Consulting-Specifying Engineer - March 2009 - (Page 57) Equipment Lifecycles Increasing the value of lighting panelboards When lighting control technologies evolve, panelboards become a revenue generator. BY EDDIE HICKERSON, Schneider Electric, LaVergne, Tenn. A lighting panelboard is one of the most important, and yet invisible, pieces of creating both space savings and the opportunity for substantial cost savings by turning lights off when they aren’t needed. This is made possible by a controller inside the panelboard that operates motorized circuit breakers, turning off lights and other loads when the building or sections of the building are not occupied. In the past, consulting engineers achieved this functionality by designing a separate control panel typically located adjacent to the lighting panelboard. Branch circuits feeding equipment in a commercial, industrial, or institutional facility. While a lighting panelboard does the crucial job of protecting branch circuits from overcurrents, it typically is mounted on the wall of an electrical room and forgotten, unless an electrical-related event occurs. Conversely, an intelligent lighting control panelboard combines branch circuit protection and control into a one-panel solution, PC workstation Ethernet Subnet Light level sensor Network keypad Slave panels Parking lot lighting Common office area lighting Master panels Warehouse lighting Outdoor signage Typical lighting control panelboard system: An intelligent lighting control panelboard can work within the greater context of the devices it controls within a building. Note the Ethernet connection, access via a PC workstation, and various types of lighting it controls. Source: Schneider Electric Consulting-Specifying Engineer • MARCH 2008 57
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