In this guest post by lighting designer C. Webster Marsh, he discusses alternatives to using DMX to control tunable-white lighting.
C. Webster Marsh on Overcoming the Challenges of DMX-Controlled Tunable White Lighting
DMX-controlled tunable dynamic white luminaires are luminaires that use DMX controls to change their correlated color temperature (CCT) on demand, which provides a dramatic design tool to the modern lighting designer. These luminaires are different from dynamic color changing luminaires because instead of using colored LEDs, they use a mix of white LEDs such as warm white, neutral white, and cool white. When these hues are mixed at different intensities, the overall delivered CCT of the luminaire changes. It is very important to have a robust controls system specifically designed and programmed for the control of tunable dynamic white luminaires. Any compatible controller will control a DMX tunable white luminaire and can adjust from one hue to another, but that’s only half the story …
DOE Evaluates Tunable-White Classroom Lighting
Tunable-white LED lighting offers highly efficient general illumination combined with dimming and the ability to tune correlated color temperature (CCT) from warm- to cool-white. A strong potential application is classrooms, where teachers can set lighting/visual conditions to support classroom activities. In May 2019, the Department of Energy (DOE) published a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) report evaluating a trial installation of tunable-white lighting systems at three classrooms in an elementary school in Folsom, California.
Hubbell on “Human-centric Lighting”
Hubbell’s Summer Albergotti and Marissa Keisler contributed an article to Facilities.net, “Human-Centric Lighting for Schools, Hospitals, and Offices.” The article describes how color tuning enables lighting systems to better serve the needs of users and spaces.
A New Report on Tunable Classroom Lighting
Republication of Postings from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solid-State Lighting Program by Jim Brodrick, SSL Program Manager, U.S. Department of Energy A new GATEWAY report on a trial installation of tunable-white LED lighting systems in three Texas classrooms provides valuable insights into the use of this technology in a real-world setting. While reducing […]
NLB Forum Focuses on Tunable-White Lighting
Relying on tunable white light is the “best, most-affordable way to ‘future-proof’ your work and designs and ensure very high performance.” So said Terry Clark, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Finelite, Inc., while participating in the National Lighting Bureau’s Annual Lighting Forum as one of three panelists focused on new and emerging developments […]
Applications for Tunable-White Lighting
Guest post by Steve Mesh, LC Because of recent trends in the lighting industry, it is now possible to “dial in” a desired color temperature in certain light fixtures at specific times of the day or night. One of the main trends making this possible is the mixture of different color LEDs in architectural fixtures. […]
Interview with Acuity Brands’ David Ciccarelli on Tunable-White Lighting
Craig DiLouie, LC recently had the opportunity to interview David Ciccarelli, VP Dynamic Lighting, Acuity Brands Lighting, Inc. The topic: tunable-white lighting. DiLouie: Looking at LED sources and controls, what are the different technological methods used to produce tunable-white light in commercial luminaires? Ciccarelli: The goal of Tunable White lighting is to reproduce multiple color […]
White-Tunable LED Lighting
LED lighting can generate virtually any perceivable color as well as any shade of white light, all digitally controlled and selectable. Color output can be adjusted by mixing color LEDs, mixing white-light LEDs of different color temperatures, or a combination of the two. The key to achieving these effects is dimming. This allows, for example, […]
CRI Modulation: Future Lighting Control Strategy?
LED lighting has made a new dimension of lighting control, color tuning, widely available. By mixing separately dimmable arrays of warm- and cool-white, saturated colors (RGB+A) or a mix of the two, correlated color temperature (CCT) can be tuned manually or automatically based on various application needs. Besides CCT, the source’s color rendering index (CRI) […]