1. Connor Newbury 23/11/15
Lighting Control/Dimming Equipment
A lightingcontrol system isanintelligentnetworkbasedlightingcontrol solutionthatincorporates
communicationbetweenvarioussysteminputsandoutputsrelatedtolightingcontrol withthe use
of one or more central computingdevices.Lightingcontrol systemsare widelyused onbothindoor
and outdoorlightingof commercial,industrial,andresidential spaces.Lightingcontrol systemsserve
to provide the rightamountof lightwhere andwhenitisneeded.
Dimmersare devicesusedtolowerthe brightnessof a light.By changingthe voltage waveform
appliedtothe lamp,itis possible tolowerthe intensityof the lightoutput.Althoughvariable-voltage
devicesare usedforvariouspurposes,the termdimmerisgenerallyreservedforthose intendedto
control lightoutputfrom resistive incandescent,halogen,and(more recently) compactfluorescent
lights(CFLs) and light-emittingdiodes (LEDs).More specializedequipmentisneededto
dimfluorescent, mercuryvapour,solidstate andotherarc lighting.
Dimmersrange insize fromsmall unitsthe size of a lightswitch usedfordomesticlightingtohigh
powerunitsusedinlarge theatre orarchitectural lightinginstallations.Small domesticdimmersare
generallydirectlycontrolled,althoughremote control systems(suchas X10) are available.Modern
professionaldimmersare generallycontrolledbyadigital control systemlike DMX or DALI.In newer
systems,these protocolsare oftenusedinconjunctionwith Ethernet.
