Digital Lumens

Digital Lumens
Digital Lumens offers integrated Intelligent Lighting

Systems, combining LEDs, networking and software to
reduce customers’ lighting-related energy use by up to
90 percent. As of 2013, the company is planning to start
offering these solutions as a service rather than an
equipment sale.
“Industrial lighting is dominated by antique and criminally inefficient lighting based on

the original Edison light bulb”, says Tom Pincince, CEO of Digital Lumens. This
enormous potential for improvement has led the start-up to develop the first
Intelligent LED Lighting System for industrial facilities – such as warehouses,
manufacturing, cold storage, and maintenance depots – where lighting is one of the
largest energy expenses because of 24/7 occupancy and typically high ceilings.
The product takes a system-based approach, combining LEDs and a wireless
network of fixtures, sensors and management software. The LEDs, supplied by Cree
Inc., a multinational manufacturer of semiconductor materials, have very low wattage,
long lifetime and no maintenance, while being infinitely controllable. The network and
software, in addition, allow energy efficiency, reliability and flexibility to adapt settings
as the needs evolve. The installation automatically adjusts lighting within a building
by dimming or brightening bulbs based on the ambient conditions. This allows to
optimise the energy use across the entire facility and enables lighting energy savings
of up to 90%. For a typical customer’s location – about 250,000 square feet – this
means reducing lighting cost from 250,000$ to 25,000$ a year. They even enabled
Ardo UK, a leading supplier of frozen fruit, vegetables and carbohydrates, to reduce
their annual lighting-related energy costs by 97% by upgrading an 80,000-cubic-
meter mobile racking cold storage facility in Kent, England to the Digital Lumens
Intelligent Lighting System.
The savings from one Digital Lumens project were
equivalent to performing complete energy efficiency projects
in 2,400 homes.Tom Pincince, CEO
As of 2013, Digital Lumens moreover intends to also offer their lighting product as a
service rather than an equipment sale. This service model will appeal more to some
customers since it reduces the upfront investment and facilitates internal discussions
by having both costs and benefits impact operations.
Digital Lumens serves customers worldwide and their solutions are already installed
in numerous facilities across US, Canada, Asia, and Europe. Moreover, they had two
patents granted under the Green Technology Pilot Program of USPTO (USA’s patent
office), thanks to their high positive impact on energy demand.
Intelligent LED Lighting Systems: An Interview with

Tom Pincince
Interview by Will Soutter
In this "Insights from Industry" interview, Tom Pincince, CEO of Digital Lumens, talks to
AZoOptics about their intelligent lighting systems, and their participation in the US Patent
and Trademark Office's Green Technology Pilot Program.
WS: Can you tell us a little bit about Digital Lumens and your products?
TP: Digital Lumens is the developer of the first Intelligent LED Lighting System for
industrial facilities -- warehouses, manufacturing, cold storage, and maintenance depots
– where lighting is one of the largest energy expenses. The System is transforming
industrial lighting into a powerful platform for improved control, efficiency and
operational insight.
The system includes smart LED-based fixtures (with integrated occupancy and daylight
sensors) that are wirelessly networked and centrally managed via the LightRules
management software. With distributed intelligence across the network, the system
maximizes energy efficiency by delivering high-quality light only when and where
needed, at the required levels. Settings are customizable and totally adjustable, as well,
and can be fine tuned as building needs change.
WS: Can you give us an outline of the current state of the industrial lighting
market?
TP: Industrial lighting is dominated by antique and criminally inefficient lighting based on
the original Edison light bulb. However, we see tremendous potential for transformation –
particularly in this industrial segment. As facility managers and engineers become more
educated about LED-based alternatives, especially the additional capabilities in intelligent
systems, they quickly appreciate the advantages of intelligent LEDs. In addition to
maximum energy efficiency, they offer a range of new functionality to further improve
operations, so managers can now expect much more value from their lighting system.
A particular pain point for industrial customers is the high energy costs associated with
traditional lighting. Due to the limitations of existing lights, most facilities leave their
high-wattage lights on 24x7, rather than dimming or adding sensors. These high monthly
costs are motivating this group to embrace LEDs more rapidly than other segments
(commercial, residential), where lights are not left on for as many hours in the day. As a
result, industrial customers will see a much faster payback than other markets, making
LEDs that much more appealing. And, for customers used to archaic, limited and
inefficient lighting, intelligent LEDs that offer light and insight, combined with a typical
payback of 2 years and a much lower TCO, are redefining their expectations about
industrial lighting, altogether.
26,000-lumen High Bay LED Lighting from Digital Lumens.
WS: How do LED lighting systems benefit your customers, compared with
conventional lighting?
TP: Traditional HIF or HID lighting is energy-intensive, requires frequent re-lamping and
has limited capacity to accept controls that can mitigate energy use. In contrast, LEDs
offer lower wattage, long lifetimes and no maintenance, while being infinitely
controllable.
WS: What makes your lighting systems unique, compared to other systems
which are available?
TP: The Digital Lumens Intelligent LED Lighting System goes far beyond basic LEDs to
provide facility managers with excellent light quality, lighting savings of up to 90%,
unparalleled flexibility, and complete control over and reporting on lighting system
operations.
This is all possible because of the system’s patented distributed intelligence, which is
embedded across the entire system and delivers the greatest energy efficiency of any
industrial lighting system available.
Further, because the system is wirelessly networked and centrally managed, it works
equally well in retrofit/upgrade applications, and in new construction.
WS: How do your intelligent, networked lighting systems benefit your

customers?
TP: Customers are used to managing complex systems across their facilities and
controlling those systems to meet their needs. But granular control of lighting had not
been possible in these environments. Now, with the deep integration of intelligence into
the lighting system, customers have a powerful combination of energy efficiency,
flexibility to adjust system settings, and reliability – all delivered in a rugged, industrial-
grade design with intuitive web-based software.
The ability to control and fine tune lighting based on facility usage, occupancy, and
daylight harvesting yields unprecedented savings. And, the fact that the system provides
detailed operational reports to show occupancy, energy usage, daylight harvesting
savings, what-if scenarios, and more provides a level of operational insight never before
possible in lighting.
WS: Digital Lumens was recently granted a patent through the USPTO’s Green
Technology Pilot Program. Can you tell us a little about this program?
TP: The Green Technology Pilot Program was established to accelerate energy
conservation, speed development and deployment of green technologies, create green
jobs, and to promote U.S. competitiveness in this vital sector. The Program is now
closed, but the Patent Office has made other changes to reduce backlog. From our
perspective, the focus on the energy conservation applications is definitely a plus for the
innovators and customers looking for creative solutions in this area.
WS: How do your products and services fit within the goals of the Green
Technology Pilot Program?
TP: Industrial energy efficiency is one of the highest impact ways to reduce overall
demand, and lighting is often the most energy-intensive system for some customers.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, lighting is a major expense across all
sectors ‐ using as much as 29% of the electricity generated in the United States. For
industrial facilities, traditional lighting can use up to 38% of the energy in a typical
warehouse. Since we routinely reduce lighting energy use by up to 90% for customers,
this slashes their demand by orders of magnitude. And for the utility, industrial efficiency
upgrades have a major impact. For example, the savings from one Digital Lumens
project were equivalent to performing complete energy efficiency projects in 2,400
homes.
WS: How did this scheme change the patenting process for you, compared to
filing for a patent under normal conditions?
TP: The Program provided expedited review of our patents. We’ve had two patents
granted already and several more in process under the Program.
WS: Where can we find more information about Digital Lumens?
TP: For more information, please visit www.digitallumens.com. You can also follow Digital
Lumens on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.

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Digital Lumens

Digital Lumens offers integrated Intelligent Lighting

“Industrial lighting is dominated by antique and criminally inefficient lighting based on

Intelligent LED Lighting Systems: An Interview with

26,000-lumen High Bay LED Lighting from Digital Lumens.

WS: How do your intelligent, networked lighting systems benefit your

WS: Where can we find more information about Digital Lumens?

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