s existing AC wiring, telling the DHC Receiver Modules to initiate recurring timed events. Depending on the DHC Programmer chosen, lights can be made to go ON/OFF/DIM/BRIGHT at specific times or at dusk/dawn based on a built-in astronomical clock. All components are designed for use with the complete line of Home Controls products – allowing you to expand the system at any time.

(Note: Do not replace previously installed GFCI Receptacles with DHC Receptacles.
DHC Receptacles should be used with a Leviton Rain tight While-In-Use Cover or other
weatherproof cover in wet and damp locations. Check that all installations meet local
electrical codes.)

• Automate ON/OFF switching of holiday landscape displays
• Schedule ON/OFF times based on time of day or on dusk/dawn switching
using a built-in astronomical clock (Toscana™ Deluxe Programmer only)
• Memory backup protects your programming during power failure

DHC PRODUCTS FOR HOLIDAY DECORATING APPLICATIONS
Decora® Home Controls System Packages for home automation solutions

* Recommended in all DHC installations to ensure system reliability
(Note: Do not replace previously installed GFCI Receptacles with DHC Receptacles. DHC Receptacles should be used with a Leviton Rain tight While-In-Use Cover or other weatherproof cover in wet and damp locations. Check that all installations meet local electrical codes.)