In a New York press preview of its 2012 product line, Vantage Controls signaled a return to its legacy as a luxury lighting control brand with a major enhancement to the flagship InFusion line system and a new LCD keypad line featuring a revamped user interface.
Designed as a powerful tool for integrators in particular, the new InFusion modules help increase efficiency in design and field installation with new firmware updates.
The first elements of the updated InFusion systems are main and secondary power enclosures (IMPE and ISPE), which are available in two- and four-module configurations. Designed as a powerful tool for integrators in particular, the new modules help increase efficiency in design and field installation with new firmware updates. Integrators will be able to remotely determine when physical service calls are necessary and when lamps might fail. According to Andrew Wale, Vantage vice president of marketing, this feature is especially useful for owners of multiple homes that want to ensure all their devices are up and running before their next visit.
The larger main power enclosure model (IMPE-4) has a 48-line feed capacity for up to 256 amps of load and an operating range from 120 to 277 VAC on either 50 Hz or 60 Hz systems. A custom-fit hinged door is designed for surface installations.
The system is capable of monitoring and managing energy features with motion sensors designed to detect any lack of movement and shut lights down accordingly.
Wale described the InFusion as a “grow and scale system,” because integrators can add up to 288 loads per single controller. Part of the market focus, Wale said, was on retrofit projects or those that are intended for expansion in the future. As a result, the IMPE and ISPE are compatible with legacy Vantage Q and InFusion systems.
A standard dimming module (SDM12-EM) will be released later this year, supporting up to 12 standard loads with up to four line feeds and 64 total amps of load.
Research demonstrated that homeowners don’t feel the industry makes user interfaces easy for them, with too many menus and too much variation between touchscreens and apps. Vantage looks to address this concern in its new single-layer programmable interface.
Also, this year, a pair of low-voltage output stations will be released around August, according to Wale. Each station features four 0-10 v ouputs and four PWM outputs, with four high voltage relays. Four dry contact inputs are also supported for use with motion sensors, pressure sensors, IR input, and magnetic switches.
“Combined with significant enhancements in our InFusion Design Center software, these new modules enable increased control precision with even the most complex lighting load scenarios, allowing our systems to control virtually every light in the house as if it were an incandescent load,” Wale said.
The other big product news from Vantage this year is the Equinox LCD keypads, due out in September, featuring a single-layer programmable interface.
Vantage conducted extensive research with homeowners for developing Equinox with a more “prescribed UI,” Wale said. The research demonstrated that homeowners don’t feel the industry makes user interfaces easy for them, with too many menus and too much variation between touchscreens and apps. They also tend to have difficulty using interfaces at secondary homes where they don’t spend as much time.
The Equinox UI features three homescreen widgets to flick or swipe through, similar to a mobile interface. Homeowners can customize the screen more, but there are elements of the system that require dealer setup. The goal of the interface was to eliminate the tedious, multi-menu systems that are time consuming and frustrating for users. The aesthetic remains consistent across all the control devices in the system.
The initial keypad release will focus on retrofit applications while a second version will be more focused on AV control with Ethernet connectivity.
Proximity sensors detect when someone is nearby, so there’s no groping in the dark to find a switch.
Six years after being acquired by Legrand, the French electronic systems giant, Vantage Controls has doubled down on its commitment to ultra luxury residential spaces in the face of the global recession. In 2012, the brand continues its legacy of producing advanced, lighting control systems designed for the future and dedicated to integrators.