A new level of illumination and lighting control
Issue 01-2017:
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The San Diego Convention Center management team maintains and promotes an iconic facility that attracts events, bringing tens of thousands of visitors and tremendous economic benefits to the city. An important consideration for the exhibit hall is the quality of the lighting and the flexibility of the lighting controls in the facility. After an extensive evaluation and bidding process, the convention center selected StarLite LED fixtures working with an ILLUMRA lighting control system to provide the best quality lighting and maximum flexibility and reliability as needed in a facility whose primary purpose is to showcase products and events.
Extensive requirements
The San Diego Convention Center main hall offers an exhibit floor that is up to 300 feet wide by 2,000 feet long which may be subdivided into smaller areas using 8 removable partitions depending on the needs of an event. In total there are approximately 1,200 fixtures which needed control and customizable scenes for the various configurations of the building that accommodates different events. The control system needed to offer simple access to Night, Work and Show Scenes. They also needed to include customizable light levels on a per fixture basis for maximum show flexibility. In addition, the system installation and commissioning needed to have the highest level of reliability and be cost competitive. The facility selected an ILLUMRA control system enhanced with 3 levels of fault-tolerance to ensure the show will go on, even in the unlikely event that a system issue arises, such as the loss of network connectivity.
Additionally, the installation needed to occur in a very tight time frame between previously scheduled events and it was critical that the system be fully operational by a specific date. To accelerate the installation process, all fixtures were pre-configured and labeled for a specific location ID and worked with the system immediately upon connection in their final location. Fixture controllers shipped pre-configured for integration into the fixtures prior to installation. Within a few weeks, a custom user interface was created to allow for individual control of each of the fixtures and scene settings in the facility.
Scan and link mobile commissioning application
The ILLUMRA “Scan and Link” application, built on the EnOcean standard for Remote Commissioning, was a key part of the success of this project as it facilitated quick commissioning of each fixture control device with the specific location configuration at the factory prior to shipping to the convention center. The mobile application, which works with Apps on both iPhone (iOS) and Android devices to completely create links and adjust device configuration, was helpful at the facility to make changes as needed from the ground without the necessity of physically touching the controllers which are mounted on the ceiling fixtures.
Additional feature provided
Because the ILLUMRA Primary Area Controller has the unique feature of being able to accept a 0 -10 V input, it allows the end user to use a standard (over the counter) dimming slider switch. This technology was used to implement manual backup control by providing standalone devices that are only plugged in to utility power when they are used. They have a dimming capability in each of the convention halls to provide wireless control from other lighting control panels or provide backup control if the primary system is offline for any reason. This feature gives the convention center the ability to offer its clients control of the “house” lighting zones by having the clients provide a 0 – 10 V output (or a DMX to 0 – 10 V interface) from their lighting control systems.
Flexibility of control
There are 3 options for controlling the lighting in the convention center.
- Option A: A computer- or tablet-based accessible user interface can be taken into the hall to configure and activate show scenes.
- Option B: Wireless self powered EnOcean switches that allow activation of any of 4 preset scenes. These switches can be used by show organizers to control the entire hall at once with one switch or any subsection as configured in the user interface.
- Option C: 0-10V sliders for manual control or integration with lighting control panels.
Successful implementation
The project was completed within the required time constraints and is currently providing beautiful lighting using StarLite LED technology and ILLUMRA controls for the events being hosted in the facility. The Commissioning and Convention Center Control Applications provided by ILLUMRA, along with the unique features of the EnOcean protocol, resulted in an innovative solution that provides a new level of flexibility, efficiency and reliability.
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