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How do you satisfy a customer that wants pathway lights to automatically turn on when a person enters from either end of the path? What do you do if that same person wants to easily adjust the brightness of those lights? Perhaps he also wants to set the lights to a low background level during evening hours and automatically have them go to a brighter level when a person enters the pathway. There is a simple, easy to install, reliable and profitable solution to satisfy your customer’s desires; the solution doesn’t require any high voltage wiring or a licensed electrician to install. The Hydrovation® VikingPro™ controller easily connects to multiple motion sensors. The controller operates on a single lighting circuit; other circuits on a multi-circuit transformer can also be independently controlled with additional controllers.  The black and red wires from the controller connect to the wires coming from the transformer’s secondary tap and common while the blue and red wires connect to the wire run going to the lamps. Photo courtesy of Hydrovation The transformer should have a primary side photocell or clock timer to automatically turn it on during dark hours. Timers can be programmed to determine how long the lights will turn on when transformer power is applied each night as well as how long the lights turn on when motion is detected. The controller can safely be connected to any transformer voltage tap up to 22 volts with no danger of supplying more than 12 volts RMS to the lamps. It is recommended that the controller be installed in a standard, single, deep metal, electrical switch box. For outdoor mounting the front side of the box should be protected with a suitable transparent, watertight plastic lid or cover. The controller can be inserted at any convenient location in the wire run from the transformer to the lamps. According to the manufacturer, the controller has been optimized for operation with standard 12-volt Halogen light bulbs. The controller extends the useful lifetime of incandescent light bulbs including Halogen bulbs. It can also be used with 12-volt LED light sources that are fully dimmable. Energy Smart Landscape Lighting ControlsNew programs and rules are driving the demand for energy-efficient lighting worldwide. Standards like LEED 2009 and ASHRAE 90.1 are encouraging lighting designers and installers to install energy-smart controls as part of lighting installations. While a timer device has typically been used to control landscape lighting (whether live-voltage or low-voltage), new standards point out the limitations of mechanical timers if they are not precisely set to match environmental conditions. Strict on/off times set into mechanical timers quickly become obsolete as days become longer or shorter, resulting in lighting that operates when it should not. In addition, traditional timers must be reset a minimum of twice annually to comply with changes in daylight-savings time.  The motion sensors should be mounted high enough above the ground to prevent small animals from turning the lights on.  All motion sensors connecting to a controller are wired to the same, low-voltage, two-wire motion sensor bus. Photos courtesy of Hydrovation ASHRAE 90.1 standard for energy-efficient lighting specifies the use of a photocell together with a timer for outdoor lighting of all types. The photocell overrides the system when the timer activates the lighting when there is still ambient daylight. This additional level of savings of timer/photocell combination pays for itself quickly in energy savings. “Experts say the bottom line to achieving greater energy efficiency is to use technology to easily reduce energy use without having to remember to do it yourself.” said Dan Cuñado, Vista Professional Outdoor Lighting. “Simple, reliable and effective technology like timer/photocell combinations, astronomic timers and timed photocell modules can dramatically increase the energy efficiency of landscape lighting.” Hydrovation’s Hawk Magnussen said landscape contractors can make more money with lighting controllers by offering customer solutions that can satisfy their needs with particular products. “For the most part, lighting controllers are maintenance-free and should last for up to three years,” said Magnussen. “Over time light bulbs can burn out, but controllers can help extend the life of bulbs and also save money.” To making the installation of a lighting control system a profitable part of your business, Advanced Bridging Technologies Greg Hancock recommends getting to know the options out there. Familiarize yourself with the product and how to install it. Know the advantages and disadvantages of the various products on the market. “Landscape contractors need to know the biggest selling advantages for the customer—how can it benefit them?” said Hancock. “A lot of landscape contractors don’t know what’s out there. If they installed a job, they need to show the customer how it works really well. They’ve got to be able to tell a story.” Hancock said the cost range for a lighting control system could be between $300 and $20,000 on the high end, depending on the system, its functions and the size of the yard. Some of the features he recommends looking into include ease of installation, range of control, reliability and functionality. Timers can turn lights off as a convenience to the home owner and also as a way to save on electricity bills. “With lighting controls, you may have to deal with maintenance issues,” said Hancock. “Components wear out and get dirty. Sometimes the program gets messed up or doesn’t come on or you may have interference. A power outage could be a big issue because then the system needs to be reset. All these factors depend on the system as some are easy to maintain and others not so easy.” One of the most common mistakes is hooking up the lighting control system backwards or crossing the wires the wrong way, said Hancock. The installer may not program the system correctly, so it comes on at the wrong time. Ultimately, some landscape contractors just aren’t familiar with the product.  A similar effect can be accomplished with a new astronomic timer, which automatically resets itself to respond to changes in sunrise and sunset times. Many lighting manufacturers have introduced these units which can easily be retrofitted into existing transformer installations. Photo courtesy of Vista Professional Outdoor Lighting Mike Southard of Kichler Lighting said landscape contractors should find controllers which coincide with their technical knowledge. “If someone is new in installing the controllers, they may want a system that’s easy to use,” said Southard. “You don’t want a lot of call-backs. Installing a new household appliance could interfere with the system and cause the lights to go out. Some circuits are more susceptible than others.” Some issues may arise in the installation process, said Southard. For instance, if a residence has five transformers, they may not all come on at the same time. A lighting controller can be set so they all come on and off simultaneously. Southard said sometimes mistakes can be made during the installation process: “Certain systems have the potential for signals carried out by different appliances. If you install a trouble-shooting mechanism up front, it can eliminate the systems up front that don’t work. This will not allow a new appliance to interfere. If it’s not set up right, you have to go out and figure out what’s wrong.” In order to receive technical advice, landscape contractors can turn to manufacturer’s websites, check out the product manual that goes into detail and read frequent-asked-questions. Most manufacturers have technical experts on staff who can answer questions. Even some distributors may travel to your installation site to trouble shoot problems. |
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