Understanding Light Profiles

A lighting profile determines the light level settings of a fixture. The light levels are used by the sensor along with the time of day, day of the week, and time duration to control the fixture’s light level.

To view a profile, select a Profile Instance from the Profile Templates in the left navigation panel and click Settings > Edit.

Periods of a Day and Week Days

The profiles support four periods of the day: Morning, Day, Evening, and Night. The Day and Evening periods may be set based on the astronomical clock, which provides the sunrise and sunset time. When lighting profiles are set based on the astronomical clock, you take advantage of the ample daylight available before and after sunrise or sunset. Sunrise and sunset are based on the building’s latitude and longitude. See Edit Building's Location Data.

The settings to set start times for periods of each day are shown below. You can choose to specify the Day and Evening periods to start based on the astronomical clock. You can also select start times based on the local time zone for each period.

Morning – This period comes after Night. A typical Morning period would be from 6 am to 7:30 am.

Day – A typical Day period would be from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm. The Day may be set to start with the sunrise. Choose a time offset in the range of 15, 30, 60 minutes to start the day before or after sunrise, so the lights turn off for a few minutes before or after sunrise. You may also enter up to 120 minutes before or after sunrise by typing in minutes—for example,  Sunrise +75 min or Sunrise -120 min. In summer, when the Day period starts before the Morning period, the morning period is skipped.

Evening –A typical Evening would be from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm. The Evening period may be set to start with sunset. Choose a time offset in the range of 15, 30, 60 minutes to end the day before or after sunset. Based on the time offset, the lights are turned on for a few minutes before or after sunset. You may also specify up to 120 minutes before or after sunset by typing in minutes—for example,  Sunset +75 min or Sunset -120 min. In winter, when the Evening period is set to start after the night period starts, the evening period is skipped.

Night – The period that comes after Evening and before the Morning of the next day. A typical Night period would be from 8:30 pm to 6 am.

Week Days – The configuration allows any day to be classified as a weekday or weekend day.   

Profile Basic Attributes

For each period of the day, the profile has the following weekday and weekend settings.

1. Min light level when on (0-100) (%) – The minimum level between 0 and 100 percent to set the light. Typically, this should either be zero for a private office or around 20 for an open office when occupants are present. Setting the value to 0 allows light to be turned completely off when no occupant is present or if ambient light is abundant. The value of this attribute has two purposes, which are:

• • The setting below a value results in the bulb flickering or not illuminating. If this occurs, then the value should be increased until these behaviors no longer occur. Note that the Dim and linger's value (found in the Advanced menu) should have the same value.
  • A value greater than zero prohibits the fixture from turning off the lights, which is appropriate for security lights or for locations where turning the lights on and off would distract occupants. For example, in an open office environment, the min level should be set greater than zero during working hours, so the lights do not turn off. However, during periods when only the cleaning staff may be present, it would be appropriate to set the value to zero.

2. Max light level when on (0-100) (%) – The maximum level between 0 and 100 percent to set the light. This is the value that can be reduced when there is too much illumination by the light. Typically, the value would be between 60 and 80, which should be reduced to no less than 25 or 30. The value of this field restricts the maximum light level. Typically, during the lighting design of a building, the usage of the building is not known. Also, over time as bulbs age, the light output slowly decreases. There also may be some occupants who are adversely affected by bright lights. Thus, use this attribute to reduce the light level to an appropriate value. Note that by reducing the value, energy will be saved.
3. Ramp-up time (0-10) (sec) – The length of time to change a light that is off to its required light level value. For example, when the value is 10, a light that is off will be brought up to the needed light level over 10 seconds when it is turned on. Note: During override commands issued by an API call or BACnet, the command will take effect after the ramp-up time set in the profile ends.
4. Active motion window (1-200) (min) – The length of time to hold a light on after motion has not been detected. When it is expected that the lights should be on during working hours, the value should be a longer length of time, such as 15 minutes. During other times, specify a short length, such as 3 minutes. When the occupants under the fixture are still, the value may be increased to a longer duration, such as 30 minutes, to reduce the number of times the light level is reduced. Note that when Title 24 for a site is enabled, the Active Motion window must be set to less than 20 minutes. The shorter the Active Motion window, the more energy is saved. 
5. Motion sensitivity (0-10) – Determines a sensor’s sensitivity to continuous motion to detect occupancy. Setting the value to 0 will cause the fixture to behave as if an occupant is always present, such as an area that needs to be continuously lit at night. The default value of 1 causes the fixtures to be more reactive to motion. Specify a higher value for fixtures in open offices to ignore passersby in open corridors. 
6. Ambient sensitivity (0-10) – Determines a sensor’s sensitivity to ambient light. Determines if the light will be dimmed due to ambient light. The value 0 means that the light will not be dimmed; the sensor will not react to ambient light. The value 10 indicates that the light is most sensitive to ambient light. Daylight harvesting mode is most effective when this value is set to 10, so the lights can either turn to the minimum light level or switch off depending on the value set in the Min. light level column for that period. See Enabling Daylight Harvesting.

Advanced Profile 

Note that there are four additional settings for ambient light in the Advanced Lighting profile menu shown below, which control how often and how much the light levels may change. These values need not be changed, but if you would like to tweak the values, contact Enlighted Support for assistance.

• Adjust fixture light levels when ambient light levels drop – The drop (5 – 25) (%) and rise (5 – 25) (%) is the percentage change of the ambient light that is needed to trigger a change in the light level.
• Only change fixture light level after the ambient light level is stable – Time in seconds to wait for ambient light changes to be stable before changing the fixture light level. A typical value is 10 seconds. Larger values slow down the reaction to changes in ambient light.
• Change fixture light level due to change in ambient light level no more than once – Length of time in minutes to wait before the fixture light level can be changed due to a change in the ambient light level. This is to avoid rapid cycling in fixture light levels due to passing clouds, which irritates occupants. A typical value is 10 minutes.
• Dim and linger – Linger light level before off (0 - 25) (%) – The fixture's light level before turning off. When turning a light off due to lack of occupancy, the light fixture will first be set at this level for the length of time specified in this field and then turned off.
  Linger time before off (0 – 600) (sec) – The time in seconds to keep the fixture on before turning it off. This field is used to specify the behavior before turning off the light due to a lack of occupancy.
• Fixture initially turns on – The fixture turns on at 50% for 5 seconds before adjusting the lights based on the profile.
• Background Light level to 50% - Enable this field to set the background light level to 50% of the profile max when there is no motion.
• Highbay – Enter 1 to enable the lighting profile for Highbay sensors mounted above 25' else enter 0.
• Motion Threshold – The following are some possible reasons to modify the values of this field. 
  • • The lights turn off even when there are occupants present. 
    • The lights turn on when passersby (transient) motion is detected. 
    • The lights turn on due to false triggers of motion.  
    • The lights delay too long before turning on. 
  • Refer to the article Effect of Motion Sensitivity, Active Motion Window, Motion Threshold on the Light Level due to Motion.
• Holiday Override Profile – To schedule Holiday Overrides, select an override from the Holiday Override Profile drop-down box. For details, refer to the article Configure Demand Response and Holiday Behavior.
• Daylight Harvesting – The following Profile attributes settings are for Daylight Harvesting. For a detailed description, refer to the article Daylight Harvesting.

• • Enable Daylight Harvesting Override mode – Select this option to enable daylight harvesting. 
  • Allow Daylight Harvesting to dim lights below the minimum light level – Select this option for the lights to turn off. Daylight harvesting override mode is thus enabled, turning the lights off rather than merely dimming them to 15% of the min. light level specified in the lighting profile. Refer to the article Daylight Harvesting.
  • At a time period change when there is no motion, allow a change in minimum light level to raise light levels – Select this option to turn on the lights to the profile minimum value at the beginning of the profile period. 
  • When motion is detected, ramp up to the target ambient light level over 3 seconds – Select this option to turn on the lights to the Ambient Light Level instead of the Max light level when motion is detected.

For outdoor lighting, see Setting Outdoor Lighting Profile Based on Astronomical Clock.

Other Recommended articles:

• Create or Edit Profile
• Assigning Profile to Sensors
• Effects of Motion Sensitivity, Active Motion Window, Motion Threshold
• Override the Light Levels of Fixtures
• Astronomical Clock FAQs

 

 

Create or Edit Light Profile

Manage is shipped with predefined profile templates; each template contains a single profile instance for
the most common areas and rooms in buildings. The two additional templates shipped are Custom1 and Custom 2 that can be renamed, and used for organization-specific use cases. 

Only system and facility administrators can create profile templates and instances, but any user can edit the light profile settings. Profile templates and instances are predefined values that determine the light level settings of a fixture; you can modify the values as per your requirement.

For example, you can create a template for standard classrooms and large lecture rooms in a university. Then instances can be created based on needed behavior to match use cases.

• Create Light Profile
• Edit Light Profile
• Push Profile

Create Light Profile

To create profile instance values:

Step 1: Click on Profile Templates in the left panel to display the list of available profile instances.

Step 2: Select the required profile instance. 

Step 3: Click the Settings tab.

Step 4: Click Create button.

Step 5: Enter the profile attributes as per your need. Refer to Understanding Profile Basic Attributes.

1. You can set four periods of the day: Morning, Day, Evening, and Night. The Day and Evening periods may be set based on the astronomical clock, which provides the sunrise and sunset time. You can choose to specify the Day and Evening periods to start. You can also select start times based on the local time zone for each period.
2. Modify the Profile Attributes such as Min Light Level, Max Light Level, Ramp-up Time, Active Motion Window, Motion Sensitivity, and Ambient Sensitivity for each Day and Evening periods as per your requirement. See  Understanding Profile Basic Attributes.
3. Click open the Advanced menu and select the required option to control how often and how much the light levels may change. These values need not be changed, but if you would like to tweak the values, contact Enlighted Support for assistance.

Step 6: Click the Save button.  

After a new light profile is created and saved, assign it to a sensor after commissioning it. Refer to the article Assigning Profile to Sensors.

Edit Light Profile

To modify profile instance values:

Step 1: Click on Profile Templates in the left panel to display the list of available profile instances.

Step 2: Select the required profile instance. 

Step 3: Click the Settings tab.

Step 4: Click the Edit button against the appropriate Profile and change one or more values as per your need. See Understanding Profile Basic Attributes.

Step 5: Click the Update button to apply the changes.  All sensors using this profile will be automatically updated within 30 minutes or more. However, when there are many sensors, it might take a while for all sensors to be updated.

Push Profile

If an immediate update is required or to verify if the profile update has been pushed to a sensor, follow the steps described in Push Profile Updates to Sensors.

Override Light Levels/Color Temporarily

You can manually adjust the light level or color temperature of selected fixtures from the floor plan. This is called Override or Manual mode. The fixtures will remain in this mode for sixty minutes and then change to Auto mode, which returns the fixtures to their light Profile settings. 

The light levels adjust the brightness and the color temperature describes how warm or cool the light appears. Color temperature is applicable only for Tunable White fixtures. 

Override Light Levels/Color for one or more Fixtures 

To override the light level or color of one or more fixtures from the floor plan,

1. Select a floor in the left panel.
2. Click the Floor plan tab.
3. Select the fixtures in the floor plan.
4. Drag the Override Light Level or Override Color  slider to adjust the selected fixtures' color and light levels. 

The fixtures will remain in this mode for sixty minutes, and then change to Auto mode, which will return the fixtures to the light levels in their profile setting. 

Override Light Levels/Color for one Fixture

To override a fixture's light or color levels, either double-click a sensor in the floor plan or select the sensor from the table in Devices > Sensors if you know the sensor name, and click the Edit button.

In the Fixture Details window, drag the Dimming slider and or Color Temperature slider and specify a time in minutes for the Manual mode. Click the Auto button anytime to return the fixture to its profile level.

Recommended articles:

• Change Light Levels: Auto Vs. Manual Mode

Push Profile Update to a Sensor

When a light profile is modified and saved, it is automatically pushed to all sensors that use the modified profile. However, when there are many sensors, it might take a while for all sensors to be updated. 

To verify if a modified profile has been pushed to a sensor, either double-click the sensor on the floor plan display or click on the Edit button for the sensor in the Facilities > Devices > Sensors menu item.

In the resulting Fixture details pop-up, select the Profile tab.

If the Push Profile button is grayed, the configuration information has been pushed to the sensor. If the button is blue, the information has not yet been sent to the sensor. Click the blue Push Profile button to schedule the push to occur immediately. Likewise, repeat the procedure for each sensor to check if the updates have been pushed to the sensors or not.

Recommended articles:

• Assigning Profile to Sensors
• Modifying Values of a Profile

Effect of Initial Time and Active Motion Window on the ERC Switch

For any scene, the following three settings affect the light level due to occupants’ motion.

1. Initial time: Time the fixtures will hold the scene before the lights turn off when there is no motion
2. Switch type:  Depending on the switch type, the fixtures turn the lights to either minimum or maximum light level (as defined in the profile) when it detects motion.
   • Auto-on/Auto-Off: Lights turn on when motion is detected.
   • Manual-on/Auto-Off: Lights turn on when a button is pushed on the ERC.
3. Active Motion Window (in profile attributes): The length of time to hold a light on after motion has not been detected.

To view the Initial Time and Switch Type of a switch, select Facilities > Groups > Switch > Edit.

To see the Active Motion Window value for a sensor in the profile, double-click a sensor on the floor plan or view by selecting the profile template from the left panel applied to the group of sensors.

• When a scene is turned ON from an ERC, the fixtures turn the lights to the maximum light level defined in the profile. After the initial time expires for the switch, and if the sensors do not detect motion within the active motion window (extension time), the light levels return to the minimum light level defined in the profile.
• When a scene is turned OFF from an ERC, the fixtures turn off the lights. Lights remain off during initial time plus active motion window irrespective of motion detected.

Depending on the switch type, the fixtures turn the lights to either minimum or maximum light level (as defined in the profile) when it detects motion.

• Auto-on/Auto-Off: The fixture turns the light to a maximum level defined in the profile settings when it detects motion.
• Manual-on/Auto-Off: The fixture continues to set the light at a minimum level defined in the profile settings until a button is pushed on the switch (ERC).

If the initial time is set to zero, then the fixtures will transition to auto-off after twice the maximum active motion window period defined in the fixture profile. For example, if the active motion window is set to 15 minutes in the fixture profile settings, and the initial time is set to zero in Switch Settings, then the initial time is (2*15 minutes). This implies that when a scene is selected from the switch, the scene continues for 30 minutes and then applies the lighting profiles defined for the fixture. To continue the scene for a longer period, increase the initial time. Increasing the initial time delays the fixtures to get into profile mode, which ensures energy savings.

Recommended articles:

• Behavior of the ERC Dim Button
• Behavior of the ERC Auto Button in a Manual-on Switch Group
• Creating a Switch
• Creating a Scene

 

Effect of Motion Sensitivity, Active Motion Window, Motion Threshold on the Light Level due to Motion

This article describes the effects of the three settings that affect the changing of the light level due to occupants' motion. 

1. Motion Sensitivity: The sensor's sensitivity to detect occupancy due to motion. 
2. Active Motion Window: The length of time to hold a light on after motion has not been detected.
3. Motion Threshold (Advanced): The threshold between 1 (min) and 10 (max) for detecting motion.

Refer to Understanding Profile Basic Attributes for a description of these fields.

To view Active Motion Window or Motion sensitivity for a sensor, double-click a sensor on the floor plan, and select the Profile tab from the Fixture Details window.   

Scroll down and select Advanced to view Motion Threshold.

There are several possible reasons to modify the values:

• The lights turn off even when there are occupants present. 
  This is reduced by setting the value of motion sensitivity to 1 and increasing the active motion window value. These changes cause the fixtures to be more reactive to motion. Note that in extreme cases, the value of motion sensitivity can be set to 0, which will behave as if an occupant is always present.
• The lights turn on when passersby (transient) motion is detected. 
  This is reduced by increasing the value of motion sensitivity. Also, the value of ramp-up time can be increased so that when lights are turned on, the light level increases over a longer time and reduces the distraction.
• The lights turn on due to false triggers of motion.  
  This can be due to heat from a printer located beneath the fixture or air from a vent. A value should be selected between 1 and 10. The value 1 is the lowest threshold, and higher values raise the threshold. Thus, if false triggers are occurring, then the value should be raised.
• The lights delay too long before turning on. 
  This is due to a high value for motion sensitivity. Reducing the value will shorten the time but may result in lights turning on due to transient motion detection. Note that there is an additional attribute to tune sensitivity to motion.
• Lights stay on for a long time after the last occupant has left the area. 
  This is the result of having a large value for the active motion window. Reducing the value will shorten the time the lights are on when there are no occupants present but may result in the lights turning off when very still occupants are present.
• Title 24 Enabled. 
• Min light level when on (0-50)(%) - The minimum light level set should be greater than 0 percent and less 50 percent.
• Max light level when on (30-100)(%) - The maximum light level set should be greater than 30 percent and less than 100 percent.
• Active Motion - Must be set to less than 20 minutes.

As you can see, there are potentially conflicting trade-offs. Another approach is to physically relocate the sensor slightly to change the occupancy sensor's motion detection.

Recommended articles:

• Understanding Profile Basic Attributes
• Effects of Initial Time and Active Motion Window on the ERC Switch
• Modifying Values of a Profile
• Assigning Profile to Sensors

Set Outdoor Lighting Profile Based on Astronomical Clock

A light profile determines the light level settings of a fixture. The sensor uses the light levels along with the time of day, day of the week, and time duration to control the fixture’s light level.

The light profiles support four periods of the day: Morning, Day, Evening, and Night. The Day and Evening time periods may be set based on the astronomical clock, which provides the sunrise and sunset time.  You take advantage of the ample daylight available before and after sunrise or sunset when light profiles are set based on the astronomical clock. The sunrise and sunset time are based on the building’s latitude and longitude settings. See Edit Building's Location Data.

If you are creating an outdoor lighting profile based on the astronomical clock, set the Day profile to have 0 minimum and 0 maximum light levels to ensure that lights are off during the day. Set the Evening, Night, and Morning periods to a minimum value greater than 0 to ensure that there is always light after sunset and before sunrise.

The Day profile is applied when sunrise occurs before the Morning period starts. In other words, when the Day period overlaps with the Morning period, the Day profile will override. The Night profile is applied when sunset occurs after the night period starts. In other words, when the Night period overlaps with the Evening period, the Night profile will override. These overrides ensure that the lights are off when the sun is up if the Day period is set to 0 Min and 0 Max.

Note: Few advanced options in the profile are automatically applied by default, so outdoor fixtures behave appropriately as the sun sets. See Setting Advanced Attributes when Astronomical Clock is Set article for details.

Recommended articles:

• Modifying Values of a Profile
• Assigning Profile to Sensors
• Understanding Profile Basic Attributes

 

Set Advanced Attributes when Astronomical Clock is Set

The light profile supports four periods of the day: Morning, Day, Evening, and Night. The Day and Evening time periods may be set based on the astronomical clock, which provides the sunrise and sunset time. When lighting profiles are set based on the astronomical clock, you take advantage of the ample daylight available before and after sunrise or sunset. Sunrise and sunset are based on the building’s latitude and longitude, as specified in the building settings. (Buildings may also be set to use the organization’s latitude and longitude). To edit the building's location data, refer to the article Edit Building's Location Data.

When the Evening period is set based on the astronomical clock, the lights turn on at sunset time to the profile min light at the beginning of the evening profile period for security and safety reasons.

For this option to be effective, the following two changes in the Advanced Attributes section of the light profile will be applied when the Astronomical clock is set.

1. Allow daylight harvesting to dim lights below the minimum light level option will be disabled (unchecked).
2. At a time period change when there is no motion, allow a change in minimum light level to raise light levels will be enabled (checked).

Example settings for General Behavior advanced attributes when the astronomical clock is set.

Recommended articles:

• Setting Outdoor Lighting Profile Based on Astronomical Clock
• Modifying Values of a Profile
• Assigning Profile to Sensors
• Understanding Profile Basic Attributes

 

Change Light Levels: Auto vs. Manual Mode

You can change the light levels of fixtures from the floor plan or using a configured ERC switch. Two settings are provided Auto vs. Manual mode. The Auto mode returns the fixture light levels as specified in the light profile. If a particular user needs lights to be brightened or dim temporarily, you would manually change the fixture light level. 

This article describes the Auto vs. Manual mode light level settings of fixtures controlled from the Floor Plan vs. the Auto or Manual mode light level settings of a group of fixtures controlled by the ERC switch.

• Auto vs. Manual Mode 
• Auto-on/Auto-Off vs. Manual-on/Auto-off in Switch Type

Auto vs. Manual Mode 

You can manually adjust the light level of selected fixtures from the floor plan. This is called Override Light Level or Manual mode. The fixtures will remain in the manual mode for sixty minutes and then change to Auto mode. If the light level is readjusted during the override mode, the time will be reset to sixty minutes.

The Auto mode returns the selected fixtures to the light levels as specified in the fixture light profile. You can override the light levels of one or more fixtures from the Floor Plan or the Fixture Details window. For more details about how to change light levels from the floor plan, refer to the article Override the Light Levels of Fixtures.

Auto-on/Auto-Off vs. Manual-on/Auto-off in Switch Type

When fixtures belong to a motion or switch group, the switch controls the fixtures' light levels in the group.  When creating a switch, you define the Switch Type as either Auto-on/Auto-off or Manual-on/Manual-off.

Auto-on/Auto-off: The fixtures controlled by the switch behave as if a switch did not control them. The fixtures turn the lights to the maximum light level defined in the lighting profile when detecting motion or occupancy. See Understanding Profile Basic Attributes.

Manual-on/Auto-off: The fixtures behave as if a switch controls them. For example, a fixture will not turn on the light in the luminaire when occupancy is detected. Instead, the switch (or an ERC) must be used to turn on the light in the luminaire. However, for safety concerns in very low or no light situations, fixtures will always turn on the light when occupancy is detected.

After a switch is configured to control a group of fixtures, use switch buttons 1 and 2 on the switch to brighten or dim the lights.

Recommended articles:

• Switch Configuration Settings
• Creating a Switch
• ERC Switch Control for Light Fixtures with Tunable White

 

 

Background Lighting

Background lighting saves energy by turning on the lights to profile max only when an area or space is occupied. It relies on a group of sensors using the same profile and being in the same motion group. It uses a combination of the sensors' profile max light level and background light level of the motion group enabled in the Advanced Profile.

In legacy lighting control, the profile has two light levels: min and max light level. When there is no occupancy, the sensor controlling the fixture sets it to the min. light level, and when the sensor detects motion, the lights go to the profile max. 

Background lighting allows any sensor in the group to control the light levels in the area. When a person enters a room, background lighting turns on all lights in the area to 50% of the profile max, providing sufficient lighting in the area. As the person prepares to stay and work at the desk, the sensors directly above the person raise their light levels to the profile max, while the remaining lights in the area continue to maintain their background light levels. 

When the person leaves the room, and after the Active Motion Window times out, the lights go down to the background light level (50% of the profile max). The lights stay at background light levels as long as there is no motion for the time specified in the Advanced Profile, after which, the lights go down to the profile min light level. 

To enable background lighting,

1. Click on Profile Templates in the left panel to display the list of available profiles.
2. Select the required profile instance.
3. Click the Settings tab.
4. Scroll down and click the Advanced tab. The Advanced Profile window is displayed. 
5. Specify a time between 1 minute and 120 minutes for the lights to go down to the background light level after the Active Motion window times out.
6. Select the box to set Background Light level to 50% of the profile max.
7. Scroll up and click the Update button to apply the changes.
8. Assign the profile to the group of sensors controlling background lighting.