There have been dramatic changes to the building controls market over the last 20 to 30 years. The “energy crisis” of the 1970s (along with the development of the microprocessor) sent the “Big 5” dominated pneumatics market into an energy management system (EMS) orbit that was joined by several dozen other manufacturers by the mid-1980s. Then, with the ever-increasing challenges of producing technologically advanced BAS, along with new millennium’s dominance of open protocols, the market attrition and consolidation has brought it back to earth.
The basic concepts of energy efficient lighting control are fairly straightforward: deliver the required amount of light for safety and productivity. To do this, there are two fundamental strategies:The expectations for improved energy efficiency and the requirements in the new energy codes are driving a need for improved lighting control. On many projects, lighting control has not had the same focus as HVAC control, due to challenges with budgets, division of design labor, and convention. But all of that is starting to change and we should be looking toward lighting control as a part of future new construction and retrofit projects.