Niagara Framework – Leap Info Systems https://leapinfosys.com Convergent Lighting and Building Automation Technology Mon, 14 Feb 2022 12:33:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 The Future of Lighting Management Software https://leapinfosys.com/the-future-of-lighting-management-software/ https://leapinfosys.com/the-future-of-lighting-management-software/#respond Sat, 26 Feb 2022 05:00:00 +0000 https://leapinfosys.com/?p=7340

The Future Of Lighting Management Software

With a rising business interest in eco-friendly equipment and energy-saving, lighting control and automation have become a mandatory part of industrial facilities, workplaces and commercial spaces. Be it time sequencing of lighting systems or the installation of intelligent sensors for lighting management, all these technologies based on lighting management software have become commonplace in commercial spaces today.

One cannot deny that these technologies have had an impact on our daily lives, besides the monetary benefits, but the important question that now arises is what next? It is quite logical to question what is the future prospect of buying smart lighting management software for our buildings? Stick with us till the end to decode what the future holds for lighting management systems and control technologies.

Table of Contents

Taking A Look At The Ideological Shift

The backbone of the lighting automation industry in the initial years was the lighting management software itself. Under this purview, using the same software to facilitate the Internet of Things (IoT) services for lighting equipment placed remotely was a concept that fascinated many and gradually saw a rise in the number of buyers as well. However, the ideological shift that we are seeing now has much to do with the popularization of Building Management Systems.

The Internet of Things technology is all about finding multiple use cases out of these same existing equipment. Extrapolating that same concept with lighting control, it is now believed that not only automation of the luminaries installed in our small confined spaces is necessary, but the data obtained from the lighting control equipment should be used for multiple other purposes. This extensive availability and use of data are beneficial for overall building management.

For instance, occupancy sensors can not only be helpful in turning off lights when they are not in use but also to schedule maintenance and cleaning activities. Occupancy data analysis is useful such that when there is no person using a particular space, it would be easier to get the cleaning job done without disturbing anyone’s work. Daylight harvesting, leak detection, air quality sensors, and the use of automatic blinds are some very good applications of this new purpose-driven lighting automation.

If only this concept alone is considered, the chances of hitting saturation are very low. This is because lighting automation equipment is being innovated and released at a very fast rate today. With every product coming into the market, searching for multiple use cases and then implementing them within existing building management systems won’t be a big problem once all this is normalized. So, the future of lighting control and automation is definitely within the prism of building management only.

Future Concerns with Lighting Management Software

With the rising instances of cybercrime and data theft, security is definitely a future concern for lighting management software. This is because when we talk about making lighting management a value-added service for the bigger target of building management, then any loophole in the security of such software will put every other component of building management systems at risk.

 

Two trends are going to become much more important in the coming days when we talk about the security of lighting management software. The first is the increased hiring of expert cybersecurity professionals for developing robust security strategies. The second will be to use advanced security key systems to guard our Lighting management software. Security Keys allow secure bidirectional communication between all the subsystems of a large building management system. This is a form of authentication, which securely provides a gateway for communication that cannot be breached as such.

What Do Customers Expect from Lighting Management Software In The Future?

If we analyze key trends in customer behavior tracking, customers of lighting management systems are looking forward to passionately welcoming wireless lighting control. Wireless lighting control is the perfect addition to lighting management systems, considering how important it is for them to contribute to building management too.

The second most anticipated thing is the emergency light monitoring feature in commercial spaces. This involves regular testing and reporting of equipment health so that any major lapse can be prevented. Goes without saying that automating this frequent evaluation of systems to limit the risks associated with lighting control is the real deal.

elitedali: Future-ready Solutions For Lighting Management

If you could follow closely, the crux of the matter is that future lighting control options would be centered around the bigger goal of easing building management. But building management systems can leverage the benefits of lighting automation only when they are designed to support and accept this technology. At present, the problem lies in the limited jurisdiction of lighting automation solutions when it comes to commercial space management solutions.

elitedali offers the most comprehensive solution to integrate lighting management software to any Niagara framework-based BMS. We support existing lighting automation technologies to become more meaningful by becoming part of a BMS without needing protocol converters. Several leading enterprises have implemented this ideological shift in lighting management all thanks to elitedali and now it’s your turn. Contact our team today for a free consultation

]]> https://leapinfosys.com/the-future-of-lighting-management-software/feed/ 0 How Can Building Lighting Control Systems Help in Energy Conservation? https://leapinfosys.com/building-lighting-control-systems-energy-savings/ https://leapinfosys.com/building-lighting-control-systems-energy-savings/#respond Sun, 12 Sep 2021 14:00:19 +0000 https://the7.io/logistics/?p=113

How Can Building Lighting Control Systems Help in Energy Conservation?

For most building owners and facility engineers, managing a building’s lighting controls is an environmental challenge. They see an increasing potential for improvement in the way a building’s different lighting fixtures work. To put simply, the light controls in a building still have the potential to reduce energy consumption and optimize the usage of lights.

However, the building managers and occupants have soon realized the significance of controlled building lighting control systems in reducing the environmental impact of increased electricity usage, and in turn, energy consumption.

Be it unnecessary usage of lights during the day or unavailability of the right amount of light at the right time and in the right place; a controlled lighting system ensures optimal use of lights throughout the building.

Let us see how a controlled building lighting control system achieves energy conservation standards.

1.  Provides the right amount of light

Building lighting control systems can provide the required amount of light in a space if they are pre-programmed or controlled to do so. Such systems can adjust the intensity of lights to generate only the required amount of brightness in a particular area; no more no less.

Moreover, controlled systems can also set the required amount of ambience for certain tasks. This way, the energy consumed by the lights is calculated while catering to specific needs of the building occupants.

2.  Avoids unnecessary usage of electricity

It’s human tendency to leave the lights on while leaving a room or bathroom. We even forget to turn OFF lights and fans when we head out of our house. A controlled lighting system can eliminate such events by time scheduling the process of turning lights ON/OFF and employing occupancy sensors.

Occupancy sensors automatically adjust the brightness of light when the space is empty or someone enters it. Time scheduling ensures that lights are turned ON/OFF during fixed hours like office timings or working hours in industries or factories.

3.  Controls lights dynamically

A controlled lighting system has the ability to manage a network of switches or circuits from a single circuit. With such a functionality, it eliminates the need to activate or deactivate certain lights manually with switches fixed on a certain location. The occupants can control the networked switches from anywhere, thereby saving you multiple wiring strategies for different switchboards.

In addition, such a technique comes handy when you are heading out and need all the lights to turn OFF at once or in the case of emergencies when internal/external lights are to be turned ON immediately.

4.  Communicates with other systems

Building lighting control systems that can integrate and communicate with other systems like HVAC, refrigeration, security, audio/visual, and other components are the real game changers when it comes to energy conservation. These components interact with each other and exchange outputs to provide flexibility in managing a building.

When lighting control systems integrate with HVAC and other building controls, it becomes a single automation system that consumes less energy, less time, and even lesser costs of installation and operation.

Such a way of operation triggers a series of events that contribute to energy conservation measures in a building. Take a look.

  • Using lights only when they are needed and reducing wastage of electricity, especially during the day.
  • Using wireless controls to eliminate line-voltage wirings and the associated costs.
  • The number of hours a light is being used in the building automatically reduces.
  • Reducing the use of air conditioners and HVAC size by eliminating internal heat gains due to excessive use of lighting.
  • Flexible control over lights so occupants can reduce the levels and hence contribute to energy saving.
  • Single point of control for the entire building’s lighting results in simple wiring strategies and reduced load on just one system.
  • Using daylight harvesting to adjust the artificial lights, thereby avoiding the unwanted use of electricity.
  • Interaction between the different components of a building management system and lighting controls has enhanced the overall productivity of a BMS. Such an improvement leads to advanced functionality and more energy savings.
  • Digitally controllable lighting systems can monitor a building’s entire lighting controls from one place. From a single room to the entire floor and the building’s campus; the managers can choose to either control the lighting individually or in a group. It further optimizes the maintenance capabilities for a BMS.

The Takeaway

Whether commercial or residential, it is the responsibility of efficient building lighting control systems to look after the occupants’ preferences while complying with energy conservation measures and building codes.

It is all the more necessary to install a lighting control system that can integrate with building management systems to enable a single point of control for building managers. elitedali ensures such an integration is possible without fail by providing system integrators and other manufacturers with DALI-powered lighting controls and convergent IoT automation.

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]]> https://leapinfosys.com/building-lighting-control-systems-energy-savings/feed/ 0 Which is the Best Lighting Control System? https://leapinfosys.com/daylight-harvesting-design-and-application-guide/ https://leapinfosys.com/daylight-harvesting-design-and-application-guide/#respond Wed, 08 Sep 2021 14:00:48 +0000 https://the7.io/logistics/?p=115

Which is the Best Lighting Control System?

It’s not long since stand-alone lighting controls revolutionized residential and commercial lighting. With an ability to customize the intensity and color of lights as per the mood preferences, these lighting controls made their way to almost every commercial building out there.

However, the advent of networked lighting controls made the stand-alone concept seem a thing of the past. As the name suggests, networked lighting controls are a cluster of multiple stand-alone systems that can be controlled from a central point within the same network. In such controls, the output of one device serves as the input for the other, and such a communication between the lighting controls results in a new level of functionality. 

The discussion leads us to a common question – “which is the best lighting control system?”

How would you know if a lighting control system is right for your facilities? To put simply, what are the characteristics of a lighting control system that makes it a perfect choice for people?

Read on to find out!

1.  Occupancy and time-based light scheduling

The best lighting control system includes a framework that allows users to schedule their lights. Time based scheduling enables facility managers to schedule turning lights on and off on a set time. For example, in a commercial building, the lights can be scheduled to automatically turn on at 7 AM when the first person arrives at the office and turn off at 8 PM when everyone leaves the building. 

Similarly, occupancy sensors in lighting control systems can sense the presence of a person in a particular space and turn the lights ON/OFF or adjust the intensity of lights accordingly.

2.  Supplementing artificial light with daylight

One of the must-have characteristics of a lighting control system is its ability to save energy as much as possible. Ideal systems are equipped with daylight harvesting technology which automatically adjust the intensity or brightness of lights in an area which has sufficient amount of natural light entering inside.

For example, during the peak daylight hours, buildings or homes capture enough light from nature through windows and skylights. In such a scenario, the brightness of lamps, bulbs, or any kind of luminaires in that space can be reduced to minimum or even zero to avoid unnecessary usage.

3.  Tuning lights based on specific tasks

While such a feature is popular in commercial buildings, many sophisticated residential spaces are also inclined towards it. Some of the best lighting control systems allow users or building managers to adjust lights according to different tasks that require a specific ambience for the people to complete it.

Task tuning is commonly used in warehouses, industries, or workplaces that involve certain types of manufacturing, packaging, or other similar tasks. Such activities need a specific amount of light for the staff for better performance and productivity. You can also adjust the temperature of the light considering the task at hand.

4.  Asset tracking with sensors

With advanced lighting control systems, it is now easier to manage your assets in any workspace. Whether it is a commercial building, office premises, a warehouse, or a healthcare facility, asset tracking allows you to keep an eye on specific items from the control system.

In such a system, sensors are added to the items which need to be found immediately or are imperative for the organization. These sensors respond to the lights overhead and can be tracked easily from the central lighting controller. Asset tracking has various applications; however, it is beneficial in hospitals, airports, or warehouses to find wheelchairs or inventory items immediately.

5.  Ability to integrate with other systems

The best lighting control systems are now available with the ability to integrate with other building systems like HVAC. Earlier, the buildings used to manage their lighting and HVAC systems separately. The consequences were not limited to significant energy consumption, expenditure, complex wiring, and low performance.

However, lighting control systems that can integrate with HVAC to provide a single automation system for the occupants cut down on costs, energy consumption, and other complexities in operating a building’s several components. These components include refrigeration, security, alarms, audio/visual systems, etc. which communicate with one another to provide a central control over the entire building management system to the building managers.

6.  Streamlining maintenance with monitoring

A lighting control system that offers monitoring capabilities to the occupants or building managers is easy to track and maintain the lighting controls installed in a building. It gives a detailed report on the equipment being used, their performance, issues occurred, and servicing required for their maintenance. The system sends email or text notifications to alarm the managers about certain problems that require immediate assistance.

Moreover, the managers can divide the operations and the type of notifications between multiple volunteers and effectively control a building management system. Such a process improves productivity, reduces the overhead, and avoids unwanted chaos.

The bottom line

The best lighting control system is the one that caters to the needs of all the occupants while reducing the associated costs, energy consumption, and effort required to manage a building.

At elitedali, we understand the problems associated with managing individual lighting fixtures or stand-alone systems. Therefore, we provide system integrators, development partners, building owners and facility managers with the ability to integrate their existing systems with DALI-powered lighting controls. Such controls offer enhanced flexibility and control over your lighting so you can literally “talk” to your lights.

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Lighting Control system – Your Intelligent Lighting Automation Solution

The contemporary world has finally led technological innovation to invade our lifestyle for good. From using voice for performing searches on digital assistants to managing lighting in commercial, industrial, and residential spaces through lighting control and automation systems – technology has come a long way in raising our personal and professional standards.

It was not long ago that we had an app on our smartphones to control a single light. Now, there’s a whole automatic electric lighting control system that could integrate with your building management system to control the lighting system of the entire building.

In the following sections, you will get to dive deep into lighting control systems and their benefits for efficient energy usage and operational excellence.

What is a lighting control system?

The term ‘lighting control system’ has a close relationship with ‘lighting controls’, however, they aren’t the same.

Lighting controls are individual devices that allow you to control the lighting of a particular space. Time Clocks, dimmers, occupancy sensors, touchscreen, and photocells are some lighting controls devices that control a fixed group of lights based on their location.

However, lighting control systems are a network of such devices and even more lighting control units that communicate with each other and the central computing devices of a building. Such systems coordinate the input and output of devices related to lighting control with the other building systems like fire alarm, HVAC, etc. to provide the right amount of light at the right time.

Why do we need a system for lighting control?

The conventional system had independent lighting controls to manage lighting of different zones separately. This resulted in a lot of lighting control devices to be operated manually and the idea of energy saving, and efficiency could not be utilized to its full potential.

In contrast, a central lighting control system that works together with your building management system is your go-to solution for better energy saving, building codes compliance, safety and security, and alignment with green building programs.

A lighting control system literally automates the adjustment of inputs and outputs of your lighting devices and controls.

Certain factors contribute to the process, including:

  • Chronological (time of day/month/year) and astrological (sunrise/sunset) time
  • Occupancy – occupancy sensors that use infrared or ultrasonic technology
  • Daylight availability – photocells that sense the available daylight
  • Alarm conditions – inputs from fire alarms or HVAC systems
  • Dimmers – reduce energy consumption
  • Program logic – a combination of the above factors

Without such an automated system, we were limited to switching lights ON and OFF or controlling the light output with dimmers. While conventional methods did personalize the way we use our lights, but again, they were limited to a particular location and demanded individual calibration.

Moreover, stand-alone lighting controls would need multiple control strategies that have to be layered on the same load. This further results in complex wiring.

On the other hand, a centralized and programmable lighting control system can manage lighting of the entire building or campuses in consideration. In combination with a building management system, it automates lighting control using a single interface device while reducing energy consumption to its fullest.

Benefits of lighting control systems

Apart from energy saving and a centralized control, lighting control systems provide manifold benefits, including:

  • Customization of lighting intensity in a space – you can change/adjust the appearance of your space based on the atmosphere and mood.
  • Adjustments in lighting power – with output from stand-alone lighting controls like switches, dimmers, LED products, the control system adjusts the lighting power around you.
  • Long living bulbs – Lighting control systems adjust the usage of bulbs according to your requirements, thereby increasing their life.
  • Software support for implementation – you can control your lighting system with robust software that allows you to monitor control points and energy usage. The software records your preferences to provide you with automatically adjusted lighting thereafter.
  • Enhanced security – with output from security alarms, the lighting control system can turn lights ON in both indoor and outdoor spaces.

What is the best lighting control system?

The benefits and features extended by lighting control systems leave us thinking about the best control system that can comply with our building’s requirements and energy conservation programs.

Of multiple lighting control systems out there, DALI powered lighting control has the ability to allow users to “talk” to their lights. It offers you more precise and consistent control over your lighting.

What is the DALI lighting control system?

DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) is a communication protocol that governs how different lighting control devices communicate with each other to provide a systematic and centralized control over a building’s lights. These devices include motion detectors, brightness sensors, and electronic ballasts.

It allows building automation systems to control individual lights and lighting groups for efficient energy usage across a building.

How elitedali fits into the big picture

elitedali is your unified IoT lighting controls and automation solution for DALI lighting control system. It integrates with third party software like building management systems or other IoT applications to provide commercial lighting control systems that control, manage, monitor, and analyse DALI lighting fixtures in real-time and from anywhere.

Join the global community of large scale enterprises leveraging elitedali for their lighting automation requirements. 

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