Clemson University recently installed the first-ever lighting system to use Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology on a college campus.
The system features a PoE-based installation by Philips, which was implemented in the Watt Family Innovation Center. With the PoE system, the university will save up to 70 percent in energy costs, when compared to conventional lighting solutions.
“The Watt Family Innovation Center is a beacon for progressive schools like Clemson University looking to engage and motivate their students to develop cutting-edge ideas in collaboration with industry and government that can have real world impact,” says Amy Huntington, president of Philips Lighting Americas.
“This is the first time that a University in the US will benefit from a commercial Power over Ethernet connected lighting system which will be able to deliver more control, energy efficiency and cost savings directly to the center,” Huntington continues. “We are proud to be a founding innovation partner and help support the vision of the center with these lighting solutions.”
How It Works
According to an article on BusinessWire, Clemson University’s PoE solution will gain the institutions savings using the following approach.
The intelligent PoE system delivers energy savings by gathering historical and real-time anonymous data from each lighting fixture to determine when a room is being used. These occupancy sensors also trigger lights to turn on and off, saving additional energy.
The Philips EnvisionManager, an advanced lighting control system, enables all the lights to be controlled from a single, tailored software console. The system supports remote access and web based control letting occupants control their lights via any authorized computer, smartphone or tablet. This ensures the right amount of light is provided only when, where and how it is needed.
Clemson University will see significant gains as a result of the installation, such as:
- LED lighting to provide flexible work spaces that encourage collaboration in the innovation center
- Up to 70 percent in energy savings, compared to similar buildings using conventional lighting
- Ability to gather historical and real-time anonymous data for lighting fixtures to determine when and how rooms are used, and trigger lights to turn on and off to save energy
- Use of Philips EnvisionManager, an advanced lighting system, which enables lighting control via a software console and allows building occupants to control their lights via an authorized computer, smartphone or tablet
Clemson University also collaborated with Philips to “create a large media façade using Philips iColor Flex LMX gen2, flexible strands of large-intensity nodes with intelligent colored light.”
This façade uses digital canvases and more than 45,000 individually controllable light points to deliver messages and images across campus.
“We have built a cutting-edge facility that showcases Clemson’s academic enterprise in action,” says Dr. Charles Watt, Clemson alumnus and Founding Director of the Watt Family Innovation Center. “Philips has been an outstanding partner and their lighting solutions allow us to reach our sustainability goals while giving us the ability to better understand how the building is being used and the ability to adjust the space-flexible facility as needed.”
