The IoT and Lighting Design

By Craig DiLouie, LC, CLCP

About nine of out of 10 U.S. organizations responding to Eseye’s 2021 IoT Adoption Report survey stated the Internet of Things (IoT) was a priority for their business, with nearly half planning projects in the next two to three years.

Looking specifically at the IoT and buildings, in a recent report, research firm Fortune Business Insights valued the North American smart buildings market at roughly $27 billion in 2021, with considerable growth in the future.

How will this affect lighting practice?

The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) tackled the topic with the 2021 publication of ANSI/IES LP-12, IoT Connected Lighting. The 43-page Lighting Practice and American National Standard provides guidance for lighting people when evaluating connected lighting’s role in IoT applications. Overall, it provides an excellent guidepost for the current state of the art, a foundational knowledge base upon which lighting professionals can build as the trend develops.

One area bears special attention, which is implications for lighting design. The IoT is really just a toolbox for various applications. Where it becomes reality is in implementation by lighting and building professionals who work with a set of requirements, some of which will be familiar and some possibly not, and all of it requiring the right expectations and a high level of design discipline.

Before we dive into the document, we should look at a problem with the IoT, which is simply defining it. A basic definition is available, though it covers a wide range of permutations. Simply put, the IoT is a network of sensors and computing devices in everyday objects that can send and receive data.

By extension, this suggests four core capabilities: programmable device behavior, data sharing between devices to trigger automatic response, measuring and monitoring to generate sensor data and monitor device status, and optimization of operations by leveraging the data.

The benefits to a building? Think of the 3/30/300 rule of thumb, which postulates the average cost to operate one square foot of commercial building space as being $3 for energy, $30 for real estate, and $300 for occupants. Traditionally, energy-efficient lighting would reduce the $3 investment, and a high-quality lighting solution theoretically influences the value of the $300 investment. An IoT solution has the potential to deliver value across all three areas while possibly adding a fourth—$3,000—which is revenue from new services, such as customer-facing applications.

Major IoT elements include physical objects such as sensors and controllers, network infrastructure such as servers and gateways, and data and software. Devices may communicate via a dedicated network such as Bluetooth mesh, building network (LAN), or internet (WAN). Attendant issues are those common whenever computing devices are networked: managing data, latency for response, cybersecurity, and interoperability/integration—issues being tackled in the IoT’s development just as they are by the lighting controls industry.

The IoT solution may express through a dedicated system, a building system such as lighting, or across an integrated building automation system with lighting being a part of the mix. Analytics applications may be inherent in the system software or created via third-party apps using APIs.

This brings us back to lighting. Lighting has long been touted as a “Trojan Horse,” a strong candidate for IoT implementation, because luminaires offer:

• Aesthetically accepted hardware/real estate for integrated devices

• Connection to power

• Installation throughout spaces and areas people use

• Typical positioning at a high mounting height, which provides overhead coverage and lower likelihood of tampering

Further, luminaires can operate with lighting controls, which fit just as neatly into the IoT. Sensors and lighting controllers can be installed as an integral part of (or in proximity to) the luminaire. The sensors produce occupancy and potentially other data. The controllers provide the intelligence necessary for nuanced, algorithmic response. If these control points are connected within a global network enabling data sharing, the basics of an IoT solution are achieved.

IoT Connected Lighting defines potential IoT lighting use cases, including space utilization, indoor positioning/tracking, personal control, energy optimization, voice input, and Li-Fi in eight project types, ranging from office buildings to smart cities. Applications are numerous and still being pioneered, with the most successful likely to become building blocks upon which more complex applications can be developed.

The bottom line is that the ability to collect and analyze energy, occupancy, and other data delivers potentially significant applications and benefits that go far beyond lighting control’s traditional roles of energy savings and flexibility. The data can be used to further optimize energy savings and also improve building and organizational performance, a potentially powerful tool.

Technology is evolving with this nascent trend. For example, some sensors now incorporate the ability to not only detect occupancy as a Yes/No condition and sense daylight but also count occupants and record temperature and humidity. The benefits of data—realized in various applications—is on top of the benefits of global and potentially integrated building system automation, which is really the bedrock of the smart building.

With this understanding, we’re ready to focus on how the IoT impacts lighting design.

The first step is to understand that IoT connected lighting solution projects are more intensive than typical room-based connected control solutions, with any attendant premiums in terms of cost and designer involvement. Regardless of their role in formulating the IoT solution, the lighting professional should take care to be involved as early in the design process as possible to ensure connectivity does not impose a tradeoff in lighting quality and to ensure lighting opportunities are fully considered. As the lighting professional produces the written narrative for the lighting and control system, at a minimum, they must represent their domain in the planning for an IoT solution and provide whatever deliverables are required from their purview.

IoT Connected Lighting states it succinctly: “Lighting design that incorporates IoT involves more team members, diversified project goals beyond traditional lighting project criteria, and additional coordinated components. The decision-making may include collaborative development of financial analysis.”

The document goes on to identify the stakeholders involved in an IoT connected lighting solution, some of whom are familiar and some of whom may be novel. Familiar players might include the:

• Building owner, who establishes the vision, must have skilled operators capable of operating and maintaining the system, and may be represented in the project by technical consultants

• Architect, interior designer, and acoustic designer, who work with the owner on intended applications

• Lighting designer and/or electrical engineer, who produces the lighting and control design

• Commissioning agent, who validates the design satisfies owner requirements

• Electrical contractor, responsible for installation

• Manufacturer and its sales and technical representatives

More novel players might include a:

• Smart building program manager, an owner representative responsible for implementing global smart building initiatives

• Systems integrator, who integrates one or more building systems

• Master systems integrator, responsible for integrating all building systems into one global platform

• Building IT team, responsible for maintaining networks and cybersecurity

• Low-voltage contractor, responsible for installation

The relative role and influence of each of these players may differ based on the type of project and its IoT goals, such as which and how many building systems will be required to interoperate.

During the pre-design/programming phase, the design team will determine the owner’s vision and identify the project’s needs, ideally in a document called the Owner Project Requirements (OPR). The lighting professional should be prepared to ask about the project goals, what data will be collected, any third parties that will be contracted such as for data analytics, desired control system capabilities, integration, level of owner expertise to operate the system, and future-proofing. To deliver maximum consulting value, the designer should be familiar with the technologies involved and potential applications and opportunities. As owner desires may crystalize during the project, the OPR should be treated as a “living document” that updates over the course of the project until it is realized.

During the schematic design/concept phase, the design team will identify the IoT application and required infrastructure, prioritize project needs as essential or desirable, and engage the owner at the internal stakeholder level. The lighting professional should be prepared to ask about primary (must-have) IoT objectives, preferred manufacturers, owner needs related to data storage and analytics, and minimum infrastructure needed to satisfy the primary objectives. Using this information, concepts—which may be expressed visually—can be formulated as Basis of Design, including the start of a written lighting and controls narrative.

During the design development phase, the design team now has a clear plan—refining owner requirements and subsequently building a luminaire, control, and sensor layout and specifications. Coordination will be provided to ensure the lighting and control system properly integrates with other systems. Network and cybersecurity requirements and information is provided to the building IT team. The lighting professional should confirm the budget, select manufacturers, and refine the Basis of Design, including the written lighting and controls narrative.

During the construction phase, the design team refines the design, coordinates with the integrator and other project members to accomplish integration, ensures installers have good documentation, and confirms satisfaction of project goals. The lighting and controls narrative is finalized. Documentation is delivered to the owner, and any specified training is provisioned. A six- to twelve-month post-occupancy evaluation is highly recommended to confirm and tune outcomes. ■

Lighting the IoT

In short, an IoT solution builds upon the familiar to incorporate connectivity, integration, and data to achieve a set of particular owner goals. As the building industry evolves toward greater IoT adoption, lighting professionals should familiarize themselves with the additional requirements related to this fascinating category of lighting so as to fully realize its opportunities and minimize risk.

Available at the IES online store, IoT Connected Lighting provides an excellent foundational starting point, along with Lighting Controls Association Education Express courses addressing lighting control system design and commissioning, centralized networked lighting control systems, and how lighting fits the Internet of Things.

Craig DiLouie is education director for the Lighting Controls Association, a council of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association that educates the public about lighting control technology and application (www.LightingControlsAssociation.org).