Merging Dimmable CFLs, LEDs with Lighting Control

As lighting control evolves from a niche sales opportunity into a potential core product offering next to home theater for CE pros, the custom market is grappling with the prospect of combining lighting control with new energy saving compact fluorescent lighting (CFLs) and light emitting diode (LED) bulbs.

Arguably the first step any electronics professional should take with a client is a consultation that covers the customer's daily routines, technology goals and budget considerations. Based on the information gathered, an integrator may simply recommend the use of LEDs or CFLs vs. lighting control in order to maximize the client's investment, according to Eric Smith, chief technology officer (CTO) for Control4.

“If a consumer wants the best of all worlds and if he or she is willing to make the investment, the adoption of a lighting control system with dimmable LEDs would be ideal,” Smith points out. “This gives them all of the benefits of energy savings and longer lasting bulbs, with the more pleasing aesthetics that LED lights provide, and the ability to program customized lighting scenes for increased safety and security, comfort and convenience and effortless entertainment.”

CFLs vs. LEDs vs. Incandescents
Considering the way the green movement is trending and the sensitive nature of the economy, it’s realistic to expect that many clients will choose a hybrid lighting system with both dimmable CFLs and LEDs.

Installers interested in learning about the differences between CFLs, incandescent and LED bulbs, and how a lighting control system will run with these products, need to start with some bulb basics.

“LED is a solid state form of lighting. It’s a chip or diode that creates the light. Electricity passes through the light and that creates the light. A CFL uses gases and mercury and incandescent use tiny filaments to make light,” explains Mike Mueller, senior technician, Super Bright LEDs.

Mueller points out that the upfront cost of LED lighting products is also more expensive than other types of lighting, but that cost can be recouped in about a 17 months. Other differences between bulbs types involve light output. Mueller notes that a LED bulb’s light output is generally comparable to a 50-watt light incandescent bulb or a 10- to-12-watt CFL bulb.

Finally and perhaps more importantly he concludes, LEDs cast light differently than a traditional bulb. “LED bulbs produce a directional light, and CFLs and incandescent bulbs radiate light in a 360 degree pattern,” says Mueller. “When you do these measurements [light output] you have to be aware of where the light is focused. That light path beam is about 125 degrees.”

Bringing Technologies Together
Both Smith and Mueller agree that the only way for installers to correctly implement a modern lighting system that includes LEDs and CFLs is to use hardware that’s designed to handle the specific load requirements of these bulbs. Smith says that Control4 is developing products that work with these bulbs.