What’s So Groundbreaking About New DLM Shades?

By: Charlie Derk, Director of Product Marketing, Shading Systems

With the high performance of Legrand’s Digital Lighting Management technology now integrated within our DLM shades, interior daylighting control will never be the same. Our goal when launching DLM Shades was to reduce the cost of the product and the complexity of installation—all without giving up quality or versatility. What we came up with is an all-in-one lighting and shading solution ready to meet the demands of state-of-the-art commercial building design. Need a reason to go with DLM? Start with these five:

1 – Simple is Better

From an installation standpoint, we've minimized the complexity associated with automated shades. In doing so, we've reduced the amount of labor required to design and install them. With DLM shading, you can customize the system to fit your needs. Installation requires only two brackets and four screws to easily put the shade up into place. Integrating with DLM lighting is then just one step away. 

2 – Less Wiring

Whether high or low voltage, every shade needs a wire. DLM shading, like DLM lighting controls, uses an in-room bus that allows you to daisy chain both power and data. With just one wire, you can power and control up to 10 shades in a sequence. And without the need for a centralized, power panel, a four-by-four-inch junction box up in the ceiling is all it takes from a low voltage standpoint, to create a distributed system requiring less wiring.

3 – 80 Versus 20

Most commercial distribution panels feature a 20 amp circuit breaker, with most shading products on the market allowing up to 20 lowvoltage shades to run off that 20 amp circuit breaker. With its lower power consumption, our DLM Shading system allows up to 80 shades on the same breaker, equating to 4x greater power density. And fewer breakers and panels for installers to worry about.

4 – Plug and Go

Our DLM cables arrive ready-made and tested from the factory. There’s no extra snipping and stripping of wires required. It’s all part of the basic functionality behind DLM’s patented technology called plugand-go. As soon as the shades and lighting control are plugged into the same system, the controls automatically recognize the shades and they basically program themselves. During the installation phase, the electrician and the shade installer can install devices without waiting for somebody to arrive on the job site to program them.

5 – Getting in Early
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By integrating shading solutions with lighting controls, DLM invites architects and specifiers to have design and planning conversations much earlier in the construction process. Knowing that the installation of an integrated DLM system is part of the process provides architects with a greater range of interior lighting possibilities, and partnering with DLM installers from blueprint to completion allows for time and money saving solutions before unseen problems can arise.