Lighting control systems are employed to maximize the energy savings from the lighting system, satisfy building codes, or comply with green building and energy conservation programs. Lighting control systems may include a lighting technology designed for energy efficiency, convenience and security. This may include high efficiency fixtures and automated controls that make adjustments based on conditions such as occupancy or daylight availability. Lighting is the deliberate application of light to achieve some aesthetic or practical effect (e.g. illumination of a security breach). It includes task lighting, accent lighting, and general lighting.
•Advantages of lighting control system:
The major advantage of a lighting control system over stand-alone lighting controls or conventional manual switching is the ability to control individual lights or groups of lights from a single user interface device. This ability to control multiple light sources from a user device allows complex lighting scenes to be created. A room may have multiple scenes pre-set, each one created for different activities in the room. A major benefit of lighting control systems is reduced energy consumption. Longer lamp life is also gained when dimming and switching off lights when not in use. Wireless lighting control systems provide additional benefits including reduced installation costs and increased flexibility over where switches and sensors may be placed.
The function of a traditional emergency lighting system is the supply of a minimum illuminating level when a line voltage failure appears. Therefore, emergency lighting systems have to store energy in a battery module to supply lamps in case of failure. In this kind of lighting systems the internal damages, for example battery overcharging, damaged lamps and starting circuit failure must be detected and repaired by specialist workers.
For this reason, the smart lighting prototype can check its functional state every fourteen days and dump the result into a LED display. With these features they can test themselves checking their functional state and displaying their internal damages. Also the maintenance cost can be decreased.
•Minimizing energy usage:
Lighting applications represents 19% of the world's energy use and 6% of all greenhouse emissions.[4] In the United States, 65 percent of energy consumption is used by commercial and industrial sectors, and 22 percent of this is used for lighting.
Smart lighting enables households and users to remotely control cooling, heating, lighting and appliances, minimizing unnecessary light and energy use. This ability saves energy and provides a level of comfort and convenience. From outside the traditional lighting industry, the future success of lighting will require involvement of a number of stakeholders and stakeholder communities. The concept of smart lighting also involves utilizing natural light from the sun to reduce the use of man-made lighting, and the simple concept of people turning off lighting when they leave a room.
•DIFFERENT TYPES OF LIGHTING CONTROL SYSTEMS
1. Basic lighting controls
The most basic of lighting controls are the manual on/off switch that the majority of homes use. This requires occupants to turn them on manually as they enter a room and off when they leave to ensure electricity isn’t wasted.
Using energy-efficient LEDs alongside basic switches can help reduce electricity bills.
2. Pre-set lighting controls
Pre-set lighting controls allow you to adapt brightness levels using a slider by the flip switch. The switch, similar to the basic controls mentioned above, permits you to turn the lights on and off, while the slider is used to modify the intensity of the light using pre-set brightness levels.
You can opt for pre-set dimmers as well. This enables you to choose a preferred setting that will stay at the pre-set level each time you turn the switch on.
3. Dimmer switches
Dimmer switches give you incredible flexibility. Instead of having pre-set lighting arrangements, you can take full control of how much light you want in the room, from 0% to 100%. Some are equipped with a digital touch switch, or a tiny light to help you find your controls in the dark.
At Hampshire Light, we have over 20 years’ experience creating detailed lighting schemes using dimmable lighting controls, and even produced an ultimate guide to dimmable LEDs. So if you like the idea of dimmable lighting and have any questions, take a read or contact us today, we’re more than happy to help.
4. Occupancy sensors
Using extremely high resolution and precision technology, occupancy sensors automatically switch on lights when small movements are detected, and switch off when the area is not occupied for a set amount of time – extremely useful for businesses.
For example, restaurants, bars, sports centres, hotels, and other establishments may find implementing occupancy lighting in bathrooms or changing rooms particularly valuable. This removes the responsibility of guests having to turn the lights off in order to save electricity.
5. Motion sensor controls
Often confused with occupancy sensors, motion sensors are used for both security and utility lighting. They send signals to your lights and turn on when motion is detected and turn off a little while after.
Motioned sensors are programmed to detect significant walking movements in a dedicate zone, whereas occupancy sensors are designed to identify smaller movements such as hand or finger adjustments.
As a comparison, motion sensors aren’t likely to detect somebody washing their hands - If a significant arm or leg movement isn’t being made, they’re likely to turn off and leave you in the dark (until you waved your arms of course).
6. Assisted lighting controls
Voice-controlled assistive technology such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home can be integrated within your lighting scheme. This allows you to switch your lights on via a voice command, enabling safer movement around your home during darker hours.
7. Integrated lighting controls
If you thought assisted lighting controls were clever, integrated lighting controls take this a step further. These systems are often centralised within a home/ business using a wired or wireless connection.
They can be unified with the likes of Amazon Alexa and Google Home to offer voice controlled lighting, but can also be used to select pre-defined lighting scenes for complete ambiance management.
•Benefits of Using Lighting Controls
1. More energy efficiency
The golden rule for saving electricity is that the less time your lights are on, the lower will be your electricity bill. Lighting controls make it easy to know they’re on only when you need them.
You might forget to turn the lights off. With smart lighting, you can open the app and turn off lights even if you’re not in the house. Program a personal schedule on your timers and sensors or use vacancy sensors to trigger the lights to switch off when no one in the room. Also, whenever possible, dimers reduce the power to the lighting source, which will save energy, extend the bulb’s life and reduce the need for electrical maintenance or repair from overuse.
2. Personal preferences
Lighting control systems offer intuitive flexibility. Change the amount of light depending on the time of day. Color-changing smart light bulbs give you the creative freedom to set any kind of mood. Elevate your mood with bright lighting or relax with dimmed ambiance as per your choice. Think neon purple for dance parties, ambient yellow glow for movie night or your favorite team’s color on game day. You can program whatever you want at the push of a button.
3. More convenience
You can control your lighting system with ease on the devices you are comfortable, including smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktop computers. Many systems also offer options of remotes or wall-mounted control centers to make it convenient to adjust in seconds.
4. Safety
The safety of the house means a lot as sensors can help navigate the house easily. To make your way to the bathroom in the night, a simple press of a button on the app can turn on the lights before you even leave your bed. You can also set your bedroom lights to mimic the rising and setting sun that you wake up and fall asleep naturally.
