Wireless smartsense controls bring new functionality to car parks and warehouses 17 September 2015
As the global LED lighting market matures, the commoditisation of luminaire production has delivered dramatic cost savings through high production volumes from overseas manufacturers dominating the lower end of the market.
In order to maintain a competitive advantage, Australian lighting companies have had to differentiate from the global “one size fits all” offering by providing additional functionality through intelligent lighting controls or smart design features that reflect an understanding of local conditions. These can include lighting Standards and Australian Building Code compliance for specific areas.
What is exciting about the smartsense controls launch by Sydney LED luminaire design patent holder & manufacturer enLighten Australia, is the offering of intelligent controls for industrial & commercial back of house areas, such as undercover car park entrances, plant rooms & warehouses.
With the exception of daylight harvesting for warehouses, these areas have not seen the level of technology innovation or smart controls uptake as the traditionally architecturally lit spaces, including building facades, commercial office fitouts, meeting rooms or residential houses.
Simple & cost effective controls
“With smartsense, we have worked on overcoming the two major resistance factors to lighting controls – cost & complexity” comments Steve Cahill, enLighten CEO and head of the R&D team.
“As the manufacturer of the Tauro Blu LED high/ low bay light, we have been able to focus on delivering a “stand alone” or non hard-wired integrated smartsense controls solution.”
“With no additional hard wiring requirements due to the wireless mesh network capability, installation costs are kept to a minimum, which improves the upgrade project payback analysis.”
“The second feature has been the simplicity of use. For both the daylight harvesting module and car park entrance, post commissioning it is a set & forget situation. The daylight sensor will automatically communicate with the light via a wireless signal. This means that there is no exposure to user error or mistakes in programming.”
Customer benefits
Customer benefits of smart controls include reduced operating costs, building flexibility, extended product operating lifetime and additional energy & maintenance savings. All of these combine to deliver a lower total cost of ownership through to the end user.
According to Steve, the smartsense R&D process was driven by enLighten’s knowledge of the Australian Standards (AS1680), its extensive exposure to car park lighting which exposed high levels of non compliance for car park entry threshold lighting.
“We have built a solid understanding of undercover car parks from 6 years of Chamaeleon light installations, including major tender wins for lighting retrofits of carparks for the City of Sydney and the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority.”
Design inspiration
“We were challenged to find a solution to replacing the large bank of lights on the ceilings of undercover car park entrances that were turned off at night. This happens due to a drop in light level requirements from 800 lux in the day to 160 lux post dusk.”
With smartsense, the same luminaire can now produce the two light outputs by building the intelligence INTO the Tauro Blu LED high/ low bay light. “
enLighten Australia was awarded National Cleantech Open winner in 2012 by the Commonwealth Government and is a participant of the Lighting Council of Australia Lighting Controls Sub-Industry Group. Recent recognition includes listing among Australia’s Top 10 Hotlist for 2015 by International Lighting Industry publication Lux Review. won the Energy Award for its overall contribution to sustainability through energy saving initiatives.
For further information, contact enLighten Australia at www.enlighten.com.au