By Andrew Wale
One overlooked benefit of today’s lighting controls technology is the additional time and money savings — as well as peace of mind — available with Lighting Controls system services. These services provide remote technical support and device- and system-health checks during the lifetime of a system.
Remote support can be in the form of a service contract so issues such as after-hours emergencies and adjustments can now be handled by the lighting supplier. Service contracts are now available for lighting controls to make life easier for facility managers and their teams, so they don’t have to worry about learning the system and dealing with all the problems and requests by themselves. These system services are similar to what’s available for HVAC, elevator services, and security systems.
“Connected” Lighting Control system services deliver huge benefits to maintenance and engineering managers by offering remote monitoring and support of the lighting system throughout its entire lifetime. An example is Wattstopper Connected Services, through which technical experts can remotely and safely connect to the system to resolve issues that used to require an on-site visit, resulting in time and money savings.
In addition, data available through these services provides opportunity to further optimize building performance and reduce energy costs. Wireless technology enables retrofitting of older systems from room-based control to networked systems. Once networked, facility managers can take advantage of Connected Services as described above.
Andrew Wale is vice president of product marketing in the Building Control Systems division at Legrand.
Advances in LED lighting and control technology can provide new solutions and significant benefits to institutional and commercial facilities. These developments lead to more choices regarding lighting retrofits, as described in Lighting Controls: Advances in LED Technology, which first appeared in the October 2017 issue of Facility Maintenance Decisions.
Lighting Controls: Advances in LED Technology
Lighting Controls: When to Use TLED Lamps
Lighting Controls: Specifying Control Systems Based on Facility Needs
Lighting Controls: Understanding Wireless Controls for Lighting Retrofits
Lighting Controls: LED Lighting Controls Enable Task Tuning, Color Control
Lighting Controls: System Services for Lighting Controls Can Provide Peace of Mind
Lighting Controls: A Lightbulb Is No Longer Just a Vacuum Tube of Glass and Steel
