Executive Summary

There’s no shortage of options when selecting a commercial lighting control system. From system specs to ease of implementation, facilities managers have been faced with one central dilemma: pay the price for the bells and whistles of an enterprise-level solution or make do with a system that lacks modern features and functionality.

To help solve this frequent industry challenge, Intermatic developed the ARISTA® Advanced Lighting Control System, a versatile new commercial lighting control platform powered by Bluetooth® mesh technology. ARISTA is the perfect choice for a wide range of commercial installations because it’s affordable enough for smaller jobs yet full-featured and scalable enough for larger multi-floor buildings.

In this white paper, The Advantages of a Room-Based Bluetooth Mesh Lighting Control System, we’ll breakdown (in detail) the numerous reasons ARISTA stands apart from the competition and highlight why it’s quickly cementing its place within the commercial lighting industry.

We’ll cover these key areas of focus:

• Advantages of a Room-Based System - Room-based lighting control systems are characterized by their affordability and simple commissioning process; however, they often lack the automated scheduling functionality that more expensive enterprise-level solutions provide. We’ll discuss how ARISTA’s unique system design allows users to create advanced 365-day schedules throughout an entire building without a gateway or smart hub.


• Keeping (Real) Time – Every ARISTA room controller features an integrated real-time clock (RTC) chip for timing accuracy. This approach allows users to combine time scheduling, occupancy sensing, and light sensing to deliver maximum energy efficiency and occupant comfort. By minimizing the hardware requirements for luminaire scheduling, ARISTA makes it possible to implement timeclock-driven lighting events in any commercial installation, regardless of scale or budget.


• Cost-Effective Design – Typical commercial lighting applications are based on luminaires working in groups or zones, not individually. This conflicts with the core design of popular luminaire level lighting controls (LLLCs), which have an integrated controller and sensor module in every fixture. While there are certainly some advantages to having this level of granular control in a networked lighting system, we’ll demonstrate how these benefits are often not worth the additional costs and complexities.


• Ubiquitous Bluetooth® Technology - With an estimated 5.2 billion Bluetooth® platform and device shipments expected in 2022 alone, ARISTA customers benefit from economies of scale starting at the chip level, from both a supply chain availability perspective and a cost perspective. The widespread use of Bluetooth® technology in mobile devices also offers distinct advantages, from initial commissioning through daily use.


• Energy Code Compliance - With few exceptions, new non-residential buildings in the U.S. and existing buildings upgrading 20% or more of their lighting are required to meet certain energy code requirements. In tandem with migration to high-efficiency LED luminaires, ARISTA provides building owners multiple tunable parameters and properties to help align to current code standards as well as “future-proof” buildings against more rigorous environmental requirements in the coming years.

To learn more about how ARISTA differentiates itself as the leading choice for commercial lighting control projects, view our full white paper, The Advantages of a Room-Based Bluetooth Mesh Lighting Control System.