LC2 Dimming Controller: Configuration Guide

Note:

LC2 is a new generation of smart lighting controller that replaces the LC1 lighting controller that has been supplied with the ALEC Smart LED Conversion Kits (SLC). The main difference between the new LC2 controller and the outgoing LC1 model is that LC1 has 3 trimmer pots and a tact switch, allowing several parameters to be adjusted using only a screw driver.

On LC2, the 3 trimmer pots and the tact switch have been replaced by an infrared remote control sensor. With this change you now can perform a wide variety of configuration changes using a handheld Installer IR Remote Control unit model ARC-044. If your SLC is supplied with LC1 controller please refer to LC1 configuration guide at the following link:

LC1 Dimming Controller Configuration Guide

SPECIFICATIONS
Power SupplyInput Voltage
Input Current		15V to 42.4VDC, Max=55VDC
10mA to 20mA DC
Dimming OutputOutput Voltage
Output Current		0V to 10VDC
Up to 10mA DC (source or sink)
Operating EnvironmentInstallation Location
Operating Temperature		Dry and Damp location only
-20 to 60°C
Dimension2.1" (L) x 1.05" (W) x 0.46" (H)

OVERVIEW

The LC2 is an innovatve, low cost lighting controller. When paired with a compatble dimmable LED luminaire, it instantly turns the LED luminaire Into a smart LED light that automatically dims or turns OFF the lights when vacancy is detected or when there is sufficient daylight, and thus minimizes energy wastage.

LC2 is certified to work with any certified dimmable LED drivers with UL/CSA Class 2, 0-10V dimming input and Class 2 DC output voltage < 42.4V and < 100VA. The dimming input and LED driver outputs must be electrically isolated from the main power. LC2 draws a small amount of current from the driver's positive LED(+) DC output terminal to power its CPU and built-in sensors. This in turn automatically adjusts the 0-10V dimming signal of the compatible LED driver to control the brightness of the LED light based on algorithm.

To simplify wiring, LC2 provides a pair of 3p ribbon cables that are each 25cm (10”) long. One cable is attached to the LC2 controller and has a male 3p quick connectors. The second cable has a female 3p quick connector on one end and the other end of the 3p cables are stripped and tinned. The stripped end of the cable is to be connected to the LED driver as described in the steps below (Note: For SLC2 SmartLED Conversion Kit this cable is already pre-attached to the LED driver of the RF1 LED Retrofit Kit):

1 Connect the RED wire of the 3p ribbon cable to the LED driver’s LED(+) output (for powering the lighting load). The middle wire to the DIM(-) input and the 3rd wire to the DIM(+) input.
2Next, install the LED luminaire onto the ceiling as per its installation instructions.
3Install the LC2 controller adjacent to the luminaire, but at a suitable location (preferably above a work station where the occupancy sensor can easily detect human presence and the light sensor can measure the area's brightness). The LC2 controller has a permanent magnet on its back cover to enable simple attachment to the T-bar grid of the suspended ceiling. It may also be adhered to the steel body of the luminaire.

Note: To install the LC2 controller on a non-metallic ceiling surface: fasten a small steel plate of suitable size (not included) to the ceiling, then the LC2 can be magnetically attached to the steel plate.

4Join the quick connectors of the ribbon cable on LC2 and the ribbon cable that was attached to the LED driver (described in (1)) together to complete the installation.

Note: You may extend the length of the cable connection between the LC2 and the LED driver by purchasing the extension cable (part # CABLE-LC1-060) as shown below. Multiple pieces of CABLE-LC1-060 may be connected to further extend the cable for applications where the LC2 controller needs to be installed at further distance away from the luminaire.

 

The Green LED Indicator

1. Turns ON for 2 sec: whenever occupant is detected.
2.Blinks rapidly: triggered when an command from an IR remote control is accepted by the LC2 controller. has stopped.
3.Blinks slowly once a second: LC2 controller is in Manual Mode and will ignore the occupancy and daylight sensors
4.After enabling the “Daylight Harvesting” or the "Occupancy sensor"
  1. Blinks rapidly 5 times: the sensor is DISABLED
  2. Fade-ON and then Fade-OFF: the sensor is ENABLED.

 

1. Configuring LC2 Using Handheld IR Remote

As mentioned on the top of this page, the new LC2 controller has an infrared remote control sensor that replaces the trimmer pots found on the LC1 model. You can perform a wide variety of configuration settings using a handheld Installer IR Remote Control unit model ARC-044. For example, by pressing a single button you can immediately program LC2 to assume one of the four preset profiles for use in stairwell, carpark, enclosed space and open offices. You can further fine-tune any parameters (e.g. vacancy dim level, vacancy time-out value etc) using the ARC-044. For more information on how to use the ARC-044 to configure the LC2 controller, please click on the following picture:

ARC-044

 

2. Configuring via USB (Optional)
Every LC2 has a built-in micro USB port (just like LC1) allowing them to be programmed by a computer, an Android tablet or an Android Smartphone. Using the app allows you to enter the 3 parameters (Working Brightness, Vacancy Time-out, Vacancy Dim level) digitally and thus attain more precise control. You can also use the app to change other default parameters such as the "holding brightness" and "holding delay" if you are not satisfied with the factory default values.

This section describes how to use the " Mobile App For Android" to configure the LC2.

PC Users may also download a free Windows software ("ALEC Configuator App") that closely mimics the ALEC Mobile App's user-interface - this can be very useful for pre-configuration of a batch of LC2 controllers prior to installation using your PC. Since LC2 can be powered directly by the USB port for programming purpose, they can be quickly pre-configured before installation.

1. Please ensure that your Android phone supports USB OTG (On-The-Go).
2 You will need to purchase a USB-OTG adapter or a USB-OTG cable, and a standard USB-to-Micro-USB cable (See photo below) from any mobile phone accessory shop or from ALEC SmartLighting.
3 Search for " Mobile" app at Google store. Download and install the App
4

Connect the USB OTG adapter to your android phone and the Micro-USB cable to the LC2 controller. Then, connect the male and female USB connectors on the two parts together to form a complete connection from your Android phone to the LC2 controller, as shown in the picture above.

The Mobile App would normally be invoked automatically once the connection is made.

BASIC CONFIGURATION

When the Mobile App is launched, the Basic Configuration screen will appear immediately. This screen allows you to precisely enter several parameters that can also be set the handheld IR remote if the app is not used. In addition, several other parameters can only be set using this app.

You can retrieve the current settings by clicking the “READ SETTINGS” button. Doing so also confirms that you have a proper USB connection between your Android phone and the LC2.

After you have made the desired changes to the settings, click the “WRITE SETTINGS” button to write the new settings to the LC2 controller.

Pre-defined Profiles

In the latest Version 3.x of the ALEC mobile app, the Basic Configuration also provides some pre-defined profiles that allow the user to quickly select the pre-defined settings for several different applications. You can touch the profile selection drop down menu to see the list of pre-defined profiles as shown below:

After you have selected a profile it will automatically fill in all the parameters in the Basic Configuration screen. You can still make changes to the pre-filled parameters to suit your application needs. When you are satisfied with the settings then click the "Write Settings" button to transfer the new parameters to the controller.

The following describe the function of each parameter:

1. Current ID – Not important for LC2 since it is not networked. You can leave the default ID as FF.
2.Motion To Turn ON Light (default is checked). If checked, and if the light is currently in the dimmed or OFF state, it will brighten to the User’s Set Brightness level when an occupant is detected. If unchecked, then the light will not brighten when occupants are detected (Vacancy Auto-Dim will still work, even if this is unchecked. However, the light will not brighten up anymore and you will need to manually turn OFF the light and then turn back ON again for the light to brighten up to the working brightness).
3.Enable-Daylight Harvesting (default is checked). You can disable Daylight Harvesting completely by unchecking this check box. Note: You can also enable/disable the Daylight Harvesting function using the TACT SWITCH as described in the earlier section.
4.Vacancy Auto-Dim Time-out (default is 900s = 15 minutes). This determines the period when the space must be vacant (i.e. no occupant is detected) before LC2 starts to dim-down the light. If you enter a “0” for this field, it will disable both Occupancy-ON and Vacancy-OFF functions.

5.Working Brightness (default is 100%). This sets the working brightness level of the light when it is first turned ON, or when it automatically brightens after detecting occupants.
6.Vacancy Dim-To Brightness (default is 10%). Usually set between 10% and 25%. LC2 will maintain the light at this brightness level after the vacancy time-out. Set this value to 0% if you want the light to be turned OFF completely after vacancy time-out.

Additional note: LC2 supports dual stage dimming (to OFF or to a low brightness level). For example if LC2 is programmed to turn OFF light after time-out, the light will first dim down to a “holding brightness” level (default is 25%) and stay at the “holding brightness” for a “holding period” (default is 120s), before being turned OFF completely. This is the “Dual Stage Dimming" feature. Likewise if the light is programmed to dim to 10% after vacancy time-out, the light will first dim down to the "holding brightness" level and stay that for a period determined by the "holding delay" period before finally dim down to the 10% vacancy brightness level. Dual stage dimming is very useful as it provides a warning to some one who indvertently did not move to trigger the motion sensor for a period longer than then vacancy time-out. By dimming down the light the person can simply waive the hand to cancel the vacancy off action and brighten the light back up to full working brightness level. Therefore this completely eliminates the bad experience of suddenly turn off light to a space that is still occupied.

7. Holding Delay Before OFF (default is 120s = 2 minutes) : If LC2 is configured to turn off the light after vacancy time out, then it uses a “Dual-Stage OFF” technique. Dual-Stage OFF will enable the light to first dim down to a “Holding Brightness” level and stay at that brightness for a “Holding Delay” period. During the “Holding Delay”, if no occupant is detected, the light will then be turned off completely. Anytime during the “Holding Period”, an occupant can cancel the vacancy off with a slight movement. Thus, the occupant will never experience the shock of lights turning off on them suddenly without warning.
8. Holding Brightness Before OFF (default is 25%) : Holds the light level at this brightness during the Dual-Stage OFF period as described in (4). You can change this value to other preferred brightness.
9. Fade ON Time (default is 1.5s) : Time it takes for the light to brighten from OFF to full brightness.
10. Fade OFF Time (default is 5.0s) : Time it takes for the light to dim from full brightness to OFF.

 

ADVANCED CONFIGURATION

Touch on the 3-dot menu button at the top right hand corner of the Basic Configuration screen and select “Advanced Configuration”. The “Advanced Configuration screen will appear as shown in the next diagram.

This screen lets you define some other parameters that you probably never need to change unless you have very special requirements. You can retrieve the current settings by clicking the “READ SETTINGS” button. Doing so also confirms that you have a proper USB connection between your Android phone and the LC2.

After you have made the desired changes to the settings, click the “WRITE SETTINGS” button to write the new settings to the LC2 controller.

The function of each parameter in this "Advanced Configuration" screen is described in detail as follow:

1. Maximum Brightness (default is 100%) : Also known as “High-End Trim”, which is the maximum brightness that the light will be allowed to reach (both manual and auto brightening).

For example: if the luminaire outputs more light than needed for the space (especially when it is new), this is an easy way to prevent over-lighting.

2. Daylight Dim Minimum (default is 10%) : Specifies the minimum brightness the Daylight Harvesting Control is allowed to dim to. Change this to 0% if you allow the Daylight Harvesting to completely turn OFF the light.
3. “Daylight PID Control: P-Term” & “Daylight PID Control: I-Term” (default is 2.00 and 0.20 respectively) : We recommend not changing these two parameters and leaving them at their default values which is suitable for most commercial lighting applications.

Setting higher values for these two control parameters can speed up the daylight harvesting response time, but may also lead to oscillation. You may only need to change these parameters in very special applications. For example: where the light is installed inside a small enclosed space (such as inside a box), thus the changes in the light meter readings are much higher than normal applications, and the default values may lead to oscillation. If you experience oscillation, you can try setting lower values for these two terms to resolve it.

4. Indicator Max Brightness (%) (default is 100%) : There is a green LED indicator on the LC2 controller that will brighten up when it senses occupant and it also acts as status indicator of the LC2 programming state when programming it using the ARC-044 handheld IR remote unit. This is normally set at 100% for you can change it to any value between 0 and 100% if you prefer lower brightness.
5. Occupancy ON Max Brightness (%) (default is 100%) : If the light is previously turned OFF by LC2, and the occupancy-ON setting is enabled, you can limit the maximum brightness that light will be automatically brightened to with this setting. However, if you want the light to always brighten to the last-set working brightness then assign this value to 100%. For example, if the working brightness is 80% and "Occupancy ON Max Brightness" is set to 50%, then the light will only brighten up to 50% when it is turned ON by the sensor. To allow the light to brighten to the full working brightness you will need to manually turn OFF the light switch and then ON again and LC2 will then brighten the light to the full working brightness.

Note: ASHRAE 90.1-2010 stipulates that for enclosed space that is automatically turned ON by occupancy sensor the light may not be allowed to brighten to > 50% unless with user manual intervention. Since most LC2 installation in enclosed space would likely have a light switch to control the fixture and hence technically the lights are not fully auto-ON only, we are of the opinion that it should not be subject to the 50% limit rule. However, if your building inspector disagrees with this inteprettation you can still satisfy his demand in one of the two ways:

a) By setting "Occupancy ON Max Brightness (%)" to 50%. OR
b) By disabling "Motion To Turn ON Light" (in Basic Configuration screen). This means that the light will only be automatically turned Off when the space is vacant but will not be automatically turned ON when occupied.

If you choose option (b), then please note that when the light is first automatically turned OFF by LC2 the controller still allows a 15 seconds window that motion can re-turn on the light even if "Motion To Turn ON Light" is disabled. After 15 seconds LC2 will no longer react to the occupancy sensor and you will need to flip the light switch OFF and ON.

6.ZC001/ZC002 Only - NOT USE BY LC2

Note: Since the mobile app is shared with other advanced lighting controllers ZC001/ZC002, there are several settings that are only meaningful to these other controller models and LC2 user may ignore them.