Improve Security & Save Power With Lighting Controllers
Filed Under Lighting Controllers, Motion Detectors | Leave a Comment
Most landscape lighting systems now use a lighting controller with a timer that shuts your garden lights off at night (to save power and avoid disturbing neighbors).
Some systems will also let you select an option to maintain your lights at a reduced power setting, so you have a soft glow rather than full illumination.
Many systems also include a motion sensor in the control system. When the motion sensor is activated, it fully illuminates the lights for a pre-selected amount of time.
This performs 2 functions:
- It either advises you that there is someone on your property. In this situation the motion sensor fully illuminates the lights to alert you when an intruder has entered your property, providing your home with all night security.
- Or it turns on the lights to welcome you home and guide you safely to your door.
These lighting controllers are suitable to use with manor house landscape lighting systems.
EZ-Color LED Lighting Controller from Cypress Semiconductir
Filed Under LED Landscape Lights, Lighting Controllers | Leave a Comment
This is a fascinating product for controlling large arays of LED lights. It may be beyond what’s needed for an average domestic landscape lighting application - unless you have a taste for clever technology or maybe a super-sized Christmas lighting installation.
The EZ-Color high brightness LED controllers pair with the “PSoC Express” software to deliver a design solution for applications that require precise light-blending, including architectural lighting and entertainment lighting.
The system overcomes the two biggest problems LED lighting engineers face today:
(a) having to account for differing High Brightness (HB) LED performance specifications and
(b) the LEDs’ performance variation over different temperatures.
With PSoC Express, designers simply select a color from a palette presented on-screen. Pre-loaded manufacturers’ LED specifications and temperature feedback algorithms are automatically applied to the selected design and programmed into the EZ-Color controller.
In other words its pretty much like using a run-of-the-mill Windows graphics of photo application, where the picture on the PC is translate dinto LED light display. Awesome!
This can save a designer / installer anywhere from weeks to months of design time for a complex design, or if you’re a home (not so) handy-person - years of wasted weekends!
The EZ-Color controllers can support up to 16 LED channels (more than you’ll ever need at home), compared to four or five channels for competitive devices. These additional channels can mean a savings of dozens or even hundreds of controllers in very large designs (which would definitely be beyond the scope of a domestic set up), saving on design complexity, power consumption and board space.
You can get more information on EZ-Color, education materials on HB LED color mixing, and a free download of PSoC Express 3.0 software are all available at www.cypress.com/EZ-Color.
So in summary a useful tool and/or a fanbtastic toy for controlling light installations. Imagine its your wife’s birthday and you program a message into your landscape lighting.
“Hi Darling happy birthday . . . PS what’s for dinner tonite?”
Or maybe you have an annoying neighbor you’d like to send a message to . . . the possibilities are endless!
Stay tuned for the latest landscape lighting news.