Flexible and scalable connected lighting system at Emera Place

Emera Place

Nova Scotia, Canada

Emera Inc., a single electric utility in Nova Scotia, owned a building that was built in the 1970’s. For a number of years it sat vacant, until it was recently gutted to make way for an entirely new interior construction. The ultimate goal of the project was to create a smart and sustainable building that would act as a best-in-class example of what a smart building should be.

We can use occupancy data collected via sensors in the connected lighting system to understand peak traffic times throughout the building, so we know when is the best time to send in the cleaning staff.”

- Josh Hyslop, Sr. Engineer at NS Power

Customer challenge

Nova Scotia Power had an ambitious goal for Emera Place: create a smart and sustainable building using IOT connected technology that would offer flexibility, space management and lighting management with a focus on system integration and energy efficiency, all while reducing capital expenditures.

Total integration: flexible and scalable

While scoping the project, Emera looked at various manufacturer options to address their lighting needs, but ultimately selected Signify’s solution because of the flexibility of the system offering, and the breadth of product options available. For example, the control system backbone (pairing Philips Dynalite controls with Cisco PoE switches) allowed for efficiencies in infrastructure costs as well as the ability to integrate into the building’s overall IoT framework.

According to John Hyslop, Senior Engineer at NS Power “From inception, we knew we wanted a smart building for our new headquarters. It was important not only to live our corporate vision of innovation and efficiency, but to have the flexibility to easily make changes to infrastructure or implement future upgrades. The Interact IoT lighting system by Signify checked all the boxes. Their luminaires offered high comfort level for lighting spaces, the system price was right, and we really liked the idea around the plug ‘n play connectivity of PoE switches, which gives us the flexibility to move any light and re-use the ethernet cable.”

The ability to collect data from the system was also a differentiating factor. Interact Office provides kwh usage, including peak usage times, so Emera can track peak use over time and plan accordingly. Automatic fault notifications mean the company can reduce maintenance costs, since crews can locate and repair faults quickly with minimal downtime.

Space management software allows the company to track space use over time in order to use their space most effectively. After just a month, the system showed that a specific meeting room was not being utilized, so the company could consider reconfiguring the space to improve efficiency and optimize use.

In general the Interact platform was seen as a benefit as it allowed for more than one option of integration with the BMS whether via backnet interface or API for example.

Collaboration was an essential factor to the overall project success and seamless execution, with multiple parties needing to work together towards a common goal. The positive working relationship between the systems group, the agent, the construction group and the specifier resulted in a fantastic result for all.

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