Guest post by Steve Mesh, LC Networked lighting control systems are all the rage these days. Rightfully so, given their enormous capability to control luminaires, energy use – and potentially much more. But what are the major elements that define a networked lighting control system? Understanding that will help the specifier to decide which system [...]

The 2017 DOE Connected Lighting Systems Workshop was held June 7–8, 2017, in Santa Clara, CA. Now you can download the presentations from the DOE SSL website and discover what the speakers had to say about key issues in connected lighting and what actions are needed to move it forward. Click here to get the [...]

A good lighting design includes a good controls design. Lighting controls play a critical role in lighting systems, enabling users manually or automatically to: • turn the lights ON and OFF using a switch; and/or • adjust light output up and down using a dimmer. This basic functionality can be used to generate these benefits [...]

Guest post by Kevin Willmorth, Lumenique In small- and medium-scale lighting application, wired controls remain the foundation for robust controls system architectures. However, the growth of wireless controls is expanding rapidly, and for good reason. The advantages of wireless controls include the ability to move controls and loads and re-assign control-to-load connections without involvement of [...]

When evaluating an existing lighting system, the owner can do nothing, something or everything. Doing nothing abandons operating cost savings. Doing something entails replacing lamps and installing some automatic controls. Doing everything involves installing a new lighting and control system. As many owners opt for the “something” option, demand for LED replacement lamps continues to [...]

Below is a transcript of an interview Craig DiLouie, LC, CLCP conducted with Gary Trott, Vice President, Marketing, Intelligent Lighting, Cree, Inc. for an article developed for tED Magazine. The topic: luminaire-integrated lighting controls. DiLouie: What types of luminaire-integrated controls are available for LED lighting? Trott: As smart technology continues to expand into our workspaces, [...]

In 2015, the International Code Council published a new version of its International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). This model energy code provides states and jurisdictions code-ready language to adopt in whole or in part. It has been updated every three years since 2000. Today, a majority of states base their commercial building energy codes on [...]

In an article recently published by Oracle’s Profit, Current by GE CTO David Bartlett saves LED lighting not only saves energy but also presents new capabilities due to it being a digital platform. He compares it to a smart phone, which bundles multiple functions into a single device. “It’s to the point where I don’t [...]

Craig DiLouie LC, CLCP recently interviewed Rohit Udavant, Matt Petti, Joe Bokelman, Mike Lunn, Soroush Amidi and Gaurav Aggarwal, product managers at Eaton Corporation, about luminaire-integrated lighting controls. These interviews were used to develop an article on the topic for tED Magazine. DiLouie: What types of luminaire-integrated controls are available for LED lighting? Rohit Udavant: [...]

Roy Harvey, LC of OSRAM SYLVANIA Inc., SSL Electronics & Infrastructure Standards & Regulatory Affairs Vice-chair of ASC C137 and Head of C137.1 Ad Hoc Group, recently contributed a blog post to UL.com describing the C137 standard. This standard covers a 0-10V analog interface between dimmable LED drivers, fluorescent ballasts and dimming controls. Click here [...]

The Continental Automated Buildings Association (CABA) has completed its “Intelligent Buildings and the Impact of the Internet of Things” research project, conducted by IHS Markit. Intelligent Buildings Council, a core working council of CABA, commissioned the landmark research project to examine the impact of IoT related to intelligent buildings. The research report provides actionable data [...]

In a feature article recently published in ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR, Craig DiLouie, LC, CLCP describes the basics of outdoor lighting control, energy code requirements and advanced options such as wireless networks, which can generate unprecedented opportunities for control and information. Check it out here.

A team of faculty and graduate students from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Center for Lighting Enabled Systems & Applications (LESA) and Boston University was awarded a U.S. patent titled “Sensory Lighting System and Method for Characterizing an Illumination Space.” The patent describes how the LED lighting system in a space can detect occupants’ presence, location, [...]

Guest post by Steve Mesh, LC Because of recent trends in the lighting industry, it is now possible to “dial in” a desired color temperature in certain light fixtures at specific times of the day or night. One of the main trends making this possible is the mixture of different color LEDs in architectural fixtures. [...]

By Craig DiLouie, LC, CLCP Many utilities offer incentive programs to customers to get them to use less energy. This is based on the premise that it is often cheaper to pay customers to use less energy than to build new generating capacity to satisfy future power demand. The simplest and most popular type of [...]

Craig DiLouie, LC, CLCP recently had the opportunity to interview Manuel Oomen, Senior Director of Product Marketing, Philips Lighting, on the topic of luminaire-integrated lighting controls. DiLouie: What types of luminaire-integrated controls are available for LED lighting? Oomen: For indoor lighting, integrated controls include presence detectors, (day)light sensors and receivers. For outdoor lighting presence detectors [...]

Guest post by Kevin Willmorth. Superficially, dimming seems to be a simple operation. Turn a knob, slide a bar, or touch a screen to change light levels – done and done. This simplistic form of dimming was once applicable to resistance loads (incandescent lamps) using rheostat controls. The combination creates a naturally feeling dimming profile, [...]

The U.S. Department of Energy recently posted the presentations from the 2016 DOE SSL Technology Development Workshop, held November 16–17 in Denver. You can download them here. The controls-related presentations included: Connected Lighting: What Is It, What Makes It Different, and Where Is It Going? Moderator: Michael Poplawski, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Matt Petti, Eaton [...]

U.S. real GDP slowed to 1.6% in 2016, the lowest growth rate since 2011. However, the outlook for construction spending in 2017 continues to be positive for all market sectors. The AIA’s semi-annual Consensus Construction Forecast, a survey of the nation’s leading construction forecasters, is projecting nearly 6% growth in nonresidential construction spending in 2017, [...]

In the fall of 2016, the Lighting Controls Association invited subscribers of lightingCONTROL, its monthly newsletter, to participate in a survey. The goal of the survey was to determine satisfaction with LCA services. LCA filtered the responses to separate manufacturers, manufacturer representatives and “other” (press, academic, etc.) respondents, which were regarded separately. The remainder included [...]

Craig DiLouie, LC, CLCP recently had the opportunity to interview James Benson, GM Global Marketing – Current, powered by GE, Intelligent Cities for an article about smart cities for Electrical Contractor Magazine. DiLouie: What is the concept of the smart city? What are the basic capabilities and benefits? Benson: A smart city is a place [...]

The LIGHTFAIR International (LFI) 2017 conference will offer 77 courses totaling more than 190 education hours at Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania Convention Center May 7-11, 2017. Highlighting the conference are two leading-edge forums that will explore some of the newest advancements in the industry: IoT & Smart Lighting Forum and Light & Health Forum. Each all-day forum [...]

The ANSI/ASHRAE/IES 90.1 energy standard provides a model energy code to jurisdictions interested in regulating the energy-efficient design of commercial buildings. The International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) recognizes 90.1 as an alternative compliance standard. ASHRAE recently published the 2016 version, which supersedes the 2013 version. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recognizes the 2013 version [...]

In 2016, ENERGY STAR hosted a series of webinars on important lighting and control topics including flicker, evaluating color quality, connected lighting and dimmable LED lamps. You can also sign up for the last 2016 webinar, which will be held December 29, 2016 from 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET. This webinar will cover the [...]

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) recently published a white paper that discusses new requirements that help reduce energy consumption in commercial buildings. NEMA WD ARCP 1-2016 Automatic Receptacle Control to Meet ASHRAE 90.1-2010 and California (CA) Title 24 explains the controlled receptacle requirement now appearing within non-residential energy codes, as well as a summary [...]

Commercial building energy codes contain detailed mandatory lighting control requirements related to buildings such as K-12 schools. The high-performance school design movement extends these requirements by demanding additional flexibility to support the contemporary learning experience in today’s classroom. This application guide by the Lighting Controls Association describes various control strategies that can be applied to [...]

According to new research by Lutron Electronics, lighting for video conferencing (VTC) applications must accommodate the visual requirements of the people and the camera, and provide visibility of any display materials, especially to remote participants. Achieving the proper lighting balance requires the right combination of fixtures and the right combination of control strategies. While linear [...]

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has published NEMA WD 7-2011 (R2016) Occupancy Motion Sensors Standard, which promotes uniformity in the use and application of occupancy motion sensors used in lighting control systems, HVAC, and other devices. This standard explains field of view and coverage characteristics relevant to vacancy and occupancy sensors using passive infrared, [...]

Craig DiLouie, LC, CLCP recently had the opportunity to interview Yan Rodriguez, VP, Product & Technology, Acuity Brands Lighting for an article about LED flicker for Electrical Contractor Magazine. DiLouie: In your opinion, how big a problem is LED product flicker in the lighting industry as of 2016? What types of products (lamps versus luminaires, [...]

The interNational Association of Lighting Management Companies (NALMCO) has launched the Certified Lighting Controls Professional (CLCP) designation. With no prerequisites, the CLCP is open to all applicants. Intended to demonstrate a high degree of general knowledge in lighting controls, the CLCP is based on the Lighting Controls Association’s Education Express online education system. This high-quality [...]

This article published in TechCrunch identifies intelligent lighting as a platform for developing Internet of Things strategies in buildings. “The LED revolution is over. To no one’s surprise, LEDs have won. Solid-state lighting is changing how we light the world, successfully displacing traditional illumination sources across every part of the global lighting market. Over the [...]

Traditionally, outdoor lighting was automatically turned ON and OFF at the circuit level by an astronomical time switch or photosensor. Energy codes are now promoting power reduction during dusk-to-dawn lighting operation. Coupled with advances in wireless communication and intelligent control, the result is dramatic changes in how outdoor lighting is controlled. New construction Twenty-four states [...]

Strategies Unlimited recently published its annual market research report, Global Luminaires: Lighting Analysis and Forecast 2016. For 2015, the global luminaire market was assessed at US $62.9 billion with anticipated revenue growth of 2% from 2015 to 2022. The seemingly stagnant growth is due to all other technologies except for LED luminaires declining in demand [...]

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has published NEMA LSD 23-2016 Recommended Practice—Lamp Seasoning for Fluorescent Dimming Systems. This paper provides a recommended practice to season lamps for fluorescent dimming systems. This paper is an update to NEMA LSD 23-2010, developed by the NEMA Lighting Systems Division. NEMA LSD 23-2016 may be downloaded at no [...]

Vehicles are expected to play a big part in the Internet of Things. By 2020, 250 million connected vehicles will be on the road, creating new services and driving capabilities, according to Gartner, Inc. Infotainment is high in demand, though other capabilities are enabled, including crash warning, traffic violation warning and relaying weather, traffic and [...]

About two-thirds (64%) of the United States is covered by prescriptive lighting rebates, according to BriteSwitch, a rebate fulfillment company. These rebates can significantly reduce the installed cost of new lighting in existing buildings and improve payback by 20-25%, which would reduce a two-year payback to about 1.5 years. Rebates became popular in the 1990s [...]

The Northwest Lighting Network recently published an article about the potential of luminaire-integrated lighting controls. From the article: While traditional lighting control strategies can yield considerable benefits, Luminaire Level Lighting Controls (LLLC) show promise of both easier installation and commissioning and deeper energy savings beyond other lighting controls. And: The Design Lights Consortium will publish [...]

The Lighting Controls Association is proud to offer an advance look at a selection of new products that will be displayed by members at LIGHTFAIR International April 26-28 in San Diego. While some can be seen here, many more await at member booths, so be sure to visit! ACUITY BRANDS WSX D 0 – 10V [...]

GDP ended 2015 strongly with an annual estimated growth rate of 2.4%. The overall U.S. economy continues to improve. Positive economic conditions continue to support growth in demand for nonresidential construction. The nonresidential construction sector enjoyed double-digit growth in 2015, and strong momentum is expected to continue in 2016. The AIA’s semi-annual Consensus Construction Forecast, [...]