●     Occupancy Sensing Lighting Control

Among all lighting control strategies, occupancy sensing has been there for the longest time. Here, special occupancy sensors are attached to every light, which utilizes motion-sensing capabilities to trigger the switching on or off of the lights in a given space. Whenever there is a delay period in which the sensors do not sense any movement, lights go off automatically to save electricity. In the more primitive models of occupancy systems, only a single large sensor was installed for every room. However, problems like false sensing and reverse sensing (the lights used to turn off whenever a person entered the room) were encountered. To avoid such situations, the contemporary model focuses on having individual occupancy sensors for each lighting fixture.

●     Types of Occupancy Sensing

These occupancy-based controlling schemes can be of two types. The first is the motion-based switching control scheme. Whatever conventional explanation we have provided so far about occupancy sensing models is nothing but motion-based switching only. As stated before, here the delay period decides when the lights go off in a room. Naturally, smaller is the delay period, more are your savings on electricity bills.

The problem with these traditional occupancy sensing systems is that if you set a very small delay period for a room with an irregular frequency of visitors, it will eventually be very irritating for everybody. Similarly, if you prolong the turning off period extensively, you defeat the purpose of using sensors for energy efficiency. Hence, whatever be the case, buyers should first figure out the user behavior for every room and then select the occupancy sensing parameters.

Motion-based dimming is the second occupancy sensing control scheme. Here, everything remains the same, but after the delay period, lights automatically get dim to a preset intensity value. This is a better alternative in commercial spaces where visitors do not like returning to a pitch-dark room regularly.

●     Daylight-linked Lighting Control

In buildings and rooms with an ample amount of sunlight, lighting control schemes can be linked to the intensity and the duration of daylight availability. When adequate daylight penetration is available, people can either make use of daylight only or can use it to complement the illumination provided by their lamps. This way, the burden on the lighting equipment reduces, and consequently, the energy consumption also drops.

These daylight-linked lighting controls are also useful for common space light fixtures and any outdoor light. In sports facilities and parking lots, this control mechanism provides the best energy efficiency. For indoor commercial requirements, particularly for office spaces, if ample daylight is available, these control systems should definitely be put in place. This is because daylight in itself is considered a major driving force for visual comfort as well as productivity. Therefore, it will enable office workers to work with maximum focus, while not putting a major strain on themselves.