BUILDING SOLUTIONS
LIGHTING SYSTEMS AND LIGHTING CONTROLS By Kate St. Laurent, LC, Associate IALD, CannonDesign, Boston
Five considerations for lighting control systems Demystify lighting controls by asking the right questions
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ny designer or engineer involved in commercial buildings will tell you there are numerous factors at play when designing and specifying a lighting system. In addition to a project’s aesthetic goals, the designer must comply with applicable local, state and national codes and must consider sustainability, user-friendliness, ease of use, maintainability, ongoing functionality of the system and, of course, the project’s budget and schedule. With so many often-competing considerations, it is important to know at the onset of a project what questions to ask so the lighting system specified and ultimately installed meets the key • Recognize the different lighting drivers of the project. Below are five control systems. key considerations to set you up for • Know how to talk to clients success in designing a lighting conabout lighting controls. trol system for your project.
Learning
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OBJECTIVES
• Understand how to document lighting controls for ease of installation.
1. Know the code
A solid design always starts with a code review. It’s important to familiarize yourself with the applicable energy codes; the U.S. Department of Energy website is a great place to start. Take the time to understand the requirements at the national (e.g., ASHRAE Standard 90.1: Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings or International Energy Conservation Code) and state level (e.g., California Title 24), then check any local municipality requirements, as they could be more stringent than state or nati onal codes, particularly when it comes to light pollution (exterior/site lighting) and energy-saving measures. Also, it is important to think about code with relation to the design period for the project. Is a new code going to be adopted within the year that would impact your design? Most jurisdictions require automatic shut-offs at a minimum so lights can be turned off when a space isn’t occupied, for example. Many jurisdictions also require daylight responsive controls to allow lights to be turned off, often automatically, when ample sunlight is available. Be prepared to communicate to your clients that the days of specifying simple toggle switches are already gone.
2. Talk with clients
Figure 1: The health care building approach is shown from the Northwest, showing stacked lobby and waiting rooms perfect for daylighting. Courtesy: Anton Grassi, CannonDesign
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consulting-specifying engineer
Most clients are comfortable enough with LED technology that it is not as hard a sell as it was even five years ago. In addition to the significant energy savings, today’s LED luminaires cost virtually the same — in many cases less — than similar products using legacy lamp technologies. LED luminaires are also typically more readily stocked and available and their native dimming allows them to integrate seamlessly with energy codes required lighting controls like daylight harvesting. Lighting controls, however, are a bit of a different story. Most clients can tell you a horror story or two about having to deal with a lighting control system that was overly complicated or didn’t give www.csemag.com
