The primary legacy source for general lighting in most school spaces is fluorescent. These can be replaced by LED products for 20 to 60 percent energy savings, greater longevity, controllability, and improved quality of light. A lighting upgrade is the ideal time to install advanced lighting controls to enhance energy savings and flexibility in light levels and color.

In the world of building projects, the Control Intent Narrative (CIN) and Sequence of Operations (SOO) have long been essential and elusive. They define how a lighting control system will function, but too often they arrive late in the process (or not at all), are inconsistent from one project to the next, and are misaligned with energy codes or industry standards. The Lighting Controls Academy set out to change this dynamic with a new resource: Design Express.

In this guest post by Current’s Scott Ziegenfus, he talks about the lighting trends that faded and the ones still going strong.

In this episode of The Lighting Controls Podcast sponsored by MaxLite, hosts C. Webster Marsh and Ron Kuzmar interview Gary Meshberg, Chair of the Lighting Controls Academy, and Legrand’s Harold Jepsen, Vice Chair of the NEMA Lighting Controls Technical Section about the evolving world of lighting controls and a groundbreaking new Control Intent Narrative/Sequence of Operations Tool offered by the Lighting Controls Academy.

Commercial building energy codes regulate the design of nonresidential buildings to minimize energy consumption. While the majority of U.S. states adopt model codes and standards, the State of California developed its own code: Title 24, Part 6 of the state’s Building Standards Code. The latest version was released in 2025 and will take effect January 1, 2026.

“The future of commercial lighting is wireless,” writes Lutron’s Chris Udall. “As control systems evolve, smart wireless solutions are redefining what’s possible.”

On August 28, 2025, from 2-3PM ET, CONSULTING-SPECIFYING ENGINEER will host a webinar, “Lighting and Lighting Controls: Principles and Practices,” sponsored by Lutron Electronics.

As the market for replacing traditional light sources with LED becomes more challenging, a new market is developing around upgrade of early-generation LED installations. This presents an opportunity to achieve greater energy savings, enhance lighting quality, and integrate advanced lighting controls. Supported by a small number of new commercial lighting rebates that are likely to expand in availability, this trend appears certain to grow.

If you are new to the world of networked lighting controls (NLCs), how do you figure out which solution may be the best for your project among the vast number of control solutions available? There are certain things you can think about to help narrow your search for a system that will meet your needs.

In February 2025, the DesignLights Consortium (DLC) released a new resource to facilitate integration between networked lighting controls (NLC) and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. The NLC-HVAC Integration Toolkit includes tools and guidance applicable to new and existing construction projects. The toolkit’s goal is to support maximized energy savings with integration by ensuring clear project team communication.

Networked lighting control systems play a crucial role in optimizing lighting energy use, enhancing occupant comfort, and interacting with building automation systems (BAS). However, simply installing a lighting control system does not guarantee it will function as intended. This is where a startup comes into play.

In this special 100th episode of The Lighting Controls Podcast produced by NAILD and the Lighting Controls Association and sponsored by MaxLite, hosts C. Webster Marsh and Ron Kuzmar interview Alexa Burr, Vice President of Strategic Growth & Market Development at NEMA and Craig DiLouie, Education Director for the Lighting Controls Association about Education Express being incorporated into NEMA Academy.

For 25 years, the Lighting Controls Association, a council of NEMA, has educated the building industry about lighting control technology and application, notably through its Education Express courses. We are proud to announce that starting May 1, 2025, the Education Express curriculum will be incorporated into a new learning management system, NEMA Academy.

In this episode of the Lighting Controls Podcast produced by NAILD and the Lighting Controls Association, hosts Ron Kuszmar and C. Webster Marsh talk to Bryan Lussier, MFA, LC, CLCP, Lead Controls Specialist in Specification Sales for Apex Lighting Solutions, about factors to consider for lighting design firms interested in developing their own lighting controls teams.

Big news! The Lighting Controls Association’s Education Express is moving to NEMA’s new learning platform: NEMA Academy. Here’s what it means for you.

The DesignLights Consortium (DLC) has released an innovative resource designed to boost energy savings in the commercial building sector by encouraging the integration of networked lighting controls (NLC) with heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Research shows that adding NLCs to commercial lighting upgrades can cut a project’s new lighting load in half. Taking [...]

The Lighting Controls Association has published a new offering in its popular Education Express system, EE203: Lighting and Commercial Building Energy Codes, Part 6: 2024 IECC.

In this episode of the Lighting Controls Podcast produced by NAILD and the Lighting Controls Association, hosts Ron Kuszmar and C. Webster Marsh talk to Parker Allen, manager of Edison Report and content editor for designing Lighting.

The commercial lighting rebate outlook is strong for 2025, with rebates widely available and covering all popular categories of LED lighting and lighting controls. As LED adoption enters what may be the late majority phase, rebate programs are under pressure to deliver energy savings in a more challenging market, resulting in bonus programs and the first signs of stronger promotion of lighting controls.

With the growing strain on the electric utilities driven by electric vehicle charging, electrification of heating, and energy-intensive technologies like AI and cryptocurrency mining, managing energy efficiently has never been more critical. Automated Demand Response (ADR) paired with advanced lighting controls offers a proactive solution to this challenge. By leveraging lighting control devices to reduce lighting at certain times, organizations can facilitate dynamic adjustments to energy consumption, helping to ensure utility grid stability while optimizing building performance.

Whether you use traditional lighting control devices or newer systems such as networked lighting controls (NLCs), you have to communicate and document how you want those devices or systems to behave. This documentation should include a Control Intent Narrative and Sequence of Operations.

While major construction indicators ended the year as a mixed bag of caution and optimism, the AIA Construction Consensus Forecast Panel forecasted that nonresidential construction spending will slow to 2.2% growth in 2025 and 2.6% in 2026.

Saving energy while reducing skyglow, light trespass, and glare, lighting controls have emerged as a critical component of responsible outdoor lighting. In this article, we’ll make the case.

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) recently announced the publication of a ANSI/NEMA c137.10, a standard that NEMA says will support more resilient and connected infrastructure and cities.

The DALI Alliance (DALI), the TALQ Consortium (TALQ), and the Zhaga Consortium (Zhaga)–each focused on defining international lighting standards to ease investment decisions for public and private entities–recently announced the signing of a liaison agreement to collaborate on unifying data streams for smart street lighting systems.

In August 2024, the International Code Council published the 2024 version of the IECC, which has been updated every three years since 2000. As with previous iterations of the IECC, this new version reduces lighting power allowances, expands mandatory controls requirements, and issues clarifications.

In a recent article by Michael Jouaneh, Manager of Sustainability and Energy Standards for Lutron Electronics, he lays out the current state of adoption of commercial building energy codes and how they relate to lighting controls, with some interesting projections for the future.

As lighting control becomes more robust and easier to apply, today’s electrical distributor has extraordinary choice in servicing new construction projects and enhancing lighting upgrades. Manufacturers point to top trends including greater networked controls interoperability, systems integration, powerful digital LED drivers, wireless control, and growing application of control as a tool to enhance the occupant experience.

Based on EE105: Lighting Control System Design, a new course in the Lighting Controls Association’s Education Express program, this article provides detailed information about designing an effective lighting control solution.

In Part 1 of this Lighting Controls System Design series, we learned about key documentation including the Content Intent Narrative (CIN), Sequence of Operations (SOO), and Owner Project Requirements (OPR). The next step in design development is to turn these requirements and conceptual design into a realized design

In Part 3 of this series on how to design a lighting control system, we will discuss installation and post-occupancy. You will learn about bidding, responding to questions from installers, reviewing submittals and defending your design, following-through with the installation of the equipment, functional testing, training essential staff, and ultimately ensuring the owner is satisfied.

In this episode of the Lighting Controls Podcast produced by NAILD and the Lighting Controls Association, hosts Ron Kuszmar and C. Webster Marsh talk to Chris O’Shea, the Head of Marketing and Business Development at Control Force, a new company specializing in startup services, fine-tuning systems, and ensuring long-term maintenance of lighting control systems.

The Lighting Controls Association has published a comprehensive update to its popular Education Express course EE105: Lighting Control System Design.

As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced $90 million in competitive awards to help states, cities, Tribal Nations, and their partners implement updated energy codes for residential and commercial buildings.

As LED lighting adoption increases, organizations focused on saving energy are looking more and more to lighting controls as the next frontier for maximizing energy savings and decarbonization. Selecting Lighting Control Systems, a publication by PNNL for the DOE, sheds light on the process of designing solutions that both align with project objectives and are clearly documented. PNNL developed this publication in response to research finding that success with lighting controls can maximized by adhering to industry best practices. The result is a straightforward 20-page guide, with additional resources listed ranging from IES lighting practices ANSI/IES-LP-6 and ANSI/IES-LP-16 to the Lighting Controls Association.

In an article recently published by LD+A, Mark Duffy, chair of the Zhaga Consortium General Assembly, which develops specifications for luminaire interfaces and interoperable components, describes the transformative potential of the Zhaga-D4i partnership for smart outdoor lighting.

In this article, Gary Meshberg, Market Development Specialist, Building Control Systems for Legrand North America and Chair of the Lighting Controls Association, describes the growing opportunity for integration between lighting control and other building systems, notably the BAS.

This year, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) 2024 Integrated Lighting Campaign (ILC) recognized two organizations for exhibiting exemplary support for market adoption of integrated lighting upgrade solutions that generate significant energy savings and create more comfortable, productive, and environmentally responsible spaces. Along with 16 organizations recognized for projects, the LCA was recognized on August 16, 2024 at the IES annual conference.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) 2024 Integrated Lighting Campaign (ILC) recognized 16 organizations for exemplary commitment to energy efficiency and environmental responsibility in their buildings and outdoor spaces, highlighting projects that exemplify showcase effective lighting upgrades involving systems integration.