Lighting Controls Systems may use a wide variety of lighting controls wiring to connect their systems throughout a project. How that wiring, which may use multiple conductors, connects from device to device is an important component to identify and specify on any project. A termination is the end of a conductor and it may facilitate proper communication between devices or help avoid connecting the wrong conductors to a device. Terminations will sometimes also have very specific landing points for its conductors known as “pinouts,” which maintain a consistent connection pattern for all conductors. This article discusses common terminations that a Lighting Controls Designer may come across.

In this engaging guest post, Steve Mesh describes the lessons learned from the “Living Lab,” an ambitious installation of networked lighting controls in an existing building.

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) published NEMA ESM1-1 2019 Electrical Submeter—General Requirements and NEMA ESM1-2 2019 Electrical Submeter—Active Energy Accuracy. NEMA ESM1-1 covers general metrological requirements (accuracy) and associated testing for electrical energy submeters detailing energy use. NEMA ESM1-2 covers metrological requirements and associated testing for AC meters rated at not more than 1,000 V that measure active energy used in electrical energy submetering applications.

Reducing initial cost by an estimated 20-25 percent, rebates remain a strong incentive for investing in energy-efficient lighting and controls. In 2020, significant rebate opportunities are widely available for LED lighting and controls, including growing availability of rebates for networked controls.

Lighting Controls Designers work with many different types of documents, some of which may be created by the designer, some by the manufacturer, and others by third parties. This paper will quickly describe each document, why it is used, and who is often responsible for creating the document. There are four design phases in which these documents are utilized…

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) issued a letter of support for the passage of new energy legislation being considered in the Senate this week, American Energy Innovation Act of 2020.

The U.S. economy grew by 2.2% in 2019 and is expected to slow to 2% in 2020, according to the most recent forecast released by the Federal Open Market Committee Meeting on December 11, 2019. The slowdown in 2019-20 is considered a byproduct of the trade war. A major contributor to the economy is construction, and the outlook for construction spending in 2020-21 is positive but lower than 2019. The AIA’s semi-annual Consensus Construction Forecast, a survey of the nation’s leading construction forecasters, is projecting 1.5% growth in nonresidential construction spending in 2020 and 1% in 2021.

“Over the past decade, I have taught many classes on networked lighting control systems (NLCs)… Over the years, I’ve seen some recurring themes in terms of questions asked by attendees, such as…”

Whether it be an office building with a smart Building Management System (BMS), a dynamic color changing bridge, or a lobby with an interactive multimedia experience, architectural lighting controls systems need integration. A lighting controls systems integrator provides a unique service for lighting controls by identifying and overseeing the devices necessary for the unique needs of the project’s design. Some projects don’t use a dedicated lighting controls integrator and some projects experience challenges without the aid of a dedicated integrator. For project success, a lighting controls designer should know when to onboard and specify an integrator.

The IES Illumination Awards provide a unique opportunity for public recognition of professionalism, ingenuity and originality in lighting design based upon the individual merit of each entry judged against specific criteria. If you have completed a project with a strong lighting design and/or lighting controls design, you can submit it in one of four program categories, including the Control Innovation Award sponsored by the Lighting Controls Association.

The Lighting Controls Association (LCA) now offers EE304: Lighting Control and the Internet of Things, as a new course in its popular Education Express program.

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) recently welcomed the Department of Energy (DOE) final Process Rule that modernizes its current appliance efficiency rulemaking process to conform to changes in the law, clarify ambiguities, and streamline the rulemaking process.

In a recent issue of LD+A, Gaurav Agarwal, Product Manager for Hubbell Control Solutions, talks about how the proliferation of intelligent lighting and the Internet of Things has expanded the capabilities of what lighting can do, it’s more essential now than ever to ask the client the right questions to determine the best overall solution.

In this blog post by Eaton, the company identifies and address four misconceptions about connected lighting.

In a recent issue of LD+A, consultant Rich Schuett talks about how the proliferation of intelligent lighting and the Internet of Things has broadened lighting’s value proposition, but also made targeting the right decision-maker more complex.

In this guest post by lighting designer C. Webster Marsh, he discusses alternatives to using DMX512 to control tunable-white lighting.

The North America smart lighting market reached a value of $2.4 Billion in 2018. Looking forward, the market is projected to reach a value of $7.4 Billion by 2024, registering a CAGR of 19.6% from 2019-2024.

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) today welcomed passage by the United States Senate in an 89-10 vote of legislation to implement the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Next month, the 2016 version of ANSI/ASHRAE/IES 90.1, Energy Standard for Buildings except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, takes effect as the national energy reference standard, based on a 2018 Department of Energy (DOE) ruling. By February 2020, all states must adopt a commercial building energy code at least as stringent as the standard, or justify why they cannot comply.

From 12-1 PM ET on January 16, 2020, the Illuminating Engineering Society will host a webinar on wireless lighting controls produced by the Lighting Controls Association.

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) praised the U.S. House of Representatives for passing legislation to implement the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in a bipartisan 385-41 vote on December 19.

DMX512-controlled tunable dynamic white luminaires are luminaires that use DMX512 controls to change their correlated color temperature (CCT) on demand, which provides a dramatic design tool to the modern lighting designer. These luminaires are different from dynamic color changing luminaires because instead of using colored LEDs, they use a mix of white LEDs such as warm white, neutral white, and cool white. When these hues are mixed at different intensities, the overall delivered CCT of the luminaire changes. It is very important to have a robust controls system specifically designed and programmed for the control of tunable dynamic white luminaires. Any compatible controller will control a DMX512 tunable white luminaire and can adjust from one hue to another, but that’s only half the story …

Last year, the Lighting Controls Association published the first version of a generic Troubleshooting Guide for Networked Lighting Control Systems. This guide is primarily meant to address issues that may arise with Networked Lighting Control (NLC) systems. There are plenty of things that differentiate one vendor’s NLC system from those made by other vendors. Different systems have different UIs (user interfaces), and a specific NLC system may or may not have exactly the same features or benefits as any other system. Having said that, enough similarities exist to have made the creation of this manufacturer-agnostic Troubleshooting Guide worthwhile.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) recently published ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2019, Energy Efficiency Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings. This edition includes more than 100 changes from the 2016 version, covering administrative and enforcement, commissioning, mechanical, and lighting. For lighting, the new version adjusts interior power allowances, updates several control requirements, and introduces a simplified compliance method for office, school, and retail buildings.

We’re still finding ways to take full advantage of daylight’s benefits. It’s a challenging issue, leaving daylight in an uneasy battle with electric light for brightening our spaces – ignored or underrated in lighting designs, and poorly controlled to boot. Fortunately, this is starting to change. Along with the growing awareness of the WELL, LEED, and BREEAM building standards — which incorporate a variety of recommendations for daylight exposure and control — and acceptance of building codes that support more use of daylight harvesting, there’s a greater incentive to embrace daylight as part of the overall lighting design of a space.

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) published ANSI C136.58-2019, Luminaire Four-Pin Extension Module and Receptacle—Physical and Electrical Interchangeability and Testing. This new Standard provides mechanical and electrical specifications for interfacing street and area lighting with controls and sensor accessories.

The Lighting Controls Association, a council of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), is pleased to announce that Charles Knuffke, Systems Vice President and Evangelist for Legrand’s Wattstopper product line, has been elected the organization’s Chair for the 2020-2021 term.

C. Webster Marsh, Designer with lighting design firm Horton Lees Brogden Lighting Design, provides the final installment on his series of articles about dimming and lighting control protocols. In this last installment, he teams up with HLB’s Adam Levine to tackle digital control protocols, covering when and how to specify it, and how to overcome some of the challenges.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recently published guides on how to design buildings that achieve net-zero energy consumption without compromising quality.
Building upon previous guides targeting deep energy savings, the first two new guides were developed in partnership with the American Institute of Architects, Illuminating Engineering Society, and U.S. Green Building Council, and target K-12 and small to medium office buildings.

On November 14, 2019, at 12 PM ET, Wattstopper, Legrand’s Charles Knuffke (vice chair and incoming chair of the Lighting Controls Association) will present a webinar hosted by the Illuminating Engineering Society, “Wireless Lighting: Security Basics (Definitions of Authentication, Encryption, and Certificates).”

Robert J. Garra Jr., PE of CannonDesign recently contributed an article to CONSULTING-SPECIFYING ENGINEER, in which he makes a case for the importance of emphasizing controls in a quality lighting design, while laying out principles for application.

B2B research firm Accountability Information Management, Inc. (AIM) recently published a comprehensive new report, Quality is Key to Being a Player in Lighting Control Specifications. Or is it?

By early 2020, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) is expected to release a new version of the BACnet building automation system protocol. BACnet Secure Connect, or BACnet/SC, brings this popular open industry standard into the Internet of Things (IoT) age by enabling the easy and secure transfer of large volumes of data.

Space utilization and indoor positioning are key non-energy benefits of networked lighting controls, writes Steve Mesh, adding that they can provide additional value in a project beyond simple energy savings.

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) recently published NEMA CPSP 3-2019 Cyber Hygiene Best Practices Part 2, a new white paper that identifies industry best practices and guidelines that electrical equipment and medical imaging manufacturers may consider when providing cybersecurity information to their customers.

In August 2019, the University of Oregon published a whitepaper, “The Impact of Lighting and Views in the Workplace of the Future.” The paper concludes that daylighted spaces with controlled lighting and views can improve occupant well-being, workplace productivity, and satisfaction by positively influencing various physiological and psychological processes. Lighting and views also impact property value and employee recruitment and retention, the researchers said.

“Delivering lighting controls is the work of the membership of the Lighting Controls Association. But who is responsible for commissioning them?” writes Thomas Paterson, Director of Lux Populi.

In this article, C. Webster Marsh, designer with Horton Lees Brogden, discusses the topic of interfaces between incompatible devices designed to different protocols, and how to get the best results.

Tunable-white LED lighting offers highly efficient general illumination combined with dimming and the ability to tune correlated color temperature (CCT) from warm- to cool-white. A strong potential application is classrooms, where teachers can set lighting/visual conditions to support classroom activities. In May 2019, the Department of Energy (DOE) published a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) report evaluating a trial installation of tunable-white lighting systems at three classrooms in an elementary school in Folsom, California.