{"id":4931,"date":"2020-03-06T11:11:29","date_gmt":"2020-03-06T18:11:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alconlighting.com\/blog\/?p=4931"},"modified":"2021-10-19T14:31:06","modified_gmt":"2021-10-19T21:31:06","slug":"lighting-technology-trends-bluetooth-mesh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alconlighting.com\/blog\/lighting-news\/lighting-technology-trends-bluetooth-mesh\/","title":{"rendered":"Lighting Technology: What is Bluetooth Mesh?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Unlike other wireless lighting systems, such as wi-fi, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.alconlighting.com\/bluetooth-mesh.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bluetooth Mesh lighting systems<\/a> are designed for large collections of devices. Imagine thousands of switches, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), sensors, light fixtures and shades communicating with each other via message forwarding across devices in a Bluetooth chain until reaching the destination to perform a function, such as turning on the third floor\u2019s office lights.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">This is what Bluetooth Mesh can do. This type of communication, instead requiring each device to communicate directly with the router, emanates from the originating handheld or wall control\u00a0and travels, for example, from light fixture to light fixture to a sensor, then to an air conditioning unit, and on to any other chain of the Bluetooth Mesh-enabled devices on its route to the destination device. The chain functions like a Bluetooth highway or central nervous system, passing a command until it reaches the\u00a0destination device to perform said operation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">In other words, Bluetooth Mesh supports device-to-device-to-device communication. With this approach, any device in the Mesh network can communicate with any other device in the network. Furthermore, devices do not have to be in direct radio range of the originating command. Messages are relayed across the network from devices in a series of hops and can therefore span very large physical areas.\u00a0[mfn]<a href=\"https:\/\/blog.bluetooth.com\/an-intro-to-bluetooth-mesh-part1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">An Intro to Bluetooth Mesh &#8211; Part 1<\/a>[\/mfn]<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alconlighting.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Bluetooth-Mesh-Industrial.jpg\" class=\"mfp-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-large wp-image-4937 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.alconlighting.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Bluetooth-Mesh-Industrial-1024x532.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"532\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.alconlighting.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,format=webp,quality=80,width=1024\/https:\/\/www.alconlighting.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Bluetooth-Mesh-Industrial-1024x532.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.alconlighting.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,format=webp,quality=80,width=400\/https:\/\/www.alconlighting.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Bluetooth-Mesh-Industrial-1024x532.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.alconlighting.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,format=webp,quality=80,width=768\/https:\/\/www.alconlighting.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Bluetooth-Mesh-Industrial-1024x532.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>Here are key Bluetooth Mesh terms:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Nodes: Devices (i.e. switches, lighting fixtures, sensors, HVAC units, telephones) which are a part of a Bluetooth Mesh network.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Messages: Nodes in the Bluetooth Mesh network communicate with each other using messages. Messages represent various types of commands that a node may initiate.[mfn]<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluetooth.com\/bluetooth-technology\/topology-options\/le-mesh\/mesh-glossary\">Bluetooth Mesh Glossary of Terms<\/a>[\/mfn]<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alconlighting.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Bluetooth_Mesh_Office_Building.jpg\" class=\"mfp-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-large wp-image-4932 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.alconlighting.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Bluetooth_Mesh_Office_Building-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.alconlighting.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,format=webp,quality=80,width=1024\/https:\/\/www.alconlighting.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Bluetooth_Mesh_Office_Building-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.alconlighting.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,format=webp,quality=80,width=400\/https:\/\/www.alconlighting.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Bluetooth_Mesh_Office_Building-1024x1024.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.alconlighting.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,format=webp,quality=80,width=768\/https:\/\/www.alconlighting.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Bluetooth_Mesh_Office_Building-1024x1024.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>Bluetooth Mesh Vs. Wi-Fi<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">The most significant difference between wireless (wi-fi) lighting systems and Bluetooth Mesh lighting systems lies in the method of communication. A network that uses wi-fi is based around a central network called a router. All commands and traffic passes through that router. Each light fixture must be able to communicate with the wireless network. If the router is unavailable, the network of devices become unavailable to communication.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">In contrast, Bluetooth Mesh nodes (lighting fixtures, sensors and other devices) receive messages from other nodes that are in direct radio range with the originating node.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Two-Way Communication and User Behavior Data Collection<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">One of the advantages of using Bluetooth Mesh over wi-fi for lighting is that Bluetooth Mesh supports two-way communication. Once the luminaire sensors are in place, the same infrastructure can be used to monitor other building conditions, such as occupancy or temperature, and send this data back to a control system. Gathering data about room use and user behavior patterns allows buildings to automate processes that can reduce energy consumption and improve performance on a large scale with fewer wires.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Today, many LED fixtures now feature embedded programming to allow for varying light characteristics such as hue, light intensity, dimming and energy consumption. Wireless communications, such as Bluetooth Mesh, expand the range of intelligent lighting systems.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alconlighting.com\/bluetooth-mesh.html\">Browse our collection of Bluetooth Mesh ready devices.<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Unlike wireless lighting systems like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Mesh is designed for large collections of devices, numbering into the thousands. Switches, HVAC, sensors, light fixtures, and shades can communicate with each other by forwarding a message, or command, across all the devices in that Bluetooth chain until reaching the destination to perform said operation, (i.e. turn ON the 3rd floor office lights). The communication, instead of passing through your WiFi router, comes from the originating device and travels from light fixture to sensor, to AC unit, to any other chain of Bluetooth Mesh enabled devices, like a Bluetooth highway or a body\u2019s central nervous system, until the command reaches the lights on the 3rd floor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":4932,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[352,349,312],"tags":[],"thb-sponsors":[],"ppma_author":[775],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v20.13 (Yoast SEO v20.13) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Lighting Technology: What is Bluetooth Mesh?\u00a0 &mdash; Insights<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.alconlighting.com\/blog\/lighting-news\/lighting-technology-trends-bluetooth-mesh\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lighting Technology: What is Bluetooth Mesh?\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Unlike wireless lighting systems like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Mesh is designed for large collections of devices, numbering into the thousands. Switches, HVAC, sensors, light fixtures, and shades can communicate with each other by forwarding a message, or command, across all the devices in that Bluetooth chain until reaching the destination to perform said operation, (i.e. turn ON the 3rd floor office lights). The communication, instead of passing through your WiFi router, comes from the originating device and travels from light fixture to sensor, to AC unit, to any other chain of Bluetooth Mesh enabled devices, like a Bluetooth highway or a body\u2019s central nervous system, until the command reaches the lights on the 3rd floor.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.alconlighting.com\/blog\/lighting-news\/lighting-technology-trends-bluetooth-mesh\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Insights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-03-06T18:11:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-10-19T21:31:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.alconlighting.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Bluetooth_Mesh_Office_Building.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alcon Lighting\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alcon Lighting\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Lighting Technology: What is Bluetooth Mesh?\u00a0 &mdash; Insights","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.alconlighting.com\/blog\/lighting-news\/lighting-technology-trends-bluetooth-mesh\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Lighting Technology: What is Bluetooth Mesh?\u00a0","og_description":"Unlike wireless lighting systems like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Mesh is designed for large collections of devices, numbering into the thousands. 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