MINT is Green and Open

The Lumisys MINT DR is a powerful energy management solution that substantially reduces lighting energy consumption during peak periods while maintaining a safe and productive work environment. MINT is built upon two open protocol standards (BACnet and DALI – Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) to eliminate the risk of getting locked into a specific ballast or control system manufacturer. MINT is also built for integration to leverage the inherent value of the building automation system infrastructure to provide a solution that is ease to learn, use and maintain throughout the building life cycle.

MINT uses Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard for fluorescent lamp ballasts and BACnet®, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) recognized ANSI/ASHRAE standard data communication protocol for building automation.

By employing open standard protocols which are not exclusively owned by a single company the Lumisys MINT product solution greatly simplifies the dream of daylight harvesting that can be managed and verified by the Building Automation System.

Demand Response for Lighting

Today many Energy Providers across the US and Canada offer lucrative Demand Response(DR) programs to owners that represent large connected loads, typically 1,000 Kilowatts or greater. To become part of a DR program, owners are usually required to commit to reducing their kilowatt load 3-4 times a year for period of approximately 30 minutes. For each curtailment the owner receives compensation from the Energy Provider. MINT DR enables the single largest building load, lighting, to become part of the DR program without negatively impacting safety or productivity in most work environments.

Perfect Balance

In the past curtailment of building loads had been limited to HVAC and other non-critical loads. The reason for this limitation was due to the fact that lighting is critical to the safety and productivity of the work environment. We take in about 80 percent of all information with our eyes. Light enables us to see. The more effectively light is adapted to a situation, the more precisely informaiton, feelings and emotions can be percieved. Digital ballasts are designed with a logarithmic dimming curve, which has been specially developed to match the sensitivity of the human eye. In conjunction with MINT control technology each curtailment delivers the perfect balance between energy efficiency and quality of light.

Dimming Characteristics

The human eye is extremely sensitive to changes in light between 0% to 10%. Irregular or sudden changes are a distraction and clearly visible to the human eye, which can be aggravated by linear dimming. Logarithmic dimming provides natural modulation of light that is nearly unnoticeable to the human eye. In conjunction with Lumisys MINT control technology the fully electronic ballasts provide the technical basis for perfect light quality.

Daylight Harvesting with Control and Monitoring

During the months of the year the DR program is not in effect, MINT can automatically adjust the electric lighting based upon the available daylight. These values can be trended by the BACnet building automation system for verification and reporting. This type of control sequence is becoming common in most LEED and Energy Star rated buildings.

A building’s windows and skylights affect both the daylight available and the energy requirements of a building’s heating, cooling, and lighting systems. In the commercial office space illustrated below, the zones high lighted in yellow are appropriate for daylight harvesting applications as the average light level within these spaces is greatly affected by the amount of daylight received.

 

Typical System Architecture

Potential Energy Savings

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