LED Control: Turn Off The Dark

LED Control: Turn Off The Dark Craig Fox – ETC Architectural– Moderator Ethan Biery– Lutron Gabe Guilliams – Buro Happold Gilles Abrahamse – eldoLED John Gebbie – Barbizon Lighting Company Sly Zogheib – Redwood Systems

What’s The Problem?

• The Design community has been led to believe that LED’s are easily controlled and dimmed.

• With the increasing number of products offerings including Luminaires, Components, Drivers and Dimming/Control systems, a little confusion has developed.

Some Questions. . .

• Who is responsible?

• What actions by the industry overall need to be taken?

• Who’s performing compatibility testing? Who’s paying for it?

• What actions by the design community?

• Should organizations such as Energy Star, DOE, etc. be involved?

• What will the next generation of LED’s, OLEDs and Controls offer – more problems or more solutions?

• How can we encourage continued growth and eliminate frustration, confusion and failed projects?

• Is there a different set of problems between residential and commercial LED dimming?

• What dimming range do Specifiers desire for LED luminaires?

SECTION

16570 – LIGHTING AND CONTROL

GENERAL 1.01

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS Drawings and general provisions of Contract, including General and Supplementary Conditions and Division 1 Specifications section, apply to work of this section.

1.02

RELATED DOCUMENTS

1.03

WORK INCLUDED

1.04

General Conditions

2.

Electrical Section General Provisions

3.

Conduit

4.

Wire and Cable

1.06 1.07

SYSTEM DESCRIPTION The system shall be designed for the control of lighting and shall consist of factory pre-wired dimming and processing rack enclosures containing dimmers, power supplies, breakers, terminals and/or control electronics.

System shall work in conjunction with specified low-voltage control stations.

1.05

LIGHTING CONTROL SYSTEMS INTEGRATOR General The provider of the system herein described shall be acknowledged in business as a Lighting 1.08 Control Systems Integrator. The role of the LCSI in this project shall be to provide all equipment listed in this section to the Electrical Installer for installation. The LCSI shall furnish a complete working system to the Electrical Installer, meeting the intent of this specification. The LCSI shall coordinate delivery schedules and installation of equipment with Electrical Installer. Additionally, the LCSI shall be responsible for all documentation for equipment in this section, system record drawings, final testing of the system and training of the Owner’s personnel as required by this specification.

1.09 Description A.

B.

The Lighting Control Systems Integrator (herein referred to as “LCSI”) shall have experience in the operation and installation of similar equipment associated with the construction and/or renovation of facilities similar in scope to this project.

The LCSI shall have been in business for a minimum of 15 consecutive years and shall have no history of bankruptcy.

Dimming Equipment

2.

Control System

3.

Lighting Fixtures

4.

Power Distribution

5.

Stage Accessories

The LCSI shall be located within 50 miles of the job-site.

The LCSI shall have on staff at least two full-time manufacturer-certified field service technicians and have technical support and assistance accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The LCSI shall offer a Maintenance and Service Contract.

The LCSI shall provide a one-year system warranty for the complete system, not including expendable supplies, effective from the date of system acceptance. Within this warranty period, the LCSI shall be responsible as the Owner’s sole contact for the remedy, repair, or replacement of system deficiencies (through the manufacturer’s warranty where applicable).

The Electrical Installer, as part of the work of this section, shall provide, install and test a complete lighting control system as specified herein for areas indicated on the drawings and circuit schedules.

The Electrical Installer shall furnish all conduit, wire, connectors, hardware and other incidental items necessary for the complete and proper operation of the lighting control system.

The Electrical Installer shall coordinate all work described in this section with all other applicable plans and specifications, including but not limited to: 1.

1.

STANDARDS & REQUIREMENTS SUBMITTALS Manufacturer shall provide 10 sets of full system submittals. Submittals shall include: 1.

Full system riser diagram(s) illustrating interconnection of system components, wiring requirements, back box sizes and any special installation considerations.

2.

Full set of printed technical data sheets.

3.

Detailed set of dimmer schedules.

4.

Detailed set of circuit and control schedules, including a complete list of all deviations from specifications.

Manufacturer shall provide any additional information, including equipment demonstration, as required by the engineer or specifier to verify compliance with specifications.

QUALITY ASSURANCE Manufacturer shall be one who has been continuously engaged in the manufacturer of lighting control equipment for a minimum of ten years. All dimmer and cabinet fabrication must take place in a U.S. manufacturing plant.

Proposed equipment shall be UL and C-UL listed, and/or CE marked (where applicable) and bear the appropriate labels.

ACCEPTABLE MANUFACTURERS The equipment herein specified shall be manufactured by Manufacturer Address 1 City, ST ##### Phone: ###-###-#### Fax: ###-###-####

Lighting Designer’s Wish List: • Controllability • Smooth Dimming to Off without “clicks” • Built in Intelligence – Occupancy Sensor In The Lamp – End Of Useful Life Signal

• LED output adjusts light output/power consumption – As LED technology improves, we can replace modules in future with equal output but less energy consumption” From R&D DOE conference 2012, Barbara Horton

LED Dimming Opportunities or Issues • LEDs are easy to dim: simply control the current or duty cycle going through the semiconductor material...

But...

• LEDs are not ‘forgiving’; their extremely fast response time makes any disturbance on the current signal visible as unwanted flicker • Traditional dimming devices are designed around incandescent and halogen, which are electrically very different from LEDs. Good dimming of LEDs (smooth and deep) calls for system optimization (dimmer & driver).

Inside the Driver - Dimming Techniques PWM (Pulse Width modulation

vs. CCR (Constant Current Reduction)

PWM dimming Constant LED current, varying LED on/off times ü Good dimming regulations at deep dimming (same current) levels ü Limited color shift with phosphor converted LEDs X Potential noise generation X PWM frequency – Potentially undesirable flicker •

CCR dimming • ü ü ü X X

Varying LED current, LED always on No flicker No noise generation Higher LED efficacy at lower dimming levels Poor dimming regulation at deep dimming (low current) levels Larger color shift with most phosphor converted LEDs

Analog Dimming Dimming Method

Pro’s

Con’s

0-10V

- There is a standard - Installed base - Separate wiring makes it easier to optimize dimming performance

- Not all follow the standard, standard also not complete - possibility of difference in performance in large installations - No networking capabilities

Forward Phase (TRIAC)

- Large installed base - Power and dimming over single set of wires

- Technology mismatch with LED sources, often problems - No networking capabilities

Reverse Phase (ELV)

- Although not optimized for LED’s, less issues than forward phase

- Small installed base - Requires neutral wire - No networking capabilities

Digital Dimming Dimming Method

Pro’s

Con’s

DALI

- There is a standard - Network based, offers more functionality - Simple wiring

- Not all follow the standard, implementation is fairly complex - Commissioning can be complex

DMX

- There is a standard - Network based, offers more functionality

- Complex wiring and commissioning

Wireless

- No wiring.

- Network based, offers more functionality

- No standards, many initiatives.

- Expensive

System Approach • Good dimming needs a system approach between dimmers, controls and LED drivers • Compatibility testing is key • Compatibility will continue to improve, great new technologies and products enter the market • Think of all the great possibilities (never before possible)

New Facility with Lighting, Lighting Controls + Low Voltage Systems

Power Distribution Panel

Lighting Control Panel

Lighting Power Ballast Control Lighting Controls HVAC FLS Security Voice/Data Paging

…and make it simpler with Intelligent Architecture

14

ANSI/TIA/EIA-862 Building Automation Systems Cabling Standard for Commercial Buildings

Thoughts. . .

• We can have meetings and panel discussions but the problems remain.

• People in all facets of our industry have the opportunity to help solve the problem – Driver Standardization?

– Control Protocol Standardization?

– More comprehensive Driver/Control information on Manufacturer data sheets?

What can we do to initiate a change?

Suggestions?

Thank you!