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.
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.