Regardless of property type, owners looking to stretch their budget or facility managers working toward LEED or WELL building certification, your customers want to reduce their energy consumption. With PoE lighting, their energy savings can be delivered via structured wiring (cat6A) system.
PoE technology allows direct current (DC) electrical power and data to be carried together on a Cat 5 (or higher) twisted pair cable. PoE was first used for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems. In 2000, Cisco introduced a proprietary technology that allowed Ethernet cables to transmit 48 volts DC supply to VoIP phones. Other companies followed, and soon PoE was commonly used in office VoIP systems, CCTV, Access Controls.
In 2003, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) released a standard for PoE. This was updated in 2009 with a standard that could carry more power. The result was that a single RJ45 connector and Cat 6 cable were capable of transmitting 30 watts of power.
Ultra PoE is a non-standardized version that supplies up to 60 watts of power, and soon a 100-watt PoE version will be available. As the available power increases, PoE lighting has become attractive to a greater number of your customers.
PoE lighting systems use Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), which are the most energy-efficient lights on the market to date, using 75% less energy and lasting 25 times longer than incandescent lighting.
With PoE lighting, the lights connect to an IT network in your customer’s building. When combined with sensors and small processors that can make decisions about lighting, these systems can provide additional energy savings (lighting controls). Luminetworx PoE lighting system can, for example, be configured to light only areas with inhabitants using advance lighting controls.
PoE design and installation
The power budget is a critical feature of PoE lighting since each cable can carry up to 90 watts of power. For delivery to a large building, zone cabling is a must. In a zoned cable system, consolidation points distribute power and data from which the cable delivers lighting, internet, and other IoT services.
Another design consideration is whether to use a centralized or distributed approach. A centralized system in which all PoE switches are located in a central IDF is the more common approach, since the cables are limited to a length of 100 meters this resolves any distance limitations.
A distributed system uses smaller switches set up in each zone (idf). This requires less cable and removes the cable length limitations, with the Luminetworx lighting control system maintenance and repairs are are no longer challenging. In this distributed system, switches will be maintained throughout the cloud based portal instead of in the building or in one central control room.
Power issues
Your customers who switch to Luminetworx PoE lighting can save up to 80% in energy costs on lighting, and proponents of PoE argue that the power supply is more reliable.
When standard lighting has a power outage, the lights return immediately when power is restored. With Luminetworx PoE lighting, built in power redundancy (optional) can keep the lights on during a power outage for up to 120 minutes on full power or 240 minutes at half power system reboots are never required to get the lights back on so. Your customers might be able to survive without internet for a few hours or days, but functioning without lights is more difficult.
Another issue is interference. There are no problems running DC on a shared line with data, but the lighting circuitry could create electrical noise that interferes with your customer’s internet service. Luminetworx has thought of this and ha a built in mesh network to transmit data so as to completely eliminate any electrical interference and communication outages.
Your customers need to be aware, any changes in their lighting will require only simplest of change. They will be able to replace a fixture with any fixture without the need to call an electrician.
To find out more about the Luminetworx PoE Lighting Solution contact us now.