Smart Lighting Planned Room by Room
Smart lighting replaces walls of look-alike switches with scenes, schedules and engraved keypads that set a whole room, or a whole floor, with one press. Total Home Technologies, based in Roseland and in business since 1992, plans, programs and supports Lutron lighting control for households, architects and builders in Bergen, Passaic, Essex, Hudson, and Sussex Counties. Lutron is the lead platform, often tied into Control4 or Savant, and the conversation covers how a room should feel, not only which dimmer to buy.
Some projects are a handful of rooms in a finished colonial. Others are new construction where every fixture, keypad and lighting load is drawn on the plans before the electrician arrives.
Lighting Control Repair, Reprogramming and Takeovers
Plenty of lighting systems still switch on and off but no longer fit the household. Buttons are labeled for rooms that were renovated years ago, new LED bulbs flicker or buzz on older dimmers, the app lost track of the lights after an internet provider change, or the original installer is gone and so is the programming.
The 24/7 Help Desk offers phone support, and 24/7 service plans include priority onsite service when a technician needs to visit.
A review looks at the processor, keypads, dimmers, fixtures and any links to a larger control system, including work another company did. Most problems sort into three groups: programming, bulb and dimmer compatibility, or failed hardware. Reprogramming and new engraving solve more than people expect, and dimmers that still work stay on the wall.
Lighting Problems Worth a Call
✓ Keypad labels that no longer match the room
✓ LED bulbs that flicker, hum or drop out at low levels
✓ Scenes left over from before a renovation
✓ Schedules that run at the wrong time or not at all
✓ An app that can no longer find the lights
✓ No programming file from the original installer
Call (877) 550-5150 About Your Lighting
Why Lighting Control Pays Off Every Day
The benefits show up in small moments: walking in after dark, setting the table, or heading upstairs at night.
A Cleaner Wall at Every Entry
One engraved keypad can take the place of a row of four or five plain switches, so the foyer and kitchen walls look calmer, and every button tells you exactly what it will do.
Evenings That Begin on Their Own
As fall days shorten, lights can rise on a sunset schedule, and a single Goodnight button by the stairs can turn off the whole house and lower the shades as you head upstairs.
The Right Level for Each Task
Levels are set room by room, so the kitchen counters get bright light for cooking, the dining room stays warm and low for holiday meals, and artwork is lit without hard glare.
Safer Steps After Dark
Hall and stair lights can glow at a soft level late at night, so a trip to the kitchen or a child's room never starts with a blinding overhead light or a dark, uncertain step.
Choosing the Right Lutron Platform
Lutron is the lead platform for Total Home lighting work. The right tier depends on the size of the house, whether walls are open and how much of the property should be on one system.
HomeWorks for Whole-Property Projects
HomeWorks is Lutron's top residential platform and the usual choice for new construction and major renovations, when every lighting load can be planned together. It handles large houses with many circuits, custom keypads in nearly every room and shades on the same system.
✓ Every lighting load on one platform
✓ Best planned while walls are open
✓ Custom keypad finishes and engraving
RadioRA for Finished Houses
RadioRA uses wireless dimmers and keypads that fit existing wall boxes, so a full floor can gain scenes and keypads without opening plaster or drywall. It suits established homes in towns like Montclair or Short Hills where tearing into finished walls is not an option.
Caséta for a Few Rooms
Caséta adds dimming, schedules and app control to a kitchen, family room or entry. It is a sensible place to start, and a larger plan can follow when a renovation comes along.
What a Lighting Project Can Include
Scenes and Engraved Keypads
Scenes are where lighting control earns its place. The front door keypad can bring up the entry and kitchen, a family room button can set the level for a movie, and a bedside button can turn the house off. Every button is engraved in plain words, never codes.
Light That Follows the Day
Schedules can raise and lower levels from morning through late evening, and astronomic timing keeps exterior and entry lights in step with the seasons. Where fixtures support it, color temperature can shift from cooler daytime light to warmer evening light.
LED Bulbs and Dimmers That Agree
Not every LED dims smoothly on every dimmer. Bulbs and fixtures are checked against the controls before anything is mounted, which heads off the flicker, buzz and uneven dimming many families have lived with since switching to LEDs.
✓ Fixtures matched to dimmers before install
✓ Smooth dimming down to low levels
✓ Old dimmers replaced only where they cause trouble
Lights and Shades on One Keypad
Lutron Sivoia shades can share keypads and scenes with the lights, so a single press dims the room and lowers the shades for afternoon glare or evening privacy. The motorized blinds page covers fabrics and mounting.
Lighting Inside a Control4 or Savant House
Where Control4 or Savant runs the property, lighting joins the same touchscreens, remotes and app, and one scene can set the lights, start music and adjust the temperature. The home automation page explains how the rest of the house ties in.
Garden, Path and Facade Lighting
Exterior lighting, including FX Luminaire landscape fixtures, can follow the same schedules and scenes as the rooms inside, so the walkway and patio light up at dusk and switch off late at night. The outdoor entertainment page shows how lighting fits with outdoor TVs, speakers and shades.
Lutron HomeWorks · Lutron RadioRA · Lutron Caséta · Lutron Sivoia · FX Luminaire
Featured Technology Partners
Lutron leads every lighting plan, and the platform is matched to the house before anything is ordered.
SONY LOGO PLACEHOLDER
CONTROL4 LOGO PLACEHOLDER
Also in Our Lighting Projects
How a Lighting Project Comes Together
Discovery
We walk each room with you, note how it is used from morning to night, check the switches, fixtures and bulbs in place, and ask what bothers you most about the lighting today.
Design
You see the platform we recommend, a keypad schedule with each button labeled, the scenes for each room, and how the lighting ties to the shades, music and the other controls.
Installation & Programming
Dimmers and keypads go in alongside your electrician, then scenes are programmed and levels are fine-tuned room by room at dusk, when each room shows exactly how it will look.
Support
Questions go to the 24/7 Help Desk, run in-house with OneVision Resources. 24/7 service plans add phone support and priority onsite service when a keypad or dimmer needs work.
Why Families Choose Total Home for Lighting
Lighting Knowledge Beyond the Switch
Keith W. Harrison has taught continuing-education sessions for the NKBA on LEDs, low-voltage lighting, RGBW, tunable white, healthy lighting and circadian considerations. Those sessions also cover how lighting designers, electricians, architects, interior designers and integrators should share a project, which is how good lighting actually gets built.
Early to LEDs, Steady Since
He recognized the shift to LED early and has kept studying low-voltage lighting since. More than a decade ago he was already describing the house as a single system, so lights, shades, music and climate are planned to work together, and firmware updates are tested before they are deployed.
Recognized by the Industry
The Roseland showroom is a Control4 Certified Showroom, and Total Home is listed among the CE Pro Top 100 Dealers.
WHERE WE WORK
Lighting Control Across Northern New Jersey
The plan changes with the house: a new build in Saddle River or Franklin Lakes, a renovated Tudor in Essex Fells, a lake house in Sparta, or a high-rise condominium on the Hoboken waterfront where ceilings cannot be opened.
Bergen County: Alpine · Saddle River · Franklin Lakes · Tenafly · Ridgewood
Essex County: Short Hills · Millburn · Essex Fells · Montclair · Livingston
Passaic County: Wayne · Ringwood · North Haledon
Hudson County: Hoboken · Jersey City · Weehawken
Sussex County: Sparta · Byram · Vernon
The Total Home showroom at 183 Eagle Rock Avenue, Roseland, NJ 07068 is open by appointment.
What Our Clients Say
Smart Lighting Questions
Do I have to rewire the house?
Usually not. Wireless dimmers and keypads fit the existing wall boxes. New wiring mainly comes into play with whole-property platforms planned during construction or a gut renovation.
Will the lights still work if the internet goes down?
Yes. Lutron keypads and dimmers talk to each other on their own wireless link, so wall controls and schedules keep working. Only remote control from outside the house needs the internet.
Can I control the lights when I am away?
Yes. The Lutron app, or a Control4 or Savant app, can check and change lights from anywhere with an internet connection.
Can we start with one floor and add more later?
Often, yes. The platform is chosen with growth in mind, so a main floor done now can be joined by bedrooms or the lower level in a later phase.
Can keypad buttons be changed later?
Yes. Buttons can be reprogrammed as routines change, and new engraving can be ordered so the labels match.
Can you take over lighting another company installed?
Yes. Existing processors, keypads and dimmers are reviewed first, and equipment that still works is kept and reprogrammed rather than replaced.