Connected Controls Lighting System for Hazardous Areas
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Solution Overview
Problem
Process control environments face challenges with lighting systems, including continuous operation, hazardous areas, and the need for intelligent and selective lighting control to improve energy efficiency, reduce light pollution, and minimize maintenance costs.
Innovation Solution
A connected controls lighting system (CCLS) implementing a hybrid control scheme that integrates local and central control of luminaires, using a gateway to enable communication between luminaires and a supervisory controller, prioritizing commands based on schedules, ambient light, and detected motion, while ensuring compliance with Intrinsic Safety standards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If lighting systems operate continuously in process control environments, then adequate illumination is maintained, but energy consumption increases and maintenance costs rise
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting system transitions from static continuous operation to dynamic control where luminaires adjust their operational state based on real-time conditions. Local controllers at each luminaire dynamically determine whether to operate based on scheduled times, ambient light levels, and detected motion, optimizing energy consumption while maintaining illumination availability when needed
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms through sensors that detect ambient light levels and motion presence. This feedback information is processed by local controllers to automatically adjust luminaire operation, creating a closed-loop control system that responds to actual environmental conditions rather than operating continuously regardless of need
2Adaptability or versatility
If centralized control is used for all luminaires, then uniform control policy is applied, but system complexity and communication requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is segmented into distributed local controllers at each luminaire and a supervisory controller. Each local controller independently executes control decisions based on locally sensed conditions, eliminating the need for complex centralized communication while maintaining coordinated operation through a simplified supervisory layer that provides scheduling and overrides when needed
Solution Approach 2:
Each luminaire becomes self-sufficient with its own local controller that autonomously determines operation based on embedded logic for scheduled times, ambient light sensing, and motion detection. This self-service capability reduces communication overhead and system complexity while maintaining uniform control policies through standardized local decision-making algorithms
3Loss of energy
If intelligent control features are added to luminaires, then energy efficiency improves, but device complexity and maintenance requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The luminaire incorporates self-service capabilities through integrated sensors and local controllers that automatically monitor ambient conditions and adjust operation without external intervention. This autonomy improves energy efficiency by eliminating unnecessary operation while the standardized self-managing architecture actually reduces long-term complexity by minimizing manual configuration and monitoring requirements
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple control functions (scheduled operation, ambient light sensing, motion detection) are merged into a single integrated luminaire unit with a unified local controller. This consolidation improves energy efficiency through coordinated control while reducing overall system complexity by eliminating separate external control devices and simplifying the architecture to distributed intelligent units
Data Source
AI summary
A luminaire network improves energy efficiency, reduces light pollution, improves the robustness of luminaire control, and reduces maintenance time and costs by implementing intelligent and selective lighting control. For example, the luminaire network may automatically control dimming, light activation, light deactivation, static or dynamic luminaire grouping, and luminaire group control by implementing a hybrid control scheme that accounts for (i) local or global fixed schedules (e.g., based on time of day, worker schedules, etc.), (ii) detected daylight, (iii) detected motion of workers, and (iv) feedback from luminaires in the luminaire network. Further, one or more electronic devices (e.g., mobile devices) may couple to the luminaire network and may facilitate easy monitoring, configuration, and manual control of luminaires in the luminaire network, even when remotely connected to the luminaire network (e.g., via the cloud).