Wireless Sensor and Actuator Networks for Lighting Energy ...

Chapter 2
Motivation
The motivations of this dissertation research are described in this chapter.
Lighting has been one of the major energy consumers among all electric systems in
buildings, and is a promising source for generating energy savings. The challenges of
current lighting management strategies are discussed to signify the need for new
lighting control technologies. Wireless sensor networks, the core technology that is
applied in this research on energy-efficient and cost-effective lighting systems are also
introduced in this chapter.
2.1 Energy Efficiency of Lighting in Commercial Buildings
Lighting has become one of the most important sources for generating energy
savings in commercial buildings. In fact, lighting accounts for 26% primary energy
consumption and 22% of primary energy expenditure in commercial buildings, topping
all other building systems as shown in Figure 2-1 and Figure 2-2 [16]. 40-50% of
energy savings may be achieved with a combination of energy efficient lighting
management strategies [17-19]. Commercial energy-efficient lighting products exist but
are poorly received due to exorbitant retrofitting costs and unsatisfying performances.
Therefore, new technologies are necessary for revising and popularizing energyefficient
lighting control systems to actually deliver the expected energy savings.
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