| in the home and the workplace, lighting is responsible | | | | When a person enters the room again, the occupancy |
| for a significant proportion of energy costs. Lights | | | | control system will turn the lights back on. This is a vital |
| being left on when they are not needed or operating | | | | way of saving on energy usage, as it ensures that |
| at a higher intensity than is required is wasteful in | | | | lights are only used when they are needed without |
| terms of both financial costs and natural resources. | | | | relying on human factors such as remembering to |
| Furthermore, the excess energy usage makes a | | | | switch the lights off. |
| substantial contribution to the carbon footprint of | | | | Other lighting controls can be used to prevent energy |
| homes and businesses. By installing lighting controls, it is | | | | waste by automatically turning the lighting on and off |
| possible to curb these waste, pollution and financial | | | | as it is needed over the period of a day. This is highly |
| factors. | | | | effective in places such as office blocks that operate |
| Dimming controls | | | | on a predictable daily schedule. Lights can be set to |
| One type of lighting control provides automatic dimming | | | | turn on at a specific time of the day, such as just as |
| and brightening according to the amount of daylight | | | | staff are arriving for work, and then turn themselves |
| entering the room. In-built sensors detect the presence | | | | off at the end of office hours. They can also be |
| and intensity of natural sunlight in an office or living | | | | programmed to be inactive at weekends if necessary. |
| room for example, and use digital controls to set the | | | | Lighting Ballasts and increased energy efficiency |
| output of electrical lights accordingly. This is a highly | | | | A range of electrical ballasts is available to provide |
| effective energy conservation strategy as it ensures | | | | optimum lighting control. The electronic Tridonic Atco |
| that only as much electrical light as is needed is used. | | | | Ballast for dimming provides users with precise |
| For example, in an office with plenty of windows on a | | | | controls. With a dimming range of 1-100% of full output, |
| day of changing weather, the lights will dim as the sun | | | | the ballast enables users to set the light intensity to suit |
| comes out, and brighten as the sky clouds over. | | | | their needs or the time of the day. |
| Motion Sensor lighting | | | | For high intensity discharge lamps, digital and electronic |
| Occupancy control is particularly useful for areas of | | | | ballasts can be used to regulate the current supplied to |
| the workplace that are used infrequently but are | | | | the lighting and thus provide greater efficiency. A range |
| subject to a high volume of traffic, such as the staff | | | | of Newlec High Intensity Discharge Ballasts are |
| kitchen or bathrooms. These controls use motion | | | | available from 70W to 400W, providing low power |
| sensors to detect whether anyone is in the room, and, | | | | losses and increasing the overall efficiency of |
| after a pre-set period, switch the lights off accordingly. | | | | emergency lighting solutions. |