Building owners and operators have long appreciated the aesthetic benefits of lighting control and its tremendous potential for saving energy. However, take-up has been hindered by retrofit difficulties which made increased investment necessary, a surge of occupant discomfort affecting productivity, and further integration issues when building management systems were planned without interoperable equipment. Help is at hand however, as the latest generation of SylSmart Connected Building from Sylvania addresses these challenges and offers lighting control for new-build and retrofit applications that truly delivers on the promise of a ‘smart’ lighting solution.

Pierre Taing, director smart & beyond lighting for Sylvania explains: “The new generation of SylSmart Connected Building is our most advanced smart lighting solution for professional in-office applications, and offers significant benefits through its feature-rich design, maximising both occupant comfort and energy efficiency. The use of Qualified Bluetooth mesh matches perfectly with Sylvania’s ambitions to provide a sustainable and secure ecosystem to support buildings becoming smarter and setting the foundation of an exciting future for smart lighting.”

Integrated intelligence

SylSmart Connected Building is a smart lighting solution for retrofit within indoor commercial applications. Its simplicity of design, ease of use and clear payback make it a choice for stakeholders including building owners, facilities, and energy managers, as well as installers.

Unlike traditional control systems, SylSmart Connected Building embeds intelligence in each luminaire. This contrasts with most lighting control systems which are based on a centralised system architecture which can result in a single point of failure then affecting the whole system. SylSmart Connected Building has no ‘central’ controller, operating in a decentralised way, avoiding a local problem causes a complete system shutdown.

Open to all

The new generation of SylSmart Connected Building uses Qualified Bluetooth mesh and smart sensors within Sylvania luminaires. This solution is ideally suited for control, monitoring, and automation systems where tens, hundreds, or thousands of devices need to communicate with one another reliably and securely. Sylvania is working on this initiative with Technology Partner Silvair, a leading contributor to the development of the Bluetooth mesh standard. Rafal Han, CEO of Silvair, commented: "It is exciting to see how Sylvania's SylSmart Connected Building system is helping to achieve better comfort and efficiency in buildings all over the globe. We are proud to partner with Sylvania and be a key part of this sustainable change.”

Simple installation and maximum design flexibility

Retrofit of SylSmart Connected Building luminaires is simple – no additional wiring is required just a simple swap-out. Traditional luminaires can be easily replaced with highly efficient, controlled, SylSmart-enabled fixture. Each luminaire contains a motion sensor providing precise control and optimum comfort to occupants. The SylSmart Connected Building system also provides maximum flexibility if the layout and demands of the office space is changed. Digital floor plans and configurations can be created off-site via a web-based platform. On-site implementation is accelerated with an intuitive mobile app, minimising disruption, and ensuring the security and reliability of the system. This easy to use app also supports regular on-going maintenance with no in-depth training required.

Tino Bracke, project manager at Relighting Quintiens NV (Veolia Group), recently led installation of SylSmart Connected Building at Boeverbos, a government building in Belgium. He highlights the ease of having a running site in very short time: “Due to the system being plug and play by nature, it allows us to replace devices in a truly short time and also allows us to configure them per room/zone and area. This gives us the major advantage of working in specific phases in buildings, while allowing occupants to continue working.”