February 23rd, 2013 - 2 years, 103 days ago 
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Lutron, a company pioneering in the invention of the first solid-state dimmer (1961) and the first product to control all light sources without additional interfaces (2001) is now offering Integrated guestroom solutions for the hospitality industry. Javier Segovia, Sales Director and Manjul Trehan, Director (Sales) India, explain the new wireless technology which makes the room settings flexible.
The wireless technology provides solutions to the hotel owners savings in terms of energy, labour and maintenance and to hotel guests in terms of room ambiance and comfort. Most often while changing the layout and settings of a guestroom or any room, the light fixtures and switches stay where they are unless the owner is willing to invest time and money on breaking into the wall, removing the concealed wiring and fitting it else where. With the wireless technology, all one needs to do is remove the controller and put it back in at the new location. This is as simple as pulling a card out of a wall socket. The only difference being that both the card and the reader can be taken out without causing damage to the wall and put up on another wall without delay.
This capability of being able to change not just the settings of the fixtures but also the switches controlling them is the need of the day in the current hospitality industry. This is a patented Lutron technology called ‘Clear Connect’. It consumes battery only when in use and its operations are as simple as pressing a button. As soon as the button is pressed, the message from one device to the other takes less than a second. The battery is expected to last for 10 years as the power consumption is very low and the product is very safe as it communicates in less than a second.
The technology is safe, adaptable to corporate and residential settings as well. In terms of a corporate setting, an antenna can be installed in the false ceiling while all the other components can be wireless. If a room is closed off, one can still operate the lights etc with a wireless sensor and a wireless belay sensor. Additionally, it is also possible to have a wireless switch on the glass partitions or doors etc. Every fixture will be controlled by Lutron without any cables. This eliminates the need to rewire everything everytime there is a change of function or layout or room setting. This also does away with the problem of employing labour for wiring or dismantling and putting up walls.
The technology is based on the Radio Frequencies and Lutorn has designed its systems to use 365 frequency (in India). This is a restricted band which is not open to most of the other wireless systems. Between the Maine and FM, this is the safest frequency and not as crowded as 2.20 Giga hertz.
The largest well known installation from the company is the Empire State Building which uses 40,000 RF installations. The technology is available with a manual which is simple and self explanatory. Lutron to an extent does specify the design technicalities to the MEP consultants, designers & architects and helps explain the execution of the job to a builder or the contractor and also provides line drawings. We also help the end user programme it according to their requirement. All the instructions are in writing and contractors are expected to read them properly. Whenever and wherever possible, Lutron tries to visit the site and ensure that the instructions are being followed properly.
The company provides lighting control and blind control solutions for the high end as well as the medium and lower end market segments. The company is poised to launch a new retrofit product to save energy in all segments from hospitals & hotels to residential.
CASE STUDY
Empire State Building sets a new standard for sustainable, commercial renovation
In new commercial construction, sustainable building practices are becoming the norm, but, when it comes to renovating the more than 81 bsqft1 of existing office space in the world, owners and property managers face a process that can be much more difficult to navigate.
Ownership of the Empire State Building Company (ESB) has partnered with service providers and vendors to test and prove processes and products and provide guidelines for energy efficiency retrofits in existing buildings. Using its platform as the World’s Most Famous Office Building and its leadership in energy efficiency, ESB draws attention to pathways which are both economically viable and environmentally sustainable, and available for any building, anywhere in the world.
Anthony Malkin of the Empire State Building Company is refreshingly upfront about his conviction that sustainability is multi-faceted, “When we spend money, we want to be responsible stewards of the environment, but have to keep return on investment (ROI) top of mind. If a business is not profitable, it is not truly sustainable. At ESB, we want to create a road map for efficient retrofits and work with leading vendors who can create products that can help us reach our goals. Lutron has done that for light controls and developed a product we use, and any company can utilize in its renovation plan.”
The Right Steps in the Right Order
Working with the team of Clinton Climate Initiative, Johnson Controls, Jones Lang LaSalle(JLL), and the Rocky Mountain Institute, ESB approached the building retrofit process by defining the right steps in the right order. Starting with the building core, engineers first worked to control building loads by eliminating potential for wasted energy.
Every window in the facility was refurbished, radiative barriers were added to the exterior walls, and a more efficient lighting design was adopted to reduce lighting power density from 1W/Ft2 to .7W/Ft2. ESB’s goal has been to reduce energy use by more than the 38% guaranteed by its performance contract with Johnson Controls, Inc. when compared to a building that meets ASHRAE 90.1 code. To promote even greater energy savings, wireless occupancy sensors communicate with the Lutron dimming ballasts and the HVAC system, to turn lights off and reduce HVAC energy use when the space is unoccupied. By turning lights off in unoccupied areas during typical work hours, and not just after hours, the building saves nearly 38% more lighting electricity than it would with time clock control.
Daylighting addresses the opportunity to control light levels and energy use during work hours, but what about nighttime light levels? Common practice for night lighting involves keeping 20-25% of fixtures on at 100% light for security. The Lutron digital solution enables uniform night lighting throughout a space, but at very low levels such as 10% light output. This strategy uses less energy, while delivering a safer, more aesthetically appealing and inviting space.
Results
Beyond just performance, flexibility and energy savings in tenant spaces, wireless control reduces installation and operating costs to deliver an ROI under three years. “ROI is so important to meeting our goals, and to creating a replicable blueprint for success,” explains Dana Robbins Schneider of Jones Lang LaSalle. JLL is the project manager of Empire State ReBuilding programme. “When we first started investigating and testing light control solutions, we could meet our performance requirements, but we were facing a 6 year payback. An integrated, wireless and digital control solution from Lutron reduced that time period to 2.75 years, while enhancing building performance and flexibility.”
http://buildotechindia.com/integrated_wireless_lighting_systems/2/
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