CentraLite Cleans up Image

Well, it is a big deal for dealers who have followed this lighting-control company since the days when execs donned lab coats, Hawaiian shirts, and other fun garb at the trade shows. The CentraLite logo was rainbow-colored. The keypads less than elegant. The Web site weak. But the lighting-control system worked, and it was affordable, and dealers liked it.

In an industry largely influenced by designers, where many of the manufacturers don suits and tote swatches, Centralite's approach raised eyebrows.

At one recent EHX the CentraLite team wore army garb and practically got the show shut down by security.

But CentraLite unveiled a new look at EHX Fall--a monochrome logo, a respectable Web site, and some sophisticated new products. For dealers who had trouble reconciling CentraLite 's reputation for great products with the company's, uh, colorful image, now everything is clean and pretty.

Aside from the façade, CentraLite continues to innovate on the technology side, most notably with its new wireless line of controls called StarLite. The product accommodates up to 96 wireless nodes, 288 buttons and 100 scenes. There are 512 dimming levels, which can be preset for every load, and a soft on/soft off function. StarLite can automatically control environments wit up to 50 timed events. An astronomical clock is included.

StarLite integrates seamlessly with CentraLite's hardwired lighting controls. With the addition of an RF module, wireless dimmers can be added to the hardwired platform, and they can be programmed and controlled like any hardwired device. "We wanted the wireless devices to look just like the hardwired," says CentraLite chief Jim Busby.

The company has been somewhat elusive about the particular wireless technology employed. Both Zigbee and Z-Wave have been associated with the StarLite line. At EHX, Busby explained the confusion. The first version of StarLite uses a "modified" version of Zigbee--modified because the final Zigbee protocol was not finalized at the time of StarLite's development and launch, and because CentraLite spurns wide-open standards when it comes to wireless control.

"We do not want an open system," says Busby. "We do not want a light to come on in the middle of the night because someone bought a cheap switch."

Ultimately, says Busby, "it would be our fault" because CentraLite is the central controller. To ensure the reliability of the lighting-control system, CentraLite will encourage dealers to stick with CentraLite dimmers and switches. However, realizing that some dealers and consumers will insist on interoperability with off-the-shelf products, CentraLite offers adapters for both Zigbee and Z-Wave, allowing compatible products to participate in a CentraLite network. The adapters will allow "true" Zigbee and Z-Wave products to interact with StarLite, without disrupting native StarLite devices.