A Look at DC Microgrids

Direct current (DC) is emerging as a competitive or complementary power distribution option at the grid, community, and building level. Among the advantages for building owners is potential efficiencies in operating DC-based LED lighting and controls as well as plug-and-play sensor and controls installation, including networking that can unlock Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

This article by LCA Education Director Craig DiLouie, LC, CLCP examines the current state of the technology and its potential, particularly in regards to LED lighting and controls.

MaxLite Joins the Lighting Controls Association

The Lighting Controls Association is pleased to welcome MaxLite as a new member.

MaxLite, a leading manufacturer of energy-efficient lighting solutions, has launched c-Max Lighting Controls, a patent pending design that makes it easy to add luminaire-level lighting controls to indoor and outdoor applications.

 

Lighting Controls Association Bolsters Education Express with Summary Sheets

The Lighting Controls Association’s Education Express is the lighting industry’s leading online platform for free, instant, 24/7 education about lighting controls. The LCA is pleased to announce that a majority of courses now feature downloadable one-page summary sheets students can download, print, and use as a quick reference.

Authored by Craig DiLouie, LC, CLCP, IES; Steve Mesh, LC; C. Webster Marsh; and Kevin Willmorth, PE, Education Express courses offer more than 50 hours of learning and education credit. Each course is registered with the AIA Continuing Education System (CES) for Learning Units (LU)/Health, Safety, Welfare (HSW) credits, and recognized by NCQLP for Lighting Education Units (LEUs). All courses are required reading to prepare for NALMCO’s Certified Lighting Controls Professional (CLCP) certification exam.

 

Lighting Controls Association Publishes New Networked Lighting Control Course

The Lighting Controls Association (LCA) has published EE302., Part 3: A Year with a Networked Lighting Control System, a new learning module in its popular Education Express online education program.

Authored by C. Webster Marsh of HLB Lighting Design, this learning module was designed to help building owners/managers and electrical industry consultants visualize networked lighting controls as tools that can be used to improve operations while also saving energy.

The learning module presents a fictional decisionmaker at a home, commercial building, multiple facilities, a large hotel, a hospital, and a city, identifying particular challenges. It then describes how an installed networked lighting control system provides opportunities and solutions with both energy and non-energy benefits throughout a typical year.

Part 3 follows two learning modules authored by Steve Mesh, which describe networked lighting control technology, typical systems, and how to apply them to a project.

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The leading source of lighting controls education for nearly 20 years, the Lighting Controls Association is a council of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association with the mission of educating the professional lighting community about lighting control and controllable ballast technology and application. Members include Acuity Brands, Audacy Wireless, Cooper Lighting Solutions, Cree, Eaton, EiKO, Hubbell Building Automation, GE Current, Intermatic, Leviton, Lutron Electronics, MaxLite, McWong International, OSRAM Encelium, PLC, RAB Lighting, SENSORWORX, Synapse Wireless, Toggled IQ, Universal Lighting Technologies and Wattstopper (Legrand).

 

Good lighting design includes a good controls design.