Rosetta Stone

October 27, 2021

Electric Lighting + Building Operations

Talking Points • Research Brief • Collection Database

Summary

Research has demonstrated the ability to save energy through the implementation of new lighting systems and controls, however, with the rapid advancement of lighting technology, lighting systems are becoming an intelligent system capable of providing new insights into daily operations. With luminaires in almost every space of a building, manufacturers have recognized an opportunity to integrate additional sensors that capture data real-time, allowing for data-driven decisions and increased efficiency. With the ability to provide insights into space utilization, asset tracking, luminaire maintenance, security and more, it’s vital that one consider what a lighting system can do for them besides illuminating a space.

Keywords

Electric Lighting, Advanced Lighting Controls, Maintenance, Satisfaction, Controls, Data, Building Operations, IoT

A controls-based dynamic lighting control system can realize significant energy and maintenance savings and help boost employee satisfaction

  • The lighting market started out focusing on energy savings, but it’s evolving quickly towards non-energy applications, Hedayat said. Other non-energy applications Digital Lumens is considering: security, fire and safety, asset tracking, and humidity (Davidson, 2016).
  • It’s important to audit and understand your lighting system, regardless of age, to understand it’s baseline costs. Even a 3-yo building/lighting system can be inefficient (Davidson, 2016).
  • Secondary benefits of lighting controls such as occupancy analysis allow for more insight into how much a space is utilized (Davidson, 2016).
  • Tracking occupancy “gave me the ability to consolidate product that is picked more often than others,” he said. “And rather than having people going from one side of the warehouse to the other, I can consolidate all of the busy products into a small number of aisles so all of the activity is in the same area” (Davidson, 2016).
  • Numerous post-occupancy evaluations have determined that employee satisfaction with their work environment is based on thermal comfort and the ability to control their visual comfort through lighting (Doulos et. al., 2020).
  • Controls must be installed correctly or they will severely hinder the overall performance of the lighting system. Simply having controls is not enough (Parise, 2013).

Key References

Primary Research
  • Davidson, Michelle. 2016. “Case Study: IoT Lighting System Cuts Energy Costs, Improves Productivity.” Network World. Network World. July 26. https://www.networkworld.com/article/3099682/case-study-iot-lighting-system-cuts-energy-costs-improves-productivity.html.
  • Doulos, Lambros T, Tsangrassoulis, Aris, Madias, Evangelos-Nikolaos, Niavis, Spyros, Kontadakis, Antonios, Kontaxis, Panagiotis A, Kontargyri, Vassiliki T, et al. 2020. “Examining the Impact of Daylighting and the Corresponding Lighting Controls to the Users of Office Buildings.” Energies (Basel) 13 (15). MDPI AG: 4024. doi:10.3390/en13154024.
  • Parise, Giuseppe, Martirano, Luigi, and Di Ponio, Simone. 2013. “Energy Performance of Interior Lighting Systems.” IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications 49 (6). IEEE: 2793–2801. doi:10.1109/TIA.2013.2263114.