Apr 20, 2021

Potential turns to reality as the IOT and lighting come together on exciting new control platform

Category: Illumination
There are many more manufacturers that need an equally innovative hardware and software solution - designed to work with LUXEON Fusion – that lets them deliver and commission never before possible dynamic white light without developing proprietary solutions.
There are many more manufacturers that need an equally innovative hardware and software solution - designed to work with LUXEON Fusion – that lets them deliver and commission never before possible dynamic white light without developing proprietary solutions.

The promise of solid-state lighting has always been a higher degree of control and dynamism. For many years, the entire lighting industry has dabbled in the ambiguous but exciting notion of marrying the internet of things to lighting. With this would come dynamic color and white point tuning in response to inputs that could be anything from the current weather to the movement of people in a space, to the type of music playing, or to almost any other factor a designer could imagine. It would also transform lighting from a single purpose illumination device to a ubiquitous digital data tool with the ability to deliver and collect data and light throughout a building or even a campus.

We’ve written about LUXEON Fusion and its innovative approach to dynamic white lighting and a number of luminaire manufacturers have embraced the ability to deliver true dynamic color tuning and consistent performance across families of luminaire products, including spotlights, downlights and linear fixtures. But there are many more manufacturers that need an equally innovative hardware and software solution – designed to work with LUXEON Fusion – that lets them deliver and commission never before possible dynamic white light without developing proprietary solutions.

Summa-Systems fearlessly stepped into the void and developed and introduced a universal, Wi-Fi® networked lighting control system that anyone can implement. We were so impressed with their innovative approach that we’ve partnered with them. Now, the potential for color tuning promised by the LUXEON Fusion LEDs is realized in practice.

Infinite control possibilities

Unlike a legacy control interface such as DALI, which treats lighting as a closed application, the Summa-Systems system brings lighting control into the internet age. Summa-Systems control signals are carried over a building’s existing Wi-Fi network, so installation is simple, with no need for any additional cabling. The user has total control locally via the Summa-Systems dashboard hosted on a networked computer. The Summa-Systems interface also links to the Summa-Systems Cloud, which is fully AI driven, and provides for central data analysis, optimization, and control.

The powerful computing capability in Summa-Systems is deployed on hardware designed from the ground up for color tuning and dynamic white lighting – a combination of LUXEON Fusion LEDs and Wi-Fi-enabled Summa-Systems drivers.

So, Summa-Systems puts the full gamut of color tuning capabilities in LUXEON Fusion at the fingertips of lighting designers and end users: a Summa-Systems-enabled fixture can create some 600,000 different shades of white and special colors. Any kind of dimming profile can be implemented, with full dimming from 100% to 0.1%. The Summa-Systems interface also implements the LUXEON Fusion dim-to-warm capability, synchronizing dimming with color changing from 2700K to 1800K.

The value of the Summa-Systems system extends beyond installation to cover the whole lifetime of the fixtures. The Summa-Systems Cloud automatically implements advanced lumen maintenance programs so that the output from a Summa-Systems luminaire remains constant, both in terms of color and intensity, for the lifetime of the luminaire. Predictive maintenance deep learning AI continuously monitors the operation and has the capabilities to detect, react and alert in the event of a (potential) fault.

Making Lighting, Sensors and Controls work in the field

The capability of the Summa-Systems network does not stop with lighting control: data from embedded or external sensors sharing the same Wi-Fi network and ecosystem can be fed to the Summa-Systems fully AI driven Cloud, turning the luminaire into an Internet of Things hub. This opens up a new set of capabilities in every market. To highlight retail, for instance, to use infrared proximity sensors in the luminaire to measure footfall in a store, or in office buildings to monitor workplace occupation. With a wide array of sensors at its disposal even monitoring air quality is possible.

With the Summa-Systems technology, then, luminaire manufacturers can give their customers a ready-made, infinitely controllable system for color tuning and dynamic white lighting, so that the capabilities of the LUXEON Fusion platform are embedded in a system that lighting designers, specifiers and operators can easily take advantage of. They can also build in the capability to add new sensing functions and intelligence, so that the luminaire becomes more than just a light source.

But is it real? We’ve been down this path before.

If you’ve read this far, then you’re likely skeptical and thinking about the many proclamations you’ve read, and demos viewed at tradeshows heralding the marriage of IOT and lighting. As an OEM or lighting designer, how do you gauge the readiness – reality – of the solution? At Lumileds, we believe enough to have partnered with Summa Systems and have equipped our sales teams to present the solution to our customers. The first installations are already in the field and delivering lighting performance and consistency that simply haven’t been realized before.

We know about the magic of light and that seeing is believing, and we’re ready to show you a new world of light, just contact us. Or, if you like to look through some web pages first, visit www.Summa-systems.com and www.lumileds.com/products/fusion.