Lighting Control
Our longwave-based solution for control of public lighting – economical, fast and reliable
One of the application areas of the EFR longwave broadcast service is controlling public lighting. This enables users of the EFR system to deploy lighting in cities and municipalities flexibly, need-based and energy-efficiently.
Unlike pure timer systems with fixed switching times or twilight sensors at key points, EFR offers four immediately deployable solutions:
- EFR Sensor Control as a cloud-based solution
- Comprehensive lighting management using the specially developed MSR Street Lighting Client with integrated logical interconnection of sensors and astronomical calendar
- Easy central receiver control using the Compact User Terminal with connected light sensors;
- Lighting control by an operating time calendar stored in wireless remote control receivers, with the remote configuration option
The system
EFR Sensor Control is a cloud-based system consisting of a remotely configurable twilight sensor, an online portal and longwave receivers.
Light sensors distributed over the control area automatically connect to the EFR server via the cellular network and transmit current brightness values at 15-minute intervals. If a sensor indicates that lighting needs to be switched on or off in a specific area, this event is immediately sent to the server, which triggers a corresponding longwave transmission to switch the lighting on or off.
As an alternative to individual control of specific areas, sensors distributed over the city area can be grouped together and trigger a transmission only when multiple sensors indicate a corresponding need. This compensates for potential defective sensors and achieves consistent lighting over the entire area. The customer can define the minimum number of sensors that report an ON or OFF signal before a command is sent to the lighting system.
The devices can be addressed individually or in groups, for example for special lighting such as Christmas markets or property lighting.
The sensor positions can be shown on a map, and the twilight sensors are equipped with GPS antennas for automatic localization. The measurement range of the integrated sensors is 0 to 500 lux.
Sensor configuration
The following parameters can be configured for each sensor:
- Switch-on threshold: At light levels below this lux value, the sensor sends an ON command for street lighting.
- Switch-off threshold: At light levels above this lux value, the sensor sends an OFF command for street lighting.
- Hysteresis range: The brightness values are averaged in the sensor. The time interval for this averaging (in seconds) can be defined via the online portal, to avoid switching by incorrect pulses.
- Blocking time: After a sensor has sent a switching signal, further switching pulses are not possible during the blocking time. This prevents uncontrolled switch cycling.
- Longitude and latitude: The built-in GPS sensor provides location information. If location determination is not possible due to the installation position of the sensor, the location can be entered here.
The exact operating time can be set using an operating time table with a selectable time period. The results can be displayed in tabular form and are also available as a CSV download.
EFR Sensor Control is offered as a package with all required components. The included National Roaming SIM card for cellular network transmission (EFR Utility SIM) can log in to all German cellular networks to ensure optimal network coverage. System operation via a web browser is possible from any location with Internet access. The system can be configured online and does not require any local parameter settings.
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