Lighting Designers are now more than ever before using color controlled LEDs in many projects for artistic influence, as well as mood modification in restaurants and office spaces. While dimming a single color LED is very much standard fare, changing the color of LEDs is not so typical. This is where the DMX-512 lighting control protocol comes into play and has become the dominate choice for designers.

The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to uniquely identifiable objects and their virtual representations in an Internet-like structure. The term Internet of Things was proposed by Kevin Ashton in 1999 though the concept has been discussed since at least 1991. In 1994, the Internet of Things was known as “control networks,” which Reza Raji discussed in IEEE Spectrum as “[moving] small packets of data to a large set of nodes, so as to integrate and automate everything from home appliances to entire factories.” - WIKIPEDIA.

Really?!! My exact thoughts when I saw this collection of control interfaces in a large building that was recently upgraded for automation. I would love to tell you this is a rare scene and that I don't see this very often anymore, but truth is I see it more lately than ever before. Are you a Facilities Manager, Architect, or Automation designer? Don't accept this. Everything could be integrated into the single large touch panel.

Just ten years ago a white board was the only media presentation method for most classrooms in the US, and Automation of any type was seen in less than 10% of all classrooms. Having been part of hundreds of classroom refresh projects over the last few years I see the budgets, speak with administrators, work with support technicians and students using spaces, so have a ground level sense of what really makes sense for practical design in most of those rooms.

The silicon base research that later lead to Photocells (and transistors) was way back in 1954, and by the early 60s the first Light activated Photocells began seeing use in automation. It never ceases to amaze me how often we still see the photocell, and other relics of days gone by, in current automation designs. Here I will discuss some items that if you see in a new system design you should probably question.

Before Power was a concern we dimmed lights because it looked nice. Today there are many reasons to dim lamps and in this topic I will discuss when it makes sense to use dimming controls for each circumstance, as well as different methods of achieving a dimming effect in lighting.

A customer with a large aquatic center asked us to look into a better way to manage lighting and offer a solution for reducing damage to low voltage light switches in several areas. This ended up being a simple and low cost project that had big results in many areas.

Small meeting spaces and simple classrooms tend to be very similar in design and needs. Here are some notes on how you can get started with energy efficient automation of Lighting and HVAC.

Event Space automation is absolutely not just another big building. The priorities are different, the size is not the type of factor most assume, and there is a lot of exercise.

I was a Home Automation Enthusiast first. While I have been part of automating some of the largest buildings in the world, nuclear power plants and children's museums, I still enjoy the time I get to spend with my first automation love (I have to be careful here, my wife may be readying this), my home.