How Wireless DMX Orchestrates Architectural Lighting Scenes Without Cables
Architectural lighting has become more widespread due to energy efficiency, easy installation, and long life. LEDs have become the norm thanks to their energy efficiency, flexibility in many different light fixture designs, and a lifespan of typically 50,000 hours or more. We can also program them in various ways to meet the lighting designer’s aesthetic vision and demands. Lighting designers today must be more discerning when designing architectural lighting, as they consider a broad range of factors such as location, climate, occupancy, and use. And specific in how they want their lighting to look and function.
Lighting, or the lack thereof, can affect people in many ways. Think about the last time you had to work in a room with poor illumination and walked away with fatigue and crankiness – that’s how much poor lighting affects our well-being. Lighting design has become much more involved and complicated now that we understand how lighting affects mood, energy, sleep cycles, and more. Lighting no longer needs to provide illumination; it must also create the right atmosphere or feeling.
DMX Protocol
DMX, also known as Digital Multiplex, is a protocol used initially in the entertainment industry to control concert lighting and accessories. This protocol allows lighting controllers from any manufacturer to communicate with any lighting device from any other manufacturer in a common language. DMX has expanded to non-theatrical applications, including Christmas lights and architectural lighting systems, in addition to its initial uses in entertainment. For example, architectural lighting can be controlled with DMX, whether it be a feature wall that changes colors, cove lighting that shifts color temperatures, or an entire RGB LED wall that displays a moving picture. The possibilities are limitless.
Wireless DMX
Wireless DMX is a method of transmitting DMX data from one location to another without cables. Cable and the labor to install it are costly. At the same time, wireless DMX can save time and money and enable DMX data to be delivered to locations where running cable is not feasible, such as a river, a highway, or a building’s peak.
One example of the effective use of wireless DMX controllers is within hospitals. In this situation, hospitals may control light levels throughout 24 hours to be brighter during the day and darker at night or create other lighting protocols to promote energy and healing. Given the immense size of some hospitals, this is an effective alternative to running hundreds of yards of cable needed for a traditional DMX controller.
For large customer-facing venues such as bars and restaurants, wireless DMX is recognized as the most convenient and practical way to allow complete control of lighting needs from a centralized location. Combine wireless DMX functionality with the versatility of LEDs and lighting effects to enhance the venue ambiance are unlimited.
