Clever Tech - Using Smart Technology To Improve Your Office Fit-Out
10 March 2022
Our current climate calls for the most efficient and effective electrical solutions. Advancements in technology have meant that we can implement the latest products to aid a buildings’ environmental impact, to reduce energy costs, and to make things more convenient for users.
Products like lighting sensors, automation and smart systems are all things we can look at when installing power and data into a tenancy.
Clipsal Wiser Smart
If you want to go the whole hog, there is Clipsal Wiser Smart. Make your office smart by integrating lighting, appliances, blinds, shutters, garage doors, Split A/C, TV’s and A/V equipment into the Wiser app. The product range includes sensors and reports room occupancy, ambient light levels, if windows or doors are open or closed, temperature and humidity, water leakage. And just like with the Casambi system (which we’ll get into later) you can set pre-programmed scenes and automations via the app.
Your electrician will use Wiser products and install them exactly where you want. The specific product will depend on the function, but the range is huge (see clipsal.com/products.wiser). The devices will then pair together as a network via bluetooth to a hub, which connects to your smart phone, your Google home, Alexa or Siri.
For more info, visit the Clipsal website: https://www.clipsal.com/produc...
Hive:
Exit and Emergency lights are required to be tested every 3 months by a licensed electrician. It involves sending them into each tenancy, engaging the test switch, and waiting 90 minutes while observing the operation of the emergency lights.
Depending on the size of your tenancy, this can be quite a costly operation. So, even buildings on the smaller size are opting to use Hive systems.
Hive systems operate by connecting all the exit and emergency lights to a hub, which automatically monitors and tests the operation and battery life of the lights, leaving you free to worry about other things, and having peace of mind that the lights are all in working condition at all times. If a failure is detected, the system will lodge a fault, and can even generate its own work orders.
The functionality is really impressive. You can have a single controller for an entire building. The lights and controller use a radio frequency, so power and data are not relied upon for them to function, and every fitting self-discovers other fittings around them to form ‘colonies’ that create the network. You can even monitor the lights yourself with a tablet or smart device.
Sensor Lighting
To bring back a little more simplicity, doing away with the smart systems, sensor lighting is still a great solution for energy efficiency. Motion sensors are used to detect occupancy in an office building or room. Given the current state of things, with modern workplaces presenting more flexible working options to their employees, the occupancy rate of office spaces has dropped dramatically. If the energy output is still the same as it was pre-pandemic, and your occupancy rate has fallen, imagine the energy wastage! Environmentally, financially… It’s definitely worth looking into some sensors to fix that hole in your wallet.
Casambi:
Bluetooth has been around for a while, and it’s not about to go away. Harnessing the convenience of bluetooth, the Casambi system connects your smartphone, tablet and even smartwatch (iOS and Andriod) to the lighting in your space, giving you freedom to operate it remotely; manually or automatically.
You also don’t need to completely do away with traditional light switches. These can be used alongside the Casambi system.
Pairing it with any luminaire that has a casambi driver or dongle, with Casambi you can control light colour temperature and colour, changing the scene ambiance completely. The Sunrise and Sunset function can adjust colour temperature at the beginning and end of each day. A Daylight Sensor allows you to optimise light timings and brightness, dimming artificial light when daylight is enough, reducing energy consumption. You can also customise a schedule based on a calendar and timings; eg, you can have all lights off on weekends, or whenever suits you. You can set ‘Scenes’; different lighting situations for different occasions. These scenes can also be animated, fading from one scene to another. It also supports movement sensors, saving energy when not in use.
Grouping the lights together is very easy. No wiring is necessary, all the lights connect together and to the app via bluetooth.
Casambi is the latest technology for smart lighting innovation. While we’re still seeing demand for the much older Dali system which is wired and limited to 64 devices, Casambi does all that Dali does, and more, on a simpler and more streamlined wireless network, with much improved functionality, flexibility, and is more cost-effective.
Example of dynamic ‘scenes’ set with the Casambi system. Images used with permission from our friends at Masson for Light, Melbourne.
We’d love to help you choose the best solution for your space. If you have questions on what might work best for your next project, you can see there are so many options! We’re here to help you find the best and most cost-effective solution for efficiency and convenience where you need it.