SmartScan from Thorlux is a lighting control and emergency monitoring system that is already bringing the power of enhanced information to managers across the healthcare estate.
SmartScan builds on established energy-saving technologies in a system that is easy to install, offers a high degree of flexibility, and provides online access to the operational details of their entire lighting systems.
SmartScan merges Thorlux’s Smart energy-efficient indoor lighting controls - which are designed with group presence detection and individual daylight-based switching and dimming - with energy-saving Smart External lighting controls.
It also incorporates Scanlight AT web-based emergency lighting testing and monitoring systems, combining all three into one wireless control system.
The system is designed to efficiently control all main and external lighting and automatically test all emergency lighting, providing central reporting and diagnostics. It monitors energy usage for all lighting, displaying the results in a graphic dashboard on any device with an internet connection.
Luminaires are fitted with a SmartScan transceiver which uses the latest wireless mesh technology to replace wired communications signals between each unit.
SmartScan uses 868MHz secure radio communication which offers excellent transmission distance within buildings, with each luminaire acting as a wireless node to repeat commands on to the next luminaire. This provides a robust system that will always find a communication path.
The SmartScan emergency luminaires are stand-alone, with each self-testing to the schedule specified in BS EN 62034:2012. The operational status of each is displayed by the status LED.
Philip Hill, lighting systems product manager at Thorlux, said: “SmartScan replaces the wired motionline with mesh networking technology, with groups on the system formed by addressing instead of hard wiring.
“This means that changes or additions can be easily made to the lighting system as the building layout or needs change. This makes the system extremely easy to install and programme and, in retro-fit situations, it eliminates the time and disruption involved in installing new wiring systems.”
Another key benefit of the SmartScan system is the accessibility of the information. At the heart of the system is a SmartScan Gateway which uses the mesh network to communicate with individual luminaires and transmits energy performance and emergency lighting status reports to the SmartScan web server.
Users can access the system information from any location, using a web browser on any enabled device without the need for additional apps or software. This also provides off-site storage for all energy performance data, emergency lighting testing schedules, commissioning certificates and other associated documentation.
Hill said: “With our Smart technology, Thorlux is already delivering lighting energy savings in excess of 70% compared with conventional technology.
“What SmartScan brings is better, easily accessible information and a much more sophisticated level of control with much-enhanced diagnostic tools.
“With that level of information, building managers should be in a position to reap even more energy savings from their lighting systems whilst still providing the level and quality of lighting that is critical to health and wellbeing in a care environment.”