Philips & Armstrong Ceilings Announce DC Lighting Solutions & Grid Compatible With On-Site Power Generation

Philips is partnering with Armstrong Ceilings to develop lighting solutions that are compatible with Armstrong’s low voltage DC FlexZone ceiling systems, which can help building owners reduce energy usage and implement cost effective site-based power generation and storage strategies. The new offerings are intended to support recently adopted EMerge Alliance open industry standards that call for the use of DC power. Because the lighting solutions better facilitating the use of site based power generation and storage, they are considered by experts as key to reaching Net Zero energy use in commercial buildings.

Super-storm Sandy and its devastating effect on the East Coast, including buildings left without power for weeks, highlighted the susceptibility of public utility grids to power outages and made site based power generation, storage and the technologies that can support them more top of mind for building owners and tenants.

“ DC FlexZone can contribute to the sustainability of buildings by more effectively combining energy efficient systems, like the advanced LED lighting solutions made by Philips, with newer sources of electrical power, such as solar, wind, bio-fuel cell and other on-site, natively DC, renewable energy resources,” said Brian Patterson, general manager at Armstrong Ceilings. “By providing a greater degree of modularity and plug and play flexibility, DC FlexZone can also greatly simplify the power management and control of other non-lighting devices often found in the ceilings of commercial buildings, further providing energy and cost savings.”

By developing DC FlexZone compatible lighting products, including popular general area lighting styles such recessed and down-lighting, the two EMerge partners are looking to accelerate adoption of DC technologies. The Philips lighting systems are specifically engineered to easily integrate directly with the Armstrong DC powered ceiling system, using plug-and-play connectors that simplify initial installation, as well as future moves and changes.

“Working with a standards compliant ceiling system like Armstrong’s DC FlexZone, we can give building owners the ability to distribute safe, low voltage direct current power to our advanced lighting solutions, which can help them achieve their sustainability goals, while offering them better light quality over their conventional lighting solutions, ” said Philips general manager of indoor lighting, Peter Kuehnel. “It also improves the flexibility and reuse opportunities of interior spaces by enabling faster and easier repurposing and reconfiguration of the lighting to satisfy the changing needs of occupants without the need for costly rewiring.”

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