Demand is the sum of all electric power required to run a building’s equipment currently in operation. As equipment is turned on and off, demand rises and falls. Peak demand is the highest level of demand recorded by a demand meter during a given time period. This is the most expensive power the utility has […]
Study: Controls Combine to Deliver Large, Persistent Energy Savings and Improved Occupant Satisfaction in Open Office
What are the benefits of combining advanced lighting control strategies in the same space? Are the energy-saving benefits of lighting controls persistent over time? Can advanced lighting controls be successfully applied to open offices given concerns about jurisdiction conflicts, lighting uniformity, etc.? Can they enhance worker satisfaction? A new office lighting field study addresses these questions. Involving about 90 workers in a real-world open-office environment, the one-year study determined that occupancy sensing, daylight harvesting and individual occupant dimming control worked together in the building to produce average energy savings of 47% while correlating with higher occupant environmental and job satisfaction. The study demonstrates that sophisticated lighting control strategies can be combined successfully to generate persistent, large energy savings in open-plan offices while improving occupant satisfaction with their jobs and workspace.
DALI and the Promise of Digital Dimming
Dimming of fluorescent lighting offers significant benefits in terms of supporting visual needs with good lighting, giving users control of their own lighting, and energy savings. The advent of digital dimming offers a new option with clear advantages over traditional analog dimming. Digital dimming can be used almost anywhere that analog dimming can be used, for the same purposes: visual needs, personal control, daylight harvesting, scheduling and other control strategies. If fluorescent dimming is desirable for a given application, digital dimming can offer distinct advantages related to intelligence, flexibility and two-way communication.
University of Toronto, Multimedia Classroom
The University of Toronto’s new “electronic classroom” combines familiar audiovisual equipment, such as slide projectors and VCRs, with such sophisticated equipment as a multi-sync data/video projection system and multi-scene preset dimming controls. Instructors can now electronically enhance their lectures with an integrated user-friendly presentation system.