Tips From The Top

Light is transformative. It makes everything seem happier, easier, more doable. Everything, that is, except a few crucial things like seeing images on a screen or, say, sleeping. What’s more, light coming through windows also brings heat, and while a home with enormous windows might be exactly what you want at some points in the day, at others it’s more economical and private to shade those windows. That’s where customized, motorized shades come in. They can allow you to let the sunshine in—when you want—and quickly, easily (and even remotely) create a private, cool, and dark environment with one touch.

One type of shades takes that even further with software-controlled sensors that adjust shades automatically based on your energy saving and comfort preferences. Welcome to Lutron’s Hyperion Solar-Adaptive Shading.

Challenges of Natural Lighting

Natural lighting is a wonderful thing. Not only have countless studies demonstrated that ample natural lighting lifts the moods and performance of people within buildings, but making use of the natural light when it’s available, rather than relying on electric, is smart for both the environment and your budget. But a home or office building that is designed with the idea of maximizing natural lighting also faces a number of challenges: 

• Heat. Light streaming through the windows can heat up rooms quickly, causing not just discomfort for the inhabitant, but also skyrocketing cooling bills.
• Glare. Whether you’re trying to work on a computer, give a presentation on a white board or relax and watch a movie, glare created by windows makes some tasks not just unpleasant but impossible.
• Privacy. No matter how much you may love the views (and we know: we have some spectacular ones here in Jackson, Wyoming), when night falls, you become the spectacle instead.
• Sleep. We’ve all read the articles and studies about how artificial light can ruin our rest, but for many, even if we turn off our TVs, tablets and smartphones, we can’t turn off the lights streaming in our windows from outside. 

Thanks to motorized shades, which can be integrated into smarthome technology, you can enjoy all the benefits of natural lighting without struggling with any of these challenges.

Lutron Hyperion Solar-Adaptive Shading

Motorized shades come in many varieties with wide-ranging capabilities, but those capabilities are becoming more and more impressive all the time. Lutron’s Hyperion Solar-Adaptive Shading is one of the newest and most impressive advances.

The most difficult aspect of using daylight to light a building is the fact that light changes. That’s why Lutron designed its Hyperion Solar-Adaptive Shading to—as the name suggests—adapt to those changes. The system combines Lutron Sivoia QS automated shades with Hyperion solar adaptive technology, and Radio Window™ sensors to create energy savings, reduce glare, and increase comfort—all without creating any extra work for you.

With your preferences programmed into the Hyperion software, the system’s sensors, placed along all windowed areas, detect changes in light amount and direction as well as weather conditions, then send that information back to the software. Then the system adjusts your shading automatically to maintain your set preferences.

But what if my preferences change? That’s easy, too. The system also comes with a personal controller so that you can override the software at any time without changing your programming.

The Future’s So Bright

For homeowners and businesses, making use of natural light is a smart move, but shaping that natural light to your ideal preferences is brilliant. It’s good for your wallet, your comfort and your peace of mind. To find out more about Lutron Hyperion Solar-Adaptive Shading or any of the many other smart, motorized shade options, call us at Jackson Hole AV.