The light should only be on where you need it”

The rate of transition is picking up – starting next year, all sale of conventional fluorescent tubes will be banned. "Switching to LED luminaires saves a lot of energy and Proton Lighting takes things even further with motion sensors, which can reduce power consumption by up to 80 per cent."

By Gabriella Mellergårdh / Photo Martin Andersson, Figjam

“Energy saving isn’t just about installing LED luminaires anymore; these days you have to be able to turn them off to save energy. We can’t have them on for no reason,” says Anders Schultz, project sales rep at Proton Lighting.

We meet at affiliate company Proton Engineering in Skillingaryd, which is in the process of replacing old fluorescent light fixtures with new LED luminaires with motion sensors. Stand-alone is the keyword.

“Normally you have a master sensor that lights up the whole room when you enter. But this system we’re working with now, sensor control, is ground-breaking. Each luminaire has its own sensor and they all communicate wirelessly with each other via bluetooth,” Anders explains.

This means that the luminaires light up one by one as you move through the premises.

“We’ve always been able to have the lights on, but why should we? It’s totally unnecessary,” Anders says. “I call this ‘headlamp lighting’.

The light should only be on where you need it.”

This system will manage itself once we’ve set it up, and it will save a lot of time for me.

Conny Strandgård, Maintenance Manager at Proton Engineering, agrees:

“I’ve worked here for many years and I think the same way here as I do at home. Sometimes I’ve come by here on a Sunday and seen the lights on, and I’ve always stopped and turned them off.”

Not only has Conny spent extra time turning lights off, he has also spent a lot of time conducting maintenance and scheduling electricians when luminaires have to be replaced and wiring needs to be redone.

“This system will manage itself once we’ve set it up, and it will save a lot of time for me,” Conny says. It will also improve the working environment for all employees.

“It will be a huge improvement,” Conny smiles.

Smart with bluetooth

The most important consideration right now is probably the energy crisis. Businesses and private individuals alike are considering every possible way to reduce their power consumption. When Anders was tasked with developing a proposal for new LED lighting at Proton Engineering, he began with the traditional solution with master sensors. But that didn’t sit right with him. What if they could narrow down motion controls to limit the number of luminaires that were on at the same time? That would make a difference with nearly 800 luminaires to be installed. And what if they could also install dimmers and adapt the lighting to the daylight outside and just the right level inside?

But what would the difference in cost be? And would it even be possible? Robert Dahlgren, Technical Product Manager at Proton Lighting, says:

“I’ve been nagging our suppliers for some time to develop a solution for motion sensors in this type of high-altitude luminaires.

The answer was sensor controls, an intelligent system in which all the luminaires communicate wirelessly with each other and you have a user-friendly programming interface to set the frameworks for basic functions.

“Because all communication uses radio signals and bluetooth, this system saves a huge amount of time for the electrician because you don’t have to run wires between the luminaires,” Robert explains.

A more expensive solution, yes, but you have to look at the big picture, Anders says.

“If you switch from fluorescent lights to a regular on-off system with LED luminaires, you’re looking at a saving of about 50 per cent thanks to a reduced number of luminaires and reduced energy consumption. With motion controls, the energy saving can be up to 80 per cent. The system is almost twice as expensive, but the payoff time is much faster.”

Turn off the lights when you leave!

In Proton Engineering’s case, Anders starts with the original estimate, which shows that the cost of operation and maintenance will decrease from SEK 695,000 to

SEK 235,000 per year. In reality, the saving will be even greater.

“We don’t know in advance how people will move about in the facility. It will be very exciting to come back a year from now and see how much we’ve actually saved,” Anders says.

It is important that we think differently and do it right.

“With today’s energy prices, you can save a huge amount by turning off the lights when no one is there,” Anders points out. “We have to change our thinking and adapt our lighting.”

The energy crisis, the war in Europe and the new EU directives banning the sale of conventional fluorescent tubes starting in autumn 2023 have created a perfect storm. Conventional fluorescent tubes are still used in the majority of public environments.

“All properties need to review their lighting and we have to pick up the pace to replace all the fluorescent lighting in Sweden,” Anders says. “People don’t even talk about the investment cost anymore, it’s about how quickly a system pays off. And we see a major interest in sensor control.”