Yes, it is absolutely possible to control the lighting via Internet. How? To do so, you need a so-called mesh to be created and the rest is done by using already well-known Wi-Fi ad Bluetooth.
What is mesh?
To provide Wi-Fi in a room, a router is used. Unfortunately, its signal is usually limited to a certain range, slightly blocked by walls, etc. The mesh system is created of many such routers that connect to each other and form a uniform network, thus the coverage area is significantly increased. Mesh can be compared to the chain: individual routers are like individual links that are combined into one wholeness – altogether they are able to reach further than they can alone.
Mesh system is a perfect option for covering vast spaces like buildings and offices, industrial halls or warehouses, even entire streets or roads. It eliminates the possibility of the so-called “white spots” occurrence and covers a given space with one (that is important!) network.
Mesh and lighting: how is it related?
It is already clear what is mesh and how it works, but how is it related to lighting? Well, as mentioned above, the mesh system builds one network. Every device that is part of the mesh constantly launches the other devices and transmits or receives the data.
Now, let’s imagine the space illuminated by 100 luminaires. Let’s imagine that we want these luminaires to lit according to given guidelines and in 4 different ways.
In dark reality, to program these luminaires, it would be necessary to connect to each lamp separately and set it. A lot of work! What if there are any changes? ? What if the season or astronomical time will change? Everything will need to be done again…
Thanks to mesh system, it is enough to divide our 100 luminaires, which are supposed to lit in 4 different ways, into 4 groups with specific settings. Thus, there would be 4 mesh networks with 25 luminaires each. Now each luminaire is part of a uniform network and is able to communicate with other luminaires. What does it mean? This allows to send the message with the settings to only one of the 25 lamps that will distribute these settings further within the group. In a mast of 100 luminaires, it saves a lot of time (remember that time is money) and we will not have to provide the lighting settings 100 times, but only 4!
Moreover, setting the lighting does not have to be done “on site” – it can be managed from the office, from home, from a computer or phone. How?
“Meshing” the lighting means creation of such a system using external solutions or built-in to the LED-module drivers, for instance, CASAMBI. And the whole process of mesh connection takes place between CASAMBI controllers via Bluetooth. So, our imaginary group of luminaries communicates with each other via Bluetooth, and via the CASAMBI driver it connects to the gateway placed in the control cabinet. This gateway has an access to the Internet – via cable or via SIM-card – and allows to set the lighting in the way needed. Thanks to this, it is possible to use dedicated mobile or web application from anywhere and manage a specific mesh network (i.e. a group of lamps in a specific location). In a few seconds, the command to the system is processed and works. Basically, process looks like this:
Fantastic? No, just reality becomes brighter.
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