7 Ways to Improve the Lighting in Your Indiana Home

Have you taken a good look at how you use the lights in your home and whether or not they meet all of your daily needs? Homeowners sometimes don’t know what they’re missing until they see what’s available. Smart bulbs and automated controls are some of the best ways to control your lighting. There are many ways you can improve how your lighting looks and operates—from affordable and quick fixes to more expansive installations. Read our blog to discover a multitude of ways you can enhance your home with lighting control. 

SEE ALSO: What does your lighting installation say about you?

 1. Switch to LEDs

This is the fastest and easiest change you can make to improve the lighting in your home. LEDs are more energy efficient and last longer than CFL and incandescent light bulbs, so you don’t have to get out the ladder and change them as often. You’ll save money on your utility bill every month and will be making a positive impact on the environment by using less electricity over the course of the year. If you have dimmers, make sure you choose LED fixtures that are compatible.  We have a great selection of fixtures from Juno Lighting Group that include replacement lamps for existing homes as well as some fantastic new 2” downlights for new construction and remodels that produce 1000 lumens (an old 6” can light produces maybe 600 lumens at most) at a very high quality, available in warm white (2700K) or a clean, crisp white (3000K). 

2. Install Dimmers

Dimmers are fairly standard today in home construction, but many older residences still have the basic on/off switches.  By updating your home’s lighting system you’ll be able to dim the lights to varying levels, and you’ll not only enjoy a lot of different types of environments, but you’ll also save more energy too. According to Lutron, a leader in lighting technology, dimming one light by 25 percent can cut electricity costs by 20 percent. Our automated dimmers can even set the lights to your favorite setting automatically.  Finally, A good “adaptive phase” dimmer will control many LED lights better than a traditional forward phase dimmer. 

3. Add Motion Sensors

Adding motion sensors to your lighting control system is another great way to shave dollars off your monthly electric bill. As soon as you enter a room, a light will turn on, and then when you leave it turns off—plain and simple. Motion sensors are best installed in rooms where lights are commonly left on—like bathrooms, closets, garages, laundry rooms, and bedrooms.

4. Integrate Your Lighting into a Smart Home System, like Control4

The most ideal situation is to integrate your lights into a smart home system so that you can control all of them using a mobile device, remote control, keypad or touch screen. You’ll be able to easily turn off all the lights by pressing one button, set your lighting on a specific schedule according to the date, time, and season, as well as coordinate them with smart shades for optimum energy savings.

 5. Create Smart Scenes

Smart home automation allows you to program scenes for daily needs, like waking up in the morning and going away on vacation. All you have to do is select the room, lighting level, and any other system you want to include – like a music playlist—and then save them under a memorable name—like “Wake Up!” The most used scenes can even be added to your wall keypads for quick activation.

6. Make Your Plug-in Lamps Smarter

The Premier Group will integrate all of your home’s main lighting into a smart system, and that also includes plug-in lamps, like the ones at your bedside. We can even automate your outdoor lighting so that paths and pools stay lit when you want and then shut off when not in use.

 7. Use Voice Control

Amazon Alexa has revolutionized the automation world, enabling families to control the various systems in their homes with their voice. All you have to say when you walk in the door is, “Alexa, turn the lights on!” and your home will immediately illuminate. Voice control is best for those times when your hands are full, like bringing in groceries from the car, or moving boxes inside. But you can use voice control anytime you want as long as you are in range of the Alexa device—like the Echo or Dot.

If you would like to add any of these lighting features to your home, let us know! Give us a call at 317-580-1032 or fill out this online form.