Lutron Beefs Up Grafik Eye Lighting Controller

Lutron's flagship single-room lighting controller just became easier to sell. The new Grafik Eye QS now can be used to operate not just the lights but Lutron's Sivoia shading system as well.

We already reported that feature, but here's the details: The control panel features one bank of buttons for controlling the shades, and another to select scenes. The scenes may include a mix of both lighting and shade commands, for example, the ROMANCE mode would dim the lights and close the shades (or open them, if that's your preference).

Lutron is rolling out a new version of Sivoia shades called QS, featuring a protocol that communicates with the Grafik Eye (Legacy QED shading systems are not compatible).

Integrators will especially appreciate some of the new features that make the QS easier to integrate with third party devices.

The panel now features an IR input so integrators no longer need to stick an emitter on the front panel to operate the system with a third-party controller.

It also provides a contact-closure input for connecting to an occupancy sensor or other trigger device.

In a nod to the green movement, the front LCD panel reads out not only the status of lights and shades, but the amount of energy that is being saved—in real time—by dimming the lights.

Lutron also has added a new set of "master override" buttons that can be used to temporarily raise and lower light levels of a complete scene.

An astronomical clock has also been added to the Grafik Eye, allowing integrators to set schedules for activating scenes.

Finally, Grafik Eye users will benefit from Lutron's sensitivity to aesthetics. Customers can select from 30 colors on the Lutron palette, previews of which are available through the online Visualizer (below).