Although some home systems installers may enjoy a programming challenge, the simple fact is most homeowners can't afford to pay you to do it, nor do they really need all the fancy bells and whistles you might be tempted to give them. Streamlining has consequently become the main order of business of many lighting control manufacturers these days. Young companies like CentraLite Systems started out offering economical lighting packages that are a snap to install and even easier to convince homeowners to buy. Home control manufacturers like Smart Corp. have caught the mass market lighting bug, too. In any mass-market lighting control, the biggest cost savings is derived from the time saved on programming.
Most manufacturers claim their systems can be installed and programmed in a day.
Post-installation tweaks can be handled, in most cases, by the homeowner himself. That in itself offers tremendous savings to the client. Equipment costs, however, can start to add up. The suggested retail prices of dimmers and controllers may add up to a completely different figure, depending on the scope of the project. Still, these manufacturers haven't totally abandoned their high-end roots.