Make hay while. ..

A new lighting control equipment
based on daylight sensors is being
tested in eight experimental offices
in Trondheim, Norway, by the
Norwegian Electric Power Research
Institute. One of the two control
systems in the equipment switches
off lights automatically when day-
light exceeds a specific limit, and
switches them on again when the
lighting level becomes too low. The
other is a dimming system that
adjusts the output of the light fitting
in the ceiling according to available
daylight. Lighting control can save
up to 30-40 per cent of energy in
rooms facing south and 20-30 per
cent in north-facing rooms. (Gemini,
research news from the Foundation
for Scientific and Industrial
Research Group and the Norwegian
Institute of Technology, Trondheim).