Intelligent lighting control for greater comfort and energy savings
Intelligent and digital lighting control is playing an increasingly important role in all types of buildings. Users benefit from greater comfort, energy savings and an optimised working environment. Planning a lighting system with light management was previously considered a complex and labour-intensive process. The primary goal in developing the LUXONET® building automation system was therefore to enable planners and installers to quickly and efficiently implement individual lighting scenarios using a well-designed user interface. Intuitive operation and flexible configuration are floor plan-based in the cloud.
Traditional medium-sized company on the way to becoming a high-tech company
B.E.G. Brück Electronic GmbH, a medium-sized electrical engineering company headquartered in Lindlar in the Oberbergischer Kreis, has been family-owned since 1975. The company’s almost 50-year history began with the manufacture of simple emergency luminaires. From 1986, motion and presence detectors were added, followed later by various sensors and actuators, which still form an essential part of the product portfolio today. B.E.G. is now on its way to becoming one of the leading providers of building automation. With 14 international subsidiaries and a total of over 260 employees, B.E.G. offers global proximity to customers.
From vision to reality – The development of LUXONET®
Based on the vision of founder and managing director Friedrich Brück, the collaboration between B.E.G. and grandcentrix was aimed at creating the most user-friendly building automation system on the market. The collaboration was focused on the joint development of a modular product that should be almost market-ready at the time of handover and serve as the basis for further expansion stages.
For this demanding task, grandcentrix assembled an experienced team of developers and experts who worked closely with B.E.G.’s product management over a period of around 3 years using agile methods. The holistic approach covered all technical aspects of the user experience, from the embedded hardware and cloud backend through to the web frontend. The result is the innovative LUXONET® building automation system, which was presented for the first time at Light & Building 2024.
„The biggest advantage for us is the enormous time savings we achieve by outsourcing the software to the cloud. This allows us to quickly implement our customers’ requirements and also fulfil special requests directly."
– Dieter Walz, Senior Product Manager
„grandcentrix not only convinced us with their expertise in cloud, hardware, backend, frontend and app development, but above all through the close interlocking of all these disciplines. The process from conception through UX to final implementation was consistently agile and transparent, which helped us create a highly integrated and future-proof system."
– Achim Mauracher, Head of Product Management
Flexible and intuitive: lighting planning in the cloud
Cloud technology enables location-independent planning in the LUXONET® portal, which is designed to be user-friendly and allows intuitive grouping of luminaires, creation of lighting scenes and development of scripts. Virtual lighting planning maximises efficiency, so planners can work from the office or home office before visiting the construction site. The tried-and-tested industry standard DALI-2 is used for device communication, with the option of later integration of KNX and other interfaces. Regular updates guarantee access to the latest technologies.
Seamless integration with the LUXONET® controller
The configuration data from the planning is securely transmitted via the internet to the LUXONET® fieldbus controller installed on a DIN rail on-site, which is identified by serial number or QR code. The required DALI gateways are connected depending on the project size. The DALI gateway performs a line scan and automatically integrates existing DALI devices into the LUXONET® system. The system integrator can check whether all sensors, buttons and luminaires are correctly installed without visiting the construction site, reducing costly site visits to a minimum.
Comfort and energy efficiency combined: intelligent lighting
Building automation enables far more than just presence-dependent switching of lights. Different scenarios can be controlled at the touch of a button, allowing rooms to be given a targeted atmospheric feel and individually illuminated. Sensors automatically adjust room brightness to the current level of incoming light, so indoor lighting responds dynamically to changes in the environment. A key advantage is the energy saving, which leads to cost benefits.
Programming logical sequences is greatly simplified through templates for typical scenarios, while B.E.G. also offers the creation of more complex scripts as a custom service.
Increased productivity through biodynamic lighting
A further advancement in the LUXONET® controller is biodynamic lighting, also known as Human Centric Lighting (HCL). This technology mimics natural sunlight by continuously adjusting color temperature and light intensity throughout the day. Studies show that biodynamic lighting can increase employee productivity and well-being.
Visual planning with Digital Twin
To simplify configuration, floor plans of the building can be uploaded into the LUXONET® portal. Symbols for lights, switches, and sensors can be placed in a visual room representation using drag-and-drop and configured with a click. If requirements change or spaces are repurposed, the lighting control can be easily adapted. This creates a Digital Twin in the cloud, enabling presentations to clients and providing integrated project documentation.
Data protection and security: LUXONET® meets the highest standards
During the development phase, a particular focus was placed on data security, as this is critical for public building tenders. Synchronization with the controller is encrypted via MQTTS. Internet connectivity can be achieved through the local network or a standalone LTE gateway. Additionally, it is crucial that the lighting system functions offline after installation, ensuring functionality in emergencies. Configuration parameters are always available in the cloud, allowing for easy restoration of the controller after a hardware failure.
Embedded Hardware Development
Optimal efficiency through synergies between hardware and software
Cloud Backend Development
as the technical basis for efficiency, security and scalability: grandcentrix has extensive expertise in server architecture, database management and network technology
Frontend Development
Separate development teams for optimal utilization of the respective technical possibilities and the best possible adaptation to the needs and expectations of the users
