Picture this – The bustling Intelligent Environments office in Auckland, where IEL engineers meet with lighting designers and electrical consultants who are seeking to propose a lighting control solution that transcends the ordinary, elevating user experience and meeting clients’ energy efficiency goals.
Enter zencontrol, with its cutting-edge features yet unwavering commitment to keeping things simple.
Why zencontrol?
- DALI-2 Compliance: We know that legacy systems fall short. We needed a solution that met ALL requirements of the AU/NZ lighting control standard. Our partnership with zencontrol delivers precisely that. Fully DALI-2 compliant, it provides the flexibility we demand.
- Seamless Integration: No more handcuffs to a single manufacturer! With zencontrol’s open DALI protocol, Intelligent Environments can dance freely across the lighting landscape. The system seamlessly integrates with other DALI-certified products, regardless of the manufacturer.
- Smart Software, Smart Decisions: zencontrol’s software simplifies design and commissioning. But here’s the magic: once installed, advanced algorithms analyse the site, identifying issues before they become headaches. Fault-finding time? Dramatically reduced!
- Beyond Lighting: zencontrol isn’t content with mere illumination. This Australian company, now with zencontrol (NZ) Ltd for local support, continues to be at the forefront of innovative building technology. Their current offer includes environmental sensors – detecting air quality, sound, and temperature, as well as reporting on occupancy, light levels and more. Cloud-based analytics provides real-time insights into building performance. And emergency lighting? Monitored and reported automatically for easy compliance.
Then and Now:
Intelligent Environments quickly recognised the advantages of DALI lighting. It was a game-changing revolution, that meant that lights could be controlled individually by programming, rather than being dependent on the wiring circuits to which lights were connected.
There were disadvantages inherent with early DALI systems in that if a driver or ballast failed, it would need a DALI competent person to re-address the fitting or driver once the electrician had replaced it. This meant extra visits to site, and higher service costs.
Additionally, earliest testing to ensure DALI compliance was voluntary, and carried out in-house by the supplier. This testing could not always be relied upon, and although the theory was that DALI products from any manufacturer should work together, this was not always the case.
With the emergence of DALI-2, and the independent test of any product seeking DALI-2 certification, the compliant issues have been resolved, and “rogue” products illegally purported to be DALI-2 can easily be checked against the register held by the DALI Alliance.
The innovative programming solution offered via zencontrol’s cloud, has also reduced maintenance costs for DALI-2 (wired) or DALI+ (wireless) sites, as re-addressing and adds/moves/changes, can mostly be carried out remotely. Even testing of emergency lights can be automated, and controlled remotely.
zencontrol has been Intelligent Environments system of choice for the last five years and our partnership with zencontrol cements that relationship. One of our early projects was for the Stroke Unit at Auckland Hospital during the initial Covid lockdown where the ability to program remotely was a tremendous advantage.
For this project, we were awarded Highly Commended in the international DALI Lighting Awards.
Exciting Projects:
The zencontrol system is hugely flexible. Where budgets are tight, a basic system can be provided, but this can then be expanded to allow for greater functionality when requirements change or once funds are available.
The flexibility of zencontrol has also allowed Intelligent Environments to utilise the system in a huge variety of projects, from new hangars for Air New Zealand and prestigious offices for the central city, to government buildings, retirement villages and care suites, and even for animal-centric lighting solutions at Auckland Zoo!
A system may be as simple as the control for a few lights in a boardroom, or cover the standard and emergency lighting for a huge multi-level high rise, with included retails stores and office tenancies. zencontrol does it all.
Check out our other projects here.
The zencontrol Difference
As the sole New Zealand integrator for zencontrol, Intelligent Environments embodies the spirit of partnership. They aren’t just selling a product; they are shaping experiences.
Our Auckland and Wellington teams, alongside alliance partners in Christchurch, ensures every installation sang harmoniously.
A Brighter Future
Intelligent Environments chose zencontrol because it wasn’t just about wires and switches. It was about creating environments that whispered to occupants, “We’ve got you covered.” And in the glow of that success, we know that together we’ve illuminated more than spaces – we’ve ignited possibilities.
So next time you step into an ‘intelligent environment’, remember behind those luminous panels, there’s a story of collaboration, innovation, and a little touch of zencontrol magic.
