Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1156106
October/November/December 2019 I 55 Enhancing employee productivity was one of the central motives for the extensive renovations. Therefore, a lot of different aspects of a productive workspace were considered. Lighting is one of the important factors in defining the ambience (Figure 9). Existing research doc- uments good evidence of an association between lighting and work performance, mediated by employee well-being. Studies also suggest that while lighting independently is unlikely to have a strong effect on performance, it is one of several major factors that combine to create healthy work environments that in turn help promote employee engagement, well-being and productivity. Areas where employees are expected to spend most of their working hours, for example, are in open office desk spaces that get bio-dynamic and circadian lighting. Incorporating circadian lighting not only offers a viable alternative to natural light, but it also positively impacts the overall health and happiness in an office. The system pushes lighting scenes appropriated for the demand and appli- cation based either on schedule, sensor input, local control or a combination of these. The idea is to have a lighting system that is non-intrusive, intuitive and simple to use; it has been successfully deployed and enhances the wellness aspect of the space. Beyond lighting applications, sensor data is shared with other building and office automation systems. Using the same sensor for multiple applications has reduced the overall hardware device footprint in the building. For example, an occupancy sensor integrated into the light fixture acts on the light as expected while sharing this status change with: 1) AV systems through a wireless relay to turn on systems based on presence 2) HVAC systems to indicate presence in a certain zone and adjust airflow 3) Room conference scheduling systems to validate scheduled meeting bookings with the occupancy indication The above application in BlueSky reduces four physical sensors to one. ENJOYING THE SHADE The integrated IoT system, a digital infrastructure, was designed to support scalability and simplified integration of smart, automated, and connected systems now and in the future. This IoT solution helped to address any challenges of designing for cost-effectiveness and energy efficiency. With this infrastructure already in place, it is easy and cost-efficient for GP to add low-voltage Category cables to power low-voltage motorized shades. These shades come with multiple positives. Located in premier meeting room locations, integrated systems can auto- matically start the AV, dim the lights, lower the shades, and then reverse them when AV is not being used. Additional benefits include the ability to provide DC power via the same Category cables and to control the shades using the same system in place for managing the GP's system utilizes PoE gateways connected to a PoE network switch to transmit IP-PoE power and communication to a variety of operational technology (OT) devices, such as LED lighting fixtures, sensors, motorized shades, and relay/actuators. FIGURE 9: Architectural PoE LED luminaires.