$2,492 raised out of $55,000
Overview
Platform
Indiegogo
Backers
2
Start date
Mar 21, 2023
Close date
Apr 21, 2023
Concept

Wish your home was wired with LumenCache? DIY kits allow you to add, experience, and expand easily

Story

Introducing LumenCache ReNetA

The Modular DC Lighting System

Starts easy and reliable as a light switch for builders, yet packed with advanced features.

Fast installation. Like, REALLY FAST installation

Modules snap into a PowerPlane that fits inside any standard low voltage enclosure or on a wall. Click in your wires from the lights, connect the power wire, put the wire cover on, then press Go

Modules allow any DC voltage or protocol

Function Cards adapt to any DC voltage and protocol standard.  Even proprietary technologies can be made by partner companies so there’s never a fear having an obsolete system

No weird wall switches

Click a wire into the switch and command one or more lights with dimming and even tunable white control!  Switches are standard decora shape. See the stretch goals to see how everyone can receive temperature, humidity%, and ambient light sensors in the wall switches

Lights simply click into Cat5 or Cat6 wires

With the LED drivers back in the panel where they’re easy to service, the lights simply need a smart connection.  We call these Smart Interface Blocks (SIBs).  LumenCache talks to each SIB connected to the wire attached to the port to identify what the device is and what it can do. For example: “I’m a light. Model XQ42. I draw 300mA of Constant Current”, etc.  The function cards will only apply full power if the connected SIBs are compatible.  This makes the system easy to set up and “Plug-and-Play”.  Because it knows the normal conditions of the lights, it can send an alert if something is out of whack.  Early fault detection is built into the system.  Thanks to the reliable communications to the lights, sensors are easily connected at any light or switch.

Power Sources

While nearly all devices in homes are DC power inside, the traditional grid and outlets are typicall AC power.  Each kit includes an AC to 48V DC power supply.  Once converted to DC at the panel, the PDMs and Function Cards can convert the power and send along the wires to the lights.  If you have one of those Home Batteries with 12V, 24V, or 48VDC outputs, you can select a DC to DC adapter to get from 12V or 24V to 48V the PDM needs. 48V can go directly into a PDM.

 

10 years learning from the Proof-of-Concept

Be sure to watch the introduction video above where our Founder, Derek, describes the history of the company, how LumenCache checks every box for builders, and how the ReNetA product snaps together as the first Plug-and-Play lighting system.

We’re offering the kits through IndieGoGo so thousands of our followers and supporters can get their hands on the ReNetA product at a special discounted price.  For builders, this is a great opportunity to dip your toe in the water and click together a lighting package so fast it’ll make your electrician’s head spin.  Be kind, they’re super busy right now!

The campaign only runs for a few weeks, so be sure to order your discounted packages before they run out.  We’ll post weekly updates and training videos along the way as we build up steam.  One of the campaign objectives is to build up long-lead component inventory so we’ll continue to have plenty of inventory after the raise.  You’ll be able to purchase more products through our normal channels later, but why not take advantage of the deep discounts in exchange for a little lead time!

Let’s jumpstart the schedule

We need your help!  We want you to become a part of our success story!  Your support is invaluable to us and will help us to mass produce this game-changing system within the proposed schedule below.   All the difficult research has already been completed, so the last few steps are mostly Design For Manufacturing (DFM), Tooling, and Software.

It’s time to make every home Smart from the Start.

Projected Schedule

Following a successful raise, here’s the anticipated milestone schedule.  This isn’t our first rodeo, as we sold over $1.8 million of the LibRE Proof-of-Concept since 2012.  We have an R&D and factory management office right in the middle of Shenzhen, the electronics manufacturing capital of the world, so we have access to the production capacity needed to deliver as many units as you order.

When ramping up production, there’s several prototype stages, release candidates, then the first Test Production Batch “T1” is made.  Typically we would order about 100-200 units and get these out into homes and to our dealers so they can shake out any potential hardware or software bugs.  There’s an Earliest Release Perk Add-on you can request for the small kits if you really, really, can’t wait to get your hands on ReNetA and start Plugging-and-Playing!  We ask for a little extra in return to cover some costs in case there’s a hardware bug found that would result in you getting a Warranty replacement from the final production batch.

 

Product Details

Watch the video above to see how easily the parts click together to install a complete lighting system in minutes.

 

Perks:

6×6 Kit:

3 Bedroom Kit:

 

Stretch Goals

The higher our production volume, the lower our costs.  In appreciation of your support, if we pass any of these Stretch Goals in the campaign, everyone will receive these bonuses in their Perks:

Total raised exceeds $300,000:

All switches will include Ambient Light sensors!

Total raised exceeds $600,000:

All switches will include Temperature, Humidity, and Ambient Light sensors!

Total raised exceeds $1,000,000:

All switches will include Temperature, Humidity, Ambient Light, and half the switches in the kits will include Temperature, Humidity, Ambient Light, and Carbon Dioxide sensing!

 

Risks 

Our spend schedule is over $100,000 to deliver all the product options to all backers by October.  There are risks of delays from the following factors:

  1. UL2108 certification or UL924 could take longer than expected.  We’re certifying multiple variants of the product so we never have a supply chain risk.  This is critical for Builders because you can’t get a Certificate of Occupancy without working lights!  Because LumenCache is all Class 2 Low Voltage Lighting, your AHJ may not have any special requirements and may allow the system before the UL certifications are complete.  Just in case, confirm with the inspector before taking any steps.  Our experience from hundreds of installations is that they love to hear about LumenCache–but only when it’s not a surprise.
  2. Component shortages or supply delays.  Higher Perk sales actually makes everything EASIER and FASTER as it dramatically increases our purchasing influence for components and improves our standing with the factory partners for priority assembly time.  Sales outside this campaign will help keep production on schedule, so be sure to recommend LumenCache to your builders and help spread the word at every opportunity.  It really helps!

     

    About Us:

    LumenCache is an Indiana, USA corporation with a research and factory management office in Shenzhen, China and manufacturing partners in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

    Our founder, Derek Cowburn, is a global leader in the field of DC Nanogrids, building automation, software and hardware development, and has a personal dedication to the environment we all share.  This passion is the driving force behind the “No Compromises” design behind the gen2 products starting with ReNetA.  The depth of experience gained over a decade of deployments combined with a willingness to change the literal foundation of our modern civilization (electricity distribution standards) is what makes this company special.

    • SOSV/HAX Cohort 8 (2016) Hardware Accelerator Alumni
    • Industry Advisory Board for US/China Clean Energy Research Center–Building Energy Efficiency  (CERC-BEE2) joint venture program.
    • RealComm Low Voltage Buildings Roundtable Advisor.
    • CEDIA Sustainable Product Innovation Award Finalist (2012)

     

    Company Mission & Vision:

    Sustainably improve the quality of life across every economic level through improved building and shelter technologies that minimize negative impact on the environment
     

    Recent Events and Shows

    February 2023: RealComm Live: “Why Isn’t Anyone Talking About Low Voltage Buildings?”

    March 2023: US/Indonesia Net Zero World Initiative with LBL.gov

    March 2023: Source2050.com, Portal.io, and dTools sales tools to include ReNetA products

    April 2023: Denver, CO. Housing Innovation Alliance Construction Tech Pitch Event

    June 2023: Las Vegas: RealComm Low Voltage PoE Lighting Track

    October 2023: PHIUScon, PassiveHouse Institute

    November 2023: Phoenix: TecHomeBuilder Show

    February 2024: LasVegas: NAHB International Builders Show

     

    Other Ways You Can Help

    A very limited number of 1 on 1 meeting perks are available, and worth every penny for fellow Tech-Geeks or LumenCache Fans.  Derek loves discussing this topic and sees every Q&A as an opportunity to find a flaw somewhere he can patch sooner rather than later.

    Please Share this campaign each time you find the weekly updates insightful or exciting.  This is an Awareness Campaign above all, and an opportunity for us to provide our supporters the product at a big discount.  It’s also important to get the supply chain orders in, production tools and assembly machines tuned up, and even (finally) grow our team without risking a loss of runway.  We were very scrappy to survive the PoC phase, but it was for the greater good and worth every personal struggle.  Making our supporters whole and delivering the goods has always been top priority.

    Plus, imagine your excitement seeing LumenCache in your favorite hotel, school, office building,  Starbucks, or in every new home you tour or see on everything from “MTV Cribs” to “National Geographic Explorer”.  You can confidently smile, touch a button on your phone, and adjust the lights exactly as you love them in your own home’s LumenCache system–even if there’s a giant storm outside that knocked the power out (battery required for that last part).

    Global Impact 

    LumenCache was piloted in a Global Himalayan Expedition and is featured in a BBC Click Episode.  They were blown away by the performance of the Proof-of-Concept LibRE system.  We plan to release the Ascend product line next year (2024) which is made specifically to support GHE and regions of the world getting their first electricity.  If you would like to donate to expedite the development of the Ascend variant, please use the Perk, and you’ll be named in the Ascend Friends List.

     

    History and some LibRE projects

    The Proof-of-Concept has been used around the world.  Because we never knew when the gen2 would be made, there was never a large quantity of all the different parts needed to be widely adopted.  This strategy was unorthodox, but it enabled us to survive an extended on-ramp as the industry matured around us.  Remember, 10 years ago this was a completely nutty idea! Now, everyone who sees LumenCache says “of course we should do lighting this way!”  This is another reason why we’re so thankful and supportive of the early adopters and even more appreciative of the early Dealers.

    The level of support needed to widely deploy LibRE was about the same for traditional AC products, so our limited staff and budget could barely keep up.  All this permeated the design of the gen2 product starting with ReNetA.

    Visit our YouTube Channel for project videos and lots of LibRE history.

     

    Terms:

    • Due to continuous product improvements, the images and technical specifications may differ slightly from the actual product that you receive.
    • ReNetAâ„¢, Epochâ„¢, Ascendâ„¢, Proteusâ„¢, LumenCache™ are trademarks of Lumen Cache, Inc.
    • For rural and/or delivery addresses that require special attention backers will be contacted prior to shipment with an opportunity to change the delivery address or cover additional shipping charges. 
    • LumenCache is shipped with tracking with the option of adding insurance coverage. Damaged goods must be reported within 5 business days of receipt of goods for Domestic US shipments and within 48 hours for International shipments to qualify for insurance claims.
    • Investment return and 30 year profit and loss data is based on current national averages derived from cited references. Values can range significantly depending on your specific location, and energy usage. 
    • The LumenCache system is Patented.
    • “AHJ” is Agency Having Jurisdiction, meaning your local, state, and federal construction code enforcement agency.
    • Shipping costs for perks and add on perks based on carrier and destination will be determined post campaign. 
    • Large bulk pack Perks may be sent via ground Freight.  Customers will be notified prior to shipment and may request shipping skid or boxes.
    • IndieGoGo return policy post campaign completion is available on the IndieGoGo website.
    • Requests for product returns after the campaign is shipping or have already shipped are subject to a 25% order cancellation fee deducted from the Perk total charge.
    • Warranty replacement requests may be directed to the lumencache.com website Contact Us page to request assistance.

    Thank you for your support.

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