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Power Line Communication for Connected Industrial Lighting Specification

Aug 26, 2021

Power Line Communication for Connected Industrial Lighting Specification

[Shanghai, China, August 26, 2021] The Shanghai Pudong Intelligent Lighting Association held the 4th Smart City Lighting Summit and released the Power Line Communication for Connected Industrial Lighting Specification (hereinafter referred to as the "Specification"). The Specification was jointly formulated by the Shanghai Pudong Intelligent Lighting Association, HiSilicon, and more than 20 leading manufacturers in the smart lighting field. It aims to standardize device connectivity in the lighting industry, as lighting solutions become increasingly smart.

Power Line Communication for Connected Industrial Lighting Specification launch event

Power Line Communication for Connected Industrial Lighting Specification launch event

Thanks to IoT technology, industrial lighting has transformed into something more than just a source of illumination. When paired with sensors and other smart devices, cutting-edge industrial lighting solutions have helped bring the future paradigm of smart, connected lighting out of the shadows. China is home to approximately 2800 large lighting manufacturers. However, their products tend to adopt differing connection models and walled-off application layer designs, leading to poor compatibility. This has hindered the development of the industry, as well as the implementation of large-scale lighting projects.

In recent years, PLC-IoT has developed as advanced connected technology for smart lighting, which is both highly reliable and easy to deploy. Its benefits are well attested in scaled applications with 200+ million user base, such as centralized metering, photovoltaic communications, and energy monitoring. PLC-IoT stands out in the smart lighting field in three important ways:

1. Faster transmission over longer distances
○ Removes any concern about wireless signal attenuation caused by obstructions, thanks to a 5-km theoretical transmission distance
○ Simpler channel environment, compared with 2.4 GHz technology
○ 200 kbit/s transmission rate at the application layer, for instantaneous communication between lighting products

2. Ease of construction and O&M
○ Only requires a sufficient power supply for communications, where topology is not a concern
○ Facilitates communication between devices connected to the same transformer, without the need for a relay

3. Streamlined, cost-effective isolation of communication regions
○ Uses physical isolators to avoid interference between communication regions
○ Enables smart, imperceptible connections for devices within the same communication region

PLC-IoT is fast becoming the mainstream smart lighting communications solution

PLC-IoT is fast becoming the mainstream smart lighting communications solution

The Specification is based on PLC-IoT technology, and intended to standardize the smart lighting system architecture, subsystem specifications, and gateway implementation, especially with regard to the application layer interconnectivity of PLC devices. Several standard device models, such as smart scene panels, curtains, and lighting controllers, are defined. With key players in China's smart lighting sectors as the co-authors, the Specification represents the joint efforts of the industry at large, and a common desire for greater interconnectivity.

HiSilicon is a leader in PLC technologies and standards, having partnered with numerous industry stakeholders to launch a broad array of PLC modules and solutions. Looking forward, HiSilicon will continue to spare no effort in building a PLC-based, connected industrial lighting ecosystem with its partners, and actively promoting the Specification to accelerate the development of tomorrow's industrial lighting solutions.

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