Business Challenges
The central Iowa headquarters office of The Waldinger Corporation has always captured attention. The unique space has been showcased in architectural magazines, where the publications highlight features like exposed ductwork, high ceilings, and pendant lights. Although those lights may be a thing of beauty, they had become a bit of a headache.
The lights were difficult to maintain, expensive to operate, and in need of replacement. The company wanted to change the lights to eliminate the headaches, while also protecting the contemporary aesthetics the lights provided.
At the same time, the design-build company had also been looking at intelligent lighting as a solution to add to their portfolio. Combining LED luminaires, sensors and software with Power over Ethernet (PoE) and an IP network, drives new levels of control, intelligence, and performance. As a low-voltage contractor, Waldinger was already installing PoE and IP networks for their customers.
Adding PoE-based lighting to the networks was a logical next step. Waldinger President Tom Mass, however, is a firm believer in gaining some first-hand experience with a new solution before offering it to his customers. “I won’t put anything in a customer facility that we haven’t tried here,” Mass explains.
The Solution
The solution was a retrofit of their existing lighting fixtures to an intelligent LED solution, powered by PoE, installed by their own team of low-voltage technicians.
Innovative Lighting, one of the first LED lighting manufacturers in the U.S., stepped in with their GENISYS PoE Lighting System, a solution that would meet Waldinger’s goals of keeping the existing aesthetic, while reducing both energy consumption and operating expenses.
Innovative Lighting supplied LED components that Waldinger installed in the existing fixtures, converting the lights to a PoE-powered LED solution. The large pendant fixtures are the primary light source for an open office area (15,000 square feet) that houses 30 people.
Private offices form the perimeter of the space. To further test PoE lighting, Waldinger converted the lighting in four of those offices to the GENISYS PoE Lighting System, with four 2×2 troffers within each space. Occupants control the color and brightness of the lights to create a space where each worker is most comfortable and consequently, most productive.
Innovative Lighting’s GENISYS PoE Lighting System includes the GENISYS Intellidrive, a node that drives multiple lights, control, and sensors, all from a single unit. GENISYS software – an easy-to-use web-based interface – is also part of the solution, and enables control of fixtures either individually, or within a zone. read full pdf