Control4 Develops IP-Based Hardwired Lighting Control System

Control4 is coming out with an IP-based hardwired lighting control system.

That's a big deal for a company that is best known for its wireless ZigBee-enabled dimmers and switches. It puts Control4 squarely into competition with Lutron, LiteTouch, Vantage, Crestron and other manufacturers of high-end centralized lighting control systems.

Only, Control4's system will cost much less.

Control4 CTO Eric Smith says the company is targeting a price point of about $75 per load with the new system, which will ship some time next year.

"A lot of dealers want to do it [centralized lighting control]," he says. "We're losing some jobs because we don't offer it, especially in commercial."

Smith adds the Control4 product has some advantages over others on the market. For one, it uses Ethernet "so it's really fast," Smith says, noting that some competitive products have relatively slow response times in large systems.

Also, Control4 uses FETs (field effect transistors) instead of the usual triacs found in most dimming systems. Smith says that FETs enable the control of more lighting types, including LEDs.

The lighting control system, which was shown but not promoted at CEDIA Expo 2008, can control 40 loads per panel. Any number of panels can be cascaded together for support of an unlimited number of loads.

FYI

A FET (field effect transistor) is a semiconductor device that outputs current in proportion to its input voltage. FETs use a small amount of control current to regulate a larger output current.

A Triac (triode alternating current switch) is gated switching device that will conduct current in either direction.

(Thanks, toolingu.com)