Regent5 is a certified Lutron dealer holding Lutron HomeWorks certification, and a C10 and C7 licensed contractor, CSLB License 1033103. We design, install, program, and service HomeWorks QSX for estates in Atherton, Woodside, Portola Valley, Hillsborough, Los Altos Hills, Los Altos, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, and San Francisco. QSX is the current generation of HomeWorks and the platform we specify on new construction and on significant remodels where walls are open. It is a wired, panelised system: dimming and switching modules live on DIN rails in a panel, processors sit on the network, and every load in the house is a zone the system knows by name. That architecture is the reason it behaves the way it does. Loads are controlled at the panel rather than at a device in the wall, so a keypad is a low voltage control point rather than a switch carrying current, and a failed wall device never takes a circuit with it.
QSX consolidated what were nine separate link types in earlier generations down to two: wired QS and wireless RF. That single change is what lets one system carry lighting, motorized shading, drapery, thermostats, and third party integrations without a stack of interfaces between them. On the lighting side it drives forward phase, reverse phase, 0 to 10 volt, DALI, and low voltage loads, which matters when a lighting designer has specified fixtures from four manufacturers and expects them all to dim smoothly to the same curve. On shading it drives Sivoia QS, Palladiom, drapery tracks, and Insolroll exterior shades through the Roller 300 drive unit. Ketra runs natively on it. Keypads run from Aviena, Alisse, Palladiom, seeTouch, Architrave, and Signature Series, with Pico remotes on the wireless side. Voice and app control come through Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Josh.AI.
A QSX system is planned around its panels, and panels need somewhere sensible to live. They need space, ventilation, access, and a home run from every controlled circuit, which means their location is an architectural decision made early rather than a place found late in a garage corner. We size the panel count and module mix against the actual load schedule, not a rule of thumb, and we allow for the loads that appear during construction rather than filling every slot on day one. Processors communicate over Ethernet, so structured cabling has to reach them. This is where our low voltage and electrical scopes meet, and it is the reason we prefer to be in the drawings rather than handed a set. Panel location, circuit assignment, and cable pathways all get issued as coordinated sheets.
Hardware is the easy part. What separates a system people use from one they fight is the programming: which circuits belong in which scene, at what level, with what fade time, on which keypad button, in what order. A scene that snaps is jarring. A scene that fades over three seconds feels like the room simply changed. Timeclock behaviour matters as much. QSX calculates sunrise, sunset, civil dawn, and civil dusk from the GPS coordinates of the house, so a system can run on sun events rather than clock times and stay correct through every season without anyone touching it. Astronomic scheduling done well is invisible. Done badly it is the reason people turn schedules off. We install temporary marked up keypads, live with them, then engrave. That sequence is deliberate.
QSX is also the destination for estates running HomeWorks Illumination, HomeWorks Interactive, or HomeWorks QS. Lutron documents the path in Application Note 840, and the Panel Link Translator carries an existing panel link onto QSX so panels do not have to be torn out. Existing keypad wiring and faceplates can frequently be retained, which is what keeps walls and finishes intact and what usually decides whether an owner authorizes the work. Several things do change and get planned rather than discovered: legacy Illumination devices run on 15 volt DC where QSX runs on 24 volt DC, and the old RS-485 processor to processor link is replaced with Ethernet over Cat5e. We cover that path in detail on the legacy system upgrades page.
A lighting control system is a twenty year object in a house, and it will outlast the relationship with whoever installed it unless that is planned for. We document as we go: panel schedules, zone lists, keypad button assignments, and the project file itself, held and versioned rather than left on a laptop. Labelling in the panel matches the drawings, which matches the programming. That discipline costs time during construction and saves a great deal later, whether the person opening the panel in a decade is us or someone else. It is also why we take on systems other companies installed, and why we ask about the project file before anything else.
Regent5 designs, installs, and services Lutron HomeWorks QSX in Atherton, Woodside, Portola Valley, Hillsborough, Los Altos Hills, Los Altos, Menlo Park, and Palo Alto, in San Francisco including Pacific Heights and Seacliff, and in Saratoga, Los Gatos, Campbell, Ross, Tiburon, Belvedere, Napa, Sonoma, Carmel, and Pebble Beach. Every keypad line and finish that runs on QSX is on display and operating in our San Carlos design center. Our office and design center is at 1300 Industrial Rd, Suite 12, San Carlos, CA 94070.
Where the load is controlled. QSX is wired and panelised: dimming modules live on DIN rails in a panel, every circuit is home run to it, and keypads are low voltage control points. RadioRA 3 controls the load at the device in the wall and talks to a processor wirelessly.
That makes QSX the choice on new construction and major remodels where walls are open, and RadioRA 3 the choice in a finished house you do not want to rewire.
Forward phase, reverse phase, 0 to 10 volt, DALI, and low voltage. That range matters when a lighting designer has specified fixtures from several manufacturers and expects them to dim smoothly to the same curve rather than each behaving differently at the bottom of the range.
Panels need space, ventilation, access, and a home run from every controlled circuit, so their location is an architectural decision made early rather than a corner found late. We size the panel count and module mix against the actual load schedule and allow for loads that appear during construction rather than filling every slot on day one.
Yes. QSX consolidated nine link types down to two, wired QS and wireless RF, which is what lets one system carry lighting, Sivoia QS and Palladiom shading, motorized drapery tracks, Insolroll exterior shades through the Roller 300 drive unit, thermostats, and third party integrations without interfaces stacked between them. Ketra runs on it natively.
Yes, from Illumination, Interactive, or QS. Lutron documents the path in Application Note 840, and the Panel Link Translator carries an existing panel link onto QSX so panels are not torn out. Existing keypad wiring and faceplates can frequently be retained. Legacy Illumination devices run on 15 volt DC where QSX runs on 24 volt, and the RS-485 processor link is replaced with Ethernet over Cat5e.
Yes. Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, and Google Assistant, plus Josh.AI for natural language rather than fixed phrases. Voice sits on top of the scenes we program, so how good it feels depends on how well the scenes were designed in the first place.
The processor calculates sunrise, sunset, civil dawn, and civil dusk from the GPS coordinates of the house, so schedules run on sun events rather than clock times and stay correct through every season without anyone adjusting them. Astronomic scheduling done well is invisible; done badly it is the reason people switch schedules off.
We do, held and versioned rather than left on a laptop, along with panel schedules, zone lists, and keypad assignments. A lighting system outlasts the relationship with whoever installed it, and the file is what makes it serviceable by anyone in ten years. It is the first thing we ask about when taking on a system another company installed.
Regent5 provides consultations for Lutron HomeWorks QSX projects, whether you are starting a new build, planning a remodel, or upgrading an existing Lutron system. Send us your contact information and a short outline of the project and we will put you with the right person.
1300 Industrial Rd, Ste #12
San Carlos, CA 94070
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