At their core, lighting controls turn the lights ON and OFF, and regulate the intensity- and colour temperature of light in an area. Using modern, intelligent lighting controls unlocks a wide range of benefits ranging from energy efficiency to user comfort to space adaptability and scalability. Lighting control systems are often used to maximise luminaire efficiency, satisfy building codes, and comply with green building and energy-saving programs. Their three core functionalities can be summarised as:

Control: Lighting control gives users precise command over how a space is illuminated. This allows for customisation to suit specific tasks, or times of day, enhancing comfort and productivity.

Automation: Lighting can be programmed to respond automatically to occupancy, daylight levels, or time schedules. This ensures lights are used only when needed, significantly reducing energy consumption and costs.

Integration: Modern lighting control systems can integrate with other building systems like HVAC, BMS, security, and AV. This enables coordinated operations for optimal efficiency, user experience, and maintenance.

Energy efficiency: Lighting control systems are a powerful tool for reducing carbon emissions and energy costs. By automatically adjusting light levels based on occupancy, daylight availability, personal preferences, and time schedules, lighting control systems ensure that lights are used only when and where needed. This can lead to significant savings on electricity bills and contribute to a building’s overall energy efficiency.

Building optimisation: Lighting control systems can integrate with other building systems like HVAC, security, and AV to create a more efficient and responsive environment. For instance, environmental sensors in the lighting system can also trigger adjustments to heating, cooling, CO2, and more, optimising comfort while minimising waste.

Wellbeing: The right lighting can significantly impact occupants’ comfort, productivity, and overall wellbeing. Lighting control systems enable the creation of dynamic lighting scenes that mimic natural daylight patterns, supporting circadian rhythms and enhancing mood. They can also provide personalised control, allowing users to easily adjust the lighting to suit their individual preferences, using solutions such as ActiveTune.

Wired lighting control systems: A system where all communication and power distribution between lighting control devices (sensors, switches, drivers) and luminaires is done through physical wires.

Wireless lighting control systems: A system where communication between lighting control devices and luminaires occurs wirelessly, often through radio frequency (RF) signals.

Hybrid lighting control systems: A system that integrates both wired and wireless technologies to control and manage lighting within a building, often utilising a wired backbone for core functionality and wireless components for flexibility and specific applications.

Consider these factors when selecting a lighting control system:

Project size and complexity: Is it a quick renovation, or a mega-project that requires a robust wired solution?

Control requirements: Consider the level of customisation and flexibility needed for your specific application.

Integration needs: Will the lighting system need to integrate with other building systems like HVAC, BMS, or security? Ensure the chosen system supports any necessary protocols or integrations.

Budget: Wired systems can have higher upfront costs due to cabling requirements, while wireless systems may be more cost-effective in certain scenarios. Consider both installation and long-term maintenance costs.

Futureproofing: Choose a system that is scalable and can adapt to future changes in technology or building usage.

User interaction: Consider the need for wall switches, touch panels, mobile apps, or other control interfaces.

DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) IEC 62386 is a global industry standard, two-way open protocol used for digital communication between lighting control devices. DALI allows information to be transferred between devices, such as lighting commands, fault details, and diagnostics.

Applications

DALI is ideal for application areas where precise and flexible control of individual light fixtures is needed. It’s commonly used in commercial settings like offices, where productivity and occupant wellbeing are a priority, and applications such as retail spaces, educational institutions, hotels and healthcare, where lighting needs to suit a variety of different users and activities.

Features and benefits

Individual control: Control devices and control gear on a DALI network have a unique address, allowing for individual control and configuration. This enables precise dimming, colour tuning, and grouping of lights for customised lighting scenes.

Flexibility: DALI systems are easy to reconfigure and expand without rewiring, which is a help in renovation projects. This makes them adaptable to changes in building layouts or usage requirements.

Energy efficiency: DALI supports advanced features like daylight harvesting and occupancy sensing, which are reliable strategies for reducing energy consumption.

Diagnostics and monitoring: DALI enables real-time monitoring of control devices and control gear, which simplifies maintenance and troubleshooting.

Wireless lighting control systems typically use radio waves to communicate in a mesh network, often based on low-power short-range radio technology such as Bluetooth Low-Energy (BLE).

Applications

Retrofits & renovations: Wireless is ideal when adding modern control to existing buildings, avoiding the disruption and cost of new wiring.

Flexible spaces: Wireless systems can easily adapt to changing layouts in offices, retail, hotels, and more without rewiring.

Hard-to-wire areas: Wireless systems are perfect for high ceilings, historic buildings, or spaces with challenging access for cabling.

Features and benefits

Lower installation costs: Labour and material costs are lower compared to traditional wired systems.

Easy setup: Devices connect quickly and can often be installed with minimum configuration, simplifying the commissioning process.

Flexibility and scalability: Devices can be added, removed, or repositioned as needed without rewiring.

Security: Wireless systems use encrypted protocols protect against unauthorised access.

Functionality: Wireless lighting control doesn’t compromise on features. You can get all the benefits of advanced wired control systems that use protocols such as DALI-2, including grouping, scene setting, daylight harvesting, occupancy sensing, monitoring, and more.

A hybrid lighting control system combines wired and wireless technologies, leveraging the strengths of both to create a more flexible and optimised solution.

With a hybrid system, you can tailor the communication technology to the specific needs of each area or function within a building.

Applications

Large, complex projects: In large installations, a wired backbone provides reliable, high-performance control for critical areas and functions. Wireless components can then be used for specific zones, user interfaces, or areas where wiring is impractical.

Renovation & expansions: Hybrid systems can often leverage existing wired infrastructure, making it easier to add control components to older buildings or expand existing systems.

Enhanced user experience and adaptability: Hybrid systems can incorporate wireless control options like smartphones and tablets, offering an intuitive and personalised user experience.

Features and benefits

Tailored solutions: The modular nature of hybrid systems allows you to choose the optimal communication technology (wired or wireless) for each specific area or function within a building.

Cost-efficiency: By strategically using wired and wireless technologies, you can optimise costs while maintaining high performance.

Futureproof: Hybrid systems are adaptable and can easily incorporate new technologies as they emerge.

Intelligent lighting systems offer the capability of interacting with building services through various methods.

One of these is via open protocols such as BACnet, Modbus, MQTT and Niagara. Helvar’s lighting solutions support these protocols, allowing data exchange with other building systems such as HVAC, security, AV and more.

Another way to interact with other building services is through application programming interfaces (APIs) and the HelvarNet software, allowing third-party software to communicate directly with Helvar lighting control systems.

Gateways such as Helvar’s 435 BACnet Gateway also act as a bridge between different systems, translating signals and protocols for smooth communication.

Lighting control significantly impacts energy efficiency and cost savings by enabling precise management of when, where, and how much light is used. Through features like occupancy sensors, daylight harvesting, and scheduling, lighting control systems ensure that lights are only on when and where they are needed. This reduces unnecessary energy consumption, directly translating to lower electricity bills.

Additionally, the ability to dim lights or implement task tuning allows for further optimisation, as light levels can be adjusted to meet specific needs without wasting energy. By extending the lifespan of lamps and LED drivers through reduced operating hours and optimised light levels, maintenance costs are also minimised.

Smart lighting systems with remote monitoring features can proactively identify and address potential issues, preventing costly failures and downtime. Analytics data can be transformed into actionable information, facilitating data-driven decision-making for continuous improvement and optimisation of the lighting system. Overall, lighting control offers a multi-faceted approach to maximising energy efficiency and cost savings, providing long-term benefits for both building owners and occupants.

Some of the most popular and effective energy optimisation strategies in lighting control include:

Dimming: Allows for adjustment of light levels to match the desired ambiance or reduce energy consumption when full brightness is not needed.

Scheduling: Pre-sets the lighting levels or turns lights on/off at specific times based on a pre-determined schedule. This ensures lights are not left on unnecessarily during unoccupied periods.

Daylight harvesting: Automatically adjusts lighting levels based on the amount of natural daylight available. This maximises the use of free daylight while minimising energy consumption from electric lighting.

Occupancy sensing: Occupancy sensors trigger lights when someone enters and can turns lights on or off or adjusts light levels based on whether a space is occupied.

Advanced analytics: Data from the lighting control system can be collected to identify further optimisation opportunities and track their impact on energy performance.

Daylight harvesting is a dynamic balancing act between natural and artificial illumination. Strategically placed photosensors act as the system’s eyes, continuously monitoring ambient light levels within a space. This real-time data feeds into the lighting control system, which then sends dimming or switching commands to individual luminaires via protocols like DALI. This results in artificial lighting levels gradually lowering as daylight floods in, ensuring optimal illumination while minimising energy waste. This intelligent interplay between sensors, control systems, and luminaires not only reduces energy bills but also creates a more comfortable and productive environment for occupants.

For more guidance on the application of daylight harvesting refer to EN 12464-1.

EN 12464-1: This European standard specifies lighting requirements for indoor workplaces, including illuminance levels, uniformity, glare control, and color rendering.

European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD): This directive sets minimum energy performance requirements for new and existing buildings, including provisions for lighting controls and automation.

Other Relevant Standards

WELL Building Standard: This standard focuses on enhancing human health and wellbeing through building design, including lighting controls.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design): A green building rating system that awards points for incorporating sustainable design features, including energy-efficient lighting controls.

BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method):  A leading sustainability assessment method for master planning projects, infrastructure, and buildings.

Pre-Sales Support

Consultation and design assistance: We can help you design and specify the optimal lighting control system for your project, taking into account your specific requirements, budget, and building type.

Product demonstrations & presentations: We can arrange personalised product demonstrations and presentations to showcase the features and benefits of our intelligent lighting control solutions.

Energy and cost calculations: We provide tools and resources to estimate potential energy savings and cost reductions achievable with the lighting control systems.

Post-Sales Support

Installation and commissioning support: We provide onsite assistance for installation and commissioning to ensure your system is properly configured and functioning as intended.

Technical troubleshooting: Our team of global technical support experts is available to help diagnose and resolve any technical issues you may encounter.

Maintenance and upgrades: We provide guidance on system maintenance and offers upgrade options to keep your lighting control system up-to-date and operating at peak performance.

Training and education: We offer a comprehensive training programs for installers, integrators, and designers covering product operation, system configuration, advanced features, and more.

Partner network

Our network of 80+ certified Partners around the world allows us to provide local support and expertise for your specific market.