• • • EDITOR’S CHOICE • • • Lighting control in the post-COVID office Gabriele Fulco W


The new normal is set to make a considerable impact on our workplaces, in response to new anxieties and behaviours, says Fabrizio Petris, senior business development manager and Gabriele Fulco, product marketing manager for sensors at Omron Electronic Components Europe


orkers will naturally be much more cautious about using shared surfaces such as light switches, doors, drinks


dispensers, soap dispensers and toilet flushes. In addition, life after COVID-19 is likely to result in the need to restrict and monitor numbers of people present in an office. This caution is set alongside existing concerns amongst facilities managers to control services and minimise energy wasted through lighting unoccupied areas, with the goal of optimising space utilisation and saving energy costs. Thankfully, there is a wide range of solutions available for lighting and building management in offices. Technologies that have been hiding in the background for a long time will finally come into their own in our workplaces for controlling occupancy ratio, saving energy and eliminating the need to touch shared surfaces.


Thermal sensors There is an increasing demand amongst facilities managers for people detection systems, with lights and other services turned off automatically if no people are present. Temperature measurements can be used to detect the presence or absence of people in a space, and to confirm that a system is operational. Such thermal sensors need a wide field of view, so that they can detect the presence and location of people in a space, accurately and reliably.


For example, Omron D6T thermal sensors are


based on an infrared sensor which measures the surface temperature of people and objects without touching them. For lighting applications, the D6T 32x32 is ideal. It is a wide-angle version of the device based on 32 x 32 elements provides a view across 90° by 90°. This equates to a field of view measuring 360cm


x 360cm at 2m distance, so allows people to be detected in a wide space. When applied efficiently, such thermal sensors can monitor movements around the building and occupancy ratio for a better usage of office space. They can also control lighting and HVAC for energy saving opportunities.


Light Convergent Sensors Every day in the workplace and other public environments we touch countless switches that have also been touched by hundreds of complete strangers. Fortunately, contactless sensors provide an ideal alternative. The latest devices offer exceptional performance, with a longer detection distance and a convergent lighting beam that triggers accurately on an object within a tightly specified target area, ignoring any objects in the background or foreground. For example, Omron B5W-LB LCR is a light


convergent reflective sensor distinguished by the reliability and repeatability of its detection performance. The sensor’s convergent light beam


Fabrizio Petris


can be accurately set to trigger on the presence of an object within a tightly specified target area (55mm and 10mm sensing distances available) and ignore any objects in the background or foreground.


Returning to relays If these sensors are the ‘eyes and ears’ of a building automation system, it also needs ‘hands’ to act in response. It needs control over outputs: heaters, lights, fans and other elements. Relays are still a great solution. Because loads vary enormously and the latest technologies place new demands on relays, these devices need to address a range of different requirements. Specific applications have their own challenges. For example, LED lighting, water pumps and capacitive input filters with Power Factor Correction produce high inrush currents. This puts extreme loads on relay contacts. With this in mind, Omron’s G5RL relay family is


dedicated to lighting control. The new G5RL-K-EL latching type is approved IEC60669-1 16A 140µF and it is ideal for controlling fluorescent and LED lamps. Thanks to its innovative structure at single contact, it features the best ratio cost performance ratio in the market. After a year of lockdowns and health warnings,


it’s natural that many employees will feel anxious or apprehensive about returning to shared workspaces. However, these small electronic components could make a big impact in helping workers feel safer and more comfortable in their offices after COVID.


electricalengineeringmagazine.co.uk ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • NOVEMBER 2021 5


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