By James Blackman

France-based facility services company Derichebourg Multiservices has integrated 1,200 IoT sensors into the LED ceiling lights at its new headquarters in Créteil, near Paris. Data from the sensors will help the firm optimise its energy management at the site, as well as to bring control and insight to general management of the facility and the visitor experience. It has engaged Siemens company Enlighted for the install.

Lighting designer Le Studio Led has also been involved in the project, which seeks to upgrade the Créteil site, originally constructed in the 1970s, to come in-line with the French government’s regulations for companies to achieve 40 percent energy savings by 2030. Derichebourg Multiservices has committed to use LED lights, to save energy; the addition of lighting management and controls will enable it to eke out further efficiency gains.

Le Studio Led has selected Siemens subsidiary Enlighted for the smart lighting, to cover the open-plan office space on the top three floors of the building. The deployment took six weeks. The lower floors will also be upgraded in an expansion phase, said Siemens, taking the 1,200-total significantly higher. Data from the sensors is continuously evaluated to monitor and control energy consumption.

Siemens said lighting in the ‘tertiary sector’ – covering the services economy, in contrast to the ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ sectors, which describe the raw materials and manufacturing industries – “often” accounts for 10-15 percent of total energy consumption. The IoT sensors from Enlighted are BLE-based, backhauling over a wired connection from a gateway; it also allows for a cellular connection for wider-area and higher-bandwidth coverage.

They incorporate sensors for ambient light, motion (PIR), energy consumption, and temperature, and feature BLE as standard, plus USB interfaces for access. They are geared for ‘tuning’, ‘trimming’, and scheduling, plus daylight harvesting, occupancy detection, demand response, and usage and outage reporting. Derichebourg Multiservices will use its smart lighting infrastructure as a platform for new smart building applications, as well – including “new use cases to optimise services in buildings”.

Siemens said: “For example, occupancy data from the sensors can be used to schedule cleaning services in buildings based on actual demand. The data could also be used to optimise the reception of guests to the building, improve comfort levels or even strengthen on-site security.”

Communications manager for Derichebourg Multiservices, Silvine Thoma said: “As part of our service delivery activities, the breadth of possibilities offered by IoT sensors represents a tremendous development opportunity. Not only do we act on our own consumption, but we also benefit from a real-world showcase of their usage, in order to offer additional services to our customers, for our remote monitoring or cleaning activities, for example.”

Chief executive at Enlighted, Stefan Schwab said: “The data collected by our Enlighted sensors is hugely valuable in improving the energy efficiency of buildings, and also the comfort and productivity of the people who work in them. We are pleased to be working with both Le Studio Led and Derichebourg Multiservices to develop new use cases, which will allow for the optimization of services for occupants.”