System for distributing low-voltage DC power to LED luminaires
Embodiments of the present invention are directed to systems for powering and controlling lighting fixtures in office buildings, homes, industrial facilities, and similar structures using low-voltage direct-current (“DC”) electricity. Some embodiments of the present invention are directed to systems for distributing DC power from a lighting controller to various LED luminaires. Embodiments include (a) a power source configured to provide electricity at approximately 48 volts DC; (b) an LED lighting fixture that includes a cool LED luminaire tuned toward the blue end of the visible light spectrum and a warm LED luminaire tuned toward the red end of the visible light spectrum; (c) a variable input control device for setting the color/temperature of the light emitted by the LED lighting fixture; and (d) a lighting controller comprising a watt meter, a capacitor bank, a cool LED controller, a warm LED controller, an input controller, a lighting computer; and (e) a site computer that communicates with the lighting controller via a building network to provide certain operational controls over the LED lighting fixture.
1. A low-power lighting control system for a building, comprising:
(a) a power source configured to provide electricity at approximately 48 volts DC;
(b) a variable input control device;
(c) an LED lighting fixture comprising a cool LED luminaire and a warm LED luminaire,
said cool LED luminaire configured to be powered by DC electricity, said cool LED luminaire lacking any local current driver to convert AC electricity to DC electricity, said cool LED luminaire comprising one or more cool LEDs that are tuned toward a blue end of a visible light spectrum,
said warm LED luminaire configured to be powered by DC electricity, said warm LED luminaire lacking any local current driver to convert AC electricity to DC electricity, said warm LED luminaire comprising one or more warm LEDs that are tuned toward a red end of the visible light spectrum; and
(d) a lighting controller comprising a watt meter, a capacitor bank, a cool LED controller, a warm LED controller, an input controller, and a lighting computer;
said watt meter electrically coupled to the power source, said watt meter configured to measure the number of watts of DC electricity consumed by the capacitor bank, said watt meter configured to communicate the watt measurement to the lighting computer,
said capacitor bank electrically coupled to and configured to receive DC electricity through the watt meter, said capacitor bank including a plurality of capacitors arranged in parallel, said capacitor bank configured to provide DC electricity to the cool LED controller and the warm LED controller,
said cool LED controller including a first inductor configured to receive DC electricity from the capacitor bank and a first current driver configured to receive DC electricity from the first inductor, said cool LED controller configured to output DC electricity from the first current driver via a first Class 2 wire (a Class 2 wire is one that is rated to carry from 5 volts to 60 volts of DC electricity) to the cool LED luminaire according to a cool lighting control signal received from the lighting computer, said cool lighting control signal specifying a particular first voltage level and a first amperage level for the cool LED luminaire,
said warm LED controller including a second inductor configured to receive DC electricity from the capacitor bank and a second current driver configured to receive DC electricity from the second inductor, said warm LED controller configured to output DC electricity from the second current driver via a second Class 2 wire to the warm LED luminaire according to a warm lighting control signal received from the lighting computer, said warm lighting control signal specifying a particular second voltage level and a second amperage level for the warm LED luminaire,
said input controller configured to receive a light temperature input signal from the variable input control device, where the light temperature input signal indicates a desired balance of cool and warm light corresponding to a manual setting on the variable input control device,
said lighting computer configured to receive the light temperature input signal from the input controller,
said lighting computer configured to issue the cool lighting control signal to the cool LED controller and to issue the warm lighting control signal to the warm LED controller, where the cool lighting control signal and the warm lighting control signal correspond to the desired balance of cool and warm light indicated by the light temperature input signal, and
said lighting computer configured to receive an instruction from a site computer via a building network, said instruction comprising a command to turn the LED lighting fixture off.
2. The low-power lighting control system of claim 1 , where the power source is a solar panel on a microgrid.
3. The low-power lighting control system of claim 1 , where the power source is a battery on a microgrid.
4. The low-power lighting control system of claim 1 , where the lighting computer is configured to transmit the watt measurement to the site computer.
5. The low-power lighting control system of claim 1 , where the lighting computer is configured to transmit the light temperature input signal to the site computer.
6. The low-power lighting control system of claim 1 , where said input controller configured to receive the light temperature input signal from the variable input control device via a third Class 2 wire.
7. The low-power lighting control system of claim 1 , where said input controller configured to receive the light temperature input signal from the variable input control device via a wireless antenna.