Tips From The Top

Are you ready for the next generation of lighting efficiency?

Over the past decade, LED light bulbs, known for their energy-efficiency, have been replacing compact fluorescent light bulbs. Now, the next frontier of energy-efficiency is available for homes and businesses, using an innovative, alternative electrical power source: Power over Ethernet.

“PoE” technology enables network cables to carry electrical power. For example, a digital security camera usually requires two connections: a network connection, and an electrical connection. But with PoE, this camera only needs the network connection, which will give it power as well. 

Described by Delia Hernandez in an article on Planet USA Technology, PoE a common source of power used in the networking world. PoE has major benefits for your home’s lighting. Automation, cost-efficiency, mobility, and ease of installation are some major benefits of lighting powered by PoE, according to Hernandez.

Here’s how it works: LED lights can get their energy by PoE via a regular networking cable. Because LED lights are low-wattage, with an average life span of about 50,000 hours, and consume only 6-8 watts of power, they can be powered by the standard PoE, the 802.3af, which provides 15.4 watts of power. For higher energy needs, the 802.3at yields 25.4 watts of power. You also don’t need an electrician to install extra electrical circuits in your home or office to power more devices.

And home automation platforms are paying attention to this innovative power source. This spring, Savant andRacepoint Energy revealed their new PoE lighting solutions, including two new ControlDirect PoE LED drivers. These lighting solutions offer single-wire installation, IP control, and direct Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication, which gives a direct path to configure and control the LED light fixture. This means your integrator can bypass the control system and work directly with the light, making installation and trouble-shooting faster and more direct.

Besides energy efficiency, these new PoE LED drivers provide easy configuration, load grouping, and color temperature settings, giving you the lighting control clients expect from Savant home automation. Lighting loads can be grouped and regrouped depending on your preferences, making it even easier to define and control the lighting for your home’s many needs. Savant’s Lighting TrueImage app allows you to arrange scene configurations, color temperature, and light shows.

To learn more about how your smart home’s lighting system can take advantage of an innovative PoE power source,call us at Jackson Hole AV. We’d love to discuss the possibilities.