FEATURE LIGHTING & LIGHTING CONTROLS
Bluetooth Mesh creates new infrastructure for lighting controls
LED luminaires equipped with control sensors
By Russ Sharer, vice president of Global Marketing and Business Development for Fulham
T
he promise of smart lighting controls has been with us for some time. Adding
intelligence to lighting fixtures is relatively simple, especially with solid-state lighting. Connecting smart light fixtures into an integrated, intelligent framework is more complex. However, once you have a lighting control infrastructure in place you have the foundation for intelligent building management; even a system that can support the Internet of Things (IoT). But, it all starts with connecting intelligent LED luminaires. To create intelligent lighting controls, you have to start with smart lighting elements. LEDs make it easier to control the luminaire, adjusting individual units for characteristics such as lighting hue, intensity, and energy consumption. LED light elements can be programmed in the factory or in the field; something we have dubbed ‘clever’ lighting. To upgrade from clever to intelligent lighting controls, all you need to add is communications.
SMART LEDS CREATE THE FRAMEWORK Part of what is fuelling the promise of smart lighting control is the boom in LED luminaire installations and retrofits to reduce energy costs. In the United States, the Energy Information Administration estimates that lighting is responsible for 17 per cent of the energy used in commercial buildings, and Gartner predicts that energy consumption is reduced 80-90 per cent with smart lighting. Since new construction is only a fraction of commercial building space, the market for LED lighting retrofits is expected to be many times that of new installations.
26 JUNE 2018 | ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
lay a foundation for smart lighting, and even building controls. LED sensors can be used to monitor available light, room occupancy, and other factors to automate lighting. The same sensors can then be used to control HVAC, emergency lighting, smoke detection, security, and other building functions. With sensors built into the solid-state light fixtures, all you need to do is connect the luminaires with communication to a control system. Networking LED lighting systems is relatively
simple in new construction. We have already started to see commercial applications for Power over Ethernet (PoE) for LED luminaires. Fulham has been developing PoE lighting systems since PoE can power LED lighting without AC-to-DC drivers, as well as providing support for IP-based controls. However, Ethernet wiring connectivity will not work in many retrofit scenarios (unless you are rewiring the entire building). Therefore, there needs to be a wireless alternative.
BLUETOOTH MESH Bluetooth mesh is gaining market momentum as the wireless platform of choice for intelligent lighting controls. Unlike other lighting control protocols, Bluetooth mesh is an open standard that promises interoperability between vendors and extensibility. It was designed as a many-to-many communication infrastructure with scalability for large-scale device networks for lighting controls, asset tracking, and even IoT. Bluetooth mesh offers a number of advantages for controllers. It is a well- defined open standard with proven compatibility and interoperability; it scales well to connect thousands of devices using small data packets making it suitable for commercial buildings and factory automation; its mesh design provides built-in redundancy and
failover for greater reliability; it is a mature technology; although Bluetooth mesh is relatively new, Bluetooth has been around for years and is already in place in a wide range of consumer and commercial devices; and it offers easy access and configuration from any Bluetooth device, such as a tablet or smartphone. Bluetooth Mesh operates as a ‘flood mesh network,’ sharing incoming packets with every outgoing link to populate the mesh so the data proliferates across the entire mesh. This also makes the infrastructure self-healing, so you can add or remove devices without disruption. Bluetooth mesh supports relatively high-speed two-way communication. Where some control standards only issue instructions, Bluetooth mesh can send and receive data, making it suitable for facilitating smart lighting solutions, as well as for gathering data for alerts and analytics. It also provides a rich, robust infrastructure to move beyond single room or small building lighting controls. Once installed, sensors strategically placed in luminaires can be used for other building controls, gathering data about temperature, humidity, air quality, occupancy, and controlling HVAC, window shades, door locks, or other building control function - ultimately saving energy and money.
Fulham
www.fulham.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64
