Consulting-Specifying Engineer - December 2008 - (Page 17)

M/E Roundtable that users would take with them, which would turn on lighting and guide them to their vehicle. “Let the building teach” is one of the goals of green buildings being promoted in arch schools these days. The idea is that just by visiting and using a building, people should learn something about the environment and how the building is working to save energy, or provide clean air. I see lighting as being used as part of this educational message, perhaps illuminating system components when they activate at certain times, or indicating system states. I was in a building once where a series of lamps in a very aesthetic type of bar graph distribution lit up according to how much energy the solar cells on the roof were producing. Visitors could trace a history of solar power generation over the day. CSE: How can controls help lighting designers and electrical engineers provide aesthetic lighting systems in an energy-efficient way? Haran: Dimming light fixtures will shed energy load and at the same time increase the aesthetic appeal of a space. Architectural dimming, which controls light output down to 1%, is used in spaces where lighting is required for critical tasks for longer periods of time. Architectural dimming can also provide glare-free illumination with no distractions in spaces such as restaurants, theaters, or patient examination rooms. General dimming (down to 10%) can be used in areas like large and small offices, corridors, and large public spaces for load shedding, and daylight harvesting. High-performance dimming (down to 5%) can be used in spaces used for smaller time durations like small meeting rooms and lobbies. With the advent of LED, color temperature of the lamps can be controlled providing different scenarios for different functions. For example, a restaurant in Boston uses the same LED cove luminaires with 4100 K color temperature for breakfast settings and 3000 K color temperature for dinner settings, balancing the circadian rhythm of occupants. ond, lighting controls can support energy management goals by reducing either the amount of power the lighting system uses (e.g., dimming, automatic shutoff) or the amount of time the lighting system is In my 30 years of college teaching, you cannot believe how difficult it is to find a classroom that allows lighting to be adjusted so that the instructor can give a PowerPoint presentation. – James Wise Manriquez: As lighting designers, oftentimes we act as a liaison between architects and electrical engineers. Our ability to focus on the duality of our deliverables helps us reach solutions that are a direct response to a design concept in which controls allow us to organize scenes within the stage of architectural elements. The pragmatic response to the tenant’s needs or programmatic criteria defines the efficiency of the control systems. Wise: For one thing, controls enable lighting designers to get away from simplistic strategies when it comes to lighting buildings with aesthetic intent. Advanced lighting controls allow for more nuanced types of lighting strategies, which allow for more dynamic and focused kinds of aesthetic appeals. I wrote an article about a children’s hospital with a huge light wall on one side of a large atrium space. The pattern of lights on the wall and how they change is determined by the position and amount of children’s activities in the space. Kids discover this very quickly, and have a great time running around, trying to get the lights to change to certain patterns or colors. The purpose of this whole light-activated display wall is simply to try and bring a joyful experience to what is otherwise a potentially depressing visit. DiLouie: Lighting controls serve two purposes. First, they can satisfy visual needs by providing flexible lighting control over an individual’s lighting or in a group space such as a group workspace or conference room. This enables the lighting to support changing workplace needs and individual preference and need. Secbeing used (e.g., automatic shutoff). The beauty of using dimming as an energy management strategy is you can reduce the lighting load in a way that is imperceptible to most occupants, thereby preserving the integrity of operations and ability to enact strategies such as load shedding and daylighting control. C S E : How are lighting controls im pac tin g t he p er fo rmanc e of occupants, such as students, teachers, and office workers? Wise: So far, from what I can see, they are expanding the possibility space of how people use buildings or get the building to better support activities within it. For example, after my 30 years of college teaching, you cannot believe how difficult it still is to find a classroom that allows lighting to be adjusted so that the instructor can present in PowerPoint or overheads in lectures, and still have lights on for note taking or discussion. Also, modern instructional techniques will often have students work in ad hoc groups and then compare and present findings. It would be nice to have classroom lighting that could be used to both segregate groups and highlight groups, but I have never seen this enabled, as I have in team spaces in the business world. I think that advanced lighting controls will allow users to better support a more diverse array of activities in ways that are much more satisfying for users, if they are done right. DiLouie: Personal lighting control has been demonstrated, in research, to Consulting-Specifying Engineer • DECEMBER 2008 17

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Consulting-Specifying Engineer - December 2008 Contents Viewpoint News M/E Roundtable ARC Awards New Construction Gold New Construction Silver New Construction Bronze Renovation Gold Renovation Silver A Green Approach to Air Conditioning Systems Turning Down the Lights Case Study New Products Equipment Lifecycles Advertiser Index Green Space Gas Technology Pure Power Supplement

Consulting-Specifying Engineer - December 2008

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