Kevin Poyck President of Signify’s professional Genlyte Solutions, Color Kinetics and Entertainment Business Unit, Bridgewater, N.J.

Kurt Vogel Director of commercial Relight & WhiteOptics products for Acuity Brands, Atlanta.

Tina Halfpenny Executive director and CEO of the DesignLights Consortium, Medford, Mass.

Gary Meshberg Market development specialist, building control systems for Legrand North America, West Hartford, Conn., and chair of the Lighting Controls Association

Axel Pearson Energy-efficiency project manager at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Wash., and lead for the DOE’s Integrated Lighting Campaign

 

It’s an LED world now, and traditional lighting sources are just living in it. According to Department of Energy (DOE) estimates, LED adoption achieved parity with fluorescent in commercial buildings as early as 2020, with very high saturation rates in regions with higher energy costs.

For electrical contractors, this represents an opportunity and a challenge. The opportunity being to take advantage of the ongoing development of novel products and capabilities afforded by this light source. The challenge is to convert the rest of the market to LED and mine new opportunities from existing customers. Despite high LED saturation, from connected lighting, to building systems integration, smart cities, new luminaire designs and features, the party is far from over.

To learn more about how the lighting world is changing and how electrical contractors can prosper in it, I spoke with five movers and shakers to hear their perspectives.

The latest DOE National Lighting Inventory estimated that LED adoption in 2020 was already nearly at parity with fluorescent lamps in commercial buildings. Meanwhile, LED source development is approaching an economical ceiling for efficiency. As LED achieves increasing saturation, what should the electrical industry be looking for as the “next big thing” in lighting?

Poyck: The electrical industry should focus on the transition to connected lighting systems and how this technology can help cities and businesses realize greater efficiency and value. In general, a system like Signify’s Interact platform consists of lighting, sensor and networking hardware installed in the illuminated space; cloud-based software and services to support the lighting’s performance in line with the customer’s needs. By bringing these elements together, cities and businesses can have precise control over their lighting assets and energy use, as well as the ability to extract actionable insights to enhance the safety, productivity and well-being of people in the illuminated environment.

The electrical industry should also increasingly look to lighting as an enabler of next-generation digital services. Take Li-Fi systems, for instance—this technology makes use of light to transmit data and provide reliable, fast and secure two-way internet connectivity. To offer another example, our BrightSites solution can transform a city’s existing outdoor lighting infrastructure into a backbone for broadband connectivity, facilitating public Wi-Fi and improved citizen services.

The time is ripe to embrace these lighting innovations and unlock the extraordinary potential they have to offer for customers.

Vogel: When we say LED is at parity with fluorescent, that means we’re only halfway there! We still have a lot of work to do to get to 100% LED adoption. Additionally, if you take outdoor lighting and highbays out of the equation, I would argue the actual conversion rate inside of commercial and educational buildings is likely lower than parity.

That being said, one of the largest opportunities is with customers who converted their indoor fluorescent lighting a few years ago using cheap LED tubes, and they’re now fed up with the short and inconsistent lifespan, reduced output, etc. Most of those customers are very eager to look at better retrofit solutions like integrated doorframe kits that can give them the look and performance of a new fixture, greater energy savings and often higher rebates.

The integrated kits also provide the ability to embed good wireless controls solutions, which is another growing opportunity that’s only going to pick up speed. And as the adoption rate for wireless controls solutions continues to increase, you will see manufacturers introduce more software solutions, like Acuity’s Visual Installer mobile app, that make the lighting controls installation process faster and more efficient in the field.

Market transformation to LED lighting has succeeded to a level where many utility rebate programs are beginning to see diminishing energy savings. As rebate programs frequently evolve to address new technology and market changes, how do you see them responding to LED saturation moving forward so as to continue generating substantial energy savings?

Halfpenny: Despite the impressive impact LEDs have had on the North American commercial lighting market, we haven’t yet unlocked the full decarbonizing power of LED technology. That potential will be realized as energy-efficiency programs evolve from supporting standard LED installations to prioritizing incentives for luminaire-level lighting controls (LLLC). In addition, research shows the integration of lighting controls with HVAC systems can boost potential savings further, and energy-efficiency programs should revise rebates to reflect this, as well.

For electrical contractors, incentives for LLLC are particularly attractive. Benefits include increased revenue due to higher fixture prices, the ability to meet many code requirements without adding standalone sensors, reduced project time and the opportunity to gain expertise with an expanding technology.

LLLCs are also associated with fewer callbacks compared with standalone sensors. And when customers do want modifications, contractors can quickly support requests through central programming on mobile devices.

While simply replacing first-generation LEDs is still cost effective in some instances, it’s time for a paradigm change. 

Maintaining the status quo may provide short-term benefits, but will ultimately strand the long-term savings needed to meet energy savings and decarbonization goals.

As LED saturation in commercial buildings increases, many are looking to advanced lighting controls as the next step in the LED revolution. How important are lighting controls, what are the major trends and what should electrical contractors do to learn more?

Meshberg: When the primary form of lighting control—the dimmer switch—emerged decades ago, the general motivations centered around energy savings, prolonged lamp life and occupant comfort/tasks. While these still tend to lead the list of benefits, newer space-use priorities are emerging, such as safety and security, environmental impact and increased occupant comfort. Key trends include wired and wireless networked lighting controls, internet of things, building systems integration and lighting that supports human health.

Electrical contractors are encouraged to learn more by attending manufacturer seminars and industry events, receiving education from creditable organizations such as the Illuminating Engineering Society and the Lighting Controls Association, pursuing certification such as the Certified Lighting Controls Professional and the California Advanced Lighting Controls Training Program, tapping manufacturer resources, and staying up to date on new product solutions.

By recognizing exemplary projects, the DOE’s Integrated Lighting Campaign (ILC) aims to promote building systems integration as a major energy savings opportunity. What are these opportunities, and how do you see integration evolving in the future?

Pearson: Each year, the projects recognized in the DOE’s ILC astonish me with their energy savings, far beyond the savings from converting to LEDs alone. What’s particularly exciting is how integrating lighting with other building systems also results in useful nonlighting capabilities.

When an HVAC system can communicate with lighting, for example, it can leverage the data collected by lighting sensors to optimize its operation. One of this year’s ILC-recognized partners, Indian Community School in Franklin, Wis., demonstrated this, where using occupancy information from the lighting system can allow thermostats to relax temperature set points in vacant rooms, saving on cooling costs. But it’s not just financial—another ILC recognized partner, Remy Cointreau, integrated air quality sensors into the lighting system at their New York City headquarters, which ramp up ventilation in occupied spaces for increased safety and comfort.

In the future, I see lighting controls as the backbone of grid-interactive efficient buildings, helping them be smarter about the amount and timing of energy use and emit less carbon. Lighting systems already communicate with the grid through demand-response signals; integrated lighting passes that communication on to other building systems and instructs them to decrease energy use at certain times. Let’s check in again a year from now!