Wireless Solutions for Lighting Control
Which is the best wireless solution for building control?
Intelligent Environments Ltd has a long history in building technology. For most of those years, we have stayed away from offering a wireless option for lighting control. This was because despite extensive research into the multitude of wireless offerings available, we were yet to be convinced that wireless solutions for lighting control could provide the robust longevity that our customers demanded.
That view has changed however with our recent experiences with zencontrol’s wireless control system.
What makes the zencontrol system different?
A zencontrol wireless system boasts the following features:
- Easy to deploy
- Built on IEC62386 / DALI standards
- Standardised Lighting Control (IEC 62386-104)
- Full bandwidth lighting control with no compromises
- Built to support the best mesh network (Thread)
- Simple to understand and design
- Full functioning lighting control
What is Thread?
Thread provides the foundation for a wireless mesh network built on IEEE 802.15.4 and delivers the following benefits:
- Simplicity: Ease of installation, start-up, and operation;
- Security: All devices in a Thread network are authenticated and all communications are encrypted;
- Reliability: Self-healing mesh network, with no single point of failure, along with spread-spectrum techniques to provide immunity to interference;
- Efficiency: Low power Thread devices can sleep and operate on battery power for years;
- Scalability: Thread networks can scale up to hundreds of devices. Multiple networks can be connected to scale across a building.
Can a building have wired and wireless systems working together?
With zencontrol hybrid wireless solutions for lighting control, a wireless system can also work seamlessly with a wired system for a fully functional building control system with no compromises.
Even your emergency lighting can be wireless, deployed as an independent system or integrated together with a full range of wireless devices such as sensors and switches and regular lighting products to create a hybrid solution.
Are wireless solutions for lighting control slower or less responsive?
With IEC62386-104 over Thread, zencontrol provides a full functioning, no-compromise lighting control system, with full bandwidth control.
This is rare in wireless building control. Commonly other wireless networks struggle to reach this benchmark and rely on tricks and workarounds to achieve even basic lighting control.
zencontrol wireless products offer the same features, ability, and reporting capability as is commonly found on traditional wired DALI networks without limitations.
Is a wireless system less secure?
Longevity of a system is all important. With technology moving forward at an astounding pace, it is essential that any control system wired or wireless, is future proofed.
All zencontrol wireless devices are updateable through their Cloud infrastructure, allowing the products to become forwards compatible with new updates or additions to the standards.
This wireless DALI infrastructure is deployed in the same manner as wired DALI with a maximum of 64 ECGS (lights / relays) and 64 ECDs (switches / sensors) per network. Each network is connected to an IP gateway which provides an Ethernet backbone between all wireless networks. This also provides better security as each network is firewalled.
Additionally, the ability to securely update zencontrol wireless devices allows for security patches to be deployed increasing future security of the network.
Does a wireless system have to use wireless drivers?
Any D4i driver can be transformed into a wireless product with zencontrol’s wireless bridge.
This bridge can plug directly into D4i drivers and provides a wireless connection point allowing OEM and lighting manufacturers the ability to make any light wireless.
For instances where there is no D4i driver available, a DALI-2 driver can be used with a DALI-2 PSU and wireless bridge.
Does this mean any building can be smart?
Absolutely. With so many existing buildings being upgraded, with new fitouts occuring regularly to suit the needs of new incoming tenants, it is now easy to make any building smarter. Install a standalone wireless solution, or expand an existing system using wireless components.
Give us a call, and we’re happy to discuss your options.
