Office building Südwestmetall with swarm technology ZigBee
Nimbus realises with ZigBee a new type of light control with the wireless interconnection of LED luminaires. A switch is not absolutely necessary to light up a room. It is perfectly possible without – as Nimbus demonstrates in the new building of the Neckar-Fils regional arm of the Südwestmetall employers' association in Esslingen.
The light activates itself autonomously – but only when necessary – in this markedly transparent building with its sweeping form. Over 500 Nimbus LED luminaires illuminate the office building with with a power requirement equivalent to just six watts per square metre of usable floor space. This value is achieved in part through the usage-based and daylight-related control of the lighting. Not only the luminaires but also the innovative light control system comes from Nimbus, the Stuttgart-based LED pioneer.
The controller can be so slim thanks to ZigBee, a wireless interconnection.. The offices in particular show just what this innovative Nimbus technology is able to do.
The light is automatically activated there whenever the presence sensor in the Modul Q Project ceiling luminaires detects that a person has entered. The ceiling luminaires then switch on without any delay and also send a radio signal via "ZigBee" to the "Force One Power" floor-standing luminaire at the workplace, which then brightens up to 50 percent output. When the employee approaches the floor-standing luminaire, it dims up to the individually set lighting level. Thanks to the integrated radio technology (ZigBee) and sensor system, the Nimbus ceiling luminaires can be collected into so-called "virtual groups" or "light clouds" depending on the specific requirement and usage profiles. The wireless communication between floor-standing and ceiling luminaires is a real first.
If the proportion of ambient light in the room goes up or down, the sensor of the floor-standing luminaire detects the change, adjusts the target illuminance accordingly and also controls the group of ceiling luminaires. And as long as the employee is working under the Force One and is detected by the presence sensor, the ceiling lighting naturally remains at a constant level. The employee can make his or her own individual changes at any time – using the sensor buttons on the "Force One Power". Once again, the ceiling luminaire will adjust to the settings selected on the floor-standing luminaire. The grouping of individual luminaires programmed in the software determines which luminaires communicate with one another to form a "light cloud".
"ZigBee" also means that traditional light switches and cables are no longer needed – being free of fixed-position electrical fittings makes it easier and less expensive to carry out organisational changes or to use spaces for a different purpose. And as employees can easily override the settings, "ZigBee" enjoys a very high level of acceptance in Esslingen. Another reason is the fact that there is practically no delay in the switching process – after all, nobody wants to enter a darkened area, neither on the stairs nor in corridors. Of course, the building is not entirely without switches. In meeting rooms they are used to call up various lighting scenarios for presentations and different types of room usage. But even these switches are based on the Zigbee wireless standard and do not require a fixed position electrical fitting.
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