The ability to balance the effectiveness of lighting systems with the energy they consume is an increasingly important requirement for institutions such as building owners and municipal authorities. Control systems enable lighting installations to ‘listen and respond’ intelligently to the demands being placed on light sources in a particular indoor or outdoor environment. They can be applied to individual lighting fixtures, such as luminaires and rooms, or networked to span an entire site, such as an office building or shopping center – or even multiple sites. One of the primary benefits of lighting control systems is their ability to manage and reduce the energy consumption of lighting in a location. In some applications, lighting controls can help reduce the energy consumed by lighting by as much as 75%. At the same time, lighting controls can help reduce operational and maintenance costs, while improving the ambience of a location – and the well-being of those within it. Controls create interfaces between users, lighting and facility management and comprise controllers, routers, sensors, user interfaces and system software that need to work together seamlessly to deliver on its promises. Philips’ lighting control systems serve multiple benefits: Efficiency Controls can play a major role in reducing the energy consumed by lighting. Public and commercial buildings alone represent 60% of global lighting electricity usage. Up to 80% of office lighting is based on outdated and energy inefficient lighting systems and yet, on average, only 1% of offices use lighting controls, for example, presence detection systems like Philips’ Occuswitch. Switching to energy-efficient office lighting (such as solid-state LED or compact fluorescent lights) can save between 60 and 70% in energy costs each year. The addition of control systems can add a further 20-50% savings by dynamically ‘tuning’ lighting to the patterns of use and environmental dynamics, including:
- Presence detection which automatically switches lighting on or off
- Automatically adjusting light levels to daylight entering an interior
- Temporarily and subtly reducing lighting levels to reduce peak and off-peak energy demand, significantly lowering energy bills in the process.
- Monitoring the status of lighting systems, optimising maintenance planning and helping to reduce the total cost of operation.
Comfort
Controls can also help change the ambiance of an indoor or outdoor environment, by changing the color or dynamics. Light levels can be dynamically adjusted to individual needs, moods and preferences, enhancing the comfort and enjoyment of those using that space. Philips Lighting Control systems can also enable Dynamic Lighting, allowing people in, for example, an office, to enjoy the well-being and productivity benefits of ‘natural’ light dynamics throughout the course of a day. In other applications, such as hotels or restaurants, controls can help manage the ambiance to suit different activities and functions taking place there. Flexibility
Philips’ lighting control systems are highly flexible and adaptable to changes in a location’s lighting configuration and requirements. For the customer, this prevents the need for expensive re-installation or rewiring when their needs change, maximising flexible use of floor space, such as an office changing its configuration from cellular to open-plan workspace layouts, without changing its lighting configuration. |