A Sample Case of an Advanced Lighting System in a

Educational Building
Luigi Martirano (IEEE Senior Member)
University of Rome Sapienza - DIAEE Electrical Eng. Area - Rome, Italy
martirano@uniroma1.it
Abstract - The paper describes a case history of an advanced
lighting control system designed and realized for a couple of
classrooms of the University of Rome. The control is organized
by adopting a BUS system with "distributed intelligence"
without a central and with smart actuators. The control turns
on/off and regulates the lighting output of two classrooms,
according to the actual presence of activities and to the actual
availability of daylighting. A classroom was arranged with a light
solution consisting in on-off switching control and not
changing the luminaires, a second classroom was arranged with
an advanced solution consisting in the replacement of the
luminaires with a dimming control. A third class identical to
the other two was taken as a reference to compare the results, in
fact the architecture includes a supervisory system that allows a
remote meter of the energetic values for the three classrooms.
The paper shows the results of a year of monitoring campaign
and compares the results with the energetic evaluation done by
the a suggested tool based on the Standard EN15193
methodology.
Keywords building automation; lighting systems; lighting
controls; energy management; energy savings.

I. INTRODUCTION
In non-residential buildings a significant component of the
energy used is spent for lighting [1]. In the energy
management of these buildings like educational ones, an
efficiency program could follow three basic directions: actions
on optimizing the lighting design, actions on improving the
efficiency of the equipment, actions in lighting control
systems [2]. The new approach of the evaluation of the energy
performance of buildings takes into the account also the
control systems. The use of advanced control systems is an
important method for reducing energy consumption by
dimming or switching electric lights in order to: -exploit the
available daylight, -compensate for light losses due to lumen
depreciation, -reduce after-hours usage, -tune light levels over
circulation areas [3].
The paper shows a sample case of an advanced lighting
system realized in a couple of classrooms at the Engineering
Faculty of the University of Rome [4].
The paper highlights the influence of the design and the kind
of control in the energetic performance [5]. Parameters of
influence are for example:
- the number of the groups of control,

- the layout of the zones controlled by different groups of

control,
- the tuning technique if dimming or switching.
The paper highlights also that when an advanced solution is
installed, a start-up period of some months is fundamental in
order to optimize the setting and the operation of each
component.
II. ADVANCED LIGHTING CONTROLS
In the energy evaluation of the non-residential buildings, the
annual operating time assumes values of thousands of hours
and the density of the power could reach values of tens of
W/m2 due to the high value required for the reference
illuminance [6].
In these cases the presence of advanced control systems could
reduce significantly the yearly energy spent [7]. The Standard
EN 15193 about the lighting energy performance introduced
the LENI indicator [8]. The LENI is useful to compare the
energetic impact of efficiency actions.
In a reforming of an existing lighting systems, two kind of
actions could be followed:
- To reduce the installed power by upgrading the lamps
and/or the luminaires with more efficient components;
- To reduce the time of operation by introducing advanced
controls.
Moreover a metering and supervisory system is always useful
to monitor the actual consumptions and the energy savings
achieved by the actions performed.
In previous papers the authors introduced the following
operating strategies according to the characteristics of each
single room: scheduling, daylighting, occupancy, luminance
control [9,10].
1.Centralized switching scheduling. Lights are switched on/off
through a remote command available to the staff of the
building, manually or automatically by a clock.
2.Occupancy strategy. Lights are operated in accordance with
the actual occupancy. Each room can be divided in
independent different zones and the lighting system is
subdivided in different Control Groups GCs according to the
zones (work zone, corridor zone, etc.).
This strategy is particularly convenient for rooms or zones
with an high value of absence factor. Lets note that the
automatic control system by sensors turns on instantaneously
the lighting while it turns off the lamps with an adjustable

978-1-4799-4660-0/14/$31.00 2014 IEEE

Delay Time DT in order to avoid continuously switching very

injurious for fluorescent lamps.
In case of short occupations with high frequency of absence
(typical for restrooms) the DT has to be reduced and the kind
of luminaire (lamp and control gear) must be able to withstand
the repeated ignitions. In these cases presence sensors appear
as the best solution to detect the presence/absence and LEDs
as the best the best solution for the luminaires.
In case of longer occupations with low frequency of absence
(typical for classrooms and open offices), a DT of some
minutes has to be considered and optimized in the start-up
period in order to avoid continuous switching. In these cases
the fluorescent lamps with electronic control gear appear
adequate.
In case of single person rooms (offices) a key-card with
instantaneous switching on/off, appears as a good solution to
detect the presence/absence avoiding unnecessary sensors and
eliminating the shutdown delay. A key-card could be used as
presence detection instead of sensors when fast cleaning
services could switch on the lights for long periods.
3.Daylighting strategy. Light output is adjusted in flux emitted
according to the daylight available in the room. In BUS
controlled systems (like DALI, Konnex, etc.), the daylight
availability is monitored by sensors and managed by a light
regulator.
Two modes of regulation are available:
- By swithcing on/off the luminaires by organizing the lighting
system in several control groups consisting in rows parallel
respect the windows;
- By dimming the luminaires according to a regulation logic
programmed. For example, DALI protocol allows to tune
independently each luminaire or to program different
groups.
Lets note that the installation of the sensors has to be
optimized in the start-up period in order to identify the best
points to detect the actual daylight penetration.
4.Luminance control. Light output is constantly adjusted in
flux emitted according to the average maintained luminance
values. This strategy needs special luminaires and therefore it
is applicable only in case of renovation of the ballasts.

system. The lack of a central element is an undoubted

advantage for the continuity of service; any failure on a device
only creates the inefficiency of the device in question, while
the rest of the plant continues to operate normally.
The devices communicate by logical addresses (in the form
x/y/z) needed to be recognized as the recipient of the message,
scheduled to make an accurate function, according to a
expected mode, with another component of the system
established by the program. A such system can be defined by
events because the communication is activated only in case
of event .
The system is programmable by a PC software system (ETS
mode). KNX supports several communication media (twisted
pair, power line, radio frequency, IP/Ethernet) and it can be
coupled to other systems.
In order to reduce the LENI, the designer has to consider the
optimal technical/economical solution for each room
considering the proper characteristic of each situation.
A general criteria is:
- to prefer actions on upgrading lamps and luminaires when
the annual operating time assumes high values and the absence
factor is low (corridors, multi person offices, etc.).
- to prefer actions on introducing advanced control when the
absence factor is considerable (single person office, restrooms,
etc.) and/or there is a considerable daylight availability.
At this aim it is essential to estimate the energy saving due to
the control. For example, in restyling cases the dimming
technique needs an upgrade of the luminaires and so the
switching technique could be simpler and more economic. By
knowing the prospected energy savings it is possible to decide
on the feasibility of the actions.
IV. SAMPLE CASE
The sample case consists in three similar classrooms (4, 7, and
8) of the Engineering Faculty /University of Rome, located at
the first floor of the main building with a significant daylight
availability (Figure 1).
Classroom #8
window

window

Classroom #7
door

door

window

III. HOME AND BUILDING ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS

In Europe the Konnex standard is widespread. This protocol

complies with the worldwide Home and Building Electronic
Systems HBES Standards (ISO/IEC14543-3, CENELEC
EN50090 and CEN EN 13321-1, 13321-2) [11,12,13].
HBES Konnex systems (KNX) are with distributed
intelligence as each device is properly programmed with an
unique physical address (in the form x.y.z) in the whole
system. The operation of the control system is independent of
the presence of a PC or a supervisory system and therefore it
ensures high reliability. In fact, each device of the control
system has electronic elements (ROM, RAM, EEPROM,
microprocessor) with all relevant information for the
operation. In this way it is not necessary to have a central
device like in the industrial PLCs to coordinate comm0 of the

window

L
A

Act

2
3

1.1

Act

1.2

DI DI

Act

1.3

Act

PS

L
A

A
1.1

A
1.2

DI DI

1.3

DALI

Figure 1. Sample case: classrooms #7 and #8.

The efficiency actions designed and realized consist in the

installation of:
1) An upgrade of the luminaires by adopting dimming
electronic ballasts only for the room 7,

2) A digital BUS control system based on the worldwide

Konnex standard for home and building automation. The
lighting flux control is tuned by dimming for room 7 and
by switching for room 8. Luminance and occupancy
sensors are installed in order to maintain the optimal
luminance level by tuning the emitted flux.
3) A metering and supervisory system was implemented for
the rooms 7, 8 and for the room 4 assumed as reference
case (no automatic control system).
Table I. Summary of efficiency actions
Actions
Classroom Classroom Classroom
4
7
8
Metering
X
X
X
Advanved control
X
X
Luminaries upgrade
X

The control system is organized according to the HBES

Konnex protocol.
The system is operated: - manually by local commands like
generic buttons or switches connected to the universal input
devices; in automatic mode by sensors; in remote mode by a
PC. The author compared the results obtained in a preliminary
evaluation by the Standard methodology with the actual
energy savings.

Figure 3. Digital dimmable electronic ballast (EDGC) model

Tridonic PCA T8 EXCEL.

A DALI actuator (model ABB DLR/S8.16.1M) allows to link

the control system to the Konnex BUS.

Figure 4. DALI actuator model ABB DLR/S8.16M.

2 luminance sensors and 3 occupancy sensors are installed in

order to maintain the optimal luminance level by dimming the
emitted flux. Figure 5 shows the occupancy sensors with ultra
wide angle detection (140 wide, 10 m long).

Figure 5. Luminance and occupancy sensors.

The sensors installation was optimized in the start-up period in

order to identify the best points of daylight penetration. The
control is managed by a logic control (ABB ABL/S 2.1).
Figure 2 shows the control architecture of room #7.

Figure 2. Control system architecture for room 7. The KNX BUS

supplies the meter gateway, the logic unit, the IP router, the universal
input devices, the occupancy sensors, the luminance sensors and the
DALI actuator. The DALI BUS starting from the DALI actuator
operates the control groups of the lamps.

Classroom number 7 (sweeping actions: upgrading-dimming)

The classroom 7 is a squared room of about 10 x 10 m with
three large windows (Figure 1) without solar screen and with
manual blind, running along the south-west side.
The 12 ceiling mounted luminaries 4x18W were upgraded by
the replacement of the electric auxiliaries with high efficiency
and dimmable electronic ballasts (EDCG) based on the Digital
Addressable Lighting Interface DALI protocol (model
Tridonic PCA T8 EXCEL with EEI=A1).

Classroom number 8 (lighter actions: switching)

The classroom 8 is a rectangular room of about 10 x 13 m with
three large windows exposed like the room 7. The existing 15
ceiling-mounted luminaries 4x18W with electromagnetic
control gear (EMCG) are controlled by 4 actuators (model
ABB SA/S8.16.6.1).

Figure 6. Actuator with 8 channels model ABB SA/S8.16.6.1 .

Each actuator (Figure 6) with Konnex addresses: 1.1.2, 1.1.3,

1.1.4, 1.1.5, uses 8 independent channels A, B, C, D, E, F, G,
H to manage 8 control groups (GC1-GC8). Globally there are
30 independent control groups (actuator 1.1.2 uses 6
channels). The automatic operation is managed by 2

Luminance Sensors LS linked to the konnex BUS by a

Lighting Regulator LR (ABB LR/S2.16.1) and by 2
Occupancy Sensors OS. The system operates the channels
switching on/off the 8 groups of control GC1, GC8 in order to
maintain the optimal luminance level according to the actual
daylight availability. In conclusions, the flux emitted by each
luminaire is tuned by switching the single ballasts (ECG1 and
ECG2) of each luminaries (switching mode) in order to
guarantee 3 different values of light output: 0%, 50%, 100%.
Figure 7 shows the control architecture of room #8.

(Figure 8). The metering data are managed by the KNX BUS
and stored in a pc server linked by an IP router.
All the metering, command, regulation, occupancy,
luminance, daylight signals are stored and managed by the
supervisory system to realize a database useful for the energy
management office of the university. Figure 9 and Figure 10
show two screenshots of the supervisory software.

Room 7
Room 8

Room 4
Figure 9. Supervisory system for the 3 rooms.
Figure 7. Control system architecture for room 8. Only a KNX BUS
is present. The control groups are operated by KNX actuators.

Reference classroom number 4

To analyze the different energy consumption of the
classrooms 7 and 8, the system is completed by a reference
classroom with a similar extension, exposure and use (room
4). The room is equipped with 12 luminaries ceiling mounted
4x18W with electromagnetic control gear (EMCG) organized
in only one control group. The action consists in the
installation of a meter system (Figure 8).

Room 8

Room 7

Figure 10. Examples of electric power demand for room 7 (on the
right) and room 8 (on the left).

Figure 8. Meter system consisting in a power mete and an interface

with the Konnex System.

Konnex and DALI systems

In conclusions, the control system for the 3 rooms consists of:
- Konnex power supply and other Konnex system devices; Konnex input devices as interfaces of sensors; - Konnex
output devices (actuators and DALI actuator); - occupancy
sensors and daylighting sensors interfaced with the Konnex
system using the Konnex input devices; - A DALI subsystem.
The line between Konnex devices is provided by a simple
twisted pair cable.
Smart Metering and Supervisory System
The scheme is completed by a smart metering system for each
classroom and a general supervisory system. The meter is
constituted by a pulse counter coupled with a KNX gateway

By the supervisory system it is possible also control the

switching and the regulations.
For each room it is possible to show in real time:
- The real presence of activity;
- The real energy consumed by the lightings.
The light control of the classrooms was built to meet the
operating strategies mentioned by 3 modes of operation.
Centralized switching scheduling. The lighting could be
switched on/off through a command available to the staff of
the Faculty by the supervisory system.
Automatic mode (daylighting, occupancy, luminance control,
zoning). When turned on, the lights are in automatic mode and
the system will operate with input signals from sensors placed
in the field of light and presence.
Occupancy strategy. Each room is divided in two independent
different zones GC1 and GC2 in order to optimize the
occupancy strategy (Figure 11). GC1 zone contains the
speaker desk used also by the student as reading room during
the time without lessons.

A delay time of 20 minutes was adjusted and optimized in the

start-up period. With integration of various signals and logic
sequence analysis, the sensor is able to verify the actual
occupancy status of the room without detecting continued
movements of the guest.

Manual mode (override). The system is completed by

pushbuttons to manage manually the luminaires. It is possible:
to force on or off (override) the status of single lighting
groups; - To manage directly the system in manual mode
excluding the automatic mode.
The automatic and manual modes could be enabled by the
general supervisory system located in the security entrance
box.
IV. ENERGETIC IMPACT
By analyzing the load profiles and the data furnished by the
meter system after 1 year, the author compares the energetic
performance of the 3 rooms evaluated by standard EN15193
with the actual energy measured by adopting a tool suggested
in previous papers [4,5].

Figure 11. Groups of control in order to optimize the occupancy

strategy

Daylighting strategy. The daylight availability is monitored by

2 sensors and managed by a light regulator for room 8 and
directly by the DALI actuator for room 7. The 15 luminaries
of room 8 are divided in 30 switching groups (one for each
ballast) organized for 8 parallel rows (GC1-GC8 in Figure 3)
respect the windows. Figure 12 shows as the switching is
managed by a Lighting Regulator LR (ABB LR/S2.16.1) and
by 2 Occupancy Sensors OS. The LR has 2 channels CH X
and CH Y. CH X manages the luminaires of row 3 and 4.
CHY manages the luminaires of row 1 and 2.
The 12 luminaires of room 7 are managed in dimming by the
DALI actuator according to a regulation logic programmed.
The DALI protocol allows to tune independently each
luminaire.

A preliminary evaluation was done by adopting default

values furnished by the standard, in particular for the
operation time equal to 2000 hours and not considering the
actual layout of the zones controlled by different groups of
control (standard approach) [15].
An advanced evaluation was done by adopting the identified
time values (4000 hours) and considering the actual layout of
the zones controlled by different groups of control. Previous
papers offer a complete tool to evaluate the energy
performance of a lighting system [4,5].
Measured evaluation. The metering system furnished the
cumulated energy spent for lighting for each room for a period
of a year. Table V shows the data measured and the related
LENI values. Table V shows that LENI measured values for
the 3 rooms appear higher than those evaluated by the
standard methodology with default values and p=1.
Table V. Comparison of LENI (kWh/m2/year) evaluations.
Preliminary
Advanced
Measured
Room
4
7
8

2000 hours

4000 hours

21
6
8

54
22
29

54
29
30

The results show that the default values offered by the

Standard must be revised for each country to take into account
different environmental conditions and habits.

Figure 12. Room 8 lighting regulation operated by a lighting

regulator with 2 channels.

Luminance control. Constantly adjusted only for the room

number 7 (luminance control strategy) according to the
average maintained luminance values above mentioned.
Zoning strategy. Each room (7 and 8) is divided in two
different zones (zoning strategy) according to the activities
(teaching and corridor) with two different design luminance
level 300 lux for zone 1 (teaching), and 150 lux for Zone 2
(corridor) [14].

Figure 13. Load profile in p.u. of room 4 (reference) in a working

day. Lets note that the lighting works uninterrupted for all the
operating time of the building from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Figure 14. Load profile in p.u. of room 8 (switching mode) in a

working day. Lets note the tuning due to the daylight availability.

Figure 15. Load profile in p.u. of room 7 (dimming mode) in a

working day compared with the reference profile.

Figures 13, 14 and 15 show the load profiles of room 4 (no

controls), and room 7 and 8 with presence sensors and
automatic switching off. Lets note that the clean service starts
at 6 a.m. only for few minutes, and the teaching activities start
about 8 a.m. An energy saving will be obtained by adopting a
special key card for the cleaning service operators and
accesses in the not scheduled time, that allows to disactivate
without delays the lighting system. The presence sensors could
be activated by a timer for the scheduled time (in the example
from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m).
The diagrams analysis highlights some corrective actions in
the use of the lighting system. For example the nonexploitation of the daylight, sometimes may be caused by the
absence of solar shades and by the absence of the blind control
related to projecting acticities.
The experience confirmed that a Technical Building
Management supported by a smart metering system and
decision support tools are indispensable in the operation time
to optimize the hardware installations (sensors positions,
pointing, etc.) and the software regulations (delay times,
logical conditions, etc.), and it is of high provision in the life
cycle time to adjuste and calibrate the system.
Every system even if automatic, needs the human management
to work well.
VI. CONCLUSIONS
The paper considers a sample case of advanced lighting
control systems to avoid energy waste for unoccupied and
daylight hours. It is well know that the use of advanced
lighting controls can determine significative energy savings,
but its quantification is not always clear. The author used a
methodology to quantify the energy performance of the
lighting systems taking into account the influence of the
controls. The suggested tool can support the Technical
Building Management during the operation time in order to
improve the energy performance of the system. The paper
highlights that the reference values given on the Standards are
useful in a preliminary evaluation but it is fundamental to
adopt detailed values for the specific building taking into the
account the actual ambiental and national conditions. The
paper allowed to verify and validate the reference values given
on the Standard by actual measurements. By the
demonstration site the paper shows that in educational
building the operation time can reach values of 4000 hours
double than the default value furnished by the Standard EN
15193.

References:
[1] L. Martirano, "Lighting systems to save energy in educational
classrooms", EEEIC2011, Rome 8-11 May 2011.
[2] L. Martirano, A Smart Lighting Control to Save Energy, The
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Applications, 15-17 Sept. 2011, Prague, Czech Republic.
[3] G. Parise, L. Martirano, Ecodesign of lighting systems, Industry
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2014, Fort Worth TX, USA.
Luigi Martirano (StM98-M02-SM11) received the M.S. and Ph.D.
degrees in Electrical Engineering in 1998 and 2003, respectively. In
2000, he joined the Department of Electrical Engineering of the
University of Rome "La Sapienza". He is currently a researcher in
electrical power systems and assistant professor of Building
Automation and Energy Management. He has authored more than 60
papers in international journals and conferences and one international
patent. His research activities cover power systems design, planning,
safety, lightings, home and building automation, energy management.
He is a senior member of the IEEE/IAS, member of the AEIT (Italian
Association of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) and of the CEI
(Italian Electrical Commission) Technical Committees CT205 (Home
and Building Electronic Systems) and CT315 (Energy Efficiency).
He has been Registered Professional Engineer.