01-02-2013, 10:20 AM
Bringing Intelligence to LED Lighting Applications
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Introduction
As the lighting industry continues to make the
transition to LED technology, there is an increasing
need for more intelligent controllers and drivers.
The rising price of electricity presents a major
operating cost to consumers and businesses;
however, efficient operation of LEDs can result
in substantial savings. Many applications need
to produce consistent light quality while supporting
advanced control functionality such as dimming,
balancing and accurate color mixing. Remote
connectivity is also becoming a regular requirement
in applications where high-maintenance
expenses can be reduced through self-diagnostics
that allow technicians to make a service call only
when there is an actual reason to visit a site.
Bringing intelligence into many LED lighting
applications may require moving from fixed
function LED drivers to microcontroller-based
or programmable architectures. For applications
that need advanced functionality, using a
microcontroller enables many intelligent features
such as native dimming control, specialized color
mixing, adaptive lighting control and even remote
connectivity.
Benefits of LEDs
• Higher Efficiency: high lumens/watt provides substantial energy savings over traditional
lighting sources.
• Lower Maintenance: LEDs have a lifetime on the order of 50,000 hours, and therefore
require less frequent replacement or maintenance.
• Directional: Less light output is required to light an area when the light source can
be directed. There is also less light run-off or light “pollution.”
• Resilience to Vibration: This is important for applications like street lighting where external
forces can impact a light’s operating life.
• Safer Technology: LEDs do not contain mercury and are environmentally safer than other
lighting technologies.
• Intelligent Control: LED light systems can support a wide range of advanced features to
improve efficiency and provide more optimized lighting. Features range from automatic
dimming to matching available ambient light and adaptive time-of-day operation to
maximize energy cost savings.
• Fast Operation: LEDs offer quick on-off switching and have a low startup time.
LED Lighting Applications
• Residential: Applications include light bulb replacement, accent lighting and small outdoor
lighting. In general, only a few LEDs need to be lit, in usually one or two strings. Given the
low-cost pressures of this market, advanced controls are generally not common.
• Commercial: Applications include fluorescent ballasts, light bulb replacement and accent
lighting. Only a few LEDs need to be lit, usually one or two strings. While concerned
about cost, this market is very energy conscious. Higher-end applications will require
remote connectivity and some controller intelligence.
• Entertainment: Applications include high-end display and mood lighting. Full intensity
control and consistent color quality are essential, as is remote connectivity and support
for industry-standard protocols like DALI or DMX-512.
Increased efficiency through remote connectivity
Remote connectivity is a key capability for intelligent lighting systems. Intelligent devices can automatically
manage some aspects of their operation to improve efficiency and quality. However, unless the equipment
can communicate with a centralized controller, such intelligence has to be pre-programmed and can only
maximize the efficiency of that single piece of equipment.
By networking the various components in a lighting system, the operation of equipment can be
coordinated across an entire installation. This enables a whole new class of functionality, including remote
dimming, remote shutoff and emergency control. For example, operators can adjust lighting intensity of an
entire installation of lights from a centralized location rather than have to individually adjust each light.
To achieve the most functionality, each component must be able to not only receive information,
as well as pass information back up to operators. In this way, lights can perform simple self-diagnostics
to identify ssues, such as whether an LED has burned out or is performing below a minimum quality
threshold and alert operators to initiate any necessary maintenance.