Greentech Lead America: Daintree Networks, a provider of networked wireless control solutions for smart buildings, has formed partnership with silicon technology provider Marvell Semiconductor, to provide open-standard ZigBee wireless capability integrated into smart lighting products.
The partnership initially will focus on using Marvell semiconductor products to enable integrated wireless LED drivers that allow LED fixtures to interoperate with Daintree’s open-standard ControlScope solution.
The companies have also signed Orama, a supplier of LED drivers, as their first partner to implement this capability into its driver product line. Fixture manufacturers using integrated open-standard wireless LED drivers will gain access to expanding revenue opportunities in commercial and industrial wireless lighting.
The integrated wireless LED drivers allow fixture manufacturers to eliminate the need for a separate wireless adapter commonly used in today’s deployments of commercial wireless lighting control. Drivers are pre-installed during factory fixture assembly, eliminating more expensive field assembly often required when connecting separate wireless adapters to standard drivers.
Integration dramatically reduces total equipment, installation and commissioning project costs by $75 to $100 per fixture, enabling rapid market adoption of wireless control solutions by building owners and operators.
Unlike existing analog control, integrated digital wireless control allows users to experience the full potential of LED lighting and energy management. This includes the ability to add advanced LED control features such as tunable white color control and granular device-level power and performance monitoring.
Standards-based wireless lighting control is becoming a necessity in today’s wireless world. By integrating ZigBee wireless ICs, the companies enable fixtures that work seamlessly with ControlScope.
“The lighting product community is rapidly realizing that open standards is the right way to go wireless. Open standards foster a large market that drives down cost and development time for vendors as well as improves product selection at lower prices for building managers,” said Danny Yu, Daintree’s CEO.
The capability of having built-in wireless at the fixture and driver level has the potential to dramatically increase the adoption of this technology, says Kishore Manghnani, vice president of Green Technology Products, Marvell.
As part of the collaboration, Marvell and Orama have also joined Daintree’s ControlScope Connected partner program. The ControlScope Connected program is an alliance of manufacturers of lighting and other commercial building control devices that can be part of a wireless control network using ZigBee, an open standard communication protocol. These initiatives support Daintree’s ongoing commitment to using and promoting open standards in building controls.