Feature Lighting Control is the key to the future
Lighting control has been successfully implemented in outdoor applications for some time. Now similar benefits are being realised indoors in the form of energy reduction, financial saving and more tailored lighting control. Here, Andy Davies, business development manager for indoor controls at Harvard Engineering, explains
morning whilst at the same time maintained at major road junctions. And lights can be brought back to full intensity at any time at the touch of a button. With the remote monitoring of all individual street lights, engineers will spend less time on the road at night scouting for failed units. Accurate failure predictions also ensure improved maintenance sched- uling. The system can be retro-fitted to existing street lighting infrastruc- ture, replacing existing copper bal- lasts with no separate wiring or power supply required.
Going indoors A
round 40% of a city’s energy budget is taken up by local authority street lighting. With that in mind, and when you take into account the introduction of tough targets set out in the Climate Change Act, it’s clear that the role of lighting control cannot be underestimated. LeafNut is a wireless control, man- agement and reporting system for out- door lighting, designed and developed by Harvard Engineering, and is just one of the lighting tech- nologies helping local authorities reduce their energy costs.
The system offers dynamic meter- ing that ensures flexibility and con- trol over energy outputs. This means that savings of 100kg of carbon per street light per year and up to £46 for each light annually in energy costs can be achieved - a desirable outcome for local authorities squeezed by rising energy costs, falling revenues and increasingly stringent environ- mental restrictions.
Such outdoor lighting control sys- tems offer further benefits such as reduced light pollution, without any detrimental impact on community safety, thanks to their individual light dimming capability that can be used to tailor lighting to each area’s requirements. For example, light intensity can be reduced in residen- tial areas in the early hours of the
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Outdoor lighting control systems have developed and are established in the market. As such engineers have turned their attention towards similar systems for indoor lighting which, as a larger market, presents a potentially huge area for savings in energy consumption. However, dif- ferent challenges have to be met to ensure success. Traditional light source technology can be inefficient or difficult to con- trol. Early generation lighting con- trols, such as DALI or analogue 0-10V control, deliver energy savings but are difficult to commission as the costs associated with the specialist exper- tise required to program the hardware is prohibitive. Post installation moni- toring is also non-existent and thus the level of improved efficiency is difficult to measure.
The greater flexibility of mixed use developments, with offices, residen- tial, retail and hospitality sharing the same location, has made it much more problematic to predict and manage energy demand, including lighting. With lights required to match different requirements at dif- ferent times, the pre-set early genera- tion systems currently on the market just don’t suit the needs of these ever- changing environments. However, more sophisticated wire- less lighting control systems are being brought to market which address many of the existing chal- lenges faced by traditional lighting, providing a completely customisable
solution for the user.
These control systems can be easily incorporated into a site’s upgrade to LED lighting, to provide additional energy savings, or can be retro-fitted to existing lights easily with no need for re-wiring due to the systems being wireless. Engineers will be able to identify individual luminaires remotely, over the inter- net using a computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone, without having to investigate the wiring infrastructure. The system will also eliminate many of the re-commissioning issues asso- ciated with the early generation wired schemes and offer users the
Above: Andy Davies, Harvard Engineering
Left: these days offices, residential, retail and
hospitality often share the same location, making it much more problematic to predict and manage energy demand, including lighting
potential to control multiple sites or buildings from a single hub - perfect for the management of multi-site estates, such as retail stores or corpo- rate offices.
Summary
The installation of a wireless, com- pletely customisable lighting control system for the indoor market not only provides significant opportunities for energy savings but will also provide users with unlimited possibilities for controlling and monitoring their lights, whilst eliminating many of the issues faced by early generation con- trols - the perfect solution.
Harvard Engineering
www.harvardeng.com T: 0113 383 1069
Above: more sophisticated wireless lighting control systems enable engineers to identify individual luminaires remotely, over the internet using a computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone, without having to investigate the wiring
infrastructure
Enter 212 OCTOBER 2013 Electrical Engineering
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