Lighting Automation for Commercial Facilities —
Occupancy Sensors, Presence Sensors
and Radar Detectors
Lighting automation for commercial facilities removes the energy waste that nobody in the building is responsible for. Lights in washrooms, corridors, stairwells, meeting rooms, basements and parking areas run for hours every day with nobody in the space — not because anyone is careless, but because no system is watching.
SIOTA installs sensors that watch. Occupancy sensors, presence sensors and radar detectors determine whether a person is actually in a zone, and switch, dim or hold the lighting accordingly. No manual switching. No reliance on the last person to leave. No fixed timer that has no idea whether the floor is full or empty.
It is one service, built on three detection technologies, applied zone by zone across your facility — indoors, in the basement, and outdoors. Facilities that move from manual and timer-based lighting to sensor-based control typically see a 20 to 40 percent reduction in lighting electricity costs, and up to 60 percent in sensor-driven areas such as parking, corridors and washrooms.
THE LIGHTING ENERGY
YOU ARE PAYING FOR AND NOT USING
Lighting is typically 15 to 25 percent of a commercial building’s electricity bill. A large share of it is consumed by spaces that are empty at the time.
The pattern repeats across offices, IT parks, malls, hospitals and co-working spaces:
of a commercial building's electricity bill
None of this shows on the bill as “wasted lighting”. It shows as a number higher than it needs to be, with no breakdown. You cannot manage what you cannot see, and you cannot save what you do not control.
Washrooms
lit continuously through the night and over weekends because there is no switch anyone thinks to operate
Meeting rooms and boardrooms
that stay lit for hours after a meeting ends
Cabins and private offices
where the occupant left at 6 PM and the lights ran until housekeeping
Corridors, lobbies and stairwells
at full output at 3 AM with zero footfall
Basement and stilt parking
lit at 100 percent, 24 hours a day, every day of the year
Street and perimeter lights
still burning at 9 AM because nobody has switched them off
Window-side workstations
on full artificial light while sunlight floods the desk
Whole floors
switched on by one housekeeping switch at 7 AM regardless of who is coming in
THREE DETECTION TECHNOLOGIES, ONE SERVICE
Different spaces need different detection technology. Using one sensor type everywhere is the single biggest reason lighting automation projects underperform — and it is why SIOTA specifies by space rather than selling one device for every application.
Occupancy Sensors
(Passive Infrared)
An occupancy sensor detects the heat signature of a person moving across its field of view. It is the workhorse of lighting automation: reliable, immune to false triggering, and effective over large open areas.
Detection reaches up to 9 to 10 metres in diameter at 360 degrees, from a mounting height of 2.3 to 4 metres. Time delay is adjustable from 10 seconds to 30 minutes, and the built-in light-level threshold is adjustable from 3 to 2,000 lux, so lights only respond when ambient daylight is genuinely insufficient.
Best applied in:
open workspaces, cabins, corridors, cafeterias, meeting rooms, store rooms and back-of-house areas.
Presence Sensors
(24GHz)
A presence sensor operates at 24GHz over a tighter detection zone and responds to far smaller movement than infrared. Where a standard occupancy sensor needs someone to move across it, a presence sensor registers a person who is sitting still.
Detection covers up to 3 metres in diameter at 360 degrees from a 2.3 to 4 metre mounting height, with a time delay adjustable from 10 seconds to 15 minutes and a light threshold from 2 to 50 lux. Available in both recessed ceiling and surface-mounted formats.
Best applied in:
washroom cubicles, private cabins, meeting rooms and boardrooms, phone booths and focus pods, and anywhere you want workstation-level rather than floor-level control.
Radar Detectors
(Microwave)
A radar detector emits a signal and reads the reflection. It detects through and around thin partitions and structural obstructions, picks up slow movement — including vehicles — and is unaffected by the ambient temperature swings that reduce infrared sensitivity in enclosed spaces.
Detection reaches up to 9 to 10 metres in diameter at 360 degrees, with a time delay adjustable from 5 seconds to 30 minutes and light thresholds from 2 to 2,000 lux depending on configuration. A high-mounting variant covers 4 to 12 metres and is IP65 rated for industrial environments.
Best applied in:
basement and stilt parking, stairwells, lobbies, washrooms with cubicle partitions, and warehouse or shop-floor high-bay lighting.
Daylight and Dusk-to-Dawn Control
Alongside the three detection technologies, SIOTA installs light-level sensors that switch or dim on measured ambient light rather than on presence. Indoor units hold a target light level on window-facing zones by dimming artificial lighting as daylight rises. Outdoor photocells switch at a 5 to 50 lux threshold, carry 6kV surge protection for pole mounting, and are rated IP65 and IP68 for direct weather exposure.
Switch / Dim
On Ambient Light
Outdoor threshold
5 to 50 lux
IP65 & IP68
(Weather Rated)
6kV surge protection
For pole mounting
Consolidated Technical Specifications
| Parameter | Occupancy Sensor (PIR) | Presence Sensor (24GHz) | Radar Detector |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detection diameter | Up to 9–10m | Up to 3m | Up to 9–10m; 4–12m high-bay variant |
| Detection angle | 360° ceiling; 160°–180° wall | 360° | 360°; 180° wall variant |
| Mounting height | 2.3m–4m (1m–1.8m wall units) | 2.3m–4m | 2.3m–4m; up to 12m high-bay |
| Time delay | 10 sec – 30 min adjustable | 10 sec – 15 min adjustable | 5 sec – 30 min adjustable |
| Light threshold | 3–2,000 lux adjustable | 2–50 lux adjustable | 2–2,000 lux adjustable |
| Mounting formats | Recessed, surface, wall | Recessed, surface | Recessed, surface, wall, high-bay |
| Ingress protection | IP20 indoor / IP65 outdoor | IP20 | IP20 indoor / IP65 outdoor |
| Operating voltage | 110–240V AC | 110–240V AC | 220–270V AC |
| Daylight harvesting | Available | Threshold-based | Threshold-based |
The 220 to 270 volt operating range matters in Indian conditions. Supply fluctuation is the most common cause of premature failure in lighting control electronics, and a wide input range removes it as a risk.
MOTION DETECTION VERSUS PRESENCE DETECTION
This distinction is the most common cause of complaints about automated lighting, and it is worth understanding before you specify a system.
Occupancy Sensors
(Detects movement)
An occupancy sensor detects the heat signature of a person moving across its field of view. It is the workhorse of lighting automation: reliable, immune to false triggering, and effective over large open areas.
Detects movement
Presence Sensors
(Presence sensor)
A presence sensor is tuned differently. Operating at 24GHz over a tighter zone, it responds to far smaller movement, so a seated and largely still occupant continues to register. Paired with a correctly set time delay, it removes the false-off problem in the spaces where it actually matters.
Presence sensor
Where SIOTA Specifies Presence Sensors Over Standard Occupancy Sensors:
Washroom cubicles
— the classic failure point
Private cabins and executive offices
— occupant at a desk with minimal movement
Meeting rooms and boardrooms
— a seated table generates very little gross motion
Phone booths and focus pods in co-working spaces
Workstation-level control
where each desk or small cluster is its own zone
Getting this right is what makes sensor-based lighting acceptable to the people who work in the building.
A system users fight is a system that gets disabled — and a disabled system saves nothing.
Where Sensors Deliver the Most Savings
Different spaces waste lighting energy in different ways. SIOTA specifies the appropriate sensor and control strategy for each zone.
| Space | Typical Waste Pattern | What SIOTA Specifies |
|---|---|---|
|
Washrooms
|
Lit 24 hours a day, all week. Among the most consistently
wasteful spaces in any building.
|
Presence sensors with a short time delay. Full off when
vacant. Optional low-level night mode.
|
|
Meeting rooms & boardrooms
|
Lights left running for hours after meetings end.
|
Presence sensors with a generous time delay.
Auto-off on confirmed vacancy.
|
|
Cabins & private offices
|
Occupant leaves; lights run until housekeeping.
|
Presence sensors with manual-on / auto-off, so lights
never switch on for an empty cabin.
|
|
Open workspaces
|
Whole floor lit at 7 AM for a handful of early arrivals.
|
Zone-wise occupancy sensors with daylight dimming
on the window perimeter.
|
|
Corridors & lobbies
|
Full output overnight with no footfall.
|
Radar detectors with standby dimming, ramping to full
on detected movement.
|
|
Staircases & fire escapes
|
Continuously lit, rarely used outside emergencies.
|
Radar detectors with standby dimming and instant
full-brightness response.
|
|
Pantries & breakout zones
|
Peak-hour usage, all-day lighting.
|
Occupancy sensors with usage-pattern scheduling.
|
|
Store, electrical & utility rooms
|
Entered occasionally, lit permanently.
|
Occupancy sensors with short delay. Auto-off on exit.
|
|
Warehouse & shop-floor aisles
|
High-bay lighting running over aisles used intermittently.
|
High-bay radar detectors at 4–12m mounting, aisle-wise
dimming and ramp-up.
|
|
Co-working flexi-desks & phone booths
|
Highly variable occupancy across the day.
|
Per-zone presence sensors, giving desk-level rather
than floor-level control.
|
Sensors also tell you how your building is used
Once sensors are installed they generate a continuous record of which zones are occupied, when, and how heavily. For co-working operators, corporate real estate teams and facility heads that is directly useful beyond energy: desk and meeting-room utilisation, floor consolidation decisions, cleaning schedule optimisation, and evidence for lease and fit-out planning.
You install it to save electricity. You keep it because it tells you how your building is really being used.
BASEMENT AND PARKING LIGHTING
Basement and stilt parking is the highest-waste lighting zone in almost every commercial building, and the easiest to fix.
There is no daylight, so the lights go on and stay on — typically at full output, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Actual human occupancy on a basement parking level is often under two hours a day in total, concentrated in arrival and departure peaks.
How SIOTA controls basement and parking lighting
Baseline dimming
parking levels held at a low safe level when unoccupied, never fully dark
Motion-triggered full brightness
lights ramp to full output in the relevant zone the moment a vehicle or person is detected
Zone-wise activation
only the aisle or bay in use goes to full output, not the entire level
Follow-me lighting
brightness travels with the vehicle or person and fades behind them
Ramp and entry zones
held higher for eye adaptation at the transition from daylight
Peak-hour override
full output during arrival and departure windows, sensor control outside them
Time-based rules
different logic for weekdays, weekends, night hours and holidays
SMART PARKING BRIGHTER SPACES LOWER COSTS
Why radar detectors?
Radar detectors are specified here rather than infrared. They detect around structural columns and parked vehicles, pick up slow vehicle movement reliably, and are unaffected by the temperature swings that reduce infrared sensitivity in enclosed parking.
Up to 60%
Because there is no daylight to compete with and genuine occupancy is low, basement and parking lighting is where sensor-based control delivers its strongest result — up to 60 percent reduction against always-on operation.
Safety is not compromised.
Safety is not compromised. Circulation areas are never fully dark, CCTV coverage is maintained at standby light levels, and full brightness is instantaneous on detection.
BASEMENT AND PARKING LIGHTING
Campus street lights, perimeter lighting, open parking, boundary and security lighting run on manual switching or fixed timers at most Indian facilities. Both fail predictably: timers do not track changing sunset times through the year, and manual switching depends on a person remembering.
The result is lights burning well past sunrise and switching on well before dusk — every day, across every pole on the campus.
What SIOTA automates outdoors
| Application | Control Method |
|---|---|
|
Campus & internal street lights
|
Dusk-to-dawn photocell control at a 5–50 lux threshold,
6kV surge protected for pole mounting, with schedule override
|
|
Open and surface parking
|
Schedule-based switching with radar-triggered brightness
in low-traffic hours
|
|
Perimeter & boundary lighting
|
Dusk-to-dawn control with security override and zone grouping
|
|
Approach roads & driveways
|
Part-night dimming — full output during active hours,
reduced output in the deep-night window
|
|
Gate, entry and exit points
|
Full output through operating hours, IP65 outdoor motion
sensing outside them
|
|
Façade & signage lighting
|
Scheduled on/off with separate weekend and holiday rules
|
|
Loading bays & yard lighting
|
Shift-linked scheduling with motion trigger for off-shift hours
|
|
Landscape, pathway & walkway lighting
|
Photocell plus motion detection, IP65 rated throughout
|
|
Pole-level fault detection
|
Alert when a pole or circuit draws no current at a time
it should be lit — a failed lamp is detected the same night,
not on the next inspection round
|
For street and outdoor lighting, dusk-to-dawn and schedule control alone typically delivers a 30 to 50 percent reduction against always-on operation, before any sensor-based dimming is applied.
DAYLIGHT CONTROL FOR WINDOW-FACING ZONES
In most offices the perimeter desks are the brightest in the building by mid-morning and still running full artificial light. Nobody switches them off because the switch controls the whole floor.
Light-level sensors solve this without asking anyone to do anything. The sensor measures ambient light in its zone and dims the artificial lighting to hold a target level. On a bright day a window-side zone draws a fraction of the power of an interior zone. As cloud cover changes or evening approaches, output rises again automatically.
This works alongside occupancy detection rather than instead of it: the zone must be occupied for the lights to be on at all, and once on, the level is set by available daylight.
Open-plan perimeter zones
Atriums
Glazed lobbies
Meeting rooms with external glazing
Top-floor spaces with skylights
CENTRAL CONTROL ACROSS MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
For organisations running bank branches, retail outlets, warehouses or campuses across cities, lighting is switched — or not switched — by whoever happens to be on site. There is no central visibility and no accountability.
SIOTA gives you one dashboard across every location: current on/off state per site, schedule changes pushed to all sites at once, exception reporting for any site running outside schedule, and lighting consumption compared branch against branch.
Sensors themselves keep working regardless. The detection logic runs locally at each sensor, so a site with a network outage continues to control its lighting normally — the dashboard simply catches up when the connection returns.
How SIOTA Solves This in Real Facilities
Corporate offices and co-working spaces
Occupancy varies hour by hour and no two floors fill the same way. SIOTA deploys presence sensors in cabins, meeting rooms, phone booths and washrooms, occupancy sensors across open workstation zones, and daylight control on the window perimeter. Lighting follows the people. The operator also gets zone-level utilisation data showing which desks and rooms are genuinely used.
IT parks and SEZs
Large outdoor footprint, 24-hour security lighting, multiple towers and multi-level basement parking. Dusk-to-dawn photocells on campus street lights, radar detectors across parking levels, IP65 outdoor sensors on walkways and estate roads, and centralised schedule control across all towers.
Malls and retail complexes
Large multi-level parking, common areas, signage and façade lighting on different operating hours from the trading floor. Each runs as an independent zone with its own schedule, parking on baseline dimming with radar-triggered full output.
Hospitals and healthcare campuses
Corridors, campus lighting, parking and entry points run through the night by necessity. Sensor control is applied where it is clinically safe — corridors on standby dimming, parking on radar, campus lighting dusk-to-dawn — while patient care areas use presence sensors with generous time delays.
Bank branch and retail networks
Consistent, repeated waste across hundreds of small sites, each too small to justify a facility manager. Sensors are installed in a single visit per branch, and signage and outdoor lighting run on centrally pushed schedules with exception alerts for any branch outside schedule.
Manufacturing plants and warehouses
High-bay lighting over aisles used intermittently, perimeter lighting, loading bays and shift-based operation. High-bay radar detectors rated for 4 to 12 metre mounting give aisle-wise dimming and ramp-up, with IP65 units in wash-down and plant areas and shift-linked schedules across the site.
WHICH FACILITIES BENEFIT MOST
Large or multi-level basement and stilt parking— the single highest-return application
Buildings with significant outdoor footprint — campus street lights, perimeter, open parking
Variable-occupancy interiors— co-working, corporate offices, education, healthcare
Multi-location networks — bank branches, retail chains, warehouses with no on-site facility staff
High-ceiling industrial spaces — warehouses and shop floors where high-bay lighting runs over intermittently used aisles
Buildings with large glazed perimeters where daylight is abundant and artificial lighting runs anyway
24-hour operations where part of the building is lit but unoccupied for long stretches
Large or multi-level basement and stilt parking— the single highest-return application
Buildings with significant outdoor footprint — campus street lights, perimeter, open parking
Variable-occupancy interiors— co-working, corporate offices, education, healthcare
Multi-location networks — bank branches, retail chains, warehouses with no on-site facility staff
High-ceiling industrial spaces — warehouses and shop floors where high-bay lighting runs over intermittently used aisles
Buildings with large glazed perimeters where daylight is abundant and artificial lighting runs anyway
24-hour operations where part of the building is lit but unoccupied for long stretches
Explore how this applies to your sector on our
Industries We Serve page.
SAVINGS YOU CAN EXPECT
| Application | Typical Reduction |
|---|---|
|
After-hours and vacant-space lighting waste
(overall lighting spend)
|
20–40%
|
|
Street, perimeter and outdoor lighting on
dusk-to-dawn and schedule control
|
30–50%
vs always-on
|
|
Sensor-controlled zones — basements,
parking, corridors, washrooms
|
Up to 60%
|
|
Typical payback period
|
2–4 months
|
|
Deployment time
|
Installation in under a day per site.
Live in under 48 hours.
|
A facility with an ₹80,000 per month lighting bill saves ₹24,000 to ₹40,000 every month — recurring, for the life of the installation. Over a year that is between ₹2.9 lakh and ₹4.8 lakh from lighting alone.
DEPLOYMENT: NO REWIRING, NO SHUTDOWN
SIOTA’s lighting automation is a retrofit service. It works with your existing fixtures and existing wiring.
Works with existing fittings
LED, conventional, high-bay and outdoor pole-mounted
No new cabling runs
no false ceiling demolition, no conduit work
Recessed, surface and wall mounting formats
so there is a fitting option for every ceiling and every space
No civil work
and no operational shutdown during installation
Installation in under a day
per site for a typical floor or parking level
Live in under 48 hours
including zone configuration and schedule setup
IP65 and IP68 rated
for outdoor applications, with 6kV surge protection on pole-mounted units
Wide 220–270V input range
for Indian supply conditions
Scalable site by site
start with one floor or one parking level and extend across the portfolio
Manual override always available
every automated zone retains local manual control
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How much can occupancy sensors reduce lighting energy consumption?
For street and outdoor lighting, dusk-to-dawn and schedule control alone typically delivers a 30 to 50 percent reduction against always-on operation, before any sensor-based dimming is applied.
Will the lights switch off while I am still in the room?
Not with correctly specified sensors. Standard occupancy sensors can miss a stationary person, which is why SIOTA uses 24GHz presence sensors in cabins, meeting rooms, washroom cubicles and focus pods. These respond to far smaller movement, so a seated, still occupant continues to register as present. Time delays are adjustable up to 30 minutes where a space needs it.
What is the difference between an occupancy sensor and a presence sensor?
An occupancy sensor detects movement across its field of view using infrared. A presence sensor operates at 24GHz over a tighter zone and responds to much smaller movement, so it holds a stationary occupant. Presence sensors are specified where a false switch-off would be disruptive.
What is a radar detector and when is it used?
A radar detector emits a microwave signal and reads the reflection. It detects through and around thin partitions and structural obstructions, picks up slow movement including vehicles, and is unaffected by ambient temperature swings. It is the right choice for basements, parking, stairwells and high-bay industrial spaces.
Which sensor is right for a basement or parking area?
Radar rather than infrared. Radar detects around columns and parked vehicles, picks up slow vehicle movement reliably, and holds performance in the temperature conditions typical of enclosed parking.
Can basement parking lights be dimmed instead of switched off?
Yes, and this is the recommended approach. Zones hold a low standby level when unoccupied and ramp to full brightness on detected movement. Circulation areas are never fully dark and CCTV coverage is maintained.
Can lighting sensors be installed without rewiring the building?
Yes. The sensors work with existing fittings and existing wiring in recessed, surface and wall-mounted formats. There is no civil work, no rewiring and no operational shutdown. A typical floor or parking level is installed in under a day.
What detection range and mounting height do the sensors cover?
Occupancy sensors and radar detectors cover up to 9 to 10 metres in diameter at 360 degrees from a 2.3 to 4 metre mounting height. A high-bay radar variant covers 4 to 12 metres for warehouses and shop floors. Presence sensors cover a tighter 3 metre zone for cabin and cubicle-level control.
Can street lights and outdoor lighting be automated?
Yes. Campus street lights, perimeter lighting, open parking, pathways, signage and façade lighting are controlled by dusk-to-dawn photocell, motion detection or schedule. Outdoor units are IP65 and IP68 rated with 6kV surge protection for pole mounting.
Will this work with our voltage conditions?
The sensors operate across a 110 to 270 volt range depending on type, which covers the fluctuation typical of Indian supply and is a common cause of premature failure in lighting control electronics.
What is the payback period?
Typically 2 to 4 months, driven primarily by basement, parking, outdoor and after-hours savings.
Your Lighting Bill Is
Not a Fixed Cost
Most facilities treat lighting as an unavoidable line item. It is not. A significant share of it is spent lighting empty rooms, empty parking levels and empty campuses — every day, on repeat, with nobody accountable for it.
Occupancy sensors, presence sensors and radar detectors remove that waste without asking a single person in your building to change how they work. The lights simply stop running for nobody.
We will walk your facility and show you exactly where the lighting energy is going, and what it would cost to stop.
Ready to See What Lighting Automation Saves Your Facility?
Book a free 30-minute demo with SIOTA. We will show you which sensor belongs in which zone across your offices, washrooms, corridors, basements, parking and outdoor areas — with real numbers, not estimates.