Mint® is Green and Open

The Lumisys MINT™ DR is a powerful energy management solution that substantially reduces lighting energy consumption during peak periods while maintaining a safe and productive work environment. MINT DR is built upon two open protocol standards (BACnet and Digital Addressable Lighting Interface - DALI) to eliminate the risk of getting locked into a specific ballast or control system manufacturer. MINT DR is also built for integration to leverage the inherent value of the building automation system infrastructure to provide a solution that is ease to learn, use and maintain throughout the building life cycle.

MINT DR uses Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard for fluorescent lamp ballasts and BACnet®, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) recognized ANSI/ASHRAE standard data communication protocol for building automation.

By employing open standard protocols which are not exclusively owned by a single company the Lumisys MINT product solution greatly simplifies the dream of daylight harvesting that can be managed and verified by Carrier i-Vu. This seamless unification of two open standard protocols enables the BAS system with the ability to address key energy management aspects of a building such as demand response load shedding and day light harvesting to effect reductions in wasteful energy consumption. Open standard protocols ensures interoperability and helps influence the intrinsic value of Carrier i-Vu for efficiency and operational performance in buildings.

Frost & Sullivan recognizes Lumisys with the 2008 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for Industry Innovation & Advancement of the Year for its MINT™ Demand Response (DR) solution. The Mint DR extends Lumisys’ initiatives in offering an energy management solutions that allows for seamless integration with building automation system (BAS) infrastructure via open standard protocols. These energy management solutions reduce costs by eliminating stand-alone lighting controls and enhance interoperability of lighting with building automation, thereby optimizing energy savings. Lumisys’ MINT™ DR combines the Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI), an internationally recognized standard for architectural dimming, with BACnet®, the leading standard data communication protocol for building automation, to control DALI-compliant digital ballasts within a building.

Frost & Sullivan Award Write Up
Short Version - Lumisys Only (2 MB PDF)
Long Version - All Award Recipients (76 MB PDF)

Press Releases
Frost & Sullivan
AutomatedBuildings.com

Typical System Architecture

Perfect Balance

In the past curtailment of building loads had been limited to HVAC and other non-critical loads. The reason for this limitation was due to the fact that lighting is critical to the safety and productivity of the work environment. We take in about 80 percent of all information with our eyes. Light enables us to see. The more effectively light is adapted to a situation, the more precisely information, feelings and emotions can be perceived. Digital ballasts are designed with a logarithmic dimming curve, which has been specially developed to match the sensitivity of the human eye. In conjunction with MINT control technology each curtailment delivers the perfect balance between energy efficiency and quality of light.

Dimming Characteristics

The human eye is extremely sensitive to changes in light between 0% to 10%. Irregular or sudden changes are a distraction and clearly visible to the human eye, which can be aggravated by linear dimming. Logarithmic dimming provides natural modulation of light that is nearly unnoticeable to the human eye. In conjunction with Lumisys MINT control technology the fully electronic ballasts provide the technical basis for perfect light quality.

Demand Response for Lighting

Today, most building automation systems provide demand control for HVAC. MINT DR now enables lighting to become part of that sequence. By dimming the lights over several minutes by 20%, 30% or more, peak charges can be avoided and in some parts of the country turned into cash back to the building owner.

National Demand Response Programs

Demand response programs offer incentives for business owners who curtail their facility’s energy use during times of peak demand. Demand Response programs also offer financial incentives for load reduction during times of peak demand. The Mint DR product was designed specifically to enable building owners and operators take advantage of local demand response programs without sacrificing the advantages of integration into the Building Automation System.

Find out how your business can benefit and help make a difference in your state’s energy well being by contacting a Lumisys Partner, or contact Lumisys to find a partner convenient for you.

Daylight Harvesting with Control and Monitoring

Daylight harvesting is the effective use of natural light in buildings to minimize the need for electric light during daylight hours. When properly designed, daylight harvesting can provide high-quality architectural lighting and can balance the thermal consequences of additional glazing. Since commercial buildings use significant energy for electric lighting (often 30 to 50% of annual energy use), daylight harvesting can be a very important design strategy to consider.

Building Automation Systems with integrated dimming systems can respond to daylight distribution via windows, their orientation, location and glazing materials, will complement the abundant natural light available and greatly reduce lighting costs. Efficient lighting systems will also produce less waste heat, decreasing the cooling load of the entire HVAC system and reducing overall electric usage.

If the HVAC system is being upgraded or replaced, this presents an opportunity to upgrade the lighting system. In fact, the reduced cooling loads that can be achieved with state-of-the-art lighting can enable significant downsizing of chillers and even pay the full initial cost of the lighting improvements while ensuring dramatic savings in ongoing energy use. Whenever possible, incorporate Daylight harvesting strategies into a building (new or existing) and integrate the electric lighting system appropriately.

In almost all cases where lighting is needed in a building on a regular basis during the day, daylighting can be an effective solution for at least some of the lighting requirements. Daylighting should be used in buildings such as offices, laboratories, schools, food service facilities, and other daytime-use spaces. In existing buildings, daylighting potential is greatest close to perimeter window walls.

A building’s windows and skylights or “fenestration” affect both the daylight available and the energy requirements of a building’s heating, cooling, and lighting systems. In the commercial office space illustrated below, the zones high lighted in yellow are appropriate for daylight harvesting applications as the average light level within these spaces is greatly affected by the amount of daylight received.

During the months of the year the DR program is not in effect, MINT DR can automatically adjust the electric lighting based upon the available daylight. These values can be trended by the BACnet building automation system for verification and reporting. This type of control sequence is becoming common in most LEED and Energy Star rated buildings.

Building Automation System control functions when integrated with Mint DR can include:
• Time of Day control to turn off certain lights according to a schedule
• Timers that automatically switch off lights after a predetermined period
• Occupancy sensors that detect your presence and provide light or turn it off when you leave a room
• Light level sensors that detect available daylight and modulate their output accordingly.

Potential Energy Savings

Energy savings of up to 75% can be realized as a result of increased operational efficiency of the lamp as well as the low power consumption
of digital dimmable control technology. The additional of daylight harvesting is a key factor in achieving such high energy savings.

Optimal Energy Solution

The use of natural daylight, supplemented by the appropriate amount of artificial light will enables building owners maximum energy savings potential. Mint DR intelligent lighting control integrated with your building automation system will ensure energy-efficient operation of the lighting system and impressive sustainability.

Product Availability

Lumisys only distributes Mint DR to authorized, factory trained Lumisys Partners.

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