A successful light management system (LMS) will both reduce energy costs and benefit the occupants of a building. Glamox Sales Director Bjørn-Erik Askestad has designed light management solutions for more than 20 years. Here he will answer some of the questions you may have about LMS.
Bjørn-Erik Askestad took on the role as sales director for light management solutions in Glamox in 2017. With more than 20 years of experience from the field, he has a clear notion about what it takes to get a successful light management system in place.
How do we achieve a functional and user-friendly light management system?
“What we have seen is that it’s important to have clear demarcations of responsibilities between the different systems that will be integrated. To achieve this, one should have a good, written description of who’s in charge of integrating what when it comes to light, heat, ventilation and solar shading. This helps reduce the risk of misunderstandings between the different disciplines.
What kind of energy savings can we expect from an LMS system?
“We know that it’s a lot to gain from adjusting the light according to human presence. In Norway we have a standard saying that offices are occupied around 65 percent of the standard operating time, but recent studies show that the percentage probably is lower. According to numbers collected by the Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor, 30-50 % is more realistic. With light management based on presence it is not uncommon to reduce the energy consumption connected to lighting by around 60 %. If you use daylight detection as well, you get even better numbers.
We want to keep the expenses related to tenant turnovers down. How can we make sure that the light management system doesn’t break the bank?
“Buildings are becoming ever more dynamic and for many building owners it’s essential to have flexible solutions to keep the costs down when changes to the layout is required. If you choose a central monitoring system you get a solution which can be easily adapted to new needs. A quick programming job is enough to change the necessary parameters to adapt the lighting solution to new purposes and patterns of use. Glamox can also assist you with the programming if needed.
Is it possible to achieve a cost-efficient light management solution in a renovation project?
“If you choose a wireless light management system you get a system that is very flexible and easy to install. With no need for data cables the cost of the installation will be reduced significantly.”
Why is LMS such an important priority to Glamox?
“We want to offer complete systems rather than just luminaires. Earlier, light management systems have sometimes been a source of conflict because the demarcations of responsibilities have not been clear. Now our customers can choose only to deal with us. This means that there are fewer parties involved in a contract, quality we’ve received good feedback on.”
On which level can we expect Glamox to be involved in an LMS system?
“On the level our customers want us to. We do everything from designing to programming and operating the system. But we can also supply solutions with luminaires and LMS components which are then commissioned by an external programmer.”
