“After years of development, intelligent lighting has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people: on the one hand, it can greatly improve the utilization efficiency of electric energy, realize energy saving, emission reduction, and green lighting; The way of using it, provides a new user experience – for such a technology, of course, people have to love.
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After years of development, intelligent lighting has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people: on the one hand, it can greatly improve the utilization efficiency of electric energy, realize energy saving, emission reduction, and green lighting; The way of using it, provides a new user experience – for such a technology, of course, people have to love.
The so-called smart lighting, in essence, is a revolution in the way people switch lights on and off, turning the traditional switching operation done by people into an automated process, allowing the lighting system to switch on or off by itself according to preset conditions. Adjust the light and shade, or even introduce artificial intelligence (AI), so that the lighting system can self-regulate more intelligently based on data insights, achieve the ideal state of on-demand lighting as much as possible, and achieve the ultimate goal of energy saving and efficiency.
Figure 1: Global sales of smart lighting and connected control systems are expected to grow from $10 billion in 2018 to $21 billion in 2023 (Source: Omdia)
It is not difficult to see from the above definition that there are two core elements to build an intelligent lighting system: one is the transmission of electric energy, and the other is the transmission of data – the former must ensure the efficient use of electric energy to drive LED lighting fixtures; the latter It is to establish a smooth key data upload and control instruction release path to form a complete closed loop of automatic control.
According to this concept, a typical design idea of an intelligent lighting system is to use the mains network for power transmission to supply power to LED lamps, and at the same time establish a data channel through a wireless communication network, so that each lighting node can be quickly intelligently implemented. transformation.
However, this solution is not applicable in all scenarios – for example, it cannot be used when wireless communication is limited; and if there are a large number of nodes and a wide coverage area, it will also bring challenges to the deployment of wireless interconnection networks. In this case, PoE (Power over Ethernet) lighting has become an indispensable technical path to realize smart lighting.
Evolving PoE Standards
You are no stranger to PoE technology. In short, it is a technology that simultaneously realizes power and data transmission over a single Ethernet cable (usually Cat5e). PoE is a technology that was originally developed to allow low-power peripherals to draw power from a central hub without the need for additional power wiring, thus avoiding the complexity, cost, and cost involved in running mains power within a building. compliance issues.
The first PoE standard (IEEE 802.3af) was introduced in 2003 and was designed to provide 15.4W of power to devices such as IP phones, access points, and sensors, when in fact due to cable losses, the power available to each peripheral Only about 13.0W. With the development of PoE applications, such power levels are obviously conservative.
So in 2009, the second version of the PoE standard, IEEE 802.3at (also known as PoE+), was released, which can output 30W of power at the power supply device, and the power that can be input by the power receiving device has also increased to 25W, which can Supports powering more complex devices, and charging smaller devices like tablets.
In 2018, the PoE standard ushered in a new upgrade. The new IEEE 802.3bt standard is divided into Type 3 (PoE++ / UPoE) and Type 4 (High-Power PoE, high-power PoE). Provides up to 60W of power, the latter can provide more than 90W of power.
Table 1: PoE Standards and Features (Source: ON semiconductor)
Such power transmission capability can obviously extend PoE to more application scenarios, and intelligent lighting is naturally an important field.
Figure 2: The deployment of PoE equipment in the world, and the lighting field has increased significantly (Source: ON Semiconductor)
Advantages of PoE Smart Lighting
The advantages that PoE-based lighting systems can provide are obvious.
high efficiency
PoE uses the Ethernet network to transmit data and DC power simultaneously through a single cable, which means that there is no need for AC to DC power conversion, which undoubtedly helps to improve the overall efficiency of the power system.
low cost
Due to its low voltage and plug-and-play nature, PoE installation and maintenance costs are generally lower than traditional lighting systems. For example, PoE reduces the need for thicker and heavier copper cables, and does not require special holes through the wall to lay out the power network, which can greatly reduce the cost of materials and installation and deployment. Some calculations show that compared with traditional lighting systems, PoE lighting systems can save users 25% to 30% of the cost.
safer
Because the PoE bus voltage can be kept below the 60V DC safe voltage threshold in most scenarios, the dangers of high AC power voltage (such as electric shock and fire) are avoided, and it is safer to use.
Easy to expand
Since data can be transmitted based on Ethernet, the control end of the PoE lighting system can be set through the local network, and the high enough power can also support adding more sensor modules on the node end of the lighting fixture to sense ambient light, room occupancy, etc. Information related to lighting control can also be integrated with sensors such as temperature, humidity and air quality to facilitate data insights throughout a home or building.
Support VLC
Based on the PoE lighting system, a very promising application can also be extended – visible light communication (VLC) and positioning. As the name implies, VLC is a technology that transmits data streams using visible light as a medium. For those areas that are particularly sensitive to radio frequency wireless interference (such as hospitals or aircraft), VLC has special value in realizing wireless communication. Indoor positioning applications can also be developed on the basis of VLC – each luminaire has its own unique code, broadcast by modulating light at a frequency imperceptible to the human eye, so that smartphones or other devices equipped with cameras and related applications can broadcast The device can triangulate the distance of three or more lamps and calculate the position. This positioning accuracy can be less than 30 cm, which can be used in automatic guided vehicles (AGV), as well as for people in airports, stadiums or Indoor navigation services are provided in large buildings such as hospitals, and the scenario is expected.
From this point of view, the lighting system based on PoE can bring people not only cost reduction and convenience of use, but also new applications and business opportunities. Therefore, long-term and continuous investment in this field is definitely worthwhile.
PoE Smart Lighting Solutions
With this knowledge, the next question is: how should we quickly build a PoE smart lighting system.
From the above introduction, it is not difficult to see that there are two core elements in a PoE smart lighting system:
PoE interface controller: In the PoE system, the transmission of power is managed through the handshake protocol between the power supply equipment (PSE) and the powered device (PD) – the PSE will detect whether the PD supports PoE, its device type, and its power class , and provide the PD with the required power based on this information. The whole process of detection, classification, power supply and maintenance in PoE protocol management requires a dedicated PD controller chip to ensure that the entire PoE system acts in accordance with the corresponding standard specifications.
LED drive and power management: In the PoE lighting system, the PD controller manages the power from the Ethernet at the “front end”, and at the “back end”, a supporting power management device is required to efficiently utilize the power. And considering the scalability of lighting node functions, these power management devices not only have the ability to drive efficient LED lamps, but also have the ability to provide power for more sensors and innovative applications such as VLC.
ON Semiconductor has always been an active promoter of PoE technology and smart lighting, and naturally has a lot of experience with the PoE smart lighting solution that combines the two.
In Figure 3, the architecture of a complete PoE lighting system is shown. For the PD interface controller and LED driver two chips occupying the C position, ON Semiconductor has been following the pace of standard evolution and changes in market demand, iterating new . Today we will introduce the two chips recommended in Figure 3.
Figure 3: PoE-based smart lighting system (Source: ON Semiconductor)
NCP1095 and NCP1096 High Power PoE-PD Controllers
NCP1095 and NCP1096 are Power over Ethernet Powered Device (PoE-PD) interface controllers specially developed by ON Semiconductor to meet the requirements of the new IEEE 802.3bt PoE standard (also compatible with 802.3af and 802.3at standards), with distributed power up to 90W , and can also support proprietary 100W+ applications.
Figure 4: NCP1095 and NCP1096 high-power PoE-PD controllers (Image source: ON Semiconductor)
The two PoE-PD controllers also support the new Autoclass energy management feature of IEEE 802.3bt, which enables the PD to pass its specific power requirements to the PSE for more precise control of the PoE system, and supports operation during the surge phase. Detection, classification and current limiting. A power good pin in the device ensures that the adjacent main DC-DC converter is properly turned off and on; the classification result pin enables operation according to the assigned power class (up to class 8).
Compared to the NCP1095, the NCP1096 also features an integrated N-channel MOSFET load switch that disables the active bridge and hot-swap FET functions when the auxiliary power supply is connected, which can improve energy efficiency when the auxiliary power supply is powering the PD.
Figure 5: NCP1096 PoE-PD controller block diagram (Source: ON Semiconductor)
In a word, using NCP1095 and NCP1096, developers can ensure the interoperability between PoE devices, realize all the performance and functions defined by the IEEE 802.3bt standard, and greatly fulfill the value promise of the PoE standard.
Figure 6: The NCP1095 and NCP1096 PoE-PD controllers are designed to support the 802.3bt PoE standard (Image source: ON Semiconductor)
NCL31000 and NCL31001 LED Drivers
NCL31000 is an intelligent LED driver newly launched by ON Semiconductor. Its core is a high-efficiency (97%) step-down LED driver, which can support high-bandwidth analog dimming and low-to-zero current PWM dimming with 0.1% dimming. light precision.
The driver also integrates two DC-DC converters – a fixed 3.3V DC-DC converter and an adjustable 2.5V to 24.0V DC-DC step-down converter, which can be used for systems such as sensors and MCUs Component power supply, which integrates the power management solution into the LED driver design, greatly simplifies the system architecture, while contributing to the improvement of energy efficiency.
Figure 7: NCL31000 LED driver (Image source: ON Semiconductor)
The NCL31000 also provides comprehensive diagnostic functions, the diagnostic module contains an ADC for measuring input and LED output current, voltage, LED temperature, DC-DC voltage and current, and any abnormal conditions, and2The C/SPI interface is provided to the system MCU. In addition, the architecture of the NCL31000 also ensures that it has excellent immunity to electromagnetic interference (EMI), in tests, its performance is more than 14dB lower than the requirements of CISPR15/EN55015.
Figure 8: NCL31000 LED driver system block diagram (Source: ON Semiconductor)
The NCL31001 is a companion driver for the NCL31000, which provides the same LED driving characteristics as the NCL31000, but does not include the DC-DC converter. By adding the NCL31001, developers can easily create a solution for multi-channel lighting applications, supporting dynamically adjustable lamps and multi-color mixing lighting applications.
It is particularly worth mentioning that the 0.1% dimming accuracy and high linearity of NCL31000 and NCL31001 make them very suitable for VLC applications, including VLC indoor positioning applications, which also paves the way for PoE smart lighting systems to advance into new fields the road.
NCL31010 PoE Interface LED Driver
It is particularly worth mentioning that, on the basis of the above-mentioned PoE interface controller and LED driver chip, ON Semiconductor has further combined the two functions and launched a new NCL31010 PoE interface LED driver.
As the name suggests, the NCL31010 is a highly integrated solution that integrates an 802.3bt PoE-PD interface controller, a current-mode step-down DC-DC controller for use as an LED driver, and a synchronous buck for the main 3.3V system power supply DC-DC converter and auxiliary power supply.
Figure 9: Block diagram of NCL31010 PoE interface LED driver (Source: ON Semiconductor)
Compliant with the 802.3bt PoE standard, the device supports high-power applications up to 90W and has features required for PoE systems such as detection, classification, and current limiting during surge phases, as well as the ability to support PWM dimming and high-bandwidth analog dimming. It can be said that with only one core of NCL31010, a wide range of application development requirements of PoE can be realized.
Figure 10: Typical application diagram of NCL31010 PoE interface LED driver (Source: ON Semiconductor)
Summary of this article
Electric lights can be said to be the first “electrical appliances” that accompanied human beings into the electrification era. It can be seen that lighting is one of the essential necessities in people’s lives. Therefore, when we enter the era of intelligence, the intelligent upgrade of the lighting system is also one of the first links.
The combination of PoE power over Ethernet and LED energy-saving lighting provides an efficient, flexible, reliable, and scalable technical path for the framework of intelligent lighting systems, and thus makes intelligent lighting fixtures a multi-functional Internet of Things edge node.
The key components and complete solutions provided by ON Semiconductor for PoE smart lighting can make the development and deployment of PoE smart lighting systems easier, and allow you to keep up with the pace of new standards and applications and enjoy the benefits of PoE smart lighting. dividend.
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