How the weather could now reduce your lighting bills

The drive for eco-friendliness and economy is taking a strong foothold in all aspects of home technology, not least lighting. The latest low-carbon innovation by Finnish firm Helvar is a new motion sensor which responds to multiple triggers to save energy and cut bills.

As well as switching on and off when people enter or leave a room, the 321 Multisensor will dim and brighten according to ambient light availability (i.e. due to sunshine or cloud cover). The unit uses passive infrared technology and an integrated photocell to achieve "automatic daylight harvesting", and ensures constant lighting levels in a room.

The new technology is claimed to be perfect for environments where regular movements may be minimal - for example office spaces - but where energy saving and automated control are priorities.