It’s good to see more manufacturers embracing the ever-important retrofit market for electronic systems contractors. Litetouch, the lighting control company out of Salt Lake City, began shipping its Hybrid Technology products back in May and made a big splash with the first public introduction at the recent CEDIA EXPO.
The company wraps up its 15-city Hybrid World Tour next week with final stops in New Haven, Connecticut (October 13), Columbia, Maryland (October 15), and London, England (October 19).
LiteTouch’s FIVEk CCU
The company’s new line allows the top-of-the-line LiteTouch 5000LC CCU (now called the “FIVEk CCU”) to be installed as all-wired, all-wireless, or as a combination installation.
LiteTouch VP of sales and marketing, Angie Larson, told me that her company’s focus on new home construction installation made it challenging to transition into a retrofit-friendly product line. Design specs had to be backward capability, according to the company’s mandate, because they already had 20 years of product in the field that might require updates.
The company wanted to not only to support existing homes with no lighting control, but also LiteTouch owners who wanted to efficiently add on guest rooms, closets, bathrooms, etc. to an existing, wired system.
By adding the LiteTouch C2000+ Card to any LiteTouch 5000LC CCU an ESC can gain the ability to add wireless communication into the existing system. Hybrid Wall Box Dimmers/Relays can be added to any location not currently connected to the original LiteTouch system, allowing for whole-home control of all locations regardless of specialty or conventional wiring.
In addition to adding the wireless capability, LiteTouch System can be upgraded to include a new FIVEk CCU, delivering the latest functionality with no need to rewire. LiteTouch Hybrid offers new features such as an astronomical time clock and new faceplates.
The FIVEk is a card-based processor, so it’s modular in design. A dealer can work with a client to add features as needed. It’s apparently as simple as adding a new card and the system is field upgradeable. Larson’s example to me was that wireless lamp control modules might be added to an existing system.
One-, three-, and six-button Wall Box Dimmers serve as relays for the system, helping designers avoid home run wiring back to a central panel. The designer or traditional faceplate styles come in white, almond, and black, with custom engraving included (with our without the backlighting option).
Larson added that the Hybrid System should not be thought of as a budget-based solution. “We didn’t have to compromise on features,” she said.
