• • • LIGHTING & LIGHTING CONTROLS • • • Get smart


Smart lighting is an interconnected system of connected lights and switches as well as connected plugs which work in harmony together to give total control over every aspect of the lighting application, says Ansell Lighting’s Paul Davidson


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eing totally scalable, smart lighting can mean connecting just a single room all the way to connecting an entire house and


garden or a whole commercial office complex being decked out with smart lighting. Every unit in the system is connected via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth and can be programmed separately to act independently, by acting upon voice commands, thus creating the perfect combination of automation and usability. But the effectiveness of smart lighting lies in its controllability. Smart lighting control systems such as OCTO


WIZ Connected can employ daylight harvesting to reduce the use of electric lighting during the lightest times of day. The use of motion sensors and presence and absence detectors also means that no space needs to be illuminated when it is unoccupied. This means the user can regulate energy use to keep costs to an absolute minimum. As well as the cost benefits, there are significant


improvements that can be made to household security and safety. The addition of passive infra- red (PIR) sensors, which basically measure the heat coming from a person within the field of view, means that lighting is activated without the need to reach for a switch or your mobile phone – and will then automatically switch off once you’ve gone out of range. This is ideal for when you need to get up during the hours of darkness, for example for a loo visit or to check on a child. Connecting the lighting control system to other


external systems, such as a smart doorbell, provides courtesy lighting for visitors as well as giving the homeowner the security of being able to see who is at the front door. If external lighting is added to the system, the homeowner can use the smart lighting system to activate external illumination when necessary – providing extra security and peace of mind.


How does it all work? WiZ technology encapsulates multi-protocol connectivity such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 2.4 Ghz low consumption radio frequency. It integrates a feature-rich app with intuitive interface, a secured cloud access with real-time interoperability with leading IoT platforms and voice assistants such as Google Assistant, Alexa, Apple Siri shortcuts and Samsung Smart Things. Using the app, light intensity can be changed


from either a single colour or tuneable with 64,000 shades of whites, enhancing mood, relaxation and minimising stress on eyes. For lights with colours, users can choose to set dynamic light modes for any occasion. The WiZ app is accompanied by dashboard control options that provide owners with a


34 ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • APRIL 2022 electricalengineeringmagazine.co.uk


panoramic view of their installation and allows for predictive maintenance and energy usage monitoring, along with advanced circadian rhythm automation enabling Human Centric Lighting. Besides tunable white control and circadian


rhythm, other features of the app include lights grouping, schedules, WiZ Click, default light settings (intensity, fading), dynamic light modes, scene management, vacation mode, power monitoring, and sensor management. In essence, what control systems such as OCTO


WiZ offer is the ability to harness the power of other major connected ecosystems with easy integrations through the WiZ cloud. These controls allow you to pre-set smooth light


transitions, or personalise them through the ‘My Rhythm’ features to help support your mental and physical wellbeing. It can be programmed with bespoke schedules to automate OCTO WiZ Connected lights to fit your daily routines, saving energy costs. Using internet connectivity or mobile data,


guests can also be given control over lights when they are on the same Wi-Fi network as the OCTO WIZ Connected home. However, they will not be allowed to change any settings and will lose access after a certain time period set by the system owner.


We’ve seen that a smart lighting control system


can provide wellbeing benefits as well as aesthetic ones but OCTO WIZ Connected offers can also provide invaluable autonomy to those with limited movement or a disability.


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