LICODA

Brad Stevenson of Douglas Lighting Controls was the guest speaker for a San Diego IES meeting. Brad provided an excellent overview of lighting controls systems and mentioned some interesting pros & cons of digital vs. analog switches, as they pertain to lighting controls systems.

I asked Brad to provide a short write-up of these elements to publish here. See below for Brad’s synopsis of digital switches.

While the use of digital switches is ideal for many lighting control applications care must be taken with the digital switching layout. All digital systems communicate over a dataline but all datalines are not equal. Some datalines require a start-point and an end-point and do not allow t-tapping or splicing. While these datalines are simple to draw (panel-to-switch-to-switch-to-panel-to-sensor, etc) they are not simple to maintain. Removal of a single switch will interrupt the dataline and will therefore disrupt the entire lighting control network. This can cause disastrous results as removing a switch from a classroom will interrupt communications in an entire school.

When using digital switches the best practice is to run a trunk dataline, in conduit, between each of the lighting control panels. Then run a separate branch dataline connecting the switches in each tenant space or classroom block. This simple design ensures all panels remain connected to each other and further ensures that the removal of a switch within a tenant space cannot affect the lighting controls in other tenant spaces.

These days, most people assume the latest technology has to be the best and therefore, a no-brainer when it comes specification on a project. As Brad has pointed out, there are still occasions where analog based systems may perform better than their digital counterparts.

Thanks, Brad.

Here’s some really basic info to help get you started.

The general term applied to fluorescent lamps that are single-ended and have bent, smaller diameter tubes is compact or compact fluorescent lamps (CFL). Some CFLs have integral ballasts and a medium or candelabra screw base for easy replacement of incandescent lamps.

Let’s begin with the easy one - integrally ballasted (or self-ballasted) compact fluorescent lamps are used to replace incandescent lamps. They screw into a socket that would otherwise use an incandescent lamp. (AKA ‘A’ style lamp or candelabra base, you know, Thomas Edison…)

DOUBLE TWIN-TUBE
For commercial purposes, we use a 4-pin based lamp. These will use an electronic ballast. There are such things as 2-pins lamps out there, but Title 24 prohibits the use of them, so act like they don’t exist :o)

Some manufacturers have their own names for CF lamps, see below for a helpful chart:

PL - LONG TUBE

Following are ten of the most common mistakes I have found on lighting industry websites. Many of these issues certainly slow down my ability to specify products. Some items, such as the first one listed, have forced me to encourage a boycott against the manufacturer responsible for the site.

>>Login or Registration Requirements

Guilty party: kirlinlighting.com, bklighting.com

Many manufacturers are requiring users to either subscribe and/or login to their websites to download information. I speculate the rationale behind this is protection of their investment - ie: a manufacturer does not want their competition receiving this information for fear the product may be copied. In my opinion, the only people a manufacturer is preventing from viewing these items are the very people who need it - specifiers. A competitive manufacturer already has a copy of these crucial documents. The fast track nature of todays projects means time is money. Specifiers who experience resistance while collecting information will not hesitate to find another source for products.

>>Photometry Availability

Guilty party: kimlighting.com

Gone are the days of the .exe executable zip file. Most operating systems are capable of uncompressing these files on their own. Furthermore, the cost and availability of bandwidth these days has made the .zip file for photometry obsolete, let alone any software that assists in downloading. With todays technological capabilities, users are able to quickly download and view .ies files without the complexity of decompression. Additionally, users are looking for single photometry files on an as needed basis. This means the latest files are typically used and updates are easily found. However, a new problem may be created - see my note on url longevity.

>>Longevity of Urls

Guilty party: don’t know, yet.

Increased availability to photometry and product specification sheets have allowed users to rely less on storage of files within their server and more on direct requests to the manufacturer. If more and more people are relying on the storage of the manufacturers network, then the manufacturer has a responsibility to maintain this consistent location. Care should be taken to maintain consistency of the url or website address used to access photometry or spec sheet files to ensure they are easy to find in the future.

>>Site Marketing and Aesthetic

Guilty party: elplighting.com

To date, the website may not have completely replaced the need for hardcopy catalogs, but websites use continues to grow. A manufacturer’s website is now the face of the companie’s marketing strategy and should be treated as such. When developing a website, manufacturers should be using the same resources, if not more, as they use to develop their catalogs.

>>Understanding a User’s Entry Approach

Guilty party: www.columbia-ltg.com

When a user enters a manufacturers’ website, they are approaching with one of three perspectives. Visiting users are looking for a product or information based on:

• a model or part number
• an industry accepted style or category, or a category designated by the manufacturer
• options or characteristics

If a specifier is given a model number by a client for implementation, the specifier may use the manufacturer’s site to collect information about the product. If that same site is organized by categories, the specifier may not know which category the product belongs and will be lucky to stumble on the item through trial and error. If the specifier came across a product in the manufacturer’s catalog, the specifier should know the category and might use the website to gain more information or images. Similarly, a search for a product based on a style, category or characteristic might be the end goal of the specifier. None of this information can be obtained simply by viewing a product’s code or part number, without further information.
The important thing to consider as a manufacturer; is your website equipped to handle the different perspectives of your audience?

>>Search Results

Guilty party: progresslighting.com (search term “recessed”)

No, manufacturers can’t predict exactly what users will search for on their site, but they can analyze the results after a search has occurred. By logging the activity of a search function, web developers can answer some of the common questions posed by users of the site. Additionally, the search results should be easy to scan and relevant to the search posed. Users which cannot quickly find the desired results are likely to abandon the search process, and perhaps the site altogether.

>>To WWW, or not to WWW

Guilty party: www.alights.com, www.corelite.com

The World Wide Web is so 1990’s - webaddress.com is the new way to url. People (sadly) don’t have the time to input the www in a url anymore. If the hosting plan used to serve up a website for a manufacturer does not allow www. omission, find another hosting plan. Hosting plans are “a dime a dozen” and features such as www. omission are easy to find.

>>No Flashes Please

Guilty party: winonalighting.com (disable Javascript), louispoulsen.com

Many manufacturers create a unique application by implementing a web experience rather than pages of information. These experiences, though thoughtful and well designed, may limit some functionalities, such as url extraction. One of the wonders of .pdf cutsheets is the inherent ability to send them to clients with a simple web address. However, if the address is not easily found or hidden by the web interface, it is difficult to extract the url. Additionally, features such as javascript also mask the ability to easily isolate the sheets for transfer. If a user has javascript disabled or not featured in a browser, the access of this information may be completely denied. See the post And the Inaugural ‘Electric Floor’ Award goes to… hosted at sitepoint.com for more information about relying on javascript within a website.
Authors note: Another pet peeve is the resizing of a browser window through the use of javascript and/or flash. Many users are very particular about the size and placement of their windows and really don’t like web pages messing with their desktop layout. Avoid the temptation to modify the browser window, including the disabling of buttons or controls.

>>Organized Urls

Guilty party: mcphilbenlighting.com

The current trend in website development is a url or web address that uses common language and is easy to remember. Current web servers have the ability to take this common language and redirect the user to the desired page. The servers can also receive these terms much in the same way as a search input word. Examples may include www.manufacturer.com/specsheets/product_number or www.manufacturer.com/wallsconces.

>>Cross Browser Compatibility

Guilty party: altmanlighting.com

According to w3schools.com, Internet Explorer is still the most used browser on the internet. However, Firefox owns over 35% of the market (up almost 10% from a year ago). Most web developers worthy of their reputation, are designing for a variety of browsers. Any manufacturer who provides a site geared only toward IE is asking for trouble. Make sure the web developers are up to par and knowledgeable about cross browser compatibility.

As noted in the article, if you have a high maintenance application that requires long lamp life, then the high initial cost of an induction lamp may be justified for the application.

The basic technology for induction lamps is not particularly new. Essentially, an induction lamp is an electrodeless fluorescent. Without electrodes, the lamp relies on the fundamental principles of electromagnetic induction and gas discharge to create light. The elimination of filaments and electrodes results in a lamp of unmatched life. Lasting 100,000 hours or 25 years, this system can outlast 100 incandescent, five HID, or five typical fluorescent lamp changes.

Based on these well-known principles, light can be generated via a gas discharge through simple magnetism. Electromagnetic transformers, which consist of rings with metal coils, create an electromagnetic field around a glass tube which contains the gas, using a high frequency that is generated by an electronic ballast. The discharge path, induced by the coils, forms a closed loop causing acceleration of free electrons, which collide with mercury atoms and excite the electrons. As the excited electrons from these atoms fall back from this higher energy state to a lower stable level, they emit ultraviolet radiation. The UV radiation created is converted to visible light as it passes through a phosphor coating on the surface of the tube. The unusual shape of an induction lamp maximizes the efficiency of the fields that are generated.

Although it is not breakthrough science, until recently, it has not been so commercially viable. New developments have broken down the barriers of costs and technological setbacks, such as EMC interference, lumen depreciation, ability to dim and a useful range of available wattages. Today, its obvious benefits make it the clear-cut choice for many lighting applications over traditional light sources.

For more information on how inducting lighting works, visit the fluorescent induction lighting section of the electrodeless lamp entry at Wikipedia.com.

Light Emitting Diodes (LED) are certainly the buzzword in lighting. These sources offer somewhat efficient lighting with long lamp life for maintenance and a small form factor for unique applications. What many people don’t realize is that LED are not the ultimate answer in lighting. Currently, LEDs are more efficient than incandescent based sources, but not as efficient at fluorescent or HID technology.

LEDs are diodes. Diodes are used in electrical circuit to restrict the flow of current to one direction. As diodes impede the electricity, they release energy, sometimes in the form of light. Depending on the chemical composition and physical make-up of the diode, certain wavelengths of light are manufactured.

Diodes utilize a semiconductor charged with electrons, which passes electrons through this material when an electrical current is applied. As the electrons pass from the negative charge to the positive charge, energy is given off in the form of visible light.

Because LED do not feature electrodes or filaments light other sources, the life of the product is dramatically increased and great for long life applications.

The following is an excerpt taken from the wikipedia.com entry for color blindness.

There are many types of color blindness. The most common are red-green hereditary (genetic) photoreceptor disorders, but it is also possible to acquire color blindness through damage to the retina, optic nerve, or higher brain areas. Higher brain areas implicated in color processing include the parvocellular pathway of the lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus, and visual area V4 of the visual cortex. Acquired color blindness is generally unlike the more typical genetic disorders. For example, it is possible to acquire color blindness only in a portion of the visual field but maintain normal color vision elsewhere. Some forms of acquired color blindness are reversible. Transient color blindness also occurs (very rarely) in the aura of some migraine sufferers.

The different kinds of inherited color blindness result from partial or complete loss of function of one or more of the different cone systems. When one cone system is compromised, dichromacy results. The most frequent forms of human color blindness result from problems with either the middle or long wavelength sensitive cone systems, and involve difficulties in discriminating reds, yellows, and greens from one another. They are collectively referred to as “red-green color blindness”, though the term is an over-simplification and somewhat misleading. Other forms of color blindness are much more rare. They include problems in discriminating blues from yellows, and the rarest forms of all, complete color blindness or monochromacy, where one cannot distinguish any color from grey, as in a black-and-white movie or photograph.