By regulating the light intensity, we consciously influence our mood, the way we work or our sleep patterns. An evening for two is much more romantic with dimmed lights, or cooking is much easier if you always have a good view of the pots. Find out here how and with what you can control the brightness in your rooms exactly as you want.
The eibabo® technology store offers a very extensive range of items for light control. For example, access our high-quality switches, buttons, potentiometer inserts (generally referred to as dimmers), light sensors, switching modules or components for smart home control. Well-known manufacturers, best quality, fair prices, fast delivery and secure payment are our arguments for shopping in the eibabo® online shop.
What are light control systems?
Light control systems are traditional or intelligent devices that allow you to control the lighting in a room. Depending on your wishes and needs, there are different types of light control systems available. Probably the simplest example of light control is the classic switch that turns the light on and off. Another option is to switch the light on when movement is detected. A motion detector or a presence detector is used here. But the lighting control can be much more complex and in such cases requires very individual components. And that's exactly what this catalog from the eibabo® online shop is all about.
Image: Ledvance DALI PCU lighting control system
What types of light control systems are there?
In general, there are hardly any limits to the implementation of your lighting control ideas. Depending on your needs, you can simply switch your light on manually, automatically or networked. The more complex the system, the more individual freedom you have to realize your ideas or increase comfort. Even if network systems are more expensive to purchase, they save up to 30% in electricity costs over time thanks to intelligent control management. The following types of light control are possible:
Manual light control
Manually turning on and off is the most widely used lighting control. It is difficult to save electricity with it. You have to constantly remember to turn on the lights only when you actually need them. The use of economical LEDs can help save on energy costs. Dimming is a slightly more advanced way of controlling room lighting. However, this is also manual. Dimmer switches allow you to dim the lighting to the desired level. This in turn saves a little more electricity.
Automatic light control
With automatic light control, a sensor usually switches the lights on and off. You can specify the criteria according to which this happens and how long such switching cycles last. So you can't forget to turn off the light. To automate outdoor lighting, you may want to install motion sensors. The lighting is then only activated when there is a certain amount of darkness and a person or vehicle is moving in the detection area of the detector. After a certain period of inactivity, the device switches the light off again. Presence detectors or presence sensors are used indoors. Their basic switching principle is comparable to that of motion detectors. These record movements within a room. Presence detectors are ideal for bathrooms, toilets, break rooms and hallways.
Networked light control
The most advanced type of light control is the networked system. This is often part of building automation, but can also be designed as a stand-alone system. Networked lighting systems make it possible to control lighting from computers, multifunction devices, remote controls or smartphones. The prerequisite for this is the connection to a central control unit. Advanced programs can even store data and create usage charts, so you can closely monitor your energy consumption.
Basically, we differentiate networked lighting between centralized, wireless or combined light control systems. With the centralized system, all lighting circuits from a room or building come together at a central location. The classic wall switch is replaced by one or more multifunctional pushbutton sensors or touch displays. These allow you to control the light in different ways. This requires an integrated processor that manages the additional functions. Depending on the range of functions of the components and programming, at the touch of a button, for example:
- call up interesting light scenes
- dim different lighting groups
- synchronize the lighting with the movement of the sun
- make switching on and off dependent on the actual brightness
- adjust the color of the light source
- Generate operating hours, consumption and other data through measurement and/or monitoring
- and so forth
An alternative to the centralized solution is the wireless variant. This consists of controllable dimmers and switches that have replaced the traditional standalone switches and dimmers. The wireless system is of particular interest in renovations and retrofits as there are fewer cables to run. The existing installation can usually be built on. The installation is easy, the costs are manageable. The wireless light control can be operated like a centralized system and contain the same programming options. All dimmers and switches are wirelessly connected to the control unit's processor.
The advantages
By adjusting color or intensity, light controls can: Reduce glare; change the atmosphere and mood; make the room function more flexible; reduce energy consumption and increase safety.
A combined light control is a mixture of both systems described. Both wireless and wired devices are included in a system and exchange information with each other. This option is often implemented when expanding central systems. All of the systems mentioned offer the user comprehensive and individual comfort and are mostly intuitive and easy to manage.
What are the requirements for a networked lighting control system?
The individual components of a lighting control system (controllers, ballasts, drivers and light sources) must be compatible with one another to ensure proper operation of the system. This means: The components must communicate in order to be able to execute the control strategy. This so-called interoperability depends on the control method or the protocol.
Notice
A protocol is a set of rules that defines the behavior of components in a system in a specific language.
Examples of well-known and widespread protocols include the Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI) and ZigBee. All controllers must be designed for the same protocol to ensure good interoperability. The individual protocols differ with regard to the software structure. There are:
- open or standardized protocols that are available and usable for all manufacturers
- Protocols that represent an optimized solution for only one manufacturer and bind the user to this manufacturer for future maintenance, changes or extensions
- a combination of both; i.e. an open protocol that is tailored to specific providers or a provider-specific protocol that is made available to other providers through licensing
If you want to integrate components with different protocols, this is possible by using a gateway (hardware or software). In addition, various applications and software for building automation support the implementation of light control systems. With this you can for example:
- discover devices
- Assign specific control points to lighting zones
- Program scenarios for lighting zones
- Calibrate sensors and set actuators
- monitor checkpoints
- Issue service warnings and alarms
- Record energy consumption and display, log, evaluate and back up other data
- Create users and access levels
Catalogue content:
In this eibabo® catalogue Light control > Lighting control system component you will find items from the following product groups:
Item overview:
- Ambient light
- Central control
- Comfortable
- Control element
- DALI unit
- Hall lighting
- Interior light
- Interior lights
- Light control device
- Light line system
- Light management
- Light meter
- Lighting
- Lighting control
- Mini sensor
- Motion detector
- Motion sensor
- Mounting frame
- Mounting rail light
- Radio link
- Rain gauge
- Rotary dimmer
- SensorsSI
- Signal converter
- Smartphone control
- Twilight sensor
- Universal dimmer
- Warehouse lighting
from the following manufacturers:
Manufacturer overview catalogue Lighting control system:
- ABB
- Arclite
- Barthelme
- BEGA Gantenbrink
- Brumberg
- Busch Jaeger
- Ceag
- Doepke
- Eberle
- Eltako
- EVN
- Finder
- Fischer
- Gira
- Hager
- Hera
- Houben
- IDV
- Jung
- LEDVANCE
- Nobile
- Opple Lighting
- Philips Licht
- Präzisa
- Radium
- Regiolux
- Ridi-Leuchten
- RZB
- Schalk
- Schmitz-Leuchten
- Schneider Electric
- Signify PLS
- Siteco
- SLV
- Theben
- Trilux
- Zumtobel
