ALTA Lux Light Meter Configuration & Installation Guide

Overview

The ALTA® Wireless Lux Light Meter uses a highly sensitive photo-diode to detect and measure light intensity from 0–82,000 lux (luminescence/unit area) around the device. The sensor reports this data on a user-configurable time interval or Heartbeat. The current measurement is sent to the gateway on every Heartbeat, making the data available in iMonnit or another approved data service.

Settings to Configure

The settings below are specific to the ALTA Lux Light Meter.

  • Heartbeat Interval (Minutes)—The expected time between communication from the meter to the gateway while in the Normal State and the absence of any data-triggering events.
  • Aware State Heartbeat (Minutes)—The expected time between communication from the meter to the gateway while in the Aware State.
  • Assessments per Heartbeat—How many times between Heartbeats the meter checks its measurements against its thresholds to determine whether to enter the Aware State.
  • Below—Assessments below this value cause the meter to enter the Aware State.
  • Above—Assessments above this value cause the meter to enter the Aware State.
  • Aware State Buffer—Prevents the meter from bouncing between Standard Operation and Aware State when the readings are very close to a threshold.

For example, if you set a Maximum Threshold (Above) on a temperature sensor to 90° and a Hysteresis of 1°, then once the sensor takes an assessment of 90.0° and enters the Aware State, it will remain in the Aware State until the temperature readings drop to 89.0°. Similarly, at the Minimum Threshold (Below), the temperature will have to rise a degree above the threshold to return to Standard Operation.

  • Delta Light Report (lux)—Determines the value difference in lux from the last reading that will trigger the meter to report (not aware). For example, if this value is set to 300 lux and your previous reading was 500 lux, a value less than 200 lux or greater than 800 lux will trigger the meter to report. Setting this to 0 will make it do nothing.
  • Data Display—What values will be displayed: lux, Light State, or both.
  • Synchronize Off (Default)—The next report will occur one Heartbeat after the last report time. This allows the meter to self-optimize network traffic patterns and reduce congestion.
  • Synchronize On—Aligns the next report with UTC (Global) time, regardless of the last report time. This allows multiple meters to generate reports in a synchronized manner. Aware State Transitions will still report on a threshold breach, but the following report will return to the next aligned report interval.

Too many synchronized reports will increase network congestion. We recommend that no more than 10 devices per gateway are synchronized.

Example: The Heartbeat is configured to 60 minutes, and the device reports at 1:47 PM.

If Synchronization is Off, the subsequent reports are expected at 2:47 PM, then at 3:47 PM.

If Synchronization is On, the subsequent reports are expected at 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM.

Installation Steps

If this is your first time setting up your Monnit system, you must set up your iMonnit account and connect your ALTA Gateway to iMonnit before registering your meter. See this article for steps to start: Creating an iMonnit account.

Step 1

Remove the meter from the package. If installing an industrial meter, attach the antenna.

Step 2

Register the meter in iMonnit. Do not install the batteries until told to do so in iMonnit. Refer to this walk-through guide and configure the meter’s Settings and Scale information in iMonnit for your specific application or use case.

Step 3

Determine the meter’s installation location. We recommend placing the meter in the location and ensuring it reports to the gateway before final installation. See this article if you’re using an ALTA Site Survey Tool to perform a site survey to determine sensor installation location.

Step 4

After ensuring that the meter is communicating with the gateway, mount the meter using the supplied screws or double-sided tape.

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