Intelligent light control in building management systems

The integration of light solutions in a building management system offers advantages with regard to room comfort level, reliability and energy efficiency. The Siemens groups Building Technologies and Osram have developed a light management system together, which was successfully used in the Swiss pilot market in various building projects.

The integration of various subsystems, such as lighting, shading, heating/ventilation/air-conditioning or safety, provides architects, installers and the end customers with a series of advantages. Instead of different jobs, which are individually planned and executed by more than one manufacturer, the planning and installation by one single supplier with a complete integration-capable portfolio is a lot easier. Integration into a single building automation system allows more flexible room layout, the systems can be simply operated and monitored, and the operating costs can be kept down long-term.

For lighting devices used in every room, the flexible allocation of groups without installation work is becoming more and more important. After all, there are companies who reorganize up to 30 percent of their utilized space every year. But even in other respects, the demands on lighting have increased; dimming instead of simply switching off, presence dependence, regulation of constant light, design with light colors or calling up configured scenes are a few functions which the lighting controls or the light management system are expected to realize.

To respond to these demands, the lighting industry has developed the DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) standard. Osram, as the leading manufacturer of operating and lighting devices, has had a major influence on DALI. The operation of a fluorescent lamp usually requires an electronic ballast. Thanks to DALI, electronic ballast devices can be grouped and controlled via a single control unit. This allows light scenes to be programmed. In addition, the power can be distributed over the electronic ballast devices without switching, which saves a lot on devices and installation costs. DALI-based lighting controls can be integrated seamlessly and without much work into subsystems via regulated interfaces to standard systems, such as LON.

The new electronic ballast devices from Osram can be operated for two lamps and are equipped with the new Quicktronic technology. The intelligent software can automatically recognize different illuminants and set the necessary parameters, thus ensuring optimum operation. Quicktronic electronic ballast devices are particularly useful when the use of premises has not yet been decided during the finishing phase or changes over the course of the years. In this way, the light can be flexibly adapted to the new needs by simply exchanging a lamp. The Quicktronic electronic ballast device does not have to be exchanged.

The demand for integrated light management solutions is increasing. This can be seen in a series of building projects which have been successfully realized by SBT in Switzerland. The application knowledge developed in Switzerland for light solutions has meanwhile found interest in various European countries. SBT and Osram will now jointly define suitable light management solutions for international sales, with the corresponding support and maintenance services, and include this in their portfolio. With an offer from a single source, planning, commissioning and maintenance costs for light fixture manufacturers, architects, installers and end customers are reduced and the energy efficiency for lighting is significantly improved.

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