Smart lighting reducing energy

Reprogramming existing lighting provides a solution

Cummins designs, manufactures, distributes and services engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems. Cummins serves customers in approximately 190 countries and territories through a network of more than 500 company-owned and independent distributor locations and approximately 5200 dealer locations.

Cummins’ global operations had set a challenge, to each of their business units in different countries, to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Cummins’ Australian Operations Manager Darren Dunmore identified lighting as a top priority area for efficiency improvements.

Cummins had installed 180 high bay lights at their Kilsyth site. Each of these lights consumed 400 W of power and were often running in excess of 16 hours per day, six days a week. Natural light, from skylights located on the roof of the factory, supplements artificial lighting from the high bays. The goal of the lighting design program was to minimise the use of artificial lighting, leading to cost and energy savings for the factory, while at the same time maintaining a constant, even illumination across the factory floor. Cummins Operation Manager Darren Dunmore called upon Mobile Electrics to help with assessing the opportunity to reduce power costs and then implementing the solution. Working with Cummins, Mobile Electrics monitored the lighting levels at different areas throughout the factory and at different times during the day. The individual lighting needs of different areas of the factory were considered as well. High lighting levels were required in the manufacturing areas, yet lower lighting levels were required in the warehouse areas.

Mobile Electrics, the industrial electrical specialists, came up with a plan to use the existing lighting equipment. By doing so, the return on investment was going to be considerably higher. Each high bay light was rewired and connected to a controller, then connected to a C-Bus system. To achieve the desired level of lighting control, the C-Bus system monitored lux levels using eight sensors throughout the factory and each zone was programmed to operate at three settings, depending on the factory floor light levels. The three settings were: all high bays on, half lighting only and, thirdly, all lights.

Preliminary analyses reveal the new lighting system will save approximately 200 tonnes of greenhouse emissions annually and $22,000 in power bills per year. “With the introduction of smart lighting controls throughout our facility it has enabled us to minimise our greenhouse gas emissions and, in turn, reduce our energy costs. Not only is the project on track to be paid back within the expected three year time frame, it is pleasing to see, on a relatively clear day, our lighting throughout the factory area is minimised to 50% or actually not on at all,” says Dunmore.