Distributed dimmable lighting control system and method

[0001] The invention relates to controlling lighting in buildings. More specifically, it relates to controlling the intensity of artificial lighting in buildings where there is an input of natural lighting.

[0002] Lighting stores and commercial buildings is a considerable expense to building owners. Typically, a lighting architecture is designed when the building is built and the lights are either turned on or off by the store manager during operating hours. Most lights are grouped into sections which are turned on or off as a whole. Some lights may have dimmers which allow a store manager to vary the intensity of groups of lights or individual lights.

[0003] Some store owners use timers to turn on and off lights, individually or collectively, especially in cases where the lamps need a warm-up delay before turning on completely and a cooling delay when turning off.

[0004] Most stores have large windows on at least one side of the building. Some also have atrium windows and light wells or window wells which allow natural light to penetrate the building and illuminate the merchandise.

[0005] The light intensity is evaluated subjectively by the store manager and is typically not adjusted even in days of great sunshine. Lights remain turned on near the windows as if there was no natural input.

[0006] There is a need to better control the input of artificial lighting in building where there is an input of natural lighting to save on energy costs.

[0007] Furthermore, relamping burnt lamps is very expensive and when a lamp is used constantly, it burns faster. There is also a need to increase the relamping period in commercial buildings.

[0008] Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to maintain ambient light level of a building area to a user specified level by varying the artificial lighting source according to natural lighting contribution coming from the windows and skylight of the building.

[0009] A further object of the present invention is to reduce the light contribution from an artificial lighting system proportionally to the natural lighting supply to lower the energy costs while maintaining the proper light level dictated by the user.

[0010] Another object of the present invention is to use a minimum of artificial lighting to satisfy a user's requirements by at least one of turning off lamps and dimming a light intensity of a dimmable lamp to an acceptable minimum.

[0011] Still another object of the present invention is to log data on the natural lighting contribution and the artificial lighting contribution to produce control reports to better adapt the control system to the conditions of the building.

[0012] Another object of the present invention is to allow a live configuration of the control system to ensure proper lighting at all times.

[0013] Another object of the present invention is to reduce costs by extending periods between relamping.

[0014] According to a first broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for maintaining an ambient light intensity in a building area at a predetermined level is proposed. It comprises obtaining an ambient light intensity level for the building area; comparing the ambient level to the predetermined level of light intensity; if the ambient level differs from the predetermined level, calculating an artificial lighting input to be generated in the building area to attain the predetermined level.

[0015] Preferably, the method further comprises generating the artificial lighting input in the building area and carrying out the steps of obtaining, comparing and calculating a second time to determine a quality of the calculating and modify the generating.

[0016] According to a second broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for maintaining an ambient light intensity in a building area at a predetermined level. The system comprises at least one light level sensor to obtain an ambient light intensity level for the building area; a light intensity verifier for comparing the ambient level to the predetermined level of light intensity; and a light intensity controller for calculating an artificial lighting input to be generated in the building area to attain the predetermined level, if the ambient level differs from the predetermined level.

[0017] Preferably, the system further comprises at least one artificial lamp in the building area to generate the artificial lighting input in the building area.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 1, a zone, or building area, is equipped with at least one lamp 100 to light it. Examples of these lamps can be controllable electronic HID Ballast lamps available from Delta Power Supply Inc of Cincinnati, Ohio.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 2, power is applied to the lamp(s) 100 of the zone by energizing a relay mounted in a Lighting Control Panel or Relay Board 102. To turn the light ON, the attendant responsible for this zone must energize the associated relay otherwise the light will be OFF in this zone.

[0041] Normally, the requested state of the light 100 in a zone is controlled according to a schedule specifying at what time the light must be turned OFF or ON. This is done by connecting a scheduler 104 to the Relay Board 102. The scheduler 104 uses a real time clock 106 to ensure proper operation.

[0042] The embodiment of the invention discussed herein uses distributed control technology where instrumentation and control devices can be seen as nodes on a network where information is exchanged on a common medium with standard protocols. Therefore, the basic non-dimming lighting control system is composed of a Real Time Clock node 106, a Scheduler node 104, a Relay node 102 and all light ballast and lamps 100. Preferably, a LonWorks network is used. The LonWorks network is based on the LonWorks protocol also known as ANSI/EIA 709.1 Control Networking Standard.

[0043] The schedule resides on the Scheduler node 104 which could store many more schedules for other zones. For each schedule, the data specifies the desired turning ON and OFF times for each lamp or group of lamps. The Real Time Clock 106 is there to insure that every node on the network will be synchronized with standard Time of Day

[0044] As shown in FIG. 2A, for dimming purposes, a Lighting node 110 is added to the basic system and the light ballast 108 used must be of the dimmable type. An analog output (configurable but typically 0–10V) signal from the Lighting 110 is used to modulate the control input of the dimmable ballast 108 to vary the light level output of the lamp.

[0045] To close the control loop, at least one light level sensor 112 is used to measure the actual light level in the zone. The schedule command is sent at the same time to the Lighting 110 and the Relay Board 102. Therefore, the relay board 102 can energize the relay associated to the controlled zone when the schedule command is anything else than OFF and the Lighting 110 takes care of the light level requested by setting an appropriate light level set point on a PID controller.

[0046] For a better measurement of the overall light level in the zone, up to three light level sensors 112 can be connected to analog inputs of the Lighting controller 110. The three readings can be combined together according to a user selected algorithm (such as averaging) to give an adequate value for the overall light level in the zone. The PID loop inside the Lighting controller 110 uses this measurement and compares it with the light level set point dictated by the active schedule. Depending on the difference between the two levels and based on its configurable parameters, the PID will calculate the analog output to increase or decrease the dimming command delivered to the ballast regulating the light level in the zone.

[0047] It should be noted that the sensors can be used to monitor parameters other than light intensity level in a building area. Indeed, they can measure the heating, ventilation and air conditioning parameters, the refrigeration parameters (suction, pressure, condenser, subcooling), the temperature, pressure, humidity and power. The controller 110 can then be used to log data concerning these factors and report on them. The data collected on these parameters will most likely not affect the control of the delivery of artificial lighting but can be managed and logged by a single controller 110 to facilitate premise management.

[0048] To improve energy savings in the case of buildings where natural light source input could be high, a zone could be divided in a plurality of groups of lamps, for example three groups of lamps. FIG. 2B shows such a configuration. Of course the lamp installation will have to be made accordingly. This kind of installation gives the opportunity to load shed a group of lamps if there is stable high light level condition in the zone even with lamps in full dimming state. In fact, this load shedding process can continue until all groups are shut off. The groups are turned ON again, one at a time, when the conditions go to a stable low light level in the zone without any active dimming command. The high light level and low light level are two conditions detected by the Lighting controller 116 using the light level sensors 112. But the power distribution to the ballast is the responsibility of the Relay node 114. Therefore, the Lighting controller 116 has to send a message to the Relay node 114 to manage the ON/OFF state of the groups of lamps 118.

[0049] Another improvement over conventional lighting systems is in the lamp replacement process. The load shedding is done by taking the runtime of the lamps into account. So the group which has the more run time will be load shed first and so on, extending the period between lamp replacement.

[0050] The purpose of load shedding is for places where electrical energy is not regulated. A building owner may then negotiate his price for energy and obtain a lower price if he keeps his consumption below a predetermined limit. If this limit is not respected, the price is then much higher.

[0051] In cases where there is an “Energy Manager” node (nviDLCLoadShed, nviDOLoadShed), a load shedding command may occur when the energy consumption level is near the predetermined limit. The controller will then change its command to ensure a lower energy consumption while ensuring a minimum of lighting in order to stay below the predetermined limit.

[0052] A switch 120 can be connected to an analog input of the Lighting controller 116 to override the actual light level of the zone to a predefined light level value. The override state is active as long as the switch stays in override position, for a toggle switch, or for a predefined duration each time a push button switch is pressed.

[0053] Preferably, each Lighting controller board implement two distinct Dimmable Lighting Control objects, DLC1 and DLC2 to control a maximum of two zones with one Lighting controller. Preferably, each zone can be divided in three groups for load shedding in high light level at full dimming condition. One can install as many nodes as needed to control all the zones of a building with this method.

[0054] Preferably, the Lighting application program runs on a board equipped with four Relay Outputs that can be used in place of another Relay board for a small installation or if all main Relay Boards are completely loaded and there is only a few more zones to control and there is no other relay board available. The board preferably has eight analog inputs configurable by software, four digital outputs (which form a C relay) protected by fuse and four configurable analog outputs (0–20 mA, 0–5 V, 0–10 V) protected by a current limit (max 25 mA).

[0055] Preferably, the Lighting interface runs on a software platform which is used to easily install and configure all the nodes involved in the Distributed Dimmable Lighting System and establish connection bindings between the nodes. The Lighting Interface is a user interface designed to facilitate the configuration process of the Lighting Controller and for monitoring and diagnostic purposes via a dynamic graphical display.

[0056] The LonMark Association promotes and supports the manufacturers that produce interoperable products which are the most basic components in the development of open systems such as the LonWorks system. The LonMark Association develops standards for interoperability, certifies products to those standards and promotes the benefits of interoperable systems.

[0057] The associated LonMark profile for the Lighting controller 116 is presented in FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 3E and 3F. It is a description of the logical interfaces of the controller. It describes the network variables and their types used to connect and exchange information with other devices on the LonWorks network, the configuration properties used to customize the controller behavior and the physical I/O's used to control. In the LonMark guidelines, the object 0 (Node object) is used to describe and control all others objects of the node.

[0058] Physical Inputs/Outputs. The board used as the Lighting Controller has eight universal inputs UI 1–8 that support light level and switch sensors. It also has four digital outputs (relays) DO (1–4) and four analog outputs AO (1–4). Both digital and analog outputs can be temporarily overriden for maintenance purposes.

[0059] Some of the preferred interfaces of the Lighting Controller can be described as follows. The labels refer to the functional profile of FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 3E and 3F.

[0060]

TABLE 1
Description of the interfaces of the Controller.
Label	Name	Description
R01	DO (1–4)	General purpose relays commended
R02		by the input network variables
R03		nvidocmd (1–4). The relays
R04		status is displayed on the
		corresponding nvodostate.
DIM1	AO (1–4)	Fully configurable analog out-
DIM2		puts that can be configured by
		the interface to control in many
		supported ranges by voltage or
		current a variety of analog
		devices
nv1	nviRequest	Input network variable used to
		send different standard requests
		to the node: to enable/disable
		alarms, to ask for the status
		of a specific object, to acknowl-
		edge an active alarm . . . The
		variable is fully described by
		the snvt_obj_request in the
		lonmark ressources.
nv2	nvoStatus	Output network variable that
		presents the status of a node
		object following a request
		for updating status on the
		nvirequest. The status is a
		structure of 16 bits returning
		information about the actual
		physical and logical status
		of the object. The variable
		is fully described by the
		SNVT_obj_status in the lonmark
		ressources.
nv3	nviTimeSet	Input network variable used to
		send periodically the curent
		date and time and synchronize
		an internal clock. The node
		will use this clock to time-
		stamp the alarms.
nv4	nvoAlarm	Output network variable used
		to inform the alarm node and
		the PC of the alarm status of
		the dimmer node. This network
		variable is shared by all the
		objects that can generate alarms.
		The variable is fully described
		by the SNVT_alarm in the lonmark
		ressources.
nv6	nvo00FileDir	Used internally by the LNS
		(Lonwork Network Services) in
		the process of transfering
		configuration parameters to/from
		the node.
nv7	nvoDimStatus	Output network variable that
		inform the interface of the
		current status of the grafcets
		that controls the dimmers:
		waiting for schedule, preheat
		period, cooling period.
nv8	nviLightCmd	Input network variable bound to
nv28		the scheduler node that receives
		the current schedule. Many light-
		ing nodes including dimmers can
		be feed from the same schedule.
		The scheduler node can send
		discrete values: max, med, low
		and off. These discrete values
		are converted by the dimmer node
		in illumination set points speci-
		fied in the dimmers configuration
nv9	nvoLightLev	Output variable that represents
nv29		the calculated lighting level
		based on up to three illumination
		sensors. It is displayed in the
		interface for sensor validation
		strategy purposes but it can even
		be logged so a trend graph can be
		presented to the user.
nv10	nvoDimCmdOut	Output variable that represents
nv30		the actual command value in
		percent that it is sent to the
		ballast. It is displayed in the
		interface for sensor adjusting
		purposes but it can even be
		logged so a trend graph can be
		presented to the user.
nv11	nviMasterDim	Input network variable used to
nv31		control from a single point the
		dimming percentage of many
		dimmers.
nv12	nviSchedOvrd	Input network variable used to
nv32		override temporarily the schedule
		indicated by the scheduler node.
		The override value can be speci-
		fied in the “dimmer override”
		form and the duration of the
		override is the same as for the
		“remote override time”.
nv13	nviRemOvrdSw	Input network variable used to
nv33		remotely override (the switch is
		located on another node that can
		be remote from the building area)
		the scheduled set point. The
		variable specifies if the over-
		ride should be active and also
		the override set point value.
nv14	nvoLightLev	Output variables that represent
nv15	(1–3)	the values of preferably up to
nv16		three illumination sensors.
nv34		They are displayed in the inter-
nv35		face for sensor adjusting pur-
nv36		poses but they can even be logged
		so a trend graph can be presented
		to the user.
nv17	nvoLightLvStPt	Output variable that represents
nv37		the current set point of the
		dimmer.
nv18	nvoMasterDim	Output network variable that
nv38		represents the actual mater dim
		received on the nvimasterdim
		value.
nv19	nvoSchedStatus	Output network variable that
nv39		represents the actual value
		received from the scheduler.
nv20	nvoOvrdSw	Output network variable that
nv40		represents the actual value of
		the local/remote override switch.
nv21	nvoOvrdStatus	Output network variable that
nv41		represents the actual override
		status and value.
nv22	nvoGrpOvrd	Output network variable that
nv23	(1–3)	represents overrides for the node
nv24		that controls the On/Off status
nv42		of the groups of lights. It is
nv43		used to shut down a lighting
nv44		group when the illumination is
		over the specified maximum limit
		for a specified duration.
nv25	nvoTmLeftOver	Output network variable that
nv45		represents the remaining time
		for an override, load shedding
		depending on the current status
		of the dimmer.
nv26	nvoPidOut	Output network variable that
nv46		represents the actual PID value.
		It is displayed in the interface
		to adjust correctly the PID
		parameters.
nv48	nviDOCmd	Input network variable that
nv49	(1–4)	represents the actual command
nv50		for the corresponding relay
nv51		(ON/OFF).
nv52	nvoDOState	Output network variable that
nv53	(1–4)	represents the actual status for
nv54		the corresponding relay (ON/OFF).
nv55
nv56	nviDLCLoadShed	Input network variable that
nv57	(1–2)	represents the actual load
		shedding command for the
		corresponding dimmer.
nv58	nviDOLoadShed	Input network variable that
		represents the actual load
		shedding command for the digital
		outputs (relays).
nv59	nviDLCLdShedSt	Output network variable that
nv60	(1–2)	represents the actual load
		shedding status for the corre-
		sponding dimmer. It is monitored
		by the interface and a trend
		graph can be presented to the
		user
nv61	nvoDOLdShedSt	Output network variable that
		represents the actual load shed-
		ding status for the digital
		outputs (relays). It is monitored
		by the interface and a trend
		graph can be presented to the
		user.
UI	PA (1–3)	Group of light level sensors used
		to calculate the illumination
		level for the dimmer 1. Depending
		of the preferred application,
		this group contain at least one
		lighting sensor and at most three
		sensors used to calculate the
		lighting level of a specific
		area. If many sensors are pres-
		ent, the resulting illumination
		level will be calculated using
		the strategy specified in the
		interface. If one or many sensors
		are over/under exposed, they are
		eliminated from the calculation.
UI	OV 1	Switch sensor used to initiate a
		local override of the dimmer 1.
		The local override set point and
		the duration is specified in the
		interface
UI	PB (1–3)	Group of light level sensors used
		to calculate the illumination
		level for the dimmer 2. Depending
		of the application, this group
		contain at least one lighting
		sensor and at most three sensors
		used to calculate the lighting
		level of a specific area. If many
		sensors are present, the re-
		sulting illumination level will
		be calculated using the strategy
		specified in the interface. If one
		or many sensors are over/under
		exposed, they are eliminated from
		the calculation
UI	OV 2	Switch sensor used to initiate a
		local override of the dimmer 2.
		The local override set point and
		the duration is specified in the
		interface

[0061] FIG. 4 shows a networked lighting control system. Different versions of the board are illustrated to show compatibility with the network to create a control system customizable to any building and building area with any number of lamps, dimmable lamps and relay board. The four output board is identified by numeral 132. The eight output board by numeral 130 and the 12 output board by numeral 134. A station 112 is used to access the interface of the control system and a remote access can be set up on a remote station 142 using any telecommunications means such as a modem 136 and a telephone network 140. A cooling compressor controller 144 and its associated switching board 146 are shown on the same network as the lighting controller to illustrate that if all nodes respect the network policies and protocols, they can all exchange information and be logically connected.

[0062] FIG. 5 is a graphical illustration of the interface of the control system showing a building area for which lighting is to be controlled. In order for the interface to properly correspond to the control system, the nodes of the system must be created in the interface and linked to the physical outputs and inputs of the board.

[0063] FIG. 6 is a graphical illustration of the interface of the control system showing the creation of a node of the lighting system.

[0064] FIG. 7 is a graphical illustration of the interface of the control system showing the parameters to be loaded for the node of FIG. 6 to be created. These are standard network parameters that need to be configured for each node in order for it to be able to communicate on the network with the interface and the other components.

[0065] FIG. 8 is a graphical illustration of the interface of the control system showing the building area of FIG. 5 in which the node of FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 has been created. The system installer would continue to virtually install all the nodes and assign them to physical inputs and outputs. He would then test each node to ensure proper functioning.

[0066] FIG. 9 is a graphical illustration of the interface of the control system showing the system parameters for the control system.

[0067] FIG. 10 is a graphical illustration of the interface of the control system showing input parameters for the control system. Typically, the sensors are the override buttons are the analog inputs. Alarms for the sensors can be displayed if they are over-exposed, under-exposed, disabled or in alarm. Calibration tools are available to ensure proper readings of the sensors.

[0068] FIG. 11 is a graphical illustration of the interface of the control system showing the output parameters for the control system. Typically, the digital outputs are connected to the relays and the analog outputs to the dimmers.

[0069] The preferred interfaces for the Relay, which is another LonMark object and which controls the four digital outputs (relays) of the controller and can be used as a general purpose relay block in installations where an other relay node would be required are described in the above Table 1.

[0070] The configuration parameters for the Dimmer, which is a LonMark object, are set in the “Dimmers” tab of the interface, shown in FIG. 12. The strategy is chosen from the list consisting of Minimum, Maximum and Average. The DLC installer can choose for any dimmer one of the strategies to use for the calculation of the illumination level, based on the values from the installed illumination sensors. Preferably, there is also a sensor validation algorithm that will exclude a sensor being over/under exposed. The PID Settings of FIG. 13 are a group of parameters used to adjust the PID loop. The Local Sensor Ovrd Value represents the illumination set point to use when the local override switch is pushed. The Local Sensor Ovrd Time represents the duration of the override when the local override switch is pushed. The Remote Sensor Ovrd Time represents the duration of the override when a remote override command is received on the nviRemOvrdSw input variable.

[0071] The LOW Level Set Point represents the set point value when a LOW schedule command is received. The MED Level Set Point represents the set point value when a MED schedule command is received. The HIGH Level Set Point represents the set point value when a HIGH schedule command is received.

[0072] The Limits are a group of parameters used to customize the Dimmer in order to respect the lamps' parameters. The interface object for setting up the limits is shown in FIG. 14: The Lamp Preheat Time represents the period of time after the lamps are powered, before the dimming can be active. This is specified by the lamp manufacturer. The Lamp Cooling Time represents the period of time after the lamps are turned off before they can be turned on again. It is also specified by the lamp manufacturer. The Start Lighting Automatically represents the condition to start automatically the lighting when the illumination level is under the predetermined level and for the entire period specified. The groups will be activated one after the other starting with the one that has the minimum run time, to extend the duration of the re-lamp period. The Stop Lighting Automatically represents the condition to stop automatically the lighting when the illumination level is above the predetermined level and for the entire period specified. The groups will be powered off one after the other.

[0073] FIG. 15 is a graphical illustration of the interface of the control system showing the load shedding parameters for the control system. For a Digital Output (relay) one can specify if the relay will be affected by a load shedding command on the nviDOLoadShed variable by changing the “Enabled” check box. If this check box is not checked the relay will not be affected. For a dimmer, the load shedding can be enabled when the “Enabled” check box is checked. In this case, when a load shedding command is received on the corresponding nviDLCLoadShed (1–2) variable, the dimmer's set point will be offset with a value calculated with the formula: OffsetSP=K*PB, where K is a multiplication factor and the PB is the proportional band parameter specified when configuring the PID bloc for the specified dimmer. For both of the load shedding types (relays and dimmers), the duration of the load shedding period can be specified.

[0074] FIG. 16 is a graphical illustration of the interface of the control system showing the live performance process status. In this particular example, the dimmer controls three lamps. A graphical representation can illustrate the level of illumination of the lamps, for example using a grayscale representation. The parameters can be shown in Lux or in percentages. The connections to the relays are also displayed as well as the load shedding status. This page gives the global status of the lighting system according to the control system. Temporary overrides of the status can be triggered from this status page.

[0075] FIG. 17 is a graphical illustration of the interface of the control system showing a temporary override setting. It is preferably set using a percentage value for a specified time.

[0076] Logged data from an example site is finally presented as an example. FIG. 18 is a graphical illustration of the interface of the control system showing an example building area with a plurality of nodes in operation and being controlled by the control system. Each lamp is represented by a small circle with a color representing its approximate illumination level. The sensor values are pictographically represented together with the predetermined levels requested by the user. The building areas or zones are also clearly identified. It should be noted that the zones near the edges of the building where windows are present are at less than 100% of artificial illumination, whereas the internal zones are operating at 100% of artificial illumination. However, even at 100% illumination, some lamps are turned off, some are dimmed anywhere between a very low level to a full illumination.

[0077] FIG. 19 is a graphical report of a log of data collected in zone 2 of the example building area of FIG. 18 on Jul. 3, 2002. FIG. 20 is a graphical report of a log of data collected in zone 2 of the example building area of FIG. 18 on Oct. 18, 2002.

[0078] While illustrated in the block diagrams as groups of discrete components communicating with each other via distinct data signal connections, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the preferred embodiments are provided by a combination of hardware and software components, with some components being implemented by a given function or operation of a hardware or software system, and many of the data paths illustrated being implemented by data communication within a computer application or operating system. The structure illustrated is thus provided for efficiency of teaching the present preferred embodiment.

[0079] It will be understood that numerous modifications thereto will appear to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the above description and accompanying drawings should be taken as illustrative of the invention and not in a limiting sense. It will further be understood that it is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the invention pertains and as may be applied to the essential features herein before set forth, and as follows in the scope of the appended claims.