Smart Lighting
Editor’s note: This popular post was originally published in February 2018 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
The term ‘Internet of Things’ is a growing topic of conversation. What exactly is the Internet of Things (IoT) and what does smart lighting have to do with it?
In this article, we focus on cyber-attacks and insider threats to the smart lighting system and the countermeasures an organization can take to help minimize these incidents.
Human centric lighting puts people at the center of lighting design. It considers both the visual and non-visual effects of light from a physiological and psychological perspective and extends the scope of lighting beyond the traditional architectural design approach, which focuses on aesthetics, visibility and safety. Tunable white (TW) is the enabling technology for human centric lighting applications.
Higher education is undergoing profound changes. Declining enrollments, changing student demographics, and waning retention rates have institutions sharpening their competitive edges. In the fight to recruit and retain a larger share of the dwindling pool of potential students, many schools are looking to build new or retrofit their aging buildings. However, universities are finding limited capital funding is forcing them to do more with less.
This is the 3rd article of a 4-part introductory series on Managing Security Risks in Smart Lighting Systems. In this series, learn about best practices, based on NIST standards and guidelines, for identifying and mitigating cybersecurity risks and threats, as well as implementing cybersecurity controls on an organizational level. The first article introduced the concept of a multi-tiered approach to smart lighting system cybersecurity. The second article focused on two key security control families: access control/identification and authentication. In this third article, we’ll focus on Building Automation and Control System security control families that relate to system and communication protection, and system and information integrity.
This is the second blog post of a multi-part introductory series on Managing Security Risks in Smart Lighting Systems.
Most facility managers today are using building management systems (BMS), also known as building automation control systems (BACS), to control and monitor some of their buildings’ mechanical and electrical equipment such as heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC), and safety and security systems. Centrally managing these individual systems has enabled facility teams to take advantage of a number of operational and energy efficiencies. For many facilities, however, the lighting system has remained separate from the BMS. This has translated into an opportunity loss. Further optimization of energy usage and operations through lighting system and BMS integration could be significant.
Your lights create and support an experience for the occupants and visitors in your building(s).
Good lighting supports specific tasks, while bad lighting can make those tasks more difficult to complete accurately or consistently. Good lighting can showcase products or render people and the space itself in the best light with richer, truer colors while poor lighting can make colors less authentic. The lighting technology used determines how good or bad the lighting and occupant experience is.
The moment you enter a restaurant you notice how it is lit. Bright lighting sets a more casual atmosphere and dimmed lighting sets a much more intimate mood. Restaurants and hotels offer great examples of the aesthetic qualities of dimming. Dimming also is an important aesthetic feature in commercial offices, hospitals and educational facilities.
A major medical center in Lincoln, Nebraska with facilities totaling approximately 3 million square feet across two campuses, recently upgraded its lighting system as part of a remodeling project. In addition to the common requirements of reducing energy usage and the related operating expenses, the facilities staff required a centrally-managed and forward-thinking system that could support a wide range of environments including patient care rooms, diagnostics labs, office space and more. In addition, the medical center staff was concerned about the direct impact the lighting system could have on patient care and comfort, as well as staff productivity and ease of use.
