When lighting manufacturers, contractors, distributors, and other commercial lighting stakeholders gather in Milwaukee for the DesignLights Consortium’s (DLC) Controls Summit next month, the focus will be clear: There’s a world of untapped energy savings waiting to be realized through widespread integration of lighting controls with HVAC and other building systems.
Expanding upon previous DLC research showing that adding networked lighting controls (NLC) to commercial LED lighting projects can boost energy efficiency by an average of about 50%, a 2023 study revealed that deeper energy savings are possible through integration of controlled LED lighting with HVAC systems. In that study, we found that when NLCs are paired with HVAC systems to deliver occupancy signals, total electric energy consumption by commercial buildings can drop by up to 20% in some facilities.
Based on those results, the DLC recommended that its member utilities and energy efficiency programs across North America revamp their commercial rebate structures to capture these significant energy savings and decarbonization opportunities. Beyond revised incentives, realizing these potential savings will require collaboration among HVAC and lighting contractors in a several areas, including technical issues such as communication protocols, control points, and zones.
To ease this transition, the DLC staff has spent the past several months creating a toolkit designed to jumpstart and improve communications between the HVAC industry and commercial lighting energy efficiency programs. We plan to preview the new NLC-HVAC Control Integration Toolkit during the Controls Summit, with a goal of finalizing it by the end of this year and making it available to energy efficiency programs and other interested stakeholders in 2025.
This video provides a sneak peek at what we plan to include in the new toolkit and what we hope to discuss with stakeholders during the Summit’s NLC-HVAC integration sessions. And, since the DLC views controls as the cornerstone of future lighting energy efficiency across all sectors, Summit attendees will also be hearing how control technology can improve horticultural lighting and mitigate light pollution and wasted light at night.
For more information, visit the DLC website.
