Installation and maintenance benefits of plug-in control modules for lighting energy management

The keys to viable energy management schemes are high energy saving, coupled with low installation costs, thereby giving short financial payback periods. In lighting, high energy savings are achieved only with flexible control systems which ensure that only those lights really needed are switched on, and that all others are automatically switched off. Ideally lights should be controlled on a person by person basis or, failing this, then at least on a work area basis. Field trials have shown that personnel will also turn lights off when not needed providing that it is easy to do so without leaving the work place. The ability to override the system locally is an important psychological factor in ensuring acceptance of an energy management system