| Challenge | Question
| ATX LED Solution |
1
| Where is DC good,
where does AC remain.
| Are you guys trying to change everything, why introduce DC now?
|
Nope, we focus "switch plate and up" - Lights, Ceiling, Fans, USB Chargers, Exhaust Fans use DC for quieter operation and lower power. Powering them with 120vac is simply legacy from the 1893 worlds fair. Fun Fact, the indoor flush toilet is a more recent invention than 120vac lighting.
That hair dryer or space heater - those 20 amp duplex outlets are here to stay.
But no need to deliver 1800 watts ( AWG14/3 wire) to a 6 watt LED in a closet in 2021.
|
2
| Material and Labor costs: | Copper costs are high, Labor costs are higher, how to adapt? | AWG 18 wire costs 1/4 as much as Romex, uses far less plastic and copper, and is far simpler to pull and faster to connect, and is safe while powered with 1500 volt isolation. |
3
| Flicker and Quality: |
Line voltage LEDs and Dimmers don't match well, they flicker, is there a solution that is affordable?
|
Tungsten worked with low cost AC TRIAC dimmers, LEDs don't and cannot. Only DC matches the physical nature of LEDs. DC is Direct current. LEDs are Diodes. Directly driven Diodes emit light without flicker all the way to zero. Alternating current (AC) requires extra circuitry to emulate Tungsten dimming - this is either reliable or affordable - but not both.
|
4
| Reliability and Landfill:
|
LEDs don't last as long as promised, when Integrated LED fixtures fail, the entire fixture has to be replaced, how to reach the green promise of LED?
|
The AC circuitry in line powered LEDs contains dozens of parts that fail far faster than the LEDs themselves. 120 VAC results in single points of failure in the bulb. ATX LED devices have up to 11 redundant current paths and no power conversion - the failure rate is extremely low and not catastrophic.
We convert the AC to DC in one central small box, with redundancy and a battery backup option, for the highest reliability and longevity. Central AC-DC conversion is more efficient than 75 tiny converters - one in every fixture.
|
5
| Resistance to Change: |
Are electrical contractors open to new wiring methods?
|
We have found electricians to be very welcoming of our solution that is inclusive of existing established trades, is not a threat, ,and attractive to a new generation of apprentices. The wiring style is very similar to the existing 120vac can/switch topology - just with smaller wire, no big central processing unit.
|
6
| Features vs Complexity: | How to offer advanced home lighting technology without sticker shock, eliminate the provisioning costs of Wireless and Control 4 type systems |
ATX LED installations work without internet, without provisioning. Every light switch controls local lighting directly without hub or network requirements. Zero configuration needed.
|
7
| Choice of Color temperature
|
End user adjustment of the color temperature of lighting involves, Apps, WiFi or ladders (if at all) is there an affordable way?
|
ATX LED uses just two wires (18/2) for the simplest and lowest cost CCT ( Controlled Color Temperature ) in the world, making human centric lighting viable and affordable for the mass market, allowing simple switchfront, app or schedule based CCT selection - requiring zero training for casual users.
|
8
|
Total System Reliability
| Tungsten was really simple, it has become too complicated since then, how to make it simple again?
|
You can build a house with simple Home Depot on/off switches and ATX LED Value Line fixtures with no dimmers - it is as simple as Tungsten - without the expense of Copper and 120vac wiring. Our load center replaces the breaker box, and complies with NEC 2017 Class 2 regulations. The same wiring and fixtures can be individually, incrementally upgraded to full featured Signature smart controls, after sheetrock, on a room by room basis.
|
9
| DC allows what else
| What is expensive with Romex and easy with DC?
| 3-Way switching is easy and lower cost, door contact switches are easy to wire and extremely low cost. Support for battery backup lighting and power for phones is built in. Fan timers integrated with bathroom lights avoid excess fan operation costs. Emergency lighting turns every light in the house into pathfinding lighting far exceeding the 90 minute UL requirement.
Spec homes classically have few or zero dimmers, our data shows that users in ATX LED homes with dimmers run at 50%, saving energy and demonstrating the high output of ATX LED DC fixtures.
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