Regulatory lighting and efficiency control

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Efficient lighting control and analysis

Considering the use of the building, the energy consumption in its lighting installations is usually a considerable percentage on which we can act to reduce the electricity bill and CO2 emissions. In the Section HE3 (Updated September 2013) of the Technical Building Code, the Energy Efficiency in Lighting Installations is regulated, and the minimum requirements to be considered.

In this post, we will deal with it, and describe the solutions to adopt to obtain the best results from the point of view of savings and comfort.

What does the Regulation on lighting control recognize?

We must highlight the scope of application of Section HE3 of the CTE, whose last modification was published on 09/11/2013, and which covers interior lighting installations:

1. Buildings ofnew construction.
2. Intervention inexisting buildings with a useful area of more than 1,000 m2, where more than 25% of the illuminated area is renewed.
3. Other interventions in existing buildings in which a part of the renewed or expanded installation is renewed or expanded, complying with the VEEI values.
4. Change of usecharacteristic of the building.
5. Changes of activity in an area of the building that imply a lower value of the VEEI, with respect to the initial activity, in which case, the installation of said area will be adapted.

As you can see, we must implement improvements in lighting, in a wide range of situations.

Verification procedure against the Regulations

To monitor compliance with regulations, we must justify the following:

1. Calculation ofenergy efficiency value of the VEEI installation, verifying that the limit values are not exceeded.
2. Calculation ofvalue of power installed in the building in lighting globally, verifying that the limit values are not exceeded.
3. Checking theexistence of the control and regulation system that optimizes the use of natural light
4. Verification of the existence of a maintenance plan

As you can see, measures that aim to take advantage of natural light, achieve efficient values, and have proper maintenance of the installation, in order to obtain considerable savings in electrical energy.

What is defined as VEEI

It is a value that measures theenergy efficiency of a lighting installation in a referenced activity area. The unit of measurement is W / m2 per 100 lux.

Definitions:

P = Total installed power, including auxiliary equipment (W) (*)
S = Illuminated surface (m2)
Em = Maintained horizontal mean illuminance (lux) (**)

(*) Important to include the lamp and equipment consumption (ballasts)
(**) Value obtained from the lighting study (recommended to be carried out by the luminaire manufacturer)

This value is very important, since it gives us the reference of whether an illuminated room is light efficient, according to the tables that I reflect below:

It should be noted that equipment must be used with the highest possible efficiency, such as low consumption lamps, LEDs, electronic ballasts, etc., and thus obtain lower VEEI than required.

Maximum lighting power

Taking into account the power of lamps and auxiliary equipment, according to section HE3, the power installed in lighting will not exceed the values specified in the following table, according to the different uses of the building.

These values limit the power to be installed in lighting, forcing us to designsystems with efficient lamps, and very low consumption, depending on the use of the building.

Mandatory control and regulation systems.

For best results, it is necessary to have elements that control and regulate lighting that we have in our building. The times in which the lights were left on, in which there were no timed on and off systems, in which everything was centralized in the protection panel, have or should disappear.

Before indicating which systems are currently used to control and automatically regulate the lighting of a Building, I show you a brief analysis of the requirements of the Basic Document of the CTE:

1. Every zone must have, at least, a manual on and off system (switches, switches).Switching on and off is not allowed in electrical panels(something very common in previous installations).
2. Every area will have acentralized schedule system in each electrical panel.
3. The areas of sporadic use, will have an on and off system bypresence detection system or timed push button system.
4. Systems for the use of natural light, which regulate the level of illumination, which regulate proportionally and automatically by means of a luminosity sensor the level of illumination according to the contribution of natural light from the luminaires in the 6-meter-deep rooms and in the first two parallel lines of luminaires located at a distance of less than 5 meters from the window, and in all those located under a skylight. These systemsare not mandatory in all cases, since two conditions must be met simultaneously.The conditions are included in the Basic Document and will be the subject of another post.

Therefore, we already know thatwe need to have control and regulation elements in lighting installations, required by regulations, and efficiently as professionals.

What equipment can we find in the market

Currently on the market we can find numerous equipment, which are used to regulate and / or control the lighting of a room or building. There are them from the simplest, to building automation or home automation equipment capable of automatic control of a large tertiary building:

Motion or presence detectors.

They use infrared optical technology formotion detection. Therefore,detect heat generated by people or bodies in motion, they move within their radius of action.

1. Themotion detectorsevaluate the luminosity at the moment of detection
2. Thepresence detectorsevaluate the luminosityconstantly, and are therefore capable of disconnecting the load if there is sufficient brightness.

The uses, as you may have thought, are very varied, from the residential sector, to the large tertiary building, in toilets, corridors, stairs, archives, warehouses …

Dimmers depending on daylight

Are elements that are integrated into the luminaire, regulating the lighting level according to the daylight existing at all times. They are ideal to locate in the luminaires near the windows (as we have seen to comply with the CTE).

Schedule and Dates Control

Are time switches that incorporate a special program that follows the sunrise and sunset times of the geographical area where it is installed. They have the great advantage that manual and periodic programming of the on and off times is not necessary. There are devices that allow the incorporation of special days, in which the maneuvers are different due to holidays, weekends.

It can be used to control the decorative lighting of buildings, outdoor parking lots, etc.

DALI technology

The definition of DALI is synonymous with standard, is independent of the manufacturer, and is designed to control luminaires digitally, acting on the electronic ballasts that have this system.DALI, is shared by the main electronic ballast manufacturers worldwide. It is based on a digital control with which we can do anything you imagine, from turning off lights individually, in groups, switching on timetables, decorative lighting with color change, etc.

Communication between luminaires and the control system is simple; it is made by means of two wires without polarity. There are many elements compatible with this system, and that cover multiple applications.

Other lighting control systems

In today's market, there are numerous home automation and building systems that allow us to perform any function in the lighting installation. It is advisable to consult with each of the manufacturers, to see if it adapts to what is required by our installation.

As we know, there are also numerous models of timed mechanisms, in order to meet the requirements for sporadic use premises, in the case of not installing presence detectors.

Conclusions:

Different studies have determined that lighting represents 14% of all energy consumption in Europe, and 19% of all electricity in the world (source: IEA-International Energy Agency). By controlling lighting in new Buildings and modifying Existing Buildings, we will achieve savings between 20% -40%, depending on the solutions and activity of the Building, thereby reducing energy costs and contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions. .

The solutions can range from simple and very local elements, without large economic investments, to very sophisticated and customized solutions, which are part of the systems of automatic building control. For this, as I always tell you, a technical and economic feasibility study will have to be carried out, depending on the activity and use of the building, investment, depreciation, anticipated savings, etc. In any case, lighting control is essential as an Energy Efficiency and Saving method.

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Article prepared by Paulino Rivas García (Industrial Technical Engineer - Installations / Energy Efficiency Engineer) Owner of https://www.instalacionesyeficienciaenergetica.com/ in collaboration with OVACEN.