Sustainability

 
Auto Sensor Calibration
Improper setup of sensors not only leads to ineffective control of the area to be controlled, but also results in frustration by occupants in the controlled areas when sensors do not work as desired.  Touché’s sensors are all Auto-Calibrated to the conditions of the room through the User Interface that resided on the Building Management Server.  Press a button to start the process – the rest is all automatic.
 
Room Profiling
Daylighting is an up and coming technology that provides the correct amount of artificial light as referenced to the amount of natural light available.  Touché developed patent pending technology to profile an area and then control it optimally based on the profile obtained.  Simular to our Auto Sensor Calibration this process is as simple as pressing a button in the software residing on the Building Management Server.
New Technology Zero-Cross Switching
The Touché engineers have developed the latest in zero-cross switching for our relays and dimmers.  Meeting UL’s new standards for this type of device we are able to greatly increase the life expectancy of all of the components switched by the relay module.  Better for the environment by helping components last longer.
 
Power Analysis
Touché has developed power analysis tools that allow the facility manager the pinnacle in energy monitoring for their facility.  This allows management to make “educated” decisions for their operations and procedures based on facts – not guesses.
 
Simple to Use Software and Interfacing
A simple to use system is a system that will be set up properly.  We have all used software applications and electronic devices that were difficult to use and setup.  The result – improper setup of the device or software.  By utilizing drag and drop technology in our software and touch screen interfaces throughout our system we make interfacing easy and intuitive.
 
Event Logging
Every event is logged into a database residing on the Building Management Server.  Normal events, error events, setup events, and more.  This provides the facility manager access to what the system is “thinking” at all times.  How does this relate to sustainability you ask?  Events like light level readings and device status provide the management team easy to analyze reports for operational procedures in their facilities.  
 

Some Things to Think About...

Click a question below to reveal the answer.

What percentage of the work day are your employees in their offices, hallways, conference rooms, and restrooms? Are the lights always turned off in those areas when those individuals are not in them?

Let’s look at the following example:
 

Employee leaves their office (3) times for 10 minutes each to discuss items with co-workers 30 min
Employee has (2) 25 minute meetings in the conference room 50 min
Employee takes (2) 15 minute breaks in the break room 30 min
Employee takes (1) 1 hour lunch break 60 min
Employee leaves their office (2) times a day to go to the restroom (5 min each) 10 min
   
TOTAL TIME OUTSIDE OFFICE 180 min
(3 hours)

The “active” amount of time for the office is 9 hours (8 hour day with 1 hour lunch break).  In this example the employee is spending one-third of their time outside of their office.  If they fail to turn off the lights manually the amount of waste energy associated with the lighting in that area equates to 33%.  Other areas like restroom, hallways, and conference rooms experience an even higher degree of waste as these areas are not designated occupied areas.

What percentage of the rooms in your facility has windows?

Natural lighting coming in through windows represents are large percentage of the required lighting in an area or room. Throughout the United States most geographical areas have between 150 and 225 partly cloudy to sunny days per year. That equates on average to 50% of the calendar days. Utilizing the natural light to illuminate a room with windows decreases the required artificial light by up to 60%.

How can you effectively control exterior lighting to reduce energy costs?

Lighting for parking lots and exterior security lighting can amount to a large percentage of a building’s power consumption.  Large areas like parking lots require a lot of energy to effectively illuminate.  When inefficient controls are applied to those areas a large waste in energy is the result.  Employing accurate time clocks, ambient light level detection and dusk to dawn controls are paramount in reducing the energy consumption of these areas. 

We all know that too little light has a negative effect on worker productivity, but what if there is too much light?

According to research completed at Carnegie Mellon University, “. . . daylighting appears to improve productivity and reduce absenteeism by at least 20 percent.”  This is a substantial acknowledgement when analyzing the economic effects of providing the “correct” amount of lighting for employees.  Employee wages account for a very large percentage of overhead costs. Engineers design the amount of required artificial light based on, among other factors, a no-natural light condition.  They must provide an amount of light adequate when no natural light is present to allow employees to perform their duties.  This results in an excess of artificial light when natural light is available. 

What is Touché doing to address these issues?

Throughout this website Touché explains how we are addressing these issues.  We invite you to explore our product line and see for yourself how Touché is the most technologically advanced lighting control system on the market.  A summary of each topic is listed below:
 
Touché had developed the ultimate in occupancy detection.  Utilizing dual technology with coordinated microprocessor control at each sensor we are able to accurately detect occupancy while minimizing the required time delay (typically 1 – 2 minutes).  By accurately detecting occupancy the wasted energy for lighting unoccupied rooms is eliminated.  Click here to learn more about our occupancy sensors.
 
Daylight harvesting is a concept gaining momentum in the commercial construction industry.  This is due to the rising cost of energy.  By reducing the amount of artificial light in a room to “supplement” the amount of natural light in a room, a large percentage of the otherwise consumed energy is saved.  Touché has developed profiling, a state of the art technology that allows a room (or the entire building) to be scanned for the amount of artificial light available.  This information is then automatically evaluated and synchronized with the sensor’s natural light level reading.   Click here to learn more about our occupancy sensors.
 
The engineers at Touché have developed specialized applications that allow sophisticated control scenarios to be “a snap.”  Algorithms that calculate dusk and dawn times to the minute, configurable and unlimited time clock controls, and event driven sensor commands are all simply coordinated with drag and drop software residing on the Building Management Server.  This makes otherwise complex control scenarios simple to setup and maintain.

How does reducing the amount of light in a room affect your cooling system?

Added light fixtures in a room results in added heat load to the room.  The lamps and ballast in light fixtures radiate heat when energized.  By reducing the number of light fixtures that “have” to be on at a given time the resultant heat load is likewise reduced.  Three watts of saved lighting energy equates to an additional one watt of saved cooling load (IFMA – International Facility Manager Association)