Smart

Smart Lighting, Controls, Networks and IoT

Zhaga and the DALI Alliance Add Sensors and Controllers to Zhaga-D4i Certification

The joint Zhaga-D4i certification program from the DALI Alliance and the Zhaga Consortium has already qualified a number of Zhaga-D4i Book 18 outdoor luminaires with Zhaga receptacles and D4i components. Now, certified D4i control devices with Zhaga connectors can also be submitted for Zhaga-D4i certification. Eligible devices include light-level or occupancy sensors, as well as control nodes that can communicate wirelessly with external networks. Read more »

Business News | Organization News | Standardization + Regulation | Smart Lighting + IoT | Dec 14, 2020

General Assembly Approves Transfer of Zhaga Books 18 and 20 to IEC

The Zhaga General Assembly has decided in November 2020 to transfer the Zhaga Books 18 and 20 to the IEC. Sharing Zhaga specifications with global standard development organizations is included in the Zhaga mission and has the goal of increasing global acceptance of Zhaga specifications. Read more »

Zhaga Book 18 Ed. 2.0 Now Available to Community Members

Following its established policies on book publication, the Zhaga Consortium has made its Book 18 Ed. 2.0 "Smart interface between outdoor luminaires and sensing / communication modules" available to Zhaga Community members. The Zhaga Community membership is open to any company active in the lighting business free of charge. Read more »

Transform Your Space with Thorn's New VCT Technology

VCT technology (Variable Color Temperature) brings a new dynamic to your space. It is now possible to set dedicated color temperatures for specific areas of your space, ranging from 2700 K to 6500 K. The VCT enables you to manually and automatically adjust light levels and to set pre-defined lighting scenarios to your exact requirements. Read more »

D4i Sensors and Controllers for Smart, IoT-ready Luminaires

The DALI Alliance (DiiA) is now offering D4i certification of DALI-based control devices that are designed for mounting on LED luminaires. Eligible devices include light-level or occupancy sensors, as well as control nodes that can communicate wirelessly with external networks. Read more »

Optoga's Latest Products Are Challenging the Lighting Industry with IoT

The lighting changes from just shining to being connected. Imagine if the lighting could be connected only when needed and not connected when there was no need, all in terms of cost and need. We have developed an LED Module that provides perfect light and is fully dimmable and when the luminaire manufacturers receive projects with Casambi, DALI or other ECO-Systems, they can directly integrate it into the luminaire. Read more »

Zhaga's Book 18 Takes the Next Step Forward

Zhaga is planning a 3rd edition of the popular Book 18 specification for outdoor luminaires, that will allow for architectures combining an ANSI C136.41 dimming receptacle with a Zhaga receptacle. Book 18 Ed. 3.0 will enable Zhaga-D4i certification of hybrid luminaires as well as control devices with an ANSI interface in addition to the certifications already offered by Book 18 Ed. 2.0. Read more »

SSL | Smart Lighting + IoT | Components | Driver Modules | DMX | Sep 11, 2020

eldoLED's New POWERdrive 50W Raises the Bar for DMX Drivers

eldoLED today introduced its 50 W, the industry's ready to use' four-channel DMX driver. This latest addition to the POWERdrive family features DMX interface protection, faster startup times, lower standby power requirements, and a broader range of LED output current. Improved dimming algorithms reduce flicker and artefacts in rolling-shutter image sensors while offering the industry's smoothest fades. This quality of light improvements make the POWERdrive 50W uniquely suited for both architectural and entertainment installations. Read more »

Project Connected Home over IP Connectivity Standard Developing Into Reality

When we set out in December 2019 to create a unifying standard for the smart home industry, there was naturally a lot of excitement — and of course, questions. Would this global consortium truly be able to bring this new standard to market? How long would it take? What products would actually emerge? Would we be able to pull off our promise to unify a fragmented industry under a single connectivity standard that would help companies focus on creating experiences over "plumbing"? Read more »

Offline Lighting Voice Controller — An Alternative to Voice Assistants

The historical evolution of light control by users started with a mechanical switch followed by potentiometer and dimming, touch panels and touch screens, gesture and movement detection control, and ending with voice. Voice control are mostly online speaker independent like Alexa, Google Home and Siri. But there are privacy and security concerns. Filip Michalski, Electronic Engineer, and Cezary Skotak, CEO, from Cezos describe a speaker independent offline voice controls system, explain the technology and discuss the pros and cons. Read more »

SSL | Smart Lighting + IoT | Driver Modules | Controls | Aug 28, 2020

Inventronics Introduces Class I/II, DALI-2 D4i LED Drivers with Zhaga Compliant Form Factor

Inventronics announces the release of a new family of IP20, Class I/II LED driver with DALI-2 D4i certification providing intra-luminaire and health monitoring solutions. The EBS-080SxxxBT2 is a new generation of drivers providing reduced maintenance costs and a streamlined production. They utilize convenient push terminals for a simpler installation and time-savings wireless programming via NFC allowing luminaires to be adjusted safely at any time and easy in-application troubleshooting. They are also equipped with power monitoring so users can measure energy consumption to better evaluate their ROI. Read more »

Paradigm Changes in Lighting Are Challenging Lighting Companies

Fabien Bubendorff has a Master in Electronic Engineering and has 10 years' experience in the lighting industry. He has spent more than 13 years living in China. He worked as a Product Manager for a Retail Lighting Company, for the Last 5 years he was responsible for Wever&Ducré as the Head of R&D in China and for the last years Head of R&D at XAL in Austria. Now he has founded an independent consultancy to support European Lighting Companies to deal with these future challenges. He specialized in finding the optimal balance between function and cost to increase product profitability. Read more »

Ledvance's New Portfolio Provides Smart Lighting for a Better Living Experience

An increasing number of customers are looking to integrate smart home functions in their residential area. With Professional Smart for Residential and the new Ledvance PARATHOM® portfolio, Ledvance supports professional users such as installers to achieve the full potential of connected lighting for their customers. The new Ledvance PARATHOM® portfolio for residential and garden areas can be controlled optionally by voice command or app and offers a suitable solution for a wide range of requirements. The portfolio impresses with a combination of quality, innovation, reliability and user-friendliness and is complemented by easy installation, good value for money and features such as color and color temperature change or dimming capabilities. Read more »

A New LED Controller Technology to Expedite the Next Level of Smart Lighting

Lighting installations that use artificial lighting and often deemed more comfortable and energy efficient are generally referred to as "Smart Lighting". While no clear definition exists "Smart Lighting" has become a common catch phrase. Kurt Marquardt, Senior Director LED Lighting Systems and Product Marketing, Infineon Technologies has a more accurate definition. For him, the term "smart lighting" describes the capability of the lighting system to adapt automatically to the needs of the users and the room. He presents an alternative way to implement smart lighting systems, using the new XDPL8221 digital LED-driver IC [1]. Read more »

Smart Lighting + IoT | Tools | Software | Emergency Lighting | Jul 16, 2020

Myers Emergency Power Systems Introduces Smart IoT Connectivity Solution for Inverters

Myers Emergency Power Systems (Myers EPS), a leading designer and manufacturer of backup power solutions, today announced the introduction of its IoT Inverter Connect technology, a secure and innovative communication platform that conveniently monitors and logs data from the company's central emergency lighting inverters to save time and enhance building safety. Read more »

EnOcean Adds New IoT Starter Kit to Product Portfolio

EnOcean, a pioneer of energy harvesting and wireless IoT communications, today released a starter kit that simplifies the integration of EnOcean wireless sensors with Aruba Wi-Fi access points. Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, and EnOcean have partnered to facilitate the integration of IoT sensors into existing IT infrastructure, levering IT security mechanisms to protect IoT data and devices. Used in conjunction with a separately purchased Aruba access point, the new IoT starter kit named EISKA for the European market and EISKU for the North American market includes an EnOcean EMSIx multisensor, an Easyfit wireless switch, an EnOcean USB stick, and demonstration software. All devices support the EnOcean radio standard (ISO/IEC 14543-3-10/11). Read more »

LSI Industries - AirLink Blue™ Wireless Bluetooth Mesh Network Solution for Outdoor Lighting

LSI Industries said today that it has launched its new AirLink Blue wireless outdoor lighting control system. This simple, highly-configurable product uses Bluetooth mesh technology to manage designated zones of outdoor illumination on commercial property – helping customers enhance safety, reduce energy costs and comply with applicable regulations. Read more »

Touchscreens Are Going 3D with University of Bristol's Innovative New Spray-On Technique

Inspired by the way an artist creates graffiti on a wall and using a novel combination of sprayable electronics and 3D printing, the technique, called ProtoSpray, allows the creation of displays on surfaces that go beyond the usual rectangular and 2D shapes. Read more »

Resources | Commentary | Smart Lighting + IoT | Health + Wellbeing | May 04, 2020

Personal Lighting Profiles Might Be the Key to Creating a Natural "Work Light Balance"

Commentary from LpR 76: Henrik Clausen has been involved in lighting for over 30 years in both commercial and academic positions. In 1996, he became the Managing Director of Fagerhult Lighting in Denmark, and held that position until 2004, when he founded the Fagerhult Lighting Academy. In 2015 he also became Head of Research for Fagerhult. He holds a position as professor in Lighting Design at AAU in Copenhagen. He guest lectures at various Universities around the world. He speaks worldwide, primarily addressing the human and emotional aspects of light and lighting design. Read more »

Thread Group and DiiA Collaborate to Shape the Future of IoT Lighting for Commercial Buildings

The Thread Group, an alliance addressing convergence, security, power, and architecture challenges at the network layer, and the DiiA, the global DALI alliance of companies from the lighting and sensor industries, have announced a liaison agreement today with the shared intention of accelerating IoT adoption in commercial buildings. Read more »

SSL | Smart Lighting + IoT | Components | Apr 28, 2020

Douglas Lighting Controls® Introduces New Intelligent Fixture Sensor and Intelligent Fixture Controller

Douglas Lighting Controls®, a member of the Panasonic family of companies, recently introduced the new Intelligent Fixture Sensor (IFS) and Intelligent Fixture Controller (IFC) to its high-performance lighting products portfolio. Specially designed for Luminaire Level Lighting Controls (LLLC), the IFS units can be deployed as independent, fixture-mounted occupancy and daylight sensors. As an alternative, they can be networked with the Dialog® controllers and other devices in the Dialog ecosystem, including wall station switches, load controllers and low voltage ceiling mount sensors, to create a complete Bluetooth® wireless lighting control system. Read more »

Making Office Lighting Smart with HubSense from Osram

Osram presents the HubSense intelligent lighting management system, an easy-to-commission and scalable solution for retrofitting LED office lighting. HubSense is based on standardized "Qualified Bluetooth Mesh" technology and is ideal for upgrading existing lighting systems in small and medium-sized businesses. Existing installations can therefore be updated without new cabling and without the use of a gateway or any other IT equipment. HubSense is also suitable for new installations in single offices, open-plan offices, corridors and conference rooms and offers the flexibility needed to adapt the lighting to changes in room usage. Read more »

Signify Upgrades Sensor Ready LED Driver Portfolio with New D4i Standard

Signify, the world leader in lighting, has upgraded its portfolio of compact Philips Xitanium Sensor Ready Xtreme LED drivers for outdoor applications with the recently granted D4i certification. This certification program is designed to deliver standardization in the market, drive wider adoption of IoT connectivity in lighting and aid smart city or building projects. It makes it very attractive and easy for customers to switch to connected lighting or install Connect Ready luminaires with D4i certified drivers now, and upgrade to connectivity later. By Q2 2020, Signify will also upgrade the complete non-isolated Philips Xitanium Dimmable Sensor Ready driver portfolio for indoor applications to the new D4i standard, to facilitate the rapid market adoption of energy-saving technologies and drive standardization. Read more »

Zigbee Alliance and DiiA Collaborate to Standardize DALI-Zigbee Gateways

The Zigbee Alliance, an organization of hundreds of companies creating, maintaining, and delivering open, global standards for the Internet of Things (IoT), and the Digital Illumination Interface Alliance (DiiA), the global industry organization for DALI lighting control, today announced they are working together to bring further standardization and system interoperability to the IoT luminaires space. This development will help stakeholders realize the benefits of combining wired DALI lighting-control systems with wireless Zigbee networks as the IoT progresses. Read more »

Zhaga Publishes Book 20: Smart Interface Between Indoor Luminaires and Sensing/Communication Modules

Zhaga Book 20 defines a smart interface between an indoor LED luminaire and a sensing/communication module. The module connects to the LED driver, and typically provides sensory inputs or enables communication between network components. Zhaga member companies can now access the specification and certify luminaires according to the Zhaga-D4i certification program. Dekra and Intertek are the accredited test centers. Read more »

MiraOS Release 2.4 - Getting Started with Wireless Mesh Products Made Easier

LumenRadio´s focus is to develop the most resilient and Future-Proof connectivity solution on the market, but their vision is also to make it easier for development teams to implement wireless technology into their products, something that is clearly shown in the new 2.4 version of MiraOS. Read more »

Smart Lighting + IoT | Business | Company News | Partnerships | Apr 01, 2020

Lutron, Cree Lighting Collaborate to Expand Connected Lighting Solutions in U.S. Market

Lutron Electronics, the industry leader in smart, scalable lighting control solutions, and Cree Lighting, a global market leader in innovative LED lighting solutions, are teaming up to introduce a variety of new connected lighting products to the market: Cree Lighting indoor and outdoor fixtures offered with Lutron wired and wireless digital fixture control technologies. Read more »

SSL | Smart Lighting + IoT | Components | Controls | Mar 16, 2020

Code Mercenaries Offers a New Approach to Configure IEC62386 Buses with BusMaster

IEC62386 is a well-established option for lighting control in SmartHome and SmartBuilding applications. Costs for IEC62386 components have dropped in recent years and the selection of components has grown significantly. Though the configuration of the bus remains a challenge for the installers. The cabling is quite different from classic cabling since the bus has to run parallel to the power line. But the major problem is the usually very complicated deployment software for setting up the configuration of the bus components. Read more »

Xicato Expands Family of Smart Drivers with Wireless Control and the Best 0.1% Flicker-Free Dimming in the Industry

Xicato, the leading provider of smart building Bluetooth wireless controls and highest quality light sources, today announced a major expansion of its family of Smart Drivers for customers that want the most compact, reliable and efficient Luminaires with the best dimming quality in the industry. Building on the success of the Xicato Integrated Module (XIM), Intelligent Driver (XID), and Miniature Driver (XMD), Xicato is enabling new, sleek, compact, 1- and 2-channel designs that enable and accelerate the market adoption of DC distribution in building infrastructure. In addition to reducing energy conversion losses, these drivers enable flexibility in the placement and minimal use of AC-DC power conversion stages, thereby reducing overall cost of equipment and maintenance. All Xicato drivers feature deep, smooth, monotonic dimming to 0.1%, with fade-on and fade-off and, fully comply with and exceed IEEE 1789 compliant flicker standards that ensure occupant health and comfort. Read more »

Lumitronix Announces MiniController Casambi Classic and LED Modules for Ledil's Dark Light Optics Daisy-Mini

Among the new products prepared for Light + Building 2020 by Lumitronix are the MiniController Casambi Classic and the MiniDaisy LED modules. The control unit for LED modules with Tunable White technology are extremely compact and can be conveniently operated via smartphone or tablet using the Casambi App, while the MiniDaisy LED modules which were designed in close cooperation with the Finnish optics manufacturer Ledil are compatible with the new Daisy-Mini linear optics and are intended for use in office or workplace luminaires. Read more »