Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Electrical equipment |
Founded | 1906 |
Founder | Isidor Leviton |
Headquarters | , USA |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Donald Hendler (Director of the Board, Former CEO) Daryoush Larizadeh (President & CEO) Stephen B. Sokolow (Chairman) |
Products | Electrical Devices, Lighting Controls, Network Solutions, Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment, Energy Measurement & Verification, Security & Automation |
Number of employees | 6,500 globally |
Website | www.Leviton.com |
Leviton Manufacturing Company, Inc. is an American manufacturer of electrical wiring equipment in North America. [1] It produces electrical light sockets, receptacles and outlets, switches, dimmers and other lighting control systems, wire, power cables, power cords, wall and ceiling occupancy sensors, wall plates, datacom, and other electrical products.
Leviton is perhaps most regarded for its Decora wall switch, introduced in 1973. Its flat, low profile form factor was a modern alternative to standard toggle switches in many homes and offices.[ citation needed ]
The company was founded in 1906 by Isidor Leviton.[ citation needed ] He began by manufacturing brass mantle tips for the natural gas lighting infrastructure in New York City. They sold their mantle tips on a pushcart on the Bowery on the Lower East Side of New York City. He also designed a screw-in lampholder for Thomas Edison's electric lamp in 1910, and within ten years the lampholders were being used in nearly every apartment in New York City.
In the 1920s, Leviton moved to the neighborhood of Greenpoint, in Brooklyn, and in 1936, the company built its own two square block, four-story factory and warehouse, which still stands today. The following year, they acquired the American Insulated Wire Company, adding wire, cables, and cords to their product line.
Leviton sold lighting components to the Laurel Lamp Company between 1946-1981. [2]
Leviton bought Deal Electric Company in 1950, and Hale Brothers, which was renamed Leviton Canada, in 1953, and started to produce fluorescent lighting.
In 1965, Isidor Leviton's son Harold Leviton was named president and CEO.
Leviton moved its corporate headquarters to Little Neck, in Queens, New York, in 1973. [3]
In September 1999, Leviton acquired stage lighting controller manufacturer NSI Corp. as part of their Lighting Control Division. [4]
Donald Hendler and Stephen Sokolow, two of Harold Leviton's sons-in-law, were named CEO and chairman of the board respectively in December 2007, following the latter's death. [5]
Leviton moved from Little Neck in June 2009 to a slightly smaller but more energy-efficient corporate headquarters in Melville, N.Y. [3]
In 2011, Leviton partnered with Ford Motors to produce their ever-green Electric Vehicle Chargers for Ford Electric Cars. [6] Leviton also partnered with Toyota to manufacture chargers for the Toyota plug-in Electric Vehicles [7]
In 2012, Leviton launched its Universal Dimming device line which dims any dimmable light-emitting diode, compact fluorescent light, or incandescent lightbulb. [8] This results in dramatic energy savings. The company also released its Zipline Fluorescent Energy Retrofit Module, which eliminated retrofit wiring of ballasts. [9]
Leviton acquired Home Automation Inc. in August 2012, [10] and renamed it Leviton Security & Automation.
In October 2013, Leviton acquired UK-based JCC Advanced Lighting. [11]
In October 2015, Leviton introduced its Omnistat 3 Hospitality Thermostat for 'cost-effective control of HVAC, lighting, and electrical loads' increasing HVAC energy efficiency in hotel guest rooms. [12] [13] [14]
Leviton currently has operations in more than 85 countries on 6 continents, and employs approximately 6,500 persons. Its products include over 25,000 devices and systems, which are used both residentially and in businesses.
In March 2007, Leviton was sued in United States District Court by Lutron Electronics regarding various dimmers, switches, and wireless lighting control systems. [15] [16] Lutron also filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission alleging that Leviton has produced several patent-infringing products in Mexico and China and then imported them into the United States. [17] The lawsuit was settled with a cross-license of certain of the parties' respective patents. [18]
X10 is a protocol for communication among electronic devices used for home automation (domotics). It primarily uses power line wiring for signaling and control, where the signals involve brief radio frequency bursts representing digital information. A wireless radio-based protocol transport is also defined.
A fluorescent lamp, or fluorescent tube, is a low-pressure mercury-vapor gas-discharge lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light. An electric current in the gas excites mercury vapor, which produces short-wave ultraviolet light that then causes a phosphor coating on the inside of the lamp to glow. A fluorescent lamp converts electrical energy into useful light much more efficiently than an incandescent lamp. The typical luminous efficacy of fluorescent lighting systems is 50–100 lumens per watt, several times the efficacy of incandescent bulbs with comparable light output. For comparison, the luminous efficacy of an incandescent bulb may only be 16 lumens per watt.
A thermostat is a regulating device component which senses the temperature of a physical system and performs actions so that the system's temperature is maintained near a desired setpoint.
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A dimmer is a device connected to a light fixture and used to lower the brightness of the light. By changing the voltage waveform applied to the lamp, it is possible to lower the intensity of the light output. Although variable-voltage devices are used for various purposes, the term dimmer is generally reserved for those intended to control light output from resistive incandescent, halogen, and compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). More specialized equipment is needed to dim fluorescent, mercury-vapor, solid-state, and other arc lighting.
In electrical wiring, a light switch is a switch most commonly used to operate electric lights, permanently connected equipment, or electrical outlets. Portable lamps such as table lamps may have a light switch mounted on the socket, base, or in-line with the cord. Manually operated on/off switches may be substituted by dimmer switches that allow controlling the brightness of lamps as well as turning them on or off, time-controlled switches, occupancy-sensing switches, and remotely controlled switches and dimmers. Light switches are also found in flashlights, vehicles, and other devices.
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A compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), also called compact fluorescent light, energy-saving light and compact fluorescent tube, is a fluorescent lamp designed to replace an incandescent light bulb; some types fit into light fixtures designed for incandescent bulbs. The lamps use a tube that is curved or folded to fit into the space of an incandescent bulb, and a compact electronic ballast in the base of the lamp.
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Track lighting is a method of lighting where light fixtures are attached anywhere on a continuous track device which contains electrical conductors. This is in contrast to directly routing electrical wiring to individual light positions. Tracks can either be mounted to ceilings or walls, lengthwise down beams, or crosswise across rafters or joists. They can also be hung with rods from especially high places like vaulted ceilings.
Acuity Brands, Inc. is a lighting and building management firm headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with operations throughout North America and in Europe and Asia. As of 2018 the company has approximately 13,000 employees and recorded net sales of $3.7 billion for the fiscal year. In terms of market share, Acuity Brands is the largest lighting manufacturer in North America.
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