Exploitation of PLC controller to maintain the illuminance of outdoor lighting in the work places at the required level

Maintaining the lighting parameters in a specific zone at the required level often guarantees the safety of people in this zone. Diverse lighting requirements specified in the PN-EN 12464-2: 2014-05 standard can often be difficult to implement, especially taking into account other recommendations of this standard, for example at energy saving. For this reason, it is very important to carefully choose equipment and lighting system, take into account environment, maintenance programme and maintenance characteristics of the lamp. The illuminance of lighting in outdoor work places also depends on daylight, which is affected by the time of the day, season or cloud cover.
This article will present the concept of using a programmable logic controller (PLC) to maintain the illumination at a certain level, regardless of the environmental conditions and time of the day. A control program will be created, the task of which will be to maintain the illuminance at the level required by the standard, thanks to monitoring the conditions in the workplace in real time. This solution will also enable reduction of energy consumption.
Furthermore, appropriate control of lighting values on the surrounding area have a great impact on how quickly and comfortably an employee perceives and carries out the visual task.

Keywords:
programmable logic controller, illuminance, PN-EN 12464-2:2014-05 standard, outdoor lightning