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.

It’s an LED world now; traditional sources are just living in it. The next frontier of energy savings lies in bringing the lighting controls revolution to mainstream adoption in existing buildings via best practices.

Penumbra Controls recently announced the launch of The Lighting Controls Forum, a resource dedicated to advancing the success of lighting control systems.

This article by David Shiller at LightNOW digs into the Light Solutions Application Guide from Autani-LiteTrace and provides a quick overview of the company’s system’s approach and capabilities.

In the latest episode of the Lighting Controls Podcast, host Ron Kuszmar and C. Webster Marsh had the pleasure of hosting Margaret Wong and Stephen Zhou from mwConnect, a company renowned for its innovative Bluetooth Mesh technology. Celebrating its 40th anniversary, mwConnect, formerly known as McWong, has evolved from its humble beginnings manufacturing ballasts to becoming a leader in the smart lighting industry.

Craig DiLouie, LC, CLCP recently had the pleasure of interviewing Brendon Van Campen, Senior Sales Director, Lutron Electronics, for an article about lighting control trends for an upcoming article to be published in tED Magazine, the official publication of the NAED. Here’s the transcript.

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has published a concise and informative guide to help designers and project managers select the most cost-effective and energy-efficient lighting and control systems, including lessons learned from evaluations conducted in federal buildings.

Craig DiLouie, LC, CLCP recently had the pleasure of interviewing Stephen Zhou, Executive Vice President, mwConnect, for an upcoming article about lighting control trends for tED Magazine, the official publication of the NAED. Here’s the transcript.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced a National Definition of a Zero Emissions Building to advance public and private sector efforts to decarbonize the buildings sector, which is responsible for more than one-third of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

Craig DiLouie, LC, CLCP recently had the pleasure of interviewing Trevor Palmer, President, Acuity Brands Lighting and Controls, about indoor lighting trends for an upcoming article in tED Magazine, the official publication of the NAED. Here’s the transcript.

Penumbra Controls recently announced upcoming lighting controls classes offered online and hosted by Southern California Edison.

Hosted by Steve Roe, Vice President of Controls at Acuity Brands, Roe with Controls is a monthly series of videos in which Steve discusses a new topic that impacts the lighting and lighting controls industry and then shares insights and thoughts based on his experience.