Application of teletraffic engineering modelling techniques for studying smart lighting systems for energy saving

Abstract

Limited natural energy resources compel humankind to search for efficient utilization of energy, and thus increasing number of fluorescent lamps are adopted for lighting systems. However, previous study showed that there exists a tradeoff between energy saving and lifespan for fluorescent lamps. Consequently, it becomes an important topic on how to design an efficient and effective automatic control algorithm in illuminating engineering. This problem has been traditionally studied by conducting surveys and experiments, which are unavoidably costly and rather time-consuming. This paper presents a novel application of teletraffic engineering modelling techniques in studying automatic lighting control systems. A queuing model is proposed to study typical lighting systems and a simple closed-loop algorithm is illustrated to effectively adapt the system control parameters. Through computer simulation, it is shown that the proposed method provides an alternative way of studying lighting systems in a cost-effective manner, while providing adequate accuracy.