BSEE


LIGHTING


Then there was Light


James Barton, technical sales manager at Synapsys, discusses the impact of light in a building and the importance of lighng controls in an energy ecient future.


make us more or less active, and the application of colour can make even the most drab building look fantastic.. oh and it can guide us to safety with emergency lights and signage. Of all the services to a building, whether old or new, lighting undoubtedly has the greatest visual impact, and in the 21st century lighting plays an even bigger role as it is a fundamental part of the move towards more energy efficient building design, and its integration with lighting control technology offers the potential to significantly improve our built environment. Replacing the lighting system is one of the obvious areas to start in driving down energy consumption. Lighting is responsible for a whopping 15-20% of electricity consumed in the UK, but replacing fixtures alone is only part of the solution. Commercial buildings are increasingly taking advantage of the savings to be made from the adoption of LED lighting, but often overlook the additional savings (30- 40% extra) that controlling your lighting can achieve.


L


ighting affects every facet of our life, we cannot operate without it. Too much is uncomfortable, the shade of white can


Buildings already control the vast majority of systems such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning through their Building Management System (BMS), and the same can be applied to lighting. Good workplace lighting plays an essential part in developing work environments that support wellbeing and performance, and reduce the likelihood of employee stress, absenteeism and industrial accidents.


Enhance and embellish


Lighting controls can be installed in a multitude of building types, each with their own specific requirements. Galleries and museums, for example, often require particular light levels to protect precious artwork and artefacts. Retail outlets not only need to create a comfortable shopping environment for customers, the type of lighting used can enhance and embellish product displays to help improve sales. In transport environments, such as rail networks, precise lighting levels are required to ensure safety and to match lighting use to timetables and varying use. Low lighting levels for instance are needed during quieter times to maximise savings and reduce light pollution in the surrounding area.


Investment in the buildings of tomorrow is crucial and anyone who owns or manages a building should take a considered approach when developing an efficiency plan. Advanced technologies such as lighting controls can provide the tools to meet and surpass efficiency objectives – both now and well into the future.


In modern lighting systems, energy data can be logged and collected from control points. Having this data readily available allows building owners/occupiers to monitor and display their actual energy usage and compare this to required values. This demonstrates their


environmental commitment and motivates their occupants to act in a more responsible manner towards conserving energy. By collecting data from lighting systems decisions can be made based on the energy performance of a building’s lighting.


32 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER OCTOBER 2020


A clear visual display of a building’s data allows easy calculation of the total building energy consumption. This can then be used to classify the building according to EN15217 on the basis of the collected data. These values can be displayed alongside target values.


Easy to engineer


Lighting controls based on the manufacturer-independent DALI standard, such as the new Synapsys LiGO+, make it possible to create flexible, cost-effective and easy to engineer lighting systems. The solution can function as a standalone system or as part of a larger building management system. With a host of features, including tuneable white, Circadian Rhythm and RGB colour control, it’s easy to re-purpose and improve the look and feel of a building.


Circadian Rhythm


A well designed and controlled system can have positive effects on a person’s health, alertness and productivity. Circadian Rhythm is the body’s natural cycle throughout the day, which is significantly affected by the lighting in a person’s surroundings. LiGO+ hardware has the ability to control LEDS to mimic the sun’s colour cycle throughout a day. Some sectors, including healthcare and also the corporate environment are now seeing the potential benefits of this type of lighting control. Tuneable white enables the control of lighting levels throughout the day.


It is used to mimic the body’s natural Circadian Rhythm and can help to promote building occupants’ performance, health and wellbeing across the day.


Colour LED control and dimming


Colour control enables users to enhance and change the look and feel of a room, area or building easily and simply with stunning results, cutting out the need for major refits or decor changes. LiGO+ provides architectural lighting in a cost effective way to all buildings large and small, inside and out. Light levels can be controlled according to changing uses of a building, for example lowering output when the building is being cleaned in the evenings. This drives further savings whilst ensuring the building is still functional. Also, dimming the lighting from off to on and on to off can add many more hours of runtime to the ballasts. Synapsys LiGO+ (and the smaller LiGO2 for apartments and other small areas) provides all of the above advanced lighting features and also includes energy monitoring with easy connection to any BMS, home automation or IoT system, all using open protocols. To complete the range of lighting controls, Synapsys has exclusively partnered with Lunatone of Austria to provide single function controls, ballasts and sensors, all available through the new Synapsys eStore.


Read the latest at: www.bsee.co.uk


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