Lighting Controls: LED Lighting Controls Enable Task Tuning, Color Control

By Terry Arbouw

For many years building owners and maintenance managers have used lighting controls to automate off/on in an effort to save energy. Today’s lighting control systems offer much more. Personal controls or task tuning are often overlooked lighting control strategies that can provide significant savings, while at the same time improving and enhancing the occupant experience within the controlled space. Task tuning lets occupants dictate preferred lighting levels based on certain tasks without interfering with pre-determined energy limits.

Color Temperature Controls, or “CCT,” represents a coming paradigm shift in lighting controls. The introduction of LED light sources has enabled new control options, and one of the most exciting is the ability to control the intensity of the light, its color and color temperature. While more research is needed, studies suggest the discerning control of lighting spectrum and lighting intensity over time can potentially enhance human health, behavior and our general sense of well-being. What remains to be fully understood, however, is exactly how and why the color of light affects us and how we can best use its effects to improve the human experience in artificially lit environments. Color tuning promises to fundamentally change the way we utilize artificial lighting.

Terry Arbouw is director of business development & product innovation for Hubbell Control Solutions.

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.

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