07.04.2008 — The lighting control space just got a bit more crowded, with a new entrant introducing a totally new technological approach to the market.

Masco Corporation, a leading manufacturer of brand-name consumer products for the home improvement and new home construction markets, used the Pacific Coast Builders Conference (PCBC) in San Francisco to launch Verve Living Systems, a combination hardwired and wireless lighting control system that uses "energy harvesting" and RF technology.

The company calls the system "groundbreaking," and it really is something totally different. Designed for new construction, the system touts to builders and electricians that they will run substantially less wire in a home because none of the light switches need to be hardwired.

With the price of copper (and labor) these days, it is an attractive selling point.

"This will change dramatically the way that houses are built," says Dianne Pisarek, vice president responsible for Verve Living Systems.

The system architecture works like this: A central controller that can handle up to 10 switches is hardwired to line voltage, along with traditional lighting fixtures. The actual light switches themselves communicate to the controller via RF.

The added twist is the that switches do not require any power. They use energy harvesting technology in which the "power" is self generated by the homeowner when they physically flip the switch.

It's the same energy-producing technology touted by past CEDIA keynoter Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child Program, which uses "wind-up" laptops to generate an ephemeral power supply. No battery, nothing.

This allows the builder, electrician or even homeowner to move the light switch wherever he wants to in the home. Pisarek says the switches can be affixed with screws, glue, double-backed tape ... whatever.

The technology in use was developed by EnOcean GmbH, a Siemens Corporation spin-off. According to Markus Brehler, CEO of EnOcean, the technology is in use in 10,000 buildings in Europe. The RF communicates in the 315MHz bandwidth and has a 300-foot range.

It's no surprise that Masco unveiled the system at PCBC. The company hammered home the fact that the system reduces the use of copper wiring and eliminates the potential problems and inefficiencies of having to move or rewire light switches.

It is also a chance for builders to differentiate themselves in the marketplace by giving them the opportunity to offer their homebuyers innovative lifestyle and energy savings benefits, according to Pisarek.

According to Masco, 94 percent of homeowners surveyed say they would prefer to buy from a homebuilder who offered a lighting control system like Verve.

The system is dimmable, and can be programmed for pathway lighting and lighting scenes.

According to Pisarek, the Verve Living Systems energy-harvesting, radio frequency technology is currently being used to develop additional applications in HVAC monitoring and control, whole-house environmental monitoring and home security.

The average home will require four controllers, says Pisarek, with an estimated initial cost of about $3,000. Verve is selling directly to builders and electricians to start, and then plans to offer the product through general distribution.

The system does not have remote monitoring capabilities, but she says that will be coming soon. The product will be out this fall.