Commercial Power over Ethernet (PoE) Lighting Solutions
Network-powered lighting systems provide building owners with a fully integrated, end-to-end, intelligent system leveraging the Internet of Things (IoT) devices, sensors, building automation, HVAC, analytics, and other technologies. Similar in the way Voice over IP (VoIP) delivered innovations in enterprise telecommunications networks, PoE lighting offers a defining platform that enables new capabilities. In a connected PoE system, each light links to an infrastructure comprised of structured cabling and PoE enabled network switches. PoE technology allows highly customizable environments that can gather and share data, inspire new ways of interacting with people and places, and provide more personalized workspaces that improve safety, comfort, and productivity.
What is a PoE Network?
This plug-and-play, low-voltage approach utilizing Category 5/6/6A Ethernet cables to distribute power and control as well as PoE network monitoring capabilities switches greatly simplifies the installation process, saving time, minimizing safety risk and helps to alleviate resourcing constraints. By using Ethernet cabling as the medium for data and power transmission from a network switch, an enterprise can gain more control over the utility. LED Power over Ethernet Lighting solutions merge the digital world with the world of commercial lighting to provide a seamless, code-compliant intelligent building solution.
How Does it Work?
Standard AC-line voltage enters a location and is directed to a telecommunication room, where it is then distributed to the network switches or power sourcing equipment (PSE). The PSE equipment constitutes a centralized distribution point and forms the lighting network. Another component of this lighting network is the management software, which sends and receives commands through the graphical user interface to give the facility or IT Manager complete control of the system’s lighting. The PSE equipment converts the AC to DC voltage and sends it down the Ethernet cable, providing power and data to the LED luminaires and lighting the space by activating all the connected PoE lighting.
Applications
Studies have shown that lighting can have a major effect on both mental and physical health. With PoE lighting installation & solutions, healthcare facilities can monitor and adjust the environment, leading to better outcomes for their patients. Smart PoE lighting networks allow facilities to adjust the lighting to aid in patients’ recovery by adapting to the body’s natural rhythms. They offer better lighting for precise tasks, such as surgery and other medical procedures, and they even adjust intelligently to complement daylight, improving occupants’ moods by providing brighter environments with light that feels more natural.
School officials can now deploy gunshot detection and notification systems to alert students, staff, and law enforcement during active-shooter incidents and other emergencies on school grounds. The active-shooter detection system comprises sensors and software that detect, locate, and alert occupants to shots fired in a building. The sensors trigger the system, which immediately notifies first responders and the building’s occupants of the exact location of the dangerous situation.
When you think about your grade school and high school days, you probably remember harsh, buzzing, and flickering fluorescent lighting. This type of lighting, common to many schools, does nothing to enhance learning and can, in fact, be detrimental to it. Research shows that lighting is a key factor in learning as it controls the brain’s ability to focus. Studies have demonstrated that students in brightly lit classrooms perform better on tests and earn higher grades than those in dimly lit environments. Additionally, building owners can pinpoint precise temperatures, humidity, and even oxygen levels with IoT systems.
Healthcare
Studies have shown that lighting can have a major effect on both mental and physical health. With PoE lighting solutions, healthcare facilities can monitor and adjust the environment, leading to better outcomes for their patients. Smart PoE lighting networks allow facilities to adjust the lighting to aid in patients’ recovery by adapting to the body’s natural rhythms. They offer better lighting for precise tasks, such as surgery and other medical procedures, and they even adjust intelligently to complement daylight, improving occupants’ moods by providing brighter environments with light that feels more natural.
K-12 and Higher Education Buildings
Gunshot detection
School officials can now deploy gunshot detection and notification systems to alert students, staff, and law enforcement during active-shooter incidents and other emergencies on school grounds. The active-shooter detection system comprises sensors and software that detect, locate, and alert occupants to shots fired in a building. The sensors trigger the system, which immediately notifies first responders and the building’s occupants of the exact location of the dangerous situation.
Enhanced learning environment
When you think about your grade school and high school days, you probably remember harsh, buzzing, and flickering fluorescent lighting. This type of lighting, common to many schools, does nothing to enhance learning and can, in fact, be detrimental to it. Research shows that lighting is a key factor in learning as it controls the brain’s ability to focus. Studies have demonstrated that students in brightly lit classrooms perform better on tests and earn higher grades than those in dimly lit environments. Additionally, building owners can pinpoint precise temperatures, humidity, and even oxygen levels with IoT systems.
Environments You Can Monitor and Adjust
- Temperature
- Humidity
- Light output
- Color temperature
- Circadian rhythm
- CO2 detection
- Gunshot detection
- Ambient light (daylight harvesting)
Get Real-Time Insights
Once installed, the PoE network offers a simple and intuitive web-based interface for commissioning, controlling, and monitoring connected devices. This real-time data provides insights related to occupancy, activity patterns, temperature, daylight levels, and other factors. Using LED lighting as the backbone of an IP network enhances decision-making about future lighting needs with live usage data and record management. Utilizing less hazardous materials, PoE lighting systems the benefits of longer expected operating life, reduced energy consumption, better color rendition, and dimmability.
Manufacturing Partnerships
Certifications/Authorized Product Sets
- CREE SmartCast (PoE & Wireless)
- Platformatics
- GENISYS/Innovation Lighting
- Siemons DLP (Digital Lighting Partner)
