02.12.2008 — With a history that spans about 170 years, Schneider Electric can modestly say that it has experience in the fields of electricity and lighting. Its Square D brand itself has a 105-year history.

In 2006, the company revenues eclipsed the $17 billion plateau, with sales of its equipment reaching more than 130 countries. Moreover, 2006 also marked another milestone for Schneider Electric as it introduced its Square D Clipsal line of lighting control products.

Nearly two years later, the company is expanding the Clipsal line of products to include the residential category, which is gaining momentum through the emphasis of eco responsibility.

Brad Wills, business director, installation systems and control for Schneider Electric, took some time to explain the technologies behind the company's lighting control line, the requirements for installation and its benefits for both users and installers.

With so many established players in the lighting control market why did Square D enter a category wherein it would seemingly have to catch up to those brands that already have market share?

There are many good companies in the lighting control space today. In fact, Schneider Electric has been one of them for many years in the commercial space.

Its Square D Powerlink product line, for example, provides a high performance and cost effective solution for on/off lighting control combined with industry leading circuit protection all within one solution.

The introduction of the Square D Clipsal line simply expands our offer into the dimming and front-of-wall control aspects of lighting control in the commercial space. For the residential space, it builds on the market-leading solutions we already provide in circuit distribution and protection, arc fault protection and surge protection.

The Square D Clipsal solution literally connects the end user to the industry-leading 'back of wall' solutions we have provided for decades.

It now gives them an opportunity to combine electrical control for lighting, audio distribution and control, temperature control and security interfacing into one simple solution.

In addition, while the Clipsal range is new to the United States and North America as a whole, it is not new to the world. Clipsal integrated control solutions have been around for over 15 years around the globe in places, such as Asia, Australia, the Middle East and the U.K., where it runs and controls such buildings as the Sydney Opera House, the Petronas Towers and Wembley Stadium.

These are just examples of the over 70,000 installations that have been done both residentially and commercially worldwide. So in many ways we, through our acquisition of Clipsal, have been innovating solutions in this space for 15 years.

What does the Square D brand offer consumers or professional installers that the company's existing brands in the category don't offer?

The Square D-Clipsal control offerings provide something for everyone involved in the business. For architects and designers, it provides a unique aesthetic design that has been missing from the U.S. market for too long.

For installers, it provides a solution that not only provides lighting control, but also the ability to integrate into Clipsal's multiroom audio and soon-to-come thermostat solutions.

In addition, as we continue to partner with other providers, we will offer the installer more flexibility to use their preferred brands of multiroom audio and temperature control along with the Clipsal lighting control solution.

The Clipsal system is also a simple system to both install and configure.

The Clipsal system utilizes distributed intelligence architecture to eliminate the need for a costly central processor. In addition, this also removes a potential central point of failure for the system, thus preventing the scenario where the failure of the central processor renders your system inoperable.

The use of a distributed intelligence system also makes the take-off and physical installation easier. The installer can use any wiring typology they like: star, daisy chain, et cetera, or any combination thereof.

The Clipsal system is easier to add to and change in the middle of an installation. If someone decides they want to add a new keypad mid-project, the installer simply taps a new wire into the existing run of wire anywhere in the system.

Another nice benefit of this robust system is that one line of product can be used both residentially and commercially so that the installer only needs to know how to install and commission one type of system in order to complete an installation.