Occupancy Based Lighting Control Systems

A brief overview of potential energy savings from the installation of occupancy sensors at Parkland College

Analysis of external lighting control systems

В роботі представлено та коротка характеристика схем управління освітленням. Особливу увагу приділено системі керування DALI з її масштабуванням через протокол інтернет.The paper presents a brief description of the lighting control schemes. Particular attention is paid to the DALI control system with its scaling through the Internet protocol

Intelligent road lighting control systems - experiences, measurements, and lighting control strategies

The work starts with a brief overview of the main issues concerning road lighting control systems, e.g. the visual conditions in night time driving, the light sources used in road lighting, and the basic structure of telemanagement lighting control systems. Then the work focuses on the performance of intelligent road lighting control systems by using the examples of two installations in Finland, Ring III and VT7. The real benefits and drawbacks are discussed and financial calculations are given. The work continues with the subject of road surface luminance measurements in order to suggest ways in which the performance of intelligent road lighting control systems might be optimized. This subject is topical as there are currently several practical problems in luminance monitoring. The work also investigates the main control parameters and strategies that are applied currently and tries to find the basis of dynamically changing light levels

Effects of resolution of lighting control systems

Advances in lighting technologies have spurred sophisticated lighting control systems (LCSs). To conserve energy and improve occupants’ wellbeing, LCSs have been integrated into sustainable buildings. However, the complexity of LCSs may lead to negative experiences and reduce the frequency of their use. One fundamental issue, which has not been systematically investigated, is the impact of control resolution (the smallest change produced by an LCS). In an ideal LCS, the resolution would be sufficiently fine for users to specify their desired lighting conditions, but the smallest change would be detectable. Thus, the design of optimal control systems requires a thorough understanding of the detectability and acceptability of differences in illuminance, luminance and colour. The control of colour is complicated by the range of interfaces that can be used to facilitate colour mixing. Four psychophysical experiments investigated the effect of LCS resolution. The first two experiments explored the effect of resolution in white light LCSs on usability and energy conservation. The results suggest that, in different applications, LCSs with resolutions between 14.8 % and 17.7 % (of illuminance) or 26.0 % and 32.5 % (of luminance) have the highest usability. The third experiment evaluated the usability of three colour channel control interfaces based on red, green, blue (RGB), hue, saturation, brightness (HSB) and opponent colour mixing systems. Although commonly used, the RGB interface was found to have the lowest usability. The fourth experiment explored the effect of hue resolution, saturation resolution and luminance resolution on the usability. Generally, middle range resolutions, which are approximately between three and five times the magnitude of the just noticeable difference (JND), for both hue and saturation were found to yield the greatest usability. The interaction between these three variables was characterised. Findings from this research provide a deeper understanding of the fundamental attribute of control resolution and can guide the development of useful and efficient lighting control systems

Lighting Control Systems: Factors Affecting Energy Savings' Evaluation☆

Abstract The use of automated lighting control systems allows to reduce lighting costs and to achieve significant energy savings. The energy performances of controls are affected by many factors, the impact of which is very difficult to account for during the design process. The goal of this paper is to describe the factors that influence the control systems' energy performances, to analyze how the currently available calculation tools take them into account and finally to propose a simple method to adjust results obtained from the simulation software

Lighting Control Systems for Energy Saving and User Acceptance: State-of-the-art and future directions

Lighting accounts for one-fifth of global electricity use. In Sweden, energy demand for lighting corresponds to 20% of the total electricity use in office buildings. Lighting retrofit measures are considered to be among the most cost-efficient way to reduce energy use in buildings. In particular, the use of advanced lighting control systems promises energy savings of between 2 and 60%, but system failures and poor user acceptance have been significant limitations so far. This thesis uses literature reviews and field studies to investigate the effect of lighting control systems on energy use and user acceptance. In the first part of the thesis, an extensive literature review on lighting control systems indicates that manually controlled systems are generally more accepted by the users. Systems with high automation and no manual override tend to be deactivated or even sabotaged. Consequently, user behavior plays a fundamental role in ensuring proper function and actual energy savings of the lighting control system. The review also showed that presence and absence detection are often combined under the overarching category ‘occupancy strategies’, although they yield very different energy savings. The review of daylight harvesting systems highlighted critical issues relating to design and commissioning. Two field studies in individual offices were conducted. Absence and presence detection, daylight harvesting and a simple task light were tested in a real-life work environment, where energy use and user acceptance were monitored. The studies showed that the definition ‘occupancy strategies’ is not completely appropriate, since ‘absence’ and ‘presence’ detection yield different energy savings and user acceptance. The second field study showed that daylight harvesting systems could perform well, on condition that careful design and commissioning are performed along with provision of a manual override. However, the field study showed that the use of sensors and microcontrollers raised the energy demand for parasitic power (standby), which might be significant in relation to final energy use, especially with low occupancy rates and high-efficiency light sources. Lighting control systems based on wireless networks and integrated in the building management system are expected to increase during the coming years. This will overcome many of the current issues with advanced lighting control systems, but it will also require additional skills on the part of the designer and installer. In the meantime, occupancy strategies represent a good alternative in energy-efficient lighting retrofit

3D techniques for presenting lighting parameters

Light plays an essential role in a person's perception of the world. Light determines how people sense and relish every element: hue, consistency, space, and shape. In the global lighting society, products require the creation of more intelligent lighting control systems that can adjust many parameters. New opportunities are created with the development of computer technology to design more accurate visualizations and simulations of the three-dimensional world. These lighting control systems can be viewed in a computer-generated 3D environment. This report aims to study the lighting parameters that can be performed virtually. The idea is to facilitate the learning of both students and instructors of lighting design. 3D visualization and testing make it easy to experiment with lights from a design perspective. At the end of the report, conclusions and some recommendations from the research are drawn and formulated

Developing Flexible, Networked Lighting Control Systems That Reliably Save Energy in California Buildings

An important strategy to meet California's ambitious energy efficiency goals is to use innovative wireless communications, embedded sensors, data analytics and controls to significantly reduce lighting energy use in commercial buildings. This project developed a suite of networked lighting solutions to further this goal. The technologies include a platform for low-cost sensing, distributed intelligence and communications, the “PermaMote,” which is a self-powered sensor and controller for lighting applications. The project team also developed a task ambient daylighting system that integrates sensors with data-driven daylighting control using an open communication interface, called the “Readings-At-Desk” (RAD) system. To address the problem of building occupants being confused about how to operate traditional lighting control systems, the research team created content that could be the basis for a user interface standard for lighting controls. Finally, to address the difficulty of ensuring that advanced lighting control systems actually deliver their promised energy savings, the project team developed a new method for evaluating and specifying lighting systems’ performance. The research team validated these technologies in the laboratory, showing significant lighting energy savings, up to 73% for the PermaMote sensor system from occupancy control and daylight dimming features, compared to the same light source (LED replacement lamps) operated via simple on/off scheduling. The project team also developed a proposed standard lighting data model and user interface elements, which were contributed to the ANSI Lighting Systems Committee (C137) for standardization. Existing data models are incomplete and inconsistent, whereas the lighting-specific data model developed here is clear and comprehensive, to serve as a starting point for creating common, universally agreed upon semantic definitions of key lighting parameters, to promote interoperability. For the task on verifiable performance of lighting systems, the project team developed a more effective metric for capturing the actual energy impact of a lighting system over time — the energy usage intensity (kWh/ft2/year). Three commercial lighting systems were tested in FLEXLAB® using this new metric, and the tests show a wide range in the accuracy of the self-reported energy-use metric, from 0.5% to 28% error compared to direct measurement of lighting energy using dedicated submeters. Overall, the project team estimates that these advanced technologies can reduce California office lighting energy use by 20% (above and beyond normal advanced lighting controls mandated by Title 24), resulting in about 1,600 GWh/year in savings

Analysis of Outdoor Lighting Control Systems Applied to the New Smart City Models

Lighting accounts for more than 19% of the world’s electricity consumption. Simply replacing existing lighting systems with other LED technology would reduce energy consumption by up to 40%, and if we also use lighting controls, the figure can reach 80%. The transition to efficient lighting technologies (LEDs) is economically one of the most realistic and simple energy efficiency initiatives. Control systems play an important role in the world of lighting. Wherever you have exterior lighting, there will be a need for control. The systems that have been used so far have precedents that date back more than 35 years and allow control and monitoring functions of groups of light points, i.e. not individually. One of the major drawbacks of these systems is that they do not have flexibility, since they do not allow the individualization of the point of light, and in addition the orders that can emit are of generic character and affect the group, obtaining a rather inaccurate information of the installation. Complete telemanagement systems are currently being developed to meet the needs of different application segments. Experience shows that it is necessary to work with open systems so that the lighting management system works and communicates with other systems such as air treatment, safety systems, etc. Intelligent lighting, in addition to its control and energy management functions, also contributes to reducing the excess of artificial light to which our cities are subject, making them more livable