# daylight harvesting



## JohnJ0906 (Jan 22, 2007)

nrp3 said:


> I am bidding a job that may have daylight harvesting controls. I brought in a lighting designer that is including it in the lighting package. I have never worked with any of these controls before and want it to work well for the customer. Its only one part of facility (a health club) with glass on three sides of this area with high ceilings.
> 
> Like most new technology, it sounds great, but implementing it might be another thing, never having used it before. I'd rather drop it from the bid before I install something that will be a headache


 
Do you have any other information, such as a link, manufacterer, etc?

To be honest, I'm not sure exactly what you are talking about.


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## nrp3 (Jan 24, 2009)

This portion of the health club is a large open area with lots of glass and high ceilings. The thought was, with all the glass, the need for lighting during daylight hours would be minimal. Daylight harvesting controls have photocells that measure light levels and either dim or shut off portions of the lighting to maintain a certain light level. I don't have a manufacturer yet as the light package is being put together over the weekend. Do a search for daylight harvesting and you'll find more info.


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## JohnJ0906 (Jan 22, 2007)

It kind of sounds like a dimming panel, that uses photocells to control it.

An intresting concept, to be sure.

Who will lay out the system? You or the designer? I would think the placement of the light level sensors would be critical to the proper operation of the system. 

How good is the tech support from the manufacterer? (I know it hasn't been selected yet, but it might be rather important)


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## te12co2w (Jun 3, 2007)

Daylight harvesting is something that is usually designed into a system before the electrical contractor begins work. We can be involved in the process, but there is more involved here than simple lighting control. With lots of glass to the outside, either cooling or heating needs to be integrated to make up for heat loss/gain.
Typically though, there are just 3 options for lighting.1 Lights on or off, whether by occupancy sensors, or timers, or the like. 2 Different fixed levels of light. Achieved by controlling more than one individual lamp in a "luminaire". There's that word again.3 And finally, dimming controls made possible by lighting control panels. Sounds like fun but I believe you need plenty of lead time to coordinate all this.


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## nrp3 (Jan 24, 2009)

That's the idea and your questions are valid, been on my mind. The designer is supposed to be choosing the fixtures and hopefully will help locate the sensors. Some of this stuff is digital addressable. From a little research, there are a couple of systems that have different locations for sensors, one faces so only sunlight is measured, and the other measures the light on the surface being illuminated.


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## nrp3 (Jan 24, 2009)

I doubt that there will be any thought given to heating/cooling, whether it be sizing of the units or integration with any building management systems. Three air handlers are already in place, with one to be added. Some of the research shows seperate line items in the bids for commissioning of these systems.


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## goose134 (Nov 12, 2007)

If it's a Lutron daylight harvesting system, it'll be pretty easy to implement. Doesn't take too much more wiring (especially if you can run your control wiring without a raceway). Check out Lutron's website. It's the only harvesting system I've used and they are slick.


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