Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Honeywell Chosen by Consumers as the Overall Best Brand of Programmable Thermostats in the United States

Honeywell's Programmable Thermostats Edge Out Competing Products in Features,
Rates Favorably on Other Factors

In Frost & Sullivan’s survey of 1,013 U.S. homeowners, 646 owned programmable
thermostats and rated various brands on several specific points. Homeowners
using Honeywell programmable thermostats rate their thermostats higher than
users of any other major brand. “Honeywell users appreciate the features offered
by its brand – 33 percent cite that having the ‘best features’ is their main
reason for using Honeywell, compared to nine percent among users of other brands
stating the same,” said Christina Alfaro Research Analyst with Frost &
Sullivan’s Customer Research Team. “Supporting Honeywell’s overall best rating
is that it rated well for other factors too, such as ease-of-use, energy
efficiency, and cost savings.”

Honeywell conducts extensive – and on-going – customer research to ensure the
products they develop are simple-to-install and are easy-to-use. For instance,
their Prestige™ programmable thermostat incorporates a patented, interview-based
interface that walks a homeowner through the set-up process by asking a series
of questions, such as “what time does the first person wake-up in the morning?”
or “what time do you go to sleep at night?” The answers help the thermostat
program itself – no owner’s manual is needed. The graphic user interface
displays information in an easy-to-understand format, the on-board user’s manual
provides definitions and directions for each display screen and can be
customized to display in English, French or Spanish.

Some Honeywell programmable thermostats also have the ability to wirelessly
communicate to accessory devices using the company’s RedLINK™ technology, the
first wireless protocol developed exclusively for the HVAC industry. The
thermostat can be used with an outdoor sensor that sends a signal to the
thermostat to display outdoor temperature and humidity on the home screen. This
makes it simple for the homeowner to get access to that information.
Finally, Honeywell thermostats are among the few thermostats that have been
qualified under the National Electrical Manufacturer Association's (NEMA) new
ENERGY AWARE™ program. When properly installed and used as directed, Honeywell
estimates that homeowner’s can cut annual heating and cooling cost up to 33
percent – or by $200 each year – depending on geographic location.

“Honeywell thermostats are designed for consumers – by consumers – who are
looking for the ultimate in comfort control,” said John Tyhacz, vice president
and general manager for Honeywell’s home comfort and energy systems business.
“They are easy-to-use and help homeowners make better decisions about their
energy use.”
Honeywell Products

Leviton Green Technology

Green technologies make sense from an economic, environmental and compliance standpoint. Federal and state energy codes are driving higher standards for building efficiency and underscoring the need for better energy-saving controls for lighting by either mandating compliance or encouraging it with tax incentives and utility rebates. Combine that with energy costs rising faster than ever before, and the reduction of energy consumption by businesses becomes an increasingly more powerful competitive advantage.

With over 38% of a typical business’s energy bill related to lighting, energy saving controls for lighting are at the center of any effort to reduce energy expenditures. One of the easiest ways to save energy is to simply turn the lights off when not needed. Leviton helps you take advantage of these potential energy-saving opportunities.

From dimming and occupancy sensing to daylight harvesting and distributed lighting control, Leviton delivers both hardwired and wireless lighting control strategies for every imaginable application in any environment. No company offers a broader range of lighting controls solutions for optimizing energy efficiency than Leviton.

Leviton Dimmers
Leviton Electrical & Lighting Products

Frequently Asked Hatch Transformer Questions

Lutron CL dimmers for dimmable Compact Fluorescent (CFL) & LED Bulbs

Dimming CFLs and LEDs
Dimming saves energy while setting the right light level to improve mood and ambiance. Screw-in compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and screw-in light emitting diode bulbs (LEDs) are a great energy-saving alternative to incandescent or halogen light sources; however, dimming them may be difficult. Lutron’s new C•L™ Dimmers for dimmable CFL and LED bulbs have HED™ Technology which helps alleviate your CFL and LED dimming challenges.
Challenges of Dimming CFLs and LEDs with Standard Dimmers

Lutron CL Bulb typeEnergy-saving CFLs have been in the marketplace for many years but a broad range of dimmable bulbs has only recently become available. LEDs are even newer to the market and dimmable versions are also only recently available.

These dimmable bulbs, especially CFLs, have historically presented problems when used on standard incandescent dimmers.

Common issues include:

Reduced dimming range: Incandescent/halogen bulbs will typically dim lower than CFL or LED bulbs. Most dimmable CFLs will dim down to 10% to 30% measured light output. Early versions of dimmable LEDs on the market have the ability to dim lower than CFLs and can reach levels as low as 5% to 15% measured light. The actual dimming range is dictated by the bulb’s circuitry.

Lights dropping out: As CFL or LED bulbs are dimmed, they will sometimes turn off before the slider reaches the bottom. Referred to as “drop out,” this makes it extremely difficult to set the dimmer at the right level without bulbs turning off.

Lights not turning on: After being dimmed to a low light level and switched off, sometimes CFL or LED bulbs will not turn on until the dimmer’s slider is moved up. This is referred to as “pop-on,” which is especially challenging in 3-way situations where lights can be turned on/off from different locations, not just using the dimmer.

Lights turning off unexpectedly: Dimmable CFL and LED bulbs can be influenced by line voltage fluctuations. As your incandescent bulbs will sometimes dim or flicker when a device such as air-conditioning or a hair dryer is used, a dimmed CFL or LED can actually turn off or flicker excessively in those situations.

Note: Actual performance of any CFL or LED will vary from bulb type to bulb type and among different manufacturers. It is important to note that only bulbs that have been designed as dimmable should be used on a dimmer. To find out if your bulb is dimmable, please check the package, the bulb itself, or call the bulb manufacturer directly.

New Dimmers from Lutron
To help combat these issues, Lutron has developed a family of C·L dimmers for dimmable CFL and LED bulbs. By incorporating HED Technology, these dimmers improve the dimming performance of dimmable CFLs and LEDs compared to standard dimmers by:
  • Keeping the lights on as they are dimmed
  • Making sure the lights turn on at all light levels
  • Eliminating/reducing excessive flicker
  • Keeping the lights on even with line voltage fluctuations
About HED Technology: HED Technology features advanced dimming circuitry that is designed for compatibility with most high efficacy light bulbs.

Lutron C·L dimmers with HED Technology also provide full-range dimming for halogen and incandescent bulbs, ensuring today’s dimmer is compatible with tomorrow’s light sources. The dimmer can even dim a mixed load of light sources (i.e. LED and halogen or CFL and LED bulbs on the same circuit). C·L dimmers are available in our Diva®, Skylark Contour™, Luméa®, Ariadni®/Toggler® and Credenza® product families.

Lutron Dimmers