The Internet is built on the IP protocol. When this protocol is used not for human communication but for data exchange between devices, it is referred to as the Internet of Things (IoT). An IoT system does not necessarily have to connect to the public Internet; it can also operate on a local area network (LAN).
A current trend is the use of IoT for lighting control. This approach offers several key advantages:
- The IP protocol is transparent to different types of data. In the specialized digital lighting control protocols discussed earlier, only specific commands and data types can be transmitted.
- Data can be transmitted through either wired or wireless connections.
- No additional equipment is required to integrate lighting systems with Internet-based solutions.
Compared with specialized protocols, one drawback of IoT is its vulnerability to cyberattacks, but this issue is gradually being addressed.
Wired Implementation
In offices and industrial facilities, Ethernet cables are most often used to transmit IoT data. These same cables often supply power to the light fixtures using Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology. The low power consumption typical of LED fixtures makes this solution practical.
In residential and public buildings, wireless IoT options are more common.
Wireless Implementation
For indoor lighting control, the most common wireless standards are Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE).
Wi-Fi is convenient for residential use because it allows light fixtures or smart bulbs to connect to cloud services without additional setup. For example, these services may support human-centric lighting (HCL) functions. However, Wi-Fi-based solutions do not scale well. When many fixtures are installed, their Wi-Fi transmitters can interfere with one another.
BLE is a version of Bluetooth designed to control devices and receive data from them. It is used, for example, in the popular Casambi lighting control system. If a mobile device supports Bluetooth 4.0 or later—preferably Bluetooth 5.0 or later—it also supports BLE. This makes it possible, when needed, to control a light fixture directly from a smartphone or tablet.
For street lighting control, the most common wireless standards are LoRa and NB-IoT.
Large cities often use LoRa because it operates in frequency bands with relatively little interference. Its signals can propagate through dense urban environments. Its main drawback is the need to build base stations specifically for this standard.
In rural areas and small towns, NB-IoT is often used. Its advantage is that it does not require dedicated base stations; instead, it uses the existing LTE cellular network infrastructure.
The Matter Standard
Even when the IP network protocol is used, smart home devices—including light fixtures—can still differ in their control commands, wireless communication standards, and other technical details. The Matter standard was developed to solve this problem. It was created and is supported by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), the same organization that previously developed the Zigbee standard.
The first version of Matter was released in 2022. As Matter continues to evolve, it will help fully realize the benefits of IoT by ensuring that different smart home devices can reliably connect to one another, provided they are certified as compliant with the standard.
