A Light Switch Without Wires

SAN JOSE, Calif.—Think of it as peel and stick electronics.

Verve Living Systems is debuting a new lighting control system for homes at West Coast Green that does away with wires. You plunk a light switch on the wall (you can stick it on with tape or screw it in), sync it with a remote control to a particular lamp, and that’s it. The next time you flick the switch on, the light goes on. Flick the on button and hold your finger on it, and it acts as a dimmer. Flick it off, and it turns off the light.

You can then take it to another room, sync it with another lamp, and start using it there. At nighttime, you can even tweak a switch to flick on lights that will let you go from your bedroom to the bathroom but light no other parts of the house, according to vice president Diane Pisarek.

And you don’t have to clap like some maniac with a clapper.

What gives? The kinetic energy from your finger produced when you hit the switch is strong enough to generate an electrical current. That current is then used to send a wireless signal to a central control unit. Thus, the lights are flipped on by electricity, but you don’t need wire.

The kinetic energy technology in Verve’s system comes from a company in Germany called EnOcean. EnOcean specializes in energy harvesting devices. The company has other ones that harvest energy from the temperature differential between a hot water pipe and the surrounding air, for instance. The power generated from that contrast drives a sensor that can monitor the health of the pipe or water flow. It’s as close to perpetual motion as you are going to get. You could even call it perceived perpetual motion. (Side note: I wrote about EnOcean a few years ago and wondered what happened to them.)

A system for a good-sized (3,000 square feet) home might cost $3,000 or so, but it is fairly impressive and it cuts down wiring. As a result of the price, Verve will mostly try to sell its products to people building new homes. It can also come in handy in remodels where historical preservation is an issue. One of the first homes to adopt the system is a remodeled brownstone in New York City, she said.