128 TECHNOLOGY / LIGHTING CONTROL
The real innovation in lighting was never about LEDs, it was always about smart and intelligent lighting which is a fusion of lighting and controls. This month Dr Geoff Archenhold takes a look at the rise in lighting network control and its security issues.
ARE YOU REALLY IN CONTROL?
LED lighting is everywhere today and after fifteen years in the industry I find it a little amusing that most people have now become full LED converts. There is little or no dis- puting the right way to go is to implement LEDs in the majority of lighting applica- tions. The revolution has happened and the majority of lighting goliaths are stating that LEDs represent up to 25% of turnover already and on a recent trip to the US, one manufacturer claimed 45% of turnover was already derived from LED revenues with close to 100% of turnover being LEDs before 2020. Actually, LEDs are not the revolution ev- eryone thought because if you stand back and reflect, LEDs are really only a new light source so there is nothing more than a new set of rules to build LED light fixtures. The real revolution in lighting is yet to come! Most LED light fixtures are simple and don’t include advanced or smart features and this is where the main lighting revolution lies, because LEDs offer a digital alterna- tive that can be easily controlled. In fact, once LED lighting becomes smart there is a need for it to be networked so that fixtures create their own personalities that describe their capabilities or features onto a system that can then utilise those features to the maximum benefit. Indeed, a recent market report by Navigant states that networked lighting controls will grow from $1.7 billion annually in 2013 to more than $5.3 billion by 2020. This rapid growth will be driven by building owners and managers, who are ac- customed to the idea of centrally monitor- ing and managing their heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, beginning to expect the same level of control from light- ing systems. You may question this but here are a few examples of how systems can be smart: 1) Integrated control systems Currently lighting systems utilise separate control- lers that are an additional expense both in capital expenditure terms and installation/ commissioning terms. The future of smart lighting systems will be to integrate lighting
and controls to allow reduced energy consumption through daylight harvesting or occupancy detection without the need to install or commission additional system components. 2) Human health functions Smarter fixtures will include Real Time Clocks and a range of sensors to allow different types of lighting throughout the day and year automatically to allow for the human cir- cadian rhythms to be catered for, allowing improved productivity during work and rest times as well as precise colour and intensity control. 3) Information systems The use of data transfer to devices within our lighting envi- ronments adds a new dimension to being in a wirelessly connected world. I have talked about VLC or LI-FI previously but this tech- nology is rapidly moving from laboratory to production! 4) Building management Smarter fixtures will integrate sensors so that they can be used to provide aggregated building occu- pancy and provide integration with heating and ventilation by regulating temperatures. For example, fixtures can detect how many people are on a floor within a building and if they include a temperature sensor the fixture can ask the heating control system to switch down or off the heating on a floor if there is no one on it. 5) Simple or no commissioning Current lighting control solutions usually require experts charged at horrendous rates to go to site to commission schemes, which adds complexity and costs. New lighting systems will require little or no commissioning setups and are so easy to work with an end-user should be able to configure what they want from a simple application on your mobile or tablet. Of course the aim of technical revolutions are to wipe away traditional practices with new features at a lower price and this is what I think is going to happen very shortly. Over the next couple of years the lighting industry will see advanced inte- grated control systems being deployed in
lighting schemes that, in combination, will reduce the capital expenditure costs of the scheme and provide features and facilities that were usually ignored because of budget constraints. The road to such a future is still undecided because there are different tech- nical routes that could be taken to get there and I have learnt in the past that sometimes revolution needs evolution to take place so there isn’t such a leap in thought processes required by industry. Today most lighting schemes have numerous types of interfaces and components. Here, individual drivers or ballasts are controlled by lighting interface units/controllers such as DALI/KNX routers which are then controlled by a building lighting controller. There are multiple components, all of which are cost optimised and there are always potential compatibility or wiring issues that can occur during installation. A recent method being adopted for lighting installations is that of centralised driver solutions pioneered by companies such as Tryka LED, IST and more recently Redwood Systems. Here, the definition of centralised LED control systems can mean the drivers are placed within rooms or on individual floors of buildings or within a single location for a complete building. There are several advantages for utilising centralised driver solutions:
Installation Cost Reduction • Reduced number of drivers to install or commission. • Simple low voltage wiring required be- tween driver and fixtures. • Quick set-up and commissioning times.
Higher Quality LED Solutions • Significantly improved functionality com- pared to single driver solutions. • Healthier lighting solutions - very low ripple current as better driver components become available. • Improved protection circuitry including over voltage, over current, over power and
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