How to Specify Daylight
Daylight linking is very simple technology but needs careful consideration to implement well. Contrary to common belief, sensors cannot measure the lux level on the surface they are pointed at, they can only measure the light level on the sensor itself. Therefore, if it is positioned or aimed incorrectly, it will not function as anticipated.
Glamox does not promote using a daylight sensor in every luminaire. This can result in random brightness of fittings because the measured daylight on each sensor depends on the reflectance of the surface underneath it, rather than the lux level of what is underneath it. Using fewer daylight sensors allows for grouped operation and a more uniform effect.
Firstly, it’s important to decide whether you require a ‘Daylight’ or ‘Room Ambient’ orientation for the daylight sensor.
Daylight
Daylight - Also known as an open loop control system or Sensor Up - has the sensor located so that it detects only daylight and is not affected by light from the luminaire(s) it controls.
In these scenarios, the sensor is either directly facing daylight or receiving only reflected natural light. It is shielded from getting any light from the luminaire(s) that it controls. The two normal ways of achieving this are - (i) Industrial: Facing upwards on top of a luminaire, looking upwards through a skylight in the roof. (ii) Office: Facing out of the windows, away from the luminaire. In practice this scenario is often achieved by putting the sensor facing downward in the last tile against a window.
Room Ambient
Room Ambient - Also known as a closed loop control system or Sensor Down - has the sensor located so that it is able to detect both the artificial luminaire light and the available daylight.
In this scenario the sensor must be aimed at a work surface that gets an equal amount of reflected natural daylight and artificial light from the luminaire(s) that it controls. Note: Wireless Radio rarely use Room Ambient daylight detection as it doesn’t work in conjunction with ‘Me+8’ PIR presence links. If the area where the sensor is positioned becomes absent, the light fitting dims and all other areas become brighter. Daylight keeps the daylight dimming independent of presence.
Commissioning Steps
Having decided the correct method of daylight sensing for your project, the sensor must be configured during the commissioning process.
Stage 1
Identify and locate all fittings and sensors onto the drawings
When you locate a fitting with a daylight sensor it will appear with a yellow circle
Stage 2
Tap Profiles
Create a Daylight Sensor and rename as appropriate
Tap LDR and choose Sensor Up or Sensor Down
Select the Daylight Rate and Save Changes
DaylightRate This sets the speed of reaction to changes in daylight. If set to 60 seconds then the sensor will take 10 samples of the daylight over a 60 second period, then slowly dim the lights to the calculated level over the next 60 seconds.
Stage 3
Tap Luminaires and Configure
Apply the profile to the device
Stage 4
Tap Link and Daylight in the bottom left of the 'Luminaires' screen
Link the Daylight Sensor to the lights to be controlled
Stage 5
Monitor the reading and adjust sensor if necessary
Sensor High If the sensor is aimed at the inside of a room with dark finishes, or at the floor of a warehouse, then if will be monitoring levels between 1 lux and 100 lux.
If the daylight sensor is aimed at a skylight then it will be monitoring light levels between 10 lux and 10,000 lux.
By default, daylight sensors are set to operate in the 1 lux to 100 lux range. If you find that the Sensor Reading is high when you would expect it to detect a reduction in Daylight level, then Tick the Sensor High reading in the profile. This will change the electronics within the device to work at the higher range.
Stage 6
Go to Configure
Set the Target Level(s) in the Sensor
Once this step is complete the daylight sensor is commissioned and Stage 7 is optional
For Sensor Down there is only one setting which is the Target Level. The sensor will adjust the output of the luminaries to achieve the Target Level. For Sensor Up there are three levels to set
Suggested Values
Setting | Typical Value (Sensor in Daylight) | Typical Value (Sensor Shielded from Daylight) |
Lamps Off Above | 700 | 100 |
Lamps Min Above | 600 | 90 |
Lamps Max Below | 200 | 50 |
Stage 7
You may want different luminaires to respond differently to the same daylight sensor. For instance while the sensor may be instructing all of the linked lights to switch off, luminaires further away from the windows or not benefiting from an overhead skylight should not switch off but dim to a minimum level
This level is set, not in the sensor, but in the luminaire(s) and is called Min Daylight Level. The level can be set for an individual luminaire or group of luminaires by selecting a rectangular group as below
Tap on a specific luminaire(s) in Configure
Tap Min Daylight Level
Modify the behaviour of different target luminaries by setting their Min Daylight Level
On The Dashboard
The effect of these settings can be reviewed on the Dashboard by clicking on the Daylight Sensor and/or affected lights in the Drawings view.
Review
Click Project Info > Drawings > Select Drawing > Click on a luminaire > Click History
Each time the ACCESS POINT reports it will display the LDR value observed
Monitor
Click Project Reports > Heatmap > Select Date> Select a luminaire
This will bring up a graph which shows how the luminaire has reacted during the 24 hour period
The above graph is explained as follows:
Until Point A the luminaires will be at their maximum output.
Between A and B natural light steadily increases and the luminaires steadily dim.
At point B the luminaires are at 'Min Above Level' and will stay there until Point C.
At Point C luminaires will switch off, this is the 'Off Above Level’.
If at any stage the daylight dips below 'Off Above Level', the luminaires will stay off until it dips below the 'Min Above Level'. This prevents luminaires flicking on and off at the level (demonstrated by Point D).
At Point E luminaires remain off as they are still above the 'Off Above Level’.
At Point F luminaires remain off as this is the same scenario as Point D.
Point G as daylight level reduces, luminaires brighten until they reach their 'On Level' (maximum output) at Point H where they will remain until the cycle starts again the next day.
The yellow blocks illustrate the luminaire light output i.e. a mirror image of the natural daylight
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