Wireless Emergency Part 104

In my last blog I touched on wireless emergency and I wanted to expand these discussions to talk about why wireless emergency lighting is such a game changer.

Emergency lighting as we all know is a life safety system that is designed to provide illumination when the mains power fails or in the event of an emergency where we need to be shown how to safely exit a building or other space.

If we break emergency lighting down into its most basic forms, then we have two methods for energising the light source, which is now typically an LED.

We have a Central Battery Unit (CBU) or we have a Self-contained solution. The difference being the CBU has all the batteries located in one location and will power the emergency luminaire with a dedicated feed. The voltage can vary from a low voltage to mains voltage and will require the appropriate fire rated cable to protect the emergency luminaire in the event of a fire or disaster.

The self-contained solution has the battery local to the emergency luminaire or integral in the case of an emergency conversion and has the added benefit that no specialist cabling is required to the emergency luminaire.

Each system has its merits however I am going to focus on the self-contained as this is the system that we manufacture, and I believe is more relevant to the discussions on wireless testing and monitoring.

DALI emergency first appeared in the mid noughties and as was the case with the original DALI drivers, so it was with the emergency inverters in that many did not fully complying with the DALI standard IEC 62386, with manufacturers creating versions that suited a price point rather than the standard.

IEC addressed the inconsistencies within original DALI with the update of DALI-2 and the certification program provided by the DALI Alliance.

Emergency is undergoing the same transformation with IEC 62386-202. Digital addressable lighting interface part 202. Particular requirements for control gear. Self-contained emergency lighting (device type 1) being update and will be published a little later this year.

The update will provide additional features for emergency devices and the DALI Alliance will provide the necessary certification program to underwrite the compliance to the standard with third party testing and certification.

As with all things DALI it must be backward compatible so will work with existing DALI emergency devices, providing they fully comply with IEC 62386.

At the same time, we have the release of IEC 62386 Part 104 which is DALI over wireless and with zencontrol our ektor emergency brand has been released in Australia using IEC 62386-104 over Thread

As a wireless emergency system, we have a hardware platform based on DALI and Thread that uses a known command structure to disseminate information on tests, the state of the batteries and additional information on performance and energy.

The zencontrol/ ektor platform natively runs Thread and Bluetooth and uses Bluetooth as part of the commissioning process. Once commissioned then we switch to Thread to provide end to end communication using DALI. Current Bluetooth solutions are based on gateways where the Bluetooth Eco system manages the communication and as the gateways are limited then currently the amount of information available is also restricted.

As Thread is wireless 6LoWPAN (IPv6 over Low power Wireless Personal Areas Network) based on a standard IEEE 802 Wireless mesh then integration is straightforward, and the network structure sits comfortably with most IT departments.

The new zencontrol/ ektor wireless emergency solution is sold under the Lynk brand and is a Wireless mesh solution based on the very latest ektor 4th Generation DALI emergency drivers. The ektor 4th generation emergency devices work with both wired and wireless DALI and come in a variety of packages that can be updated to Thread by simply plugging in a wireless card.

We have recessed and surface mounted solutions, exit signs, twin spots and a variety of dedicated emergency products all working on a true global open standard.

As you would expect with zencontrol our emergency test and monitoring systems are available in three different formats.

1.    Tablet; we will be offering a standalone tablet-based solution for the smaller project where test data and schedules can be stored locally.

2.   Onsite; the onsite solution where software is hosted locally on the client’s server or via a dedicated PC.

3.    Cloud; the Cloud which is feature rich and allows many additional features such as enhanced diagnostics and remote updates over the web. As a solution the Cloud is our most advanced approach to wireless emergency testing and monitoring.

We strongly believe that as designers and manufacturers you should have choice and that is why we support international standards such as IEC 62386 Part 104 as products will be available from multiple vendors, thereby minimising potential supply risks.

When we consider the current supply challenges some manufacturers are experiencing due to the global shortage of electronic components then making the right choice has never been so important.

I should add that I speak from a position of experience from when I worked for a well-known driver manufacturer. I was tasked with launching and promoting DSI into what was then a mainly analogue market and I was very successful as DSI offered a number of advantages over other technology, however a shortage of electronic components during the noughties resulted in the company being unable to supply product. As a consequence, many companies took the view that rather than be beholding to a single manufacturer they would move to broadcast DALI as an option and indeed this was the way the market went until they got to grips with sub addressing.

The moral of the story is that as an industry we are developing standards to ensure we provide choice. Ultimately, it’s down to the individuals to choose the solution that works best for them and I fully support this position, although we should never lose sight of the bigger picture and what the long-term consequences are when selecting any technology. Will that technology still be here in 5 years and what should happen if that technology was acquired by your competitor and is no longer available to the wider market.

I have recently been working on documentation relating to the Circular economy and with all of the case studies so far, have focused primarily on the luminaire and no so much on the system.

I totally support this standpoint; however, we need to consider the bigger picture, and this is why Lynk and other zencontrol products are very firmly based on open standards.

Luminaires generally are pretty robust and so are the components within them, although you will get the odd failure and also, in time you may want to repurpose or update those luminaires. Being able to source technology from more than once source or being able to obtain what would then be current technology that could be programmed to operate as the older technology may be something that is desirable.

We cannot design short term if we are to deliver long term!

Emergency lighting is a life safety system that has a long service life and therefore we need to consider how we service and maintain these products and ultimately extend their life and performance over time. Also, we have to consider that batteries are consumables and at some point, in the future these will need to be replaced by the appropriate OEM batteries.

A word of advice, you should never replace emergency batteries with anything other than the original OEM part as the battery forms part of the control circuit and CE certification.

Systems such as Lynk monitor the emergency drivers and can ascertain whether or not the correct battery has been connected, when it was changed and who changed it.

Always safety first with zencontrol.

Wireless is an enabler that frees us from the limitations of wires and with the right platform extends its operation to embrace both existing and new build.

Smart wireless also provides the link to Wireless lighting controls and if we are truly smart, then from a basic wireless system we can created a truly integrated smart space.

Choose wisely, choose Lynk and zencontrol/ ektor

author: Stewart Langdown FSLL

e mail: stewart.langdown@zencontrol.com

Mobile: +44 7774821093