As adoption of dimmable lighting grows, task tuning, a lighting control strategy, is becoming increasingly viable as a way to save energy while increasing occupant comfort. Also called “institutional tuning” and “high-end trim,” task tuning involves reducing lighting in a space based on IES-recommended maintained task light level requirements or user preference for individual spaces [...]

Lighting controls are now required by energy codes in the large majority of new commercial buildings. As demand for controls continues to increase, so does demand for commissioning as a quality assurance process. This process helps ensure that installed controls satisfy both the design intent and owner requirements by minimizing error across the construction process. [...]

Republication of Postings from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solid-State Lighting Program by Jim Brodrick, SSL Program Manager, U.S. Department of Energy For years now, people have been talking about the “LED revolution” that’s being fomented by the disruptive technology that is solid-state lighting. But at DOE’s inaugural Connected Lighting Systems Meeting, held last [...]

Recently published in EC&M Magazine: According to research from the ABB Group, the following segments made up the home automation market last year in North America. Lighting, a leading product category for the electrical industry, pulled in 23% of that total. This trend reiterates the importance of lighting and control opportunities in this growing automation [...]

BUILDING OPERATING MANAGEMENT Magazine recently published an article about recommissioning lighting control systems. I was happy to be interviewed and contribute to the article. Research suggests retroactive commissioning can generate real energy savings and maximize the performance and value of installed equipment. Check it out here.

Republication of Postings from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solid-State Lighting Program by Jim Brodrick, SSL Program Manager, U.S. Department of Energy As we mentioned in these Postings a few weeks ago, the biggest takeaway from this year’s LIGHTFAIR® International was the prevalence of connected products, and the fact that sensors and controls seemed [...]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has begun releasing results from the 2012 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS). The CBECS is an estimated profile of the U.S. commercial building stock based on an interviewed sampling. Information includes number of buildings, floorspace, age, building type, region, energy consumption, end-use equipment and more. DOE defines a [...]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued new energy standards for general-service fluorescent lamps that are expected to reduce availability of standard 4-ft. linear and 2-ft. U-bend 32W T8 lamps as well as some reduced-wattage T8 lamps. The rules go into effect January 26, 2018. After that date, distributors may continue to sell their [...]

Agostino Renna, President & CEO of GE Lighting for Europe, The Middle East and Africa, recently authored an interesting series of blog posts, “More Than Light,” in which he describes the potential for intelligent cities and the role of lighting in these schemes. He notes: “For me, the most important thing to consider when discussing [...]

According to BriteSwitch, for the fifth year in a row, lighting control rebates continue to remain at fairly high, stable levels compared to their costs. For example, current average rebates now available include: * $32.68 for remote-mounted occupancy sensors * $30.30 for fixture-mounted occupancy sensors BriteSwitch reports: “The relatively high rebate amounts (versus the cost), [...]

The overall economy continues to improve, with all major economic indicators signaling a trajectory of continuing growth. GDP ended 2014 very strongly, with forecasts calling for 3% growth in 2015. Business confidence reached a level of 61, signaling average belief in expansionary business conditions. Economic conditions are supporting growth in demand for construction activity, particularly [...]

Effective July 1, 2014, the California Energy Commission adopted changes to the California building Efficiency Standards (Title 24, Parts 1 and 6) that require lighting controls and devices to be certified as properly installed and operational, prior to issuance of occupancy permits. All acceptance test technicians must be employed by an acceptance test employer that [...]

Daintree Networks® recently announced that is has collaborated with Peerless Research Group (PRG) on behalf of Modern Materials Handling and surveyed hundreds of warehouse professionals to better understand how enterprises are embracing and adopting the Internet of Things (IoT). The results showed that while IoT adoption is clearly still in its early stages, over 10 [...]

In 2014, the International Code Council published the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), a model residential and commercial building energy code. ICC states: “This code shall regulate the design and construction of buildings for the use and conservation of energy over the life of each building.” The IECC is not a code in itself [...]

Given current adoption of commercial building energy codes, conventional wisdom indicates that LED lighting is frequently specified with automatic lighting controls. However, there is little public data available concerning market penetration of LED lighting, how often it is specified as controllable and with lighting controls, owner preferences, and how satisfied specifiers and installers are with [...]

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) recently updated LSD 64-2014 Lighting Controls Terminology. This white paper, which was originally published in 2012, was updated to clarify terminology related to daylight responsive controls. NEMA LSD 64 defines terminology related to controls for lighting systems for non-residential and residential applications. The goal of LSD 64 is for [...]

Republication of Postings from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solid-State Lighting Program by Jim Brodrick, SSL Program Manager, U.S. Department of Energy You may recall that last year, DOE’s GATEWAY program released a report entitled Dimming LEDs with Phase-Cut Dimmers: The Specifier’s Process for Maximizing Success, which was created in response to issues raised [...]

Update: On September 26, 2014, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) named the ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2013 energy standard as the new national energy reference standard, superseding the 2010 version in effect until then. Within two years, all states in the United States must put into effect a commercial building energy code at least as stringent as [...]

Outdoor lighting controls is undergoing a mini-revolution that offers new design and selling opportunities while challenging electrical professionals to stay on top of technological change. Traditionally, outdoor lighting control was relatively simple. A typical scheme featured a controller providing automatic ON/OFF based on time of day (using an astronomical time switch) or daylight (photosensor). The [...]

With efficacy and service life steadily increasing and costs declining by about 18 percent each year (Memoori, 2014), the LED revolution continues to develop at a rapid pace. LED’s inherent compatibility with digital control, aided by other trends, is setting the stage for the next LED revolution: smart lighting control. Many LED products are sold [...]

Lutron’s Dr. Pekka Hakkarainen recently wrote an article for LEDs MAGAZINE that makes the case that further LED adoption depends on advanced lighting controls. Check it out here.

Guest post by Brent Protzman, PhD, CEM, LEED GA, LC Brent Protzman is the Manager of Energy Information & Analytics at Lutron Electronics. Today, smart building technology is changing the way we think about lighting control and building integration. Manufacturers can increasingly deliver components that maximize energy-efficiency and integrate with other building systems to provide [...]

Light is comprised of wavelengths that the human eye interprets as colors. For an object to be perceived a certain color, that color must be present both in the light striking an object and the object reflecting the light towards the observer’s eye. Because of this, the choice of lamp for white-light general lighting can [...]

ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 202, Commissioning Process for Buildings and Systems, identifies the minimum acceptable commissioning process for buildings and systems as described in ASHRAE’s Guideline 0-2005, The Commissioning Process. Standard 202 is ASHRAE’s first standard focused on the commissioning process. The commissioning process as detailed in Standard 202 applies to all construction projects and systems and [...]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has published a new report, Dimming LEDs with Phase-Cut Dimmers: The Specifier’s Process for Maximizing Success. The report was created in response to issues raised about dimming by energy efficiency organizations and specifiers, and is based on experience from CALiPER testing and GATEWAY demonstrations. While progress has been made [...]

On October 18, 2013, all states were required by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to put in place a commercial building energy code at least as stringent as the 2010 version of the ASHRAE/IES 90.1 energy standard. Eight states are in compliance as of October 2013. States are expected to adopt 90.1-2010 in whole [...]

California has announced the 2013 version of its Title 24 energy code, which regulates energy-efficient design of buildings. The changes take effect in 2014 and are mandatory. The California Lighting Technology Center has published a guide to the major changes. Download it here.

A survey of two groups of professionals describing themselves as electrical contractors and energy consultants, conducted by the Lighting Controls Association from its lightingCONTROL newsletter database, suggests automatic lighting controls are becoming more popular in lighting retrofits. Respondents reported lighting controls were considered in over 50 percent and installed in over 30 percent of their [...]

The Illuminating Engineering Society’s TM-23-11 publication serves as a technical resource for lighting specifiers integrating control into their projects, providing detailed information about lighting control protocols. Get it here.

Navigant Research recently published a blog post about how the advent of LED lighting and lower-cost control technology is changing the lighting controls industry, causing three types of companies to compete for dominance. The article begins: “With the rise of LED lighting and inexpensive controls technologies, the market for networked lighting controls is expected to [...]

In a recent study, the Energy Center of Wisconsin monitored several daylighting systems in Minnesota and Wisconsin and analyzed the results of commissioning those systems. The researchers concluded: “Energy modeling, with its assumption of ideal control, appears to have the potential of being an accurate predictive tool for highly effective (>75%) control systems. However, the [...]

In September 2012, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory published, Responsive Lighting Solutions for the General Services Administration (GSA). The report provides insight into the viability of highly responsive lighting control systems. It reports the results of installing advanced lighting controls in five Federal buildings. The existing lighting in these buildings was upgraded. A number of [...]

Demand for electricity in the United States has gone up in all but four years since 1949. The Department of Energy predicts growth in capacity of 0.6% per year through the year 2040. Many states and utilities have long considered energy efficiency a resource for satisfying growing demand. According to a study by the American [...]

Despite a national recovery from the recession in 2009, construction activity in the United States continued to spiral downward in following years. Total construction spending declined to under $800 billion in 2011 from its peak of more than $1 trillion in 2008. In 2012, the market turned a corner and achieved a level of growth [...]

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 created the Energy-Efficient Commercial Buildings Tax Deduction (CBTD) to encourage owner investment in energy-efficient building systems. The CBTD establishes a special tax deduction rewarding investment in energy-efficient interior lighting, HVAC/hot water systems and building envelope, subject to a cap of up to $1.80/sq.ft. It’s an accelerated tax deduction, meaning [...]

In an ideal world, clients state clear project requirements. The design team unites around a concept. The design documents clearly express the design intent. The contractor installs and starts the system without errors. And users benefit from quality lighting and control. In reality, any number of things can go wrong. The client may have unclear [...]

The Lighting Controls Association has announced the results of a recent survey of regular site users. The purpose of the survey, which was distributed to 15,000 subscribers of the LCA newsletter lightingCONTROL, was to determine satisfaction with the LCA website as well as the popularity of potential features. Respondents totaled 241, or 1.6%. The first [...]

Lighting quality is a critical consideration in effective lighting design, and often should take priority over energy savings and the economies of cost. But what is lighting quality? It goes beyond energy and cost and light levels to include brightness, light distribution, color, aesthetics, daylight, ease of use for controls, and other issues. While many [...]

Lighting accounts for about a third of electrical energy consumption in commercial buildings. As advanced energy-saving lighting controls still have a minority penetration in the existing building stock, building owners have a major opportunity to reduce energy costs with lighting control. Adoption of advanced lighting controls faces the usual hurdles affecting all energy-efficient lighting, including [...]