Schneider Electric Announces Launch of Square D® Clipsal® Residential Lighting Control Line

Schneider Electric recently announced the launch of its residential lighting control line under the Square D® Clipsal® brand name. The products will include dimmers, relays, movement sensors and input devices such as switches and touch screens crafted in sleek European styling. The announcement was made at the 2006 International Builders Show in Orlando, Fla.

“Square D has been known for the quality, reliability and safety of its residential circuit protection and electrical distribution products for decades,” said Brad Wills, Director New Business Development. “When parent company Schneider Electric purchased the lighting control line of Australian company Clipsal Integrated Systems in late 2003, it created a great opportunity to meld the key attributes of Square D with world-renowned lighting control. This new offering will build upon the Square D reputation for leadership and innovation in the residential construction market.”

Clipsal products have been used in some of the most prestigious commercial applications around the world. For example, Clipsal wired lighting control networks are utilized in the Sydney Opera House in Australia and the Imperial War Museum in the United Kingdom, and a network is currently being built into the new Wembley Stadium in London.

The Square D Clipsal range will be available through a network of distributors beginning mid-2006. At the initial introduction, distributors will be located in the Orlando and Tampa , Fla. , markets, with subsequent expansion to the southeast U.S. A national network is expected to be in place by the end
of 2007.

Square D Clipsal residential lighting control products will comprise a distributed control system, in contrast to the more common centralized control system. In a centralized system, if one device fails,

the entire system goes down. In a distributed system, each device works independently of the others, providing a more reliable lighting control network throughout the home. Plus, a distributed system is easier to install, because relays and dimmers can be placed in various locations within a home and connect directly to the network, eliminating the need to run cable back to a separate enclosure near the home’s load center.

Individual Square D Clipsal network components combine ease of use and an upscale European design that will fit perfectly into a home’s décor:

• Saturn and Neo switches provide a stylish, modern alternative to the standard look of common electrical wall switches, and are available in multiple switch gangs, all with LED switch indicators that provide illumination and status feedback.
• Saturn and Neo switches with Dynamic Labeling Technology allow for electronic labeling of switches according to homeowner preferences and incorporates a backlit LCD screen that can display text or bitmap labels along with function indicators like bar graphs.
• Touch screens are available in color and black-and-white versions and provide a virtually limitless number of programming options to create pre-set lighting scenes that can activate automatically.
• Indoor and outdoor Passive Infrared Detector (PIR) Movement Sensors make activating lights in a lighting control network as simple as walking in a room because they detect natural thermal radiation from any moving body.
• Dimmers and relays can connect to Cat-5 cabling anywhere on a network, creating unprecedented versatility and ease of installation for homebuilders and electrical contractors.

Additionally, a line of Square D Clipsal wireless lighting control products for retrofitting or remodeling existing homes will be available at the end of 2006.

For more information about Schneider Electric, visit www.schneider-electric.us.