Summary:As China's socio-economic development continues to rise, it presents new opportunities for the development of smart lighting systems. The article primarily introduces several types of smart lighting systems, analyzes their advantages, and details their specific applications in hospital buildings, offering some valuable reference.
Keywords:Smart Lighting Systems; Smart Buildings; Energy Efficiency
1. Issues with Traditional Lighting Systems
The intelligent lighting system evolves from traditional lighting, so analyzing the issues existing in traditional lighting systems can continuously improve the intelligent lighting system and refine its lighting functions. Taking hospital buildings as an example, this article analyzes the main problems of traditional lighting systems.
1.1 The lighting system layout is unreasonable and the planning is unscientific.
Lighting in hospitals varies across different areas, with distinct layouts and designs. Typically, the traditional approach is based on a unified design, employing a one-size-fits-all solution across all regions without considering the actual hospital conditions. This results in some areas being underlit and others overly bright, ultimately affecting the overall lighting quality.
1.2 Lighting fixtures fail to keep pace with the times
Hospitals play a crucial role for both healthcare workers and patients, but the lighting in hospitals has exposed several issues, such as exposed light sources, excessive shielding angles, severe flickering of lighting products, low color rendering, inconsistent color temperatures, and low luminous efficiency. Additionally, some damaged lights have not been replaced in a timely manner, all of which will affect their lighting performance.
2. Classification of Smart Lighting Systems and Their Working Principles
Control systems are the cornerstone of smart lighting, operating on the principle of adjusting lighting equipment in different areas based on varying times and brightness levels, making them a core component of smart homes. The popularity of smart lighting systems among the general public is primarily due to their programmable brightness control, allowing for pre-set configurations based on different needs. These pre-set systems are known as scenes, which can be automatically triggered by dimmer systems or central building control systems through programming. Smart lighting systems come in various types, mainly categorized into the following:
2.1 Remote Lighting
Remote control lighting is a control method that uses radio signals to manage lighting fixtures, offering simplicity and convenience. This control technology has become highly sophisticated, replacing traditional mechanical switches with digital control effects. The technology primarily operates through wireless digital identification, allowing each switch to function independently without interference. However, there are issues with wireless digital technology: it's difficult to control the direction of the remote, and the receiver's accuracy in sensing information is poor. Wireless radio frequency remote controls are non-directional, with signals that are non-radiative and have strong penetration. They are easy to replace, and the installation process is simple, requiring only a direct connection between the switch and the light, without affecting the room's layout or aesthetics.
2.2 Induction Lighting
Inductive lighting is triggered by human presence. As humans emit heat, they generate infrared radiation of a specific wavelength. Inductive lighting systems detect this wavelength to determine if a person is passing by, thereby controlling the on/off of lighting fixtures. Inductive lighting features a delay, distinguishing it from remote switches. Leveraging this delay characteristic, the system can manage the lighting within its range, achieving the function of illuminating when people are present and turning off when they leave.
2.3 Haptic Lighting
Touch-sensitive lighting utilizes induction chips within related devices, primarily employing capacitive induction. Hand touches alter the capacitance, controlling the on/off switch. Intelligent lighting systems are diverse, with different devices operating on various principles, yet all aim to serve users and achieve the popularization of smart control.
3. Advantages of Smart Lighting Systems
As science and technology continue to advance, intelligence has permeated every industry. With the continuous improvement in people's living standards and consumption levels, there is an increasing demand for smart and comfortable living environments. The application of intelligent lighting systems can save energy for various electrical appliances within buildings, extending their lifespan. The impact of intelligent lighting systems on electronic devices is particularly significant, enabling control over a range of electrical appliances. Among them, intelligent dimming control systems allow indoor lighting to adjust according to external light levels of the building, making rational use of natural light, thereby achieving energy conservation.
4. Advantages of Smart Lighting Systems in Intelligent Hospital Buildings
Intelligent lighting systems are a fundamental facility in smart buildings, holding a very important position. Hospitals are places where equipment safety must be maintained at all times, and lighting equipment forms the foundation of hospital equipment, being the essence of the hospital's lighting system.
Intelligent lighting systems, on the basis of achieving intelligent lighting control, can also enhance work efficiency and management levels. They offer significant energy-saving benefits and reduce maintenance costs, making their application in hospital architectural design increasingly widespread.
4.1 Achieve automatic lighting adjustment
The intelligent lighting system allows hospital lighting equipment to be in an automatic control state. By pre-allocating lighting equipment, it can be programmed to manage the lighting equipment according to the time requirements of an intelligent hospital, utilizing the lighting equipment efficiently and switching automatically in an orderly manner. For instance, during rest periods, the intelligent lighting system, through programming, switches to a comfortable working state, automatically adjusts the brightness of various areas, and activates real-time monitoring systems. In unoccupied areas, the lighting equipment automatically turns off; when a person is detected, the lights are adjusted to an appropriate brightness. Through programming, fixed working modes are created, thereby achieving intelligent control of the entire building's on/off, creating environments that meet different times and needs.
4.2 Enhance Work Efficiency and Environment
In traditional lighting systems, fluorescent lights flicker at a 100 Hz frequency, causing eye strain in workers and reducing their efficiency. In smart lighting systems, dimmable electronic ballasts operate at a higher frequency, up to 7000 Hz, ensuring stable lighting.
4.3 Achieve energy conservation and cost reduction
The intelligent lighting system adjusts the brightness of most lamps intelligently, automatically modifying the indoor light intensity based on the strength of outdoor light, ensuring a consistent light level indoors and maximizing the use of natural light to achieve energy-saving goals.
The intelligent lighting system transforms traditional mechanical switches into intelligent, programmable management, allowing building managers to incorporate management awareness into lighting systems, thereby reducing operational and maintenance costs for the building and enhancing return on investment.
6. Application Scenarios
System Features:
1. Switch Control: Achieve lighting on/off control for channels, corridors, public areas, staircases, and meeting rooms based on individual lighting circuits, areas, and floors, while monitoring the switching status of controlled circuits.
2. Dimming Control: Meets the requirements for local illumination and brightness adjustment, supporting the monitoring of light intensity or brightness in locations such as corridors, lobbies, common areas, staircases, and conference rooms. It allows for automatic or manual adjustment of the number of lights and brightness levels as needed, fully utilizing natural light sources. This not only saves energy but also creates a comfortable living and working environment.
3. Scene Control: Supports various scene mode controls. According to the functional needs of different areas, set scenes to complete the control combination of relevant lighting fixtures, meeting the requirements for beautifying the work environment and enhancing comfort.
4. Lighting Circuit Monitoring: Real-time surveillance of operating current and switch status in each lighting branch/circuit, with automatic analysis of fault conditions and early warnings.
5. Zone and Central Control: Enables operational managers to real-time monitor lighting status across various zones, floors, and buildings, and to zone, layer, and building-segment control as needed, as well as central control.
6. Real-time Alarms: Fault alarms occur when a module goes offline, a gateway device drops off, or there is a discrepancy between status feedback and control command issuance. Fault alarm information is logged and displayed on the interface, with the prompt including fault time, module location, and fault description.
7. Historical Record Inquiry: Search for event records within any time period, supporting "Today," "Last 7 Days," and "Custom Time Frame" for historical event inquiries.
7. On-site Photos
Closing Remarks
Compared to traditional lighting methods, smart lighting systems offer certain advantages. Not only can they meet the personalized lighting needs of different users, but they also promote energy conservation and environmental protection. By fully utilizing smart lighting systems, we can contribute to the intelligentization of building lighting. Currently, smart lighting systems have transitioned from inefficient and non-intelligent to energy-efficient and intelligent, which is a testament to the progress of social development and an important reflection of the advancement of science and technology in informationization.
[Reference]
Wu Yunquan, the application of intelligent lighting systems in hospital buildings.
Jia Yunzhe, Research on Intelligent Building Lighting Control Systems [D], Shijiazhuang: Hebei University of Science and Technology, 2020.
[3] Meng Qingfeng, Huang Yueyang, Shi Yuanbo, et al., Design and Implementation of an Intelligent Lighting System in an Experimental Teaching Building [J], Automation Meter, 2017, 38(3): 93-96.
[4] Ankorri Enterprise Microgrid Design and Application Manual. 2022.05 Edition.
Author Introduction:
Li Xuewei, currently employed at Ankeai Electrical Co., Ltd., specializes in the research and application of wireless temperature measurement systems. Mobile: 17821733155 (same as WeChat)
