WLDC - Wireless LED Driver & Controller

An Introduction to Wireless Lighting Control

A tremendous amount of our global energy use comes from lighting –in fact, lighting accounts for up to 40% of the electricity used in commercial buildings today. It should come as no surprise that much of this energy is used inefficiently. For example, lights in offices remain on when   the office is empty, or at full   power even though sunlight is available. Throughout a typical day, most lights provide more illumination than their users’ desire, or can even perceive.

Lighting control solutions aim to solve this problem by vastly reducing energy consumption while providing users with greater control. This is achieved through a set of strategies that use sensor technology to deliver the optional level of light to all users at all times.
Wireless lighting control goes a step further, by making these strategies more easily achievable and powerful, at a lower cost .

With wireless lighting control ,an intelligent lighting system provides greater control to users, automates lighting decisions, and minimizes wasted energy . Ultimately, this helps building projects meet government regulations and certification, as well as save money & improve sustainability.

Advanced lighting control

Lighting control systems use automated intelligence to deliver the required illumination level, where you want it, when you want it. Luminaries can automatically turn on, off or dim at set times or under set conditions. Users have control over their own illumination levels to provide an optimal working environment while preventing energy waste from over-illumination.

Lighting control systems include some or all of the following:

• On / Off and dimming controls
• Occupancy sensors to detect whether rooms are occupied
• Photo sensors to detect the current illumination levels provided by natural and/or artificial light
• Scheduling that turns on, off or dims luminaries at preset times
• A centralized control system interface (such as a wall panel or computer software) to manage all of the above
• A method of communication between the lighting equipment and control system
• A method of measuring, displaying and responding to lighting energy usage

Key benefits

• Enables powerful energy-saving control strategies including scheduling, occupancy, Daylight harvesting, task tuning, demand response, and load shedding.
• Eliminating control wiring reduces expense and complexity while opening new retrofit opportunities.
• Scalable from a single office to system-wide control of hundreds (or thousands) of devices across a distributed enterprise.
• Reliable and robust MiWi / ZigBee® mesh architecture ensures fast, bi-directional control.
• Provides real-time, measurable information about energy usage.
• Integrates lighting control into advanced smart grid and demand management applications.
• Enables energy management through a simple and intuitive user interface, accessible from any remote location.
• Helps buildings comply with green building regulations and qualify for utility and government rebates

Removing the wires

Wireless mesh networking takes lighting control to the next level by providing increased functionality while reducing cost and complexity. Wireless communications remove the need for dedicated wiring to deliver controls, and instead send control signals over the air, with wireless, complicated control strategies are delivered simply and at a faster pay back, which makes them more attainable for end users.

Wireless is especially relevant for retrofit situations, where access to wires within walls and plenums, and introduction of new wires, can be difficult, expensive, and in some cases impossible. In retrofits, wireless enables the addition of powerful control strategies without the cost and disruption of rewiring. Removing communications wires also provides more flexibility in terms of where controls and can be placed, and can make it more affordable to include additional controls and sensors in the network (enabling more granular information about illumination levels and therefore more accurate control).

Wireless solutions are also ideal for large companies or government departments that have installations covering multiple floors or buildings. Through wireless networking the lights, switches sensors and other elements of the system all communicate with each other throughout a room building, or across an enterprise and can be controlled and managed centrally for a system wide view of operations, current  power usage, savings, and more.