Smart Lighting Starts at the Control: Rethinking Relays in the Age of LED and IoT
As a facility manager or business owner, you have a lot of balls to juggle. Updating your facility with modern and smart lighting technology like LED bulbs and Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices is one of them. But when it comes to your existing equipment, is any of it still usable?
You can probably guess our answer: yes! While upgrading your lighting controls with LED bulbs and smart devices is important, the core of reliable design still depends on tried-and-true relay technology. Old and new tech don’t have to be in competition; they can work together to create an efficient, dependable, and functional lighting system. Let’s explore why relays are still essential for the demands of smart lighting technology and how they’re evolving to work with smart devices.
The engineers at Functional Devices are always looking for ways to improve our relays and incorporate smart building lighting control while maintaining a classic design that’s still useful. For example, our high inrush power relays can make an LED upgrade much easier. Browse our options and contact us to discuss any questions directly with an engineer.
Why Relays Still Matter in the Era of Smart Building Lighting Control
To understand why relays still matter in smart lighting technology, we first need to understand what a relay does within a lighting system. Generally, relays in lighting controls accomplish three functions:
- Isolate electrical loads
- Switch electrical loads
- Manage control signals
Through these basic functions, relays allow low-voltage and high-voltage equipment to safely work together within the same system. Additionally, they ensure compatibility between a variety of load types (resistive, inductive, and electronic) and could act as a fail-safe in case of control system failure.
A relay would be performing these functions whether the lighting system was legacy or smart, so what is it about relays that make them necessary for smart lighting technology?
In smart building lighting control, relays can:
- Handle challenges presented by an IoT-enabled LED driver
- Act as a bridge between old and new technologies
- Facilitate smart building automation
Let’s dive deeper into the details of LED loads and how relays can build a bridge between old and new systems while maintaining energy compliance and safety.
The LED Challenge: Enter the High Inrush Power Relay
In order to convert a lighting control from incandescent to LED, you need an LED driver, which is a specialized power supply that provides the correct low voltage to LED bulbs. An IoT-enabled LED driver is even more of an upgrade, giving you the ability to automate and control lighting remotely.
However, LED drivers, whether IoT-enabled or not, present some challenges: a non-linear current draw and high inrush behavior.
Non-Linear Current Draw
Many electrical devices (e.g., heating elements) follow Ohm’s Law and have linear current draw. Basically, the current running through and the voltage going across a component are directly proportional. These devices behave predictably and are easy to manage.
In an LED driver, however, the current and voltage isn’t proportional. Such an electrical load is considered reactive in nature. The right relay for the job is a long lasting means of switching the electrical load on and off, withstanding the harsh spikes in current draw.
High Inrush Current
When switched on, most electrical devices have an initial inrush of current that’s higher than the steady-state operating current. This temporary surge is higher with LED drivers than incandescent lighting loads.
You have a couple of options for dealing with the high inrush current:
- Connect a relay to a current-limiting resistor, limiting the inrush current. Then, automate the relay to bypass the resistor after a short delay, allowing the driver to function normally.
- Use a relay rated for high inrush currents.
Either way, using high inrush power relays to control power to LED drivers is still a necessary part of upgraded lighting controls, since they can ensure a long-lasting switching of the load..
Relays as the Bridge to Smart Lighting Technology
We help many facility managers update their existing lighting controls without touching much of the legacy infrastructure. A complete overhaul would be cost-prohibitive to most and isn’t necessary with the proper devices.
Relays can often be retrofitted into existing wiring, building the bridge between legacy and modern lighting systems without the headache of a full rewiring. The right relay can interface between old and new components such as:
- Analog switches
- Occupancy sensors
- Digital control systems (e.g., BACnet)
- An IoT-enabled LED driver and other devices
- Cloud management
With their circuit isolation properties, relays are a safe and effective way to connect modern low-voltage devices like IoT-enabled controllers to high-voltage equipment such line voltage lighting circuits.
Evolving Relays for Smart Lighting Technology
Although the switching technology of relays might remain largely unchanged, that doesn’t mean these little devices aren’t evolving to meet the demands of smart building lighting control. Here are some of the ways engineers are adapting relays:
- Wireless connectivity
- Wired IoT compatibility
- Built-in power metering, diagnostic LEDs, and intelligence
- Compact size
- Modular, network-ready panels
- Remote control and monitoring
- Better solid-state and latching designs for more efficient, quiet, long-lasting operation
As you can see, the modern relay complements and enhances your upgrade to smart lighting technology, not the other way around. They help ensure safe, load-balanced operation of an IoT-enabled LED driver and other smart building lighting control components.
Smart Building Lighting Control with Functional Devices
Smart lighting technology begins at the control level with electrical devices that have stood the test of time. Instead of disappearing, relays are evolving to meet new demands and ensure reliable, safe, efficient long-term performance.
You need the right relay for the job, or you risk installing an underrated or mismatched relay that will fail prematurely in LED and IoT applications. The right relay will have the proper ratings and features.
If you’re not sure where to start, get help from Functional Devices! Our engineers would be happy to help you find the “Relay-In-a-Box®” best-suited for your needs. Our proprietary RIB design preassembles relays for you, cutting down on cost and simplifying installation and maintenance. Shoot us a message or give us a call to begin your upgrade to smart building lighting control.