I recently caught up with Mark Moody, Product Manager Shading & Residential Controls Legrand North & Central America to talk about what dealers should be highlighting with a Vantage HCL system, what homeowners need to know about lighting, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Part 2. (Part 1 here.)
MJ: In addition to the health benefits, are there any other aspects to HCL systems that dealers should be highlighting when talking with clients?
MM: Absolutely. One of the biggest wow factors with a Vantage HCL system is the ability to provide clients with a personalized experience from room to room with preset scenes. For example, a “Wake” scene in the bedroom allows them to start their day without the shock of an alarm clock. The lights gradually turn on at a low intensity with warm colors temperatures and slowly increase to higher intensity cool colors, as the shades slowly rise. The process is reversed in the evening with a “Sleep” scene.
The home office defaults to “Daylight” with cool white lighting and natural blue tones to help them focus, while the shades stay all the way up to provide an outdoor view. Set to “Relax,” the dining room offers lower-intensity light with the shades half raised for a calming atmosphere. Another scene might be “Movie,” in which the shades are lowered, and the lights are dimmed to a specific level.
Coming home from work, a “Welcome” scene raises the shades up halfway and syncs the hallway lights with the appropriate color tone and intensity for that time of day. It’s all automated and very precise. It’s important to remember, however, that daily life rarely sticks to a script. There will always be a need to override these scenes and other programming to meet the requirements of the moment.
MJ: So what do homeowners do when life goes off-script?
MM: With a Vantage HCL system, integrated with an automated shading solution like QMotion, they can make adjustments to lighting and shading settings at any time using our Equinox line of glass LCD touchscreen controllers, EasyTouch II keypads, and the sleek new EasyTouch Glass modular keypad station. It doesn’t matter if it’s simply lowering shades a few more inches on a bright day or changing the preset scene entirely with a single press of a button or tap of an icon.
For example, let’s say you have a teenager that is involved in after-school sports programs, and as a result their homework often gets put off until late in the evening. At that point, the home’s HCL system would have reduced the lighting’s color and intensity to help your family relax. But to do their work, the teenager needs to be alert and active. All they have to do is tap on the “Daylight” scene, and the room will fill with cooler, white light that contain natural blue tones. When their homework is done, another tap returns the room to its regularly scheduled programming.
MJ: Has the COVID-19 pandemic placed an even greater importance on indoor lighting in the home?
MM: Definitely. With so many of us working from home over the last few months — and our children attending school under the same roof — the importance of maintaining a well-lit home with HCL and automated shading systems has never been more apparent. In addition, the capability to change scenes on the fly has been very useful during this time, when dining rooms and entertainment areas have been frequently co-opted to serve as studies and offices. With an HCL system, you can provide natural light to these multi-use spaces when it’s needed, regardless of time of day. The perfect lighting for every need is a button press away.