Power Over Ethernet (POE) Lighting System Implementation

The project revolved around implementing a DC Lighting system with devices from PoE Texas in a residential space with Direct Current (DC) distribution panel. First the key components needed to be installed in the system.

Left is the Kinetic Switch (KS) which served as the wireless input for the control system. Right is the DC light which served as the actuator for the system.

Left is the PoE Switch which redirects controls and power through the circuit.Middle is the LINC which serves as the node point for each room in the residential space. Right is the CORTAP which served as the controls hub for the entire system

Once this was obtained, each device needed to be uniquely labeled and installed in the first floor. The unique ID process allowed for automation of the entire control system.

Left is the schematic made to uniquely identify and install lights on the first floor. Right is the controls hub used to configure the controls for the entire system

The next step involved testing the lighting system installation on different scales and relevant debugging prior to data collection.

The above shows the small and large scale installations from left to right

To compare the DC and the AC lighting system, a data acquisition system for the current was made and installed on the DC distribution panel. The system utlized and arudino,ACS 712 (a hobby current sensor), ADS1115 (analog to digital converter), and C++ code (will upload to github soon) to measure the current. Since the DC panel held a constant voltage, the power was then calculated using P=VI.

Circuit diagram/layout for the power data acquisition.

The first hand comparison of their power consumption showed that DC consumed more power than AC lighting systems for 1 room scale

AC vs DC (Left and Right) power consumptions as a time series on the evening of 02/01/2024

However, scaling the power consumption to any room larger than one shows that DC lights are favorable

Scaling the power consumption to residential (Left) and Commercial Scales

The images show that the DC Lighting PoE system is less efficient at a smaller scale. However, on a larger scale, the power savings can go up to 22%.

Read my publication (Sriram et al., 2024) to learn more.

References

2024

Development and Comparative Analysis of a Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) DC Lighting System for Residential Buildings

Lokesh Sriram, Aaron Farha, Andreas Hoess, and 4 more authors

2024

Abs PDF

Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology optimizes lighting systems by transmitting power and data transmission over the same Ethernet cable. This technology holds the promise of significant advancements in energy efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and flexibility in lighting design. Through PoE, lighting systems can be centrally controlled and managed, allowing for dynamic adjustments in brightness, color temperature, and fixture behavior. This enhances user comfort and leads to energy savings by optimizing usage. Furthermore, PoE eliminates the need for separate electrical wiring, simplifying installation and reducing upfront costs. This makes it an attractive choice for both new construction projects and retrofitting existing spaces. This paper explores the design and implementation of a PoE based DC (Direct Current) lighting system and the power savings and versatility offered in doing so. The system uses a PoE Switch or Relay (PoES) to direct the data and the power to the DC lights. PoE Controllers (LINCS) are used to supply the power to the lights themselves. Kinetic switches are used to supply a wireless and unpowered method of turning on and off the lights. Finally, the PoE Central Control (COR-TAP) is configured to receive input from the kinetic switches and issue commands to different LINCs. This system was installed in a real-world residential building for testing. The results show that the DC lights alone are 33% more efficient than traditional AC lighting. However, when considering the entire system, the DC test bed consumed 15W compared to 10W for the AC lighting system. Scaling the system revealed that if deployed in more than two rooms, the DC lighting system becomes more efficient, reaching a maximum of 22% power savings. Through this comparative study, it is evident that the new system can improve lighting efficiency, connectivity, and flexibility compared to traditional AC lighting systems but also calls for improving the DC distribution devices to reduce power consumption.