Photo Credit: Lutron Electronics |
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Introducing ALG Connections: As we've said before, the lighting industry moves fast. For every new lighting project or retrofit, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of advanced lighting elements that must be considered. What's more, there's often some new "best practice" to tackle. It can be tricky to know what's relevant to your work. That's why we're unveiling ALG Connections, which will bring timely research, conference reviews, industry trends and technology updates directly to you. This month, read about the latest findings on the energy saving impact of controls from the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. Learn about proper zoning for effective daylight harvesting in our ALG Chapter Spotlight and check out the latest webinars and events in What's New.
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 Estimates of Energy Savings Potential from Lighting Controls  The concept of lighting controls providing energy savings should come as no surprise. Occupancy sensors, tuning and other control strategies just make sense. After all, occupants often desire different light levels from those typically called for in lighting recommendations--and what good is a well-lit office space when no one's in it? That said, it is valuable to know exactly how much energy different control types have been found to actually save. It can help you prioritize energy management or retrofit efforts and select the right control strategy for a given project. This latest research from the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab reveals new findings about the average savings from specific control strategies including dimmers, switches, photosensors and more. Researchers synthesized results from hundreds of estimates, filtering out biases --and overestimated savings-- in the process and providing a more reliable assessment of energy savings potential. For details, read this month's ALG Connections (PDF).
ALG Online's Lighting Controls chapter outlines the basics (goals, codes & standards, etc.), integrated strategies, devices and equipment, digital and wireless control systems, commissioning best practices and more. Read on for detailed updates about control systems and equipment. Not a subscriber? Join now or try 5 days of free access.
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 Lighting Control Strategy: Zoning for Daylight Harvesting ALG Online's Lighting Controls chapter contains an extensive section devoted to Devices, Systems & Equipment. There's a revolving door of information about new-and-improved systems and equipment, so we've streamlined the latest updates on automatic daylight harvesting to a few key points on zoning.
Zoning is a critical design decision--and poor zoning is one of the most common problems in lighting and control design. The patterns of daylight in a building supplement electric lighting, creating opportunities to save energy through the use of daylight harvesting lighting controls like photosensors. The trick is to identify areas with uniform daylight, or daylight zones, (more reliable with proper daylighting design from the outset) and then establish control zones within daylight zones to control specific luminaires separately from general lighting in the rest of the space. Each control zone should be defined as one or more lamps controlled simultaneously by a single controller. It's helpful to visualize controls zones in a pattern of gradients (of similar characteristics).
Here are six shared characteristics you should use for determining control zones:
1) task illumination needs, 2) lighting schedules, 3) daylighting conditions, 4) electric lighting systems, 5) furniture or furnishings and, 6) likely future spatial arrangements
For more details on zoning, daylight harvesting and other lighting controls updates, log in or subscribe now for full access to ALG Online and the Lighting Controls chapter.
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