Is It Time to Upgrade Your Lighting Control?

Flickering lights, malfunctioning keypads, LED incompatibility— is it time to upgrade or replace your outdated home lighting control systems? Over the last couple of years, several automated lighting control systems have encountered failures due to incompatibility with current LED technologies and other advances in home automation. Systems like Vantage QLink, Colorado VNet, LiteTouch and older generation Lutron systems are coming to their end of life and need either full replacement or an upgrade to continue working. Keep reading for next steps if you think your home is ready for an update.

First, A Brief History of Lighting Control

Automated lighting control first emerged on the home technology scene a little more than 20 years ago. In Colorado, first-adopter companies like Residential Systems, Inc.designed and installed the first complex home automation systems using cutting edge technology. At the time, these systems—Vantage QLink, LiteTouch, Colorado VNet, and Lutron HomeWorks and RadioRA—revolutionized the way homeowners interacted with their surroundings. Lutron was one of the first on the market in 1990 when they revolutionized the industry with NeTwork, the very first whole-home lighting control system. This system networked all of the home’s dimmers and switches, which could be controlled individually and from remote panels. Revolution came again in 1997 with the release of Lutron’s RadioRA, the first two-way radio frequency whole-home lighting control system. Once RadioRA hit the market, it quickly became the gold standard of automated lighting control. During this era of first-generation automated lighting control, many forward-thinking Colorado homeowners were early adopters. Today, those same homeowners are encountering problems with systems reaching their end of life. This leaves users with the options of updating or completely replacing their systems in order to avoid complete and irreparable failure.

What Does a Home Lighting System Failure Look Like?

Symptoms like flickering lights, intermittent control, and malfunctioning keypads are the first signs that your lighting system is breaking down. Your system will reach ultimate failure when your system completely shuts down, leaving you and your family in the dark. When it comes time to replace or upgrade your system, here are a few of your options:

• Colorado V-Net is no longer in business. Homeowners can’t get parts to fix the outdated systems and should begin looking at options for an upgrade before the system fails completely. Fortunately, there are a number of options for these Homeowners including systems with newer, more advanced technologies like Lutron Homeworks QS or Control4 lighting
• LiteTouch is no longer in business, as well. Similar to Colorado V-Net, homeowners can’t get the parts or processors necessary to fix these systems when they fail. Homeowners with a LiteTouch system should begin looking at options for upgrade before the system fails completely.
• For homeowners who had an original Lutron HomeWorks or Lutron RadioRA system, the solution is a relatively simple processor upgrade and reprogramming of the system to. A few additional parts may be needed but the path to an upgrade for these systems is relatively straightforward and simple.
• People with older Vantage systems like Qlink should look at an upgrade for additional functionality. An upgrade will also allow the Vantage system to handle LED loads and use more intuitive devices. Depending on your current needs, a Vantage upgrade or full replacement could be the right solution.

Don’t wait until it’s too late. Know your options and get a plan in place for a replacement. Contact us today at (303) 277-9983 for a free consultation.

Upgrade to a New Lighting Automation System

Today’s next-generation lighting control systems provide an even higher level of functionality than their predecessors. Lutron is the leader in the industry with the most robust platform of products that can fit into any size home, meet most budgets, and can be retrofitted into almost any existing home.

Lutron’s Current Product Offerings

RadioRA 2

• Expanded wireless whole-home lighting control
• Supports up to 200 devices (homeowners can start with one room and easily expand into others)
• Utilizes backlit, custom engraved keypads, customized scene control, and the full line of Lutron wireless shades
• Works with Lutron wired and wireless occupancy/vacancy sensors

HomeWorks QS

• Most advanced, luxury whole home system
• Supports up to 10,000 devices
• Offers the most keypad style and color options, as well as customized keypads
• Hidden panels eliminate dimmers and switches on the wall
• Works with Lutron thermostats for HVAC control
• New Palladiom keypads add a luxury look and feel to the lighting system

Ready to redesign or replace your lighting system?

With more than 30 years of experience installing, repairing and replacing lighting control systems, Residential Systems Inc. has the knowledge, expertise, and longevity in the market to ensure peace of mind. When you work with us you get 1. A system from a company like Lutron that won’t go out of business anytime soon, 2. Unmatched customer service, exceptional installation, and customer support for the life of the system. We have replaced dozens of outdated systems with state-of-the-art Lutron Homeworks, and know exactly what you need for a seamless transition. Contact us today to set up a free, in-home consultation, and let us light up your life.