Daylighting Digital Dimmer Lighting Control

Innovative, energy-savings lighting controls methods such as occupancy sensing, personal control, and daylighting have realized a market that is only a fraction of the potential lighting market. With the increasing market penetration of solid-state lighting technology, there is an opportunity to re-invigorate the adoption of energy-savings lighting controls. Along with the recent growth of solid-state lighting (SSL), there is a growing general understanding that optimal SSL control is obtained by replacing existing dimmers. Additionally, there is a growing tendency for the market to adopt controls that employ wireless technologies that allow the end user to control settings and energy-savings through the use of apps on personal devices. Missing, however, from all of the current wireless lighting solutions is the integration of energy-savings daylighting that can result in energy savings. Daylighting lighting control reduces lighting energy consumption by 25% to 60%. Pairing innovative daylighting with dimmable, solid-state lighting is the future of lighting energy savings. The proposed RiteBrite system is the commercial embodiment of the digital daylighting dimmer (D3) that was proposed and demonstrated during Phase I. The RiteBrite solid-state lighting control architecture is targeted to replace and/or augment traditional light switches, analog dimmers, and wireless controls with a smart SSL control system equipped with a modular remote consisting of a photosensor, state-of-the-art Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) RF communication, and a novel task-to-wall (TTW) sensing and control technology that enables energy savings via daylighting, in conjunction with personal control. TTW allows intensity control by sensing light changes at a distant (wall) location by using a combination of novel light modeling as well as intuitive and simple characterization of the installed SSL lights during the initial setup. While overall illumination control was created in Phase I, in Phase II, the algorithm will be expanded to each component of light spectrum, red, green, and blue (RGB), to enable TTW to control both intensity and color. Development of color enabled TTW, which is able to address the nonlinear relationships of controlling color and intensity, will enable end users to more precisely control the quality and intensity of the light to both save energy and increase their lighting satisfaction. Phase II will take the technology from a breadboard to production in phases to meet and parallel current and developing market opportunities, including taking advantage of the growing technology development and market penetration of color controlled solid-state lighting. The fundamental value proposition of the Phase II RiteBrite system is to provide the lighting right - deliver the right amount of light, with the right light quality, at the right time. The Phase I development led to a setup strategy that, instead of being based on the ambient light sensing capability of personal devices, is based on a very low-cost, modular, and accurate photosensor. Products built using the RiteBrite energy-savings lighting control technology will realize 25-60% energy savings via daylighting and 10-20% energy savings via personal dimming control.