Lighting Control, Monitoring and Management

Light is elementary for human life and is provided by the sun as daylight. We experience very large differences in luminance. From over 100 k cd/m2 outdoor over the course of the day, luminance levels of 2000 cd/m2 are also reached in the shade. Artificial light sources have long been used to brighten up the night. A practical aspect is the need to be able to control these light sources as well. There is the simple switching on or off at the flick of a mechanical switch, e.g. a lamp in a pendant luminaire. This is wired control – the switching on and off a light source. When light sources respond to a change in performance, this is often described as monitoring. Communication between various system inputs and outputs related to monitoring are also referred to as lighting management. The reduction of luminous flux is known as dimming. Depending on the system, a reduction from 100% to 0% can be achieved.