The Government of Western Australia’s Public Transport Authority (PTA) is responsible for the operation, management, and maintenance of all urban heavy rail, bus, and ferry infrastructure in Perth, Western Australia. Committed to providing the safest, most efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective service possible for more than 140 million passengers annually, PTA has pursued technical innovation to improve lighting management. In an Australian first, PTA has selected Echelon’s powerline technology to power its network-wide lighting asset management and control program.

In 2009, PTA began a trial of an Echelon-powered “Zoneworks” emergency lighting and exit sign monitoring system, manufactured by Clevertronics, that provides real-time monitoring and automated compliance for its life-safety lighting. Now this program is being rolled out in throughout PTA’s region, with several thousand points now under centralized management.

Following the success of the emergency lighting program, PTA approached LVX Group, an Echelon Solutions Partner and Lighting Engineered Solutions Company, to develop a similar asset management strategy for its general lighting. After successful trials on selected sites, PTA adopted LVX Group’s engineered solution in early 2013. Incorporating Echelon’s CPD3000 Outdoor Lighting Controller (OLC) and SmartServer 2.0 Controller, the solution was designed, developed, and installed by LVX Group as a part of its “Fit & Forget” Lighting Asset Management Program.

The Echelon-powered solution enhances efficiency, compliance, and costs for both reactive and preventive maintenance as well as capital projects. Improvements in LED warranty accountability alone are expected to save millions of dollar per year, because the monitoring system enabled by the Echelon-powered solution can determine promptly if LED lamps have failed inside the manufacturer’s warranty period. In addition, luminaires can be programmed to save energy; parking lot and platform lights can be dimmed at times when no traffic is expected; and the lighting system alerts maintenance personnel to the exact locations of failed lamps, saving time and money while optimizing safety.

The PTA is in the process of implementing Echelon technology to upgrade its transit platforms, service and stowage yards, tunnels, and parking lot lights to controllable, monitored LED lighting.

You might also like:

• Echelon’s SmartServer 2.0 Controller web page
• Echelon CPD3000 Outdoor Lighting Controller (OLC) datasheet
• Government of Western Australia - Public Transport Authority website
• LVX Group’s Fit & Forget Lighting Asset Management website

A smart, multi-level, demand-sensitive LED street lighting network demonstration using Echelon’s Outdoor Lighting Controllers (OLCs) and SmartServer helped the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NWSC) to achieve over 75% electrical energy savings.  Echelon worked with researchers at two universities, Virginia Tech and Old Dominion, to develop the LED street lighting network for the Maryland-based NSWC.[1]  The previous street lighting system used high pressure sodium (HPS) lamps with no dimming controls, which were monitored for one year to provide a baseline of electricity consumption to compare with the new LED-based system with Echelon controllers.

This new network allows NSWC to monitor and control lighting intensity based on both time and traffic flow. The network’s building blocks include LED light fixtures, a traffic sensor, and Echelon streetlight controllers and SmartServer. 

In addition to a tremendous reduction in energy consumption, the NSWC is realizing the added value of significantly better light quality, the elimination of mercury waste disposal, and the ability to dynamically control dimming levels with motion sensors.

“We’ve demonstrated at the NSWC that replacing existing HPS-based street lighting systems with intelligent LED systems controlled by Echelon technology can significantly reduce electricity consumption,” said Mark Carter,Echelon’s director of sales. “Similar results are being are being achieved for varying outdoor lighting projects around the world in municipal, parking lot, and parking garage lighting applications.” 

 You Might Also Like:

• Echelon’s Smart Street Lighting web page
• Echelon’s CPD3000 Outdoor Lighting Controller web page
• Echelon’s SmartServer web page
• The Naval Surface Warfare Center web site
• Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) News web page

The Echelon China Users Conference wrapped up its 2013 meeting in Xiamen, China, in April, with more than 70 people from 20 companies attending the two-day conference.  The Users Group, which gives vendors the opportunity to meet and discuss their solutions based on LonWorks technology, expanded its focus this year to also include Echelon’s strategy and plans for the Internet of Things marketplace. 

Anders Axelsson, Echelon’s senior vice president of Internet of Things Global Sales and Marketing, said: “The China Users Conference is a great example of the LonWorks community coming together to share experiences. We had people talking about their successes in various vertical markets, as well as how to use LonWorks to generate new business and growth and expand to emerging verticals. This conference is an important vehicle for Echelon to get first-hand feedback from our users and to let our community hear the latest updates and plans from Echelon.”

Phoenix Zheng, Echelon’s country manager of China added: “Echelon’s commitment to the Chinese market is very important and every year we are seeing more excitement about Echelon and the LonWorks technology.  The Internet of Things strategy added even more interest this year and I expect next year will be an even greater event.”

The Users Conference showcased the successful implementations of street lighting, green building, and home automation efforts together with new opportunities in solar, indoor lighting, transportation, industrial, and other vertical markets.

 Presentation highlights included:

• Rongwen showcased its work in street lighting energy management
• Tomwell discussed its Echelon power line communications-based advanced LED drivers
• AMKO talked about smart induction lighting and controls
• Hocen discussed emergency lights and signs
• Nan Jing Tujiu talked about indoor lighting systems
• Lianhong talked about government office building energy monitoring
• Protectwell discussed LonWorks-based sun blind control and lighting systems 
• Street Light SLS talked about home energy management 

Stay tuned for details on the next Users Conference, coming soon.

You might also like:

• Echelon LonWorks web page

The annual “Bring Your Kids to Work” day was Thursday, April 25, and many children joined their parents at Echelon’s headquarters office in San Jose, California.

The new “Echelon employees” started their day with a welcome and introduction by Varun Nagaraj and Russ Harris, members of Echelon’s executive team.

Then, Tom Jones and Carlos Cuturrufo from Engineering gave the children a tour of the labs.  Steve McKinney from IT gave a tour of the server room and Rob Guzikowski, a product expert, showed the children Echelon’s Demo room.  Wayne Wiebe from Facilities took them around the office building, including the roof, which turned out to be the highlight of the tour and enjoyed most by all the children.

The children also went on a “scavenger hunt” to get them talking and asking questions of the employees. Jason Chien and Melinda Sanders from Customer Support helped with the scavenger hunt and employee questions. 

The questions included: “Find someone who works in finance;”“Locate an employee who has worked here longer than 10 years;” and “Find someone who makes big decisions.” All the children received an Echelon backpack “goodie bag” with a T-shirt, pen, and notepad inside. They also made picture frames and ended their day with a pizza lunch.

This was the 21st anniversary of the U.S. national program and, according to Forbes, more than 37 million employees at more than 3.5 million U.S. workplaces participated in the event. The day was developed by Gloria Steinem and the Ms. Foundation for Women in 1993 and originally intended only for daughters. Ten years later, it was expanded to include sons.  

Building automation providers like Schneider Electric claim that with the right system, building owners can significantly reduce heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) costs without compromising safety or comfort.

Schneider Electric, a leading global specialist in energy management, has chosen the Echelon FT 5000 smart transceiver for its Lon based MircoNet Series of controllers. These controllers are used in Schneider’s industry-leading building management systems for commercial buildings, including TAC I/A Series and SmartStruxure solution.

Schneider Electric’s Lon based MicroNet series of programmable controllers comply with the ISO 14908 standard, also called LonWorks. This allows Schneider Electric’s customers to easily extend their control system with LonWorks compatible devices from other manufacturers, and allows the company and its integration partners to customize the control system to meet project specific requirements.

Over the years, the scope of building systems has increased to encompass virtually any device or data source within the building. “Coordinated control across all facility systems can provide up to 30% reduction in overall energy usage, achieving significant cost reductions in operation and maintenance of facilities,” said Ralph Box, Director, HVAC at Schneider Electric.

“We have used Echelon technology in several of our products to add LonWorks-based control networking capabilities. Migrating to the FT 5000 smart transceiver allows us to offer our customers the latest interoperable control networking technology with simplified credit-free installation.”

Pike Research, a leading energy consultancy, estimates that the market for commercial building automation systems will double over the next decade, increasing from $72.5 billion in 2011 to $146.4 billion by 2021.

You might also like:

• Echelon FT 5000 Smart Transceiver webpage
• Echelon LonWorks webpage
• Pike Research website
• Schneider Electric website

You might say that artist Bill Bell has tunnel vision. Or more specifically, he’s given riders on the Seattle Light Rail system visions of art in the tunnel.

Bell used Echelon devices to control his “Lightsticks” LED artwork that’s located in the two mile-long tunnels through Beacon Hill. Embedded in the tunnel walls like glowing neon icicles, Bell’s “Lightsticks” let train riders see images – of playing cards, naval signal flags, insects and other underground dwellers – flash on the tunnel walls as the trains fly by.

After consulting with Echelon on the right products to use, Bell designed LED devices spread out over 2000 feet in the inaccessible tunnel interiors. The challenge was that the only way to coordinate and monitor the 22 LED devices was with power line communication. Seattle Light Rail has strict security for the tunnels and reliability was needed in place of regular maintenance.

Bell used Echelon’s i.LON SmartServer 2.0 as the head-end controller to monitor and control all his end light-point devices. He also used the Echelon PL3150 Evaluation Boards as power line “modems” and connected the host processor of his device to the PL3150 on the Evaluation Board through a serial connection. 

“Normally, art doesn’t require device-level networking,” said Mark Carter, Echelon’s director of sales. “So it was a unique sale. And, the bonus is that Seattle rail passengers get to enjoy this as they travel on the train every day to and from work.”

Bell’s  Subliminary Artworks appear in permanent public art displays. Marrying art with science, these works have appealed to a variety of organizations, including the Los Angeles Metro Gateway, The Exploratorium San Francisco, Roxbury Latin School’s Bauer Science Center, SONY Mediage Expo Tokyo, and Boston University’s Photonics Center. Seattle boasts an earlier Bell artwork in the Metro Station at University Street, and his “tech art” is part of private collections from Hong Kong to Beverly Hills.

You might also like:

• Echelon’s Power Line Communications (PLC) technology web page
• Echelon’s i.LON SmartServer 2.0 brochure
• The website for Bill Bell’s light art
• Seattle Light Rail website

Several leading Japanese cities are now piloting street lighting management systems based on technology from Echelon and two of Japan’s leading solution providers, ITOCHU Corporation and Mitsui.

Varun Nagaraj, senior vice president at Echelon, said: “The use of a standards-based control system allows the cities in Japan to manage life-cycle procurement costs by providing them with a choice of luminaires, an expense that is often more than 80% of the cost of the project.”  

The street lighting management systems being piloted are built on the open ISO/IEC 14908 standard and implemented using Echelon’s Power Line Communications (PLC) transceivers and segment controllers, notably Echelon’s new CPD3000 Outdoor Lighting Controllers.

In the city of Tsukuba, Echelon partner ITOCHU Corporation has installed the second phase of a pilot, in cooperation with major Japanese lighting device manufacturers Panasonic and Toshiba. 

ITOCHU, as Echelon’s master distributor in Japan, also collaborated with a new market entrant, Mitsui & Company, for two additional pilot sites: in the city of Higashi Matsushima, part of the earthquake-damaged region of Tohoku, and at the campus of Hiroshima City University in the city of Hiroshima.

The ISO 14908-based solution being deployed in the pilots supports a variety of luminaires, ranging from LEDs from Toshiba and GE to ceramic metal halide lights from GS Yuasa. These lighting systems using Echelon-based lighting control system offer numerous benefits, including:

• Compared to just using high-efficiency lamps, street light management systems further lower energy use and reduce the cost of operating the street light infrastructure.
• In Hiroshima, where rising Japanese electricity prices now rival high-cost Asia-Pacific locations such as Australia and the Philippines, the change-out of high-pressure sodium (HPS) lamps to dimmable LEDs is lowering per-lamp electricity consumption by more than 50%, or nearly 120Kg of CO₂ per year, and is expected to save approximately $240 per year per lamp. The use of the control system to set dimming schedules based on weather and traffic patterns delivers 20% to 30% more savings compared to just shifting from HPS to LED.
• Additionally, all the pilots involve the monitoring of lamps from a centralized city location – so failures can be identified and responded to quickly, thereby increasing public safety while reducing maintenance costs.

You might also like:

• ITOCHU’s website
• Mitsui’s website
• Echelon’s Power Line Communications webpage
• CPD3000 Outdoor Lighting Controllers webpage

Echelon hosted a Caucus Meeting for the Silicon Valley Leadership Group on April 26.

The day’s attendees included State Assembly Member Jim Beall (representing Echelon’s district), State Assembly Member Paul Fong, State Assembly Member Jerry Hill, State Assembly Member Luis Alejo, State Assembly Member Nora Campos, State Assembly Member Rich Gordon, State Assembly Member Kevin Mullin, State Assembly Member Phil Ting, and Silicon Valley Leadership Group’s Carl Guardino, among others.

They discussed plans and progress on critical issues such as immigration reform, transportation funding, the California energy grid, greenhouse gas emissions reduction projects, California’s “Made in USA” labeling standard, stronger state R&D tax credit, sales tax exemption for equipment purchases and small business stock taxes–all focused on making California competitive and sustainable while maintaining our great quality of life.

Echelon’s CEO Ron Sege recently joined the Board of Directors of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. Representing more than 345 significant Silicon Valley employers, and with 36 board members, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group (SVLG) was founded in 1977 by HP co-founder David Packard. Since then, the organization has been actively involved in helping to craft important regional, California state, and U.S. federal policies that impact the economic health and quality of life in Silicon Valley — and beyond.

You may be interested in:

• Silicon Valley Leadership Group website
• The California State Assembly’s website

Echelon announced a street lighting customer win with OSRAM, a subsidiary of Siemens and one of the leading light manufacturers in the world. OSRAM, based in Germany, will offer a standards-based street lighting management system that uses Echelon’s Power Line Communications (PLC) transceivers and segment controllers.

OSRAM’s light management system will work with a range of luminaires – from emerging technologies such as LEDs to existing technologies such as induction lighting. OSRAM’s street light management system can lower energy use by up to 40% and reduce the cost of operating the street light infrastructure.

Because Echelon’s control networking technology is based on the open ISO/IEC 14908 standard, OSRAM will be able to quickly bring its solution to market and add differentiating capabilities.

Varun Nagaraj, senior vice president at Echelon, said: “We look forward to strengthening our partnership with OSRAM as we collectively pursue our vision of street lighting energy efficiency and quality.”

Recommended Links:

• OSRAM website
• Echelon’s Power Line Communications transceivers web page