Lighting in Design Q3 2018

‘Unconnected lighting’ still very much alive

By Henk Rotman, Tridonic

T erms like ‘connected lighting’, ‘intelligent lighting’, and ‘Internet of Light’ are becoming mainstream as the lighting industry moves more and more towards adding connectivity to LED-based solutions. And rightfully so, since con- nected lighting offers exciting new opportunities in various lighting fields.With all the attention directed towards connected lighting, one wonders whether there is still a future for ‘unconnected lighting’. This article aims to explain the concept and advantages of connected lighting, highlighting certain conditions and roadblocks, while making the case that for the short – and medium term – ‘unconnected lighting’ offers many benefits to major parts of the market. IoT and connected lighting With the Internet ofThings, data is generated by a de- vice (i.e. a ‘thing’).Transfer of data is between ‘things’ with embedded sensors and a central system that collects and organises the data from the sensors. The IoT creates enhanced efficiencies of systems and processes that benefit humans, the spaces we live and work in, the environment, and more. We are at the early stage of what the IoT will enable; we see just a fraction of potential applica- tions.The IoT has been labelled ‘the next industrial revolution’. To describe connected lighting in simple terms: it is a lighting device connected to the internet. As light- ing is present not only in buildings and houses, but in cities as well, it is the perfect ‘vehicle’ for collect-

ing data. Sensors embedded in luminaires or lamps make each light point a data node on the network.

Benefits of connected lighting The lighting industry has for a long time been able to connect lighting devices and sensors to one another, for example, in an office as part of a Build- ing Management System.These systems allow for control and management of the lighting while also gathering important information on energy-usage, for example. The scope of Building Management Systems is not only lighting, but also security, air handling, energy usage and so on. In ‘traditional’ BMSs there is little or no interaction between these technolo- gies as they operate more or less in ‘silos’. With the rise of the IoT, all devices in an office are connected to the internet and data can flow from one device to another. This opens up excit- ing new opportunities to translate the data into information with tangible benefits. As mentioned earlier, we are still in the early stages of the IoT and connected lighting, but we can already clearly see the benefits of implement- ing connected lighting. These benefits differ ac- cording to the main application. For office use the main benefits are: - Providing insight to facilitymanagers aroundwork- space occupancy; allowing them to maximise space utilisation and save on real estate costs. - Accurate information on energy-usage.

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LiD Q3 - 2018