A lighting control system is a network of devices—lamps, sensors, switches and so on—that lets you set the lighting in a room to your exact needs. The system might be wired to your building’s electrics, or—thanks to new and ever-evolving technology—operated wirelessly over frequencies similar to your broadband connection.
Lighting control systems offer businesses many benefits:
Below, we look at some of these benefits in more detail.
With an automated lighting system, you can ensure you’re getting the right type of light only when and where you need it, rather than having lights blazing in unoccupied rooms all day, every day and wasting money in the process.
Did you know that lighting alone can account for up to half of your business’s total electricity bills? And that, on average, 30% of the energy you use could be going to waste?
It’s said that lighting control systems in offices and other commercial premises have the potential to reduce energy costs by 90%!
A lighting control system generally uses three kinds of sensors/controllers:
While there are simple steps you can take to reduce the amount of light you use—replacing fluorescents with LEDs, switching lights off at night, cleaning windows—nothing conserves energy as effectively as a lighting control system.
In the past, some businesses have avoided lighting control systems because of the complex electrical work (and associated costs) involved. However, new wireless technology means deploying such a system has never been simpler.
Installing a wired lighting control system involves uniting all the electrical circuits in one central location such as a switch or keypad. While this allows for a very reliable system, it does require more detailed planning and more complicated work and is more expensive as a result. And sometimes it means tearing down walls and ceilings to gain access to the building’s electrical wiring, which can disrupt the business’s day-to-day operations.
With wireless systems such as CMD’s Audacy, however, there are none of these problems. The sensors and central hub (like a broadband router) can be fixed easily to a wall or ceiling, out of view if need be. The switches and keypads can be similarly mounted in whatever position is most suitable for people to access. All of this can be achieved in a fraction of the time it takes to install an equivalent wired system.
In this case study, we show you how wireless lighting can provide the ideal solution for retrofitting old industrial buildings without disturbing the original features.
Where a traditional light switch (or bank of switches) limits you to turning single lights off and on, a lighting control system allows you to:
Many business and commercial premises suffer from unsuitable lighting, whether it’s a matter of being too dim or too bright.
In most offices, employees work both on paper and on computer screens. Typical lighting is adequate for paperwork, but it’s considerably brighter than the ideal conditions for working on a PC or laptop.
When the lighting isn’t appropriate for the kind of work being carried out, employees can feel discomfort and become unproductive.
With a lighting control system, employees are able to adjust the lighting above their workstations to suit whatever task they need to perform. They are also aided by the light sensors, which take constant measurements of the natural light entering through the windows and tweak the artificial light accordingly.
Audacy’s simple and clean user interface
It would be counter-productive to install a money-saving system that’s so complex it requires you to spend more of your finances on training.
Lighting control systems are generally designed to be very user-friendly, with intuitive switches and remote controls and Web-based applications that most people will be familiar with through using similar applications on their smartphones and tablets.
A guide to Audacy, CMD’S wireless lighting control system
How the correct lighting in retail spaces can make or break a sale
