Digitalising Lighting Systems: Going Beyond the Switch to LED

3 December 2021

Depending on the nature of the business and the kind of illumination required, lighting can consume as much as 40% of the energy used in commercial premises. Recently, there has been a move towards LED lighting solutions, which can use 75% less energy than incandescent lighting. While this represents a positive change, there is still more that can be done to improve energy efficiency within business settings.

Implementing intelligent lighting controls ahead of LED solutions makes it possible to limit energy wastage immediately; benefitting before the LED lighting installations.

Intelligent controls, like our CODA system, can gather data and insights into the building and its operations and then ensure that lighting is only on when required. By eliminating periods when lights are on unnecessarily, such as when rooms are unoccupied, or buildings are closed, it’s possible to see an immediate reduction in energy consumption.

Once the intelligent controls are in place, it is possible to introduce LED lighting to ensure the most efficient system possible. Some LED lighting systems can be installed complete with their own intelligent controls, however, opting to use a centralised building control system such as CODA instead, offers several additional benefits.

By applying CODA to your lighting system, rather than using a stand-alone intelligent lighting control, it’s possible to align the lighting data and control strategies with that of other energy-consuming assets within the building. With CODA’s centralised system, the lighting data and control strategies can be combined with additional key information, such as building occupancy and room bookings, to better understand the conditions. These improved insights can highlight further opportunities to reduce energy consumption and cost as well as carbon emissions.

CODA also makes it possible to incorporate external data that may influence the conditions within the building. For example, by introducing a weather feed through third-party API integration, facilities managers can ensure that any exterior (or interior) lighting is operating according to outside light levels and therefore is only on when needed.

There are also operational disadvantages to using multiple intelligent control systems within a commercial building. Running separate systems for different assets means that the data is siloed across various operating platforms. Not only does this make it more difficult to compare the building’s insights, but it means that facilities managers must access various portals to control the building’s assets. With CODA, the controls, functionality and data relating to the whole building are centralised in one place, making it easier for the facilities teams to manage and maintain buildings efficiently and effectively.

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For more information on the CODA device and how centralised intelligent control solutions can benefit your business before and after LED installations, please contact the team info@codacloud.io.