Mitsubishi Electric Corp exhibited a system that, in an office, turns on lights and air conditioning only in the areas occupied by people at Eco-Products 2008, which took place at Tokyo Big Sight in Tokyo, Japan, from Dec 11 to 13, 2008.
To develop this system, Mitsubishi Electric combined the room access control capability and the air conditioning and lighting control function of the company's "DIGUARD" security system for buildings.
Based on the information acquired from ID cards for access control, it switches on the lights and operates the air conditioner near the seat of the user. And it automatically puts the light off and stops the air conditioner when the user leaves the room. This could save energy as it prevents wasteful operation and power supply, Mitsubishi Electric said.
The system can adjust details in accordance with the ID's attribute. For example, it is possible to maximize the light right above a user and dim the lights around the user to 25%. Also, the system can maximize the air conditioning when a guest ID is recognized, while operating it in an energy-saving mode for an employee.
The system is currently under development, and its commercialization schedule has not yet been determined. Mitsubishi Electric intends to develop a mechanism to map lights, air conditioning facilities and IDs toward the commercialization of the system.