@Carol - I don't think this next question has been asked or mentioned in the presentation, and at this late posting, I don't expect anyone will answer, but I'll ask anyway. We already see LEDs in automotive tail lights, but when do you think they will be the primary source of lighting for headlights (and I don't mean those little decorative trim lights).
Concerning load shedding... Here in Maryland our energy supplier, Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) has for the past couple of years implemented turning off our A/C. The program is an opt-in, and there are choices of 50%, 75% and 100%. It is offered at not only the industrial/commercial clients, but also the home market. My household is a subscriber of this plan. The A/C shutdowns occur on days of extreme temperatures, and the load shed by BGE is significant, and the program has been successful.
Good points. And I'm not a betting woman. No one knows how the future will turn out. But don't lose heart. The industry is oving forward. Someday there will be the killler app for lighting controls. Or someday it will just seem backwards and out of date to not have lighting control. It is money down the drain. Money motivates, even if logic doesn't always.
reposting, 'cause I'm not sure what's happening (apologies if already posted):
Agreed in general wrt 6loPAN et al revolution precipice, but question: I'm interested in different markets, and obviously a not-insignificant market exists outside the realm of customers served by traditional building automation people--what I'm getting at is cost on, let's say, "RF system cost" for each "POL" (which could be an individual lamp or luminaire). Currently, COTS components are available in the budget of aforementioned building automation-scale people, but they're still not--ok, I'll be crude: X10 still exists and is in some sort of wide use (granted, in only 1 particular niche vertical, but my point is, if those such individuals can afford a 'house-wide' deployment, then we've removed acquisition cost from the list of issues for everyone else). Oh, question: any ideas, sense about anything happening to change that? (could be company, concept, massive tipping point trend; anything)
Seems there are niche markets for certain custom LED designs. I wonder if there's a forum or onine gathering place for pooling demand to enable funding custom LED systems. Sort of like kickstarter.com, but demand sourced.
BENEFIT: I didn't expect much from this module. But it was very informative. I now realize the effect of this fast growing electric load trend such as decreasing power factor. :o) LED as participants in the network of things is another point of awareness for me.
@LevitonDave: actually, many business customers are on contracts that specify that they are interruptable. These buninesses typically have back up generators anyway, so they are cut off (with warning, usually) when there is a potential overload situation.
UTILITIES: One issue for them will be the increase in reactive energy. Edson light bulbs didn't have any to speak of. It may even pass that homes will be offered a break for the use of corrective power factor solutions.
Thanks Carol, it's been an interesting week and I know much more about LED lighting and control then I did on Monday morning. A great way to spend my lunch time.
UTILITIES: I am referring to street lights applictions, but smart homes are likely to get a break for utilizing LED light fixtures. Some utilities are even giving some light bulbs to customers to promote their use.
Utilities are worried about load for their generating capacity. Load shedding is typically to avoid brownouts. usually there is a billing break if a business/building provides the utility the ability to turn off some portions of the load to avoid brownouts.
To answer a couple of the questions that were asked about wireless vs PLC, I think they are both useful technologies and I don't see either one going away anytime soon. They both have their uses. I think wireless is about to have a revolution based on 6loPAN driven technology improvement - open protocol, low power sensor, allows smaller IC, etc.
I would think that DSM by utilities would be left to the industrial customer to control. In other words, if the utility says you need to cut your usage by 20%, the business would decide what 20% on their own. It would make no sense for the utility to have to understand the business enogh to pick what to control.
Utilities are unlikely to get involved in lighting control. UNLESS they can package it as a paid service, particularly in a multi-building facility. But pursue that thought...
@Carol: In a nut shell, will utilities get involved in wireless control of LED lighting, or because they own the poles, they are likely to use power iight communications and sensors to drive their policies?
As always, the FIRST tool I-as-designer need is a datamining tool to quickly/efficiently search out and tabulate (create a full-fledged link page to) references/resources for design info. Second tool would be a "reputation"-based tabulator, helping define "who's out front" in design choices (no sense spending time evolving a system using an evolutionary deadend protocol...).
I have an application for controlled lighting in an RF intense environment. However, LED's de-modulate the RF signal and treat it as a DC bias and change the lighting level. Any suggestions?
@Carol Have you installed smart lighting and/or LED lighting in your home? How was your experience with it? Is there anything you are waiting on for costs or protocols to mature?
it's not really necessary to have a unique IP address for each light. Out of the building, it is not really useful to have those lights addressable. In fact, that could be a problem.
And (if we're looking for logical placement points for adjunct equipment) sounds like thermostat enclosures will probably start including WiFi access points too...
industrial environments have a HUGE problem with localized RFI, data-swamping noise, associated with various processes (welding, etc). 4-20 mAmp circuits were an early solution...
- TI has some excellent reference designs for LED based lighting, that includes both schematics and source code. Its freely downloadable (once you register at TI),,and you may be able to glean some ideas by studing what they did. The URL reference is http://www.ti.com/lsds/ti/microcontroller/32-bit_c2000/tools.page and look under the "Lighting" heading under Application kits.
very interested in power line carrier communication (PLC) and control of lighting. wires already go to each fixture, so use them for other functions too.
Good morning from sunny Sebastopol, CA. Just went through the slide deck, and Carol did an excellent job. I'm in the Solar Power part of the engineering world, but smart LEDs are part of the same green energy continuum.
Not doing or planning in the near future to do any building lightning but it certainly is an interesting topic and a source for a lot of potential cost savings!
Energy saving (low power design) at chip and system level is important in every application. Every project I have worked on recently has pushed for low power.
Looking for more depth and detail on using and designing boost SMPS for LED lighting appications. Soft start. Handling LED sometimes wide parameter (forward voltage drop, etc.). Analog feedback vs. hysteretic control. I realize that is likely a whole new course, not just one answer. :-)
Good morning from sunny Sebastopol, CA. Just went through the slide deck, and Carol did an excellent job. I'm in the Solar Power part of the engineering world, but smart LEDs are part of the same green energy continuum.
The streaming audio player will appear on this web page when the show starts at 2pm eastern today. Note however that some companies block live audio streams. If when the show starts you don't hear any audio, try refreshing your browser.
For 3D printing to make the jump from rapid prototyping to manufacturing, engineers will need to find easier ways to move products from their CAD screens to their printers.
Gigabit and PoE are two networking technologies moving ahead in tandem as industrial users power remote Ethernet devices such as IP security cameras at 1,000 Mbps over existing CAT5 cable.
New versions of BASF's Ecovio line are both compostable and designed for either injection molding or thermoforming. These combinations are becoming more common for the single-use bioplastics used in food service and food packaging applications, but are still not widely available.
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I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
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