Your customers know they need to think smart to win new business and keep their business moving forwards. The home owners they work for expect smart home wizardry, and there’s always someone else to provide it if they don’t.

By the same logic, when installers come looking for the kit that will enable them to add value to their jobs, there will always be a wholesaler who will oblige if you don’t. All the same, it’s early days for most installers, but they are beginning to see that smart technology is not only for custom installers working on high-end projects. There is pent up demand from home and business owners who are increasingly familiar with having apps for the heating and Alexa for home entertainment and maybe some special novelty lights. If they want to go further and bring it all together, they will need to look for more sophisticated and professionally-installed systems.

Lighting has been a bit of a soft underbelly here: getting the lighting right is a big energy saver and installing LED with presence detection for automatic on/off switching has been good business for installers in recent years. Now end users are hearing about scene setting and lights that adjust automatically to ambient conditions. All this is easily provided as part of a commercial DALI lighting system, but happily, there are now standalone PIR detectors that
provide that automation. Timeguard introduced its new daylight harvesting PIRs this year, and no doubt others will eventually follow their lead as usual. They use ‘daylight harvesting’, a technique that detects both the natural and artificial light levels in real time and dims up or down the fittings accordingly. So, if the sun comes out, lights will dim in the parts of the room that are getting enough natural daylight.

Dimming LEDs, once almost seen as witchcraft, has come into the mainstream as trailing edge technology becomes more common (we looked at this in our Jan/Feb issue).

Being able to group several lights together so that they can be adjusted from one switch takes it to a new level for installers and the step up to DALI control. This has been made easier with a facility pioneered by the Theben theRonda system that we looked at in our March/April issue. This system enables installers to set up a DALI system of up to 50 lamps in three zones or groups using no more than a finger on a retractive (push to make) switch.

The next level
Where do installers go next, once they’ve put a toe in the water and seen the profit margins that go with smart technology installation? The key manufacturers all offer smart home hubs that make the transition straightforward for installers. LUXORliving is the simple Smart Home system from Theben, offering all-round home comfort by switching and dimming lights, regulating the heating, controlling the blinds, curtains or shutters etc. It is designed to be simple to install, mixing and matching the controls you need, and easy to set up using the downloadable software. With app control, it’s simple to use too. For installers moving to the next level, it is an ideal tool.

The hubs and the devices they control are relatively big-ticket items for the wholesaler counter, but they can be ordered and delivered within days. Just make sure that your customers know that you’re ready with supply and support when they are.

For further information

To learn more about Theben and the smart lighting options it has available, visit: www.theben.de/home-en-gb/

Image reference:©AdobeStock_Adam