New To RadioRa2 and Homeworks Qs

[phmartin]

Hey
I am an Electrical apprentice and about 6 months from being licensed.
I have just started to get into home automation and I am very interested in learning more.
I have taken the online RadioRA2 course and passed it and played around with some systems on the job as an installer only.

A few questions.
1) do allot of electrical contractors offer full home automation design and installation, does this benefit me?

2) From what i can see the main difference between RadioRa2 and Homeworks QS is cost and size of job?

3) I cant find much on LC online about Homeworks QS? how can i learn more about it?

Thanks for you time
anything will help

[Kevin P.]

Hey
I am an Electrical apprentice and about 6 months from being licensed.
I have just started to get into home automation and I am very interested in learning more.
I have taken the online RadioRA2 course and passed it and played around with some systems on the job as an installer only.

A few questions.
1) do allot of electrical contractors offer full home automation design and installation, does this benefit me?

2) From what i can see the main difference between RadioRa2 and Homeworks QS is cost and size of job?

3) I cant find much on LC online about Homeworks QS? how can i learn more about it?

Thanks for you time
anything will help

Dear phmartin,

Thank you for the inquiry.

For questions 1 and 3 we would recommend contacting your local Lutron Representative as they can provide more information on how to become HomeWorks certified and design/installation help.

HomeWorks QS also has the benefits of wired communication devices. You are able to used wired communication to shades, keypads, dimmers, etc. The HomeWorks QS system also has more advanced programmed such as conditionals, sequences, variables, etc.

[randyc]

I am based in North Carolina I have an unlimited NC Electrical Contractors License. It may be different in your area.

1) do allot of electrical contractors offer full home automation design and installation, does this benefit me?
The guys that pull romex tend to avoid home automation. There may be some but not many.
In NC, most home automation dealers are AV dealers. A few security companies offer some home automation - mostly Control 4 and Alarm.com.
NC requires an electrical license for putting wire in the wall. The AV dealers typically have a low-voltage or limited electrical license. Security companies are required to have a LV electrical license.
I found coming from the electrical world to be a benefit. However, there is a lot more to home automation than just getting wires around a house.

2) From what i can see the main difference between RadioRa2 and Homeworks QS is cost and size of job?
No. HomeWorks is a true processor based system. You can do conditional logic. You can do timers (not just timed events). There is a larger variety of keypads and you can do much more with the keypad buttons. HomeWorks also offers panel based lighting control. Each switch leg is pulled to a remote panel.

3) I cant find much on LC online about Homeworks QS? how can i learn more about it?
Because of the complex program, Lutron requires you attend a certification course at their HQ in Pennsylvania. They do charge for this and there is the expense of getting there a hotel for a week, etc. I believe Lutron supplies all the food except for one night when they let you out on your own. I don't know how much the course costs, but, with expenses it isn't cheap.
I ran into an AV dealer on a job when I was pulling romex. I went to work for them and learned the lighting control side. That was back when HomeWorks Original was the system. I had previously worked for lighting companies so I also had a lot of knowledge about lighting in general. I also had some knowledge of control systems.