Who makes it: Adura Technologies
Lighting accounts for up to 40 percent of power use in offices and other commercial buildings.
Adura Technologies is out to change that. The company says its wireless lighting controls can cut those lighting-related energy costs by up to 70 percent through a host of lighting control strategies, such as daylighting, occupancy sensing, scheduling and individual lighting controls.
The system of sensors and controllers creates a wireless mesh network to turn off unneeded lights while offering occupants personalized control of their individual spaces. Adura’s hardware essentially turns each fixture into a router, which communicates with other devices through a low-power radio network. By using Adura’s software, users can monitor and control the network through a web interface.
Because it’s wireless, Adura’s technology is also easy and inexpensive to install, even in existing buildings. It can be used with existing devices and doesn’t require tearing into walls or ceilings to install, making it ideal for companies that cannot afford a costly retrofit that involves rewiring an entire floor or building
Adura has been around since 2005. While it’s not a new product — nor is it the only lighting control system on the market — Sustainable Industries’ judges said its open source technology, intuitive interface and retrofit-friendliness make it a solid way to cut electricity use.
“Adura really is a great product, particularly for existing buildings,” one judge said. “They can come in after the fact and apply that to really help reduce energy consumption from lighting. It’s pretty cool stuff.”
Between rising energy costs and increasingly stringent building codes, the need to control and manage lighting is becoming more important than ever, according to Adura.
“Lighting hasn’t been controlled much in commercial buildings,” Adura chief executive Mark Golan said. “What you were required to do in the past isn’t going to work in the future.”
