Integrated Lighting Resources

This document is a guide to help office building owners and energy managers reduce plug and process load (PPL) energy use. It includes a process for developing a PPL control strategy for office buildings, and discusses how the use of integrated controls, including those from lighting, can help connect multiple building systems, save energy in PPLs, and better understand building operations.

This document is a guide that describes the process needed to cost-effectively reduce PPL energy impact in retail buildings. It includes general and appliance-specific PPL control strategies, and discusses how the use of integrated controls, including those from lighting, can help connect multiple building systems, save energy in PPLs, and better understand building operations.

"The decision guides found in this resource were created to help building owners find the right control strategy for PPLs in their buildings. The guides are developed for different building types and outline the costs, potential savings, complexities, and user friendliness of various control strategies and their applications to each building type. The guides also aim to help building owners determine whether a control is appropriate for particular project applications such as staged retrofit projects, whole-building retrofits, new construction projects, and projects that involve tenants and landlords. Lastly, the guides provide links to additional resources that can further help building owners assess and reduce the energy use that is associated with PPLs, find rebates for PPL control measures, and procure the right control types for their building equipment."

This report collected, aggregated, and analyzed zone- and fixture-level energy monitoring interval data from networked lighting controls (NLC) systems in 114 buildings across a variety of building types in North America, representing over 1,200 zones with an average of 60 days of monitoring data per building.

The California Lighting Technology Center, in collaboration with the California Energy Commission, is conducting research to develop and evaluate technology that integrates automated controls for HVAC, electric lighting and dynamic fenestration systems.

This paper describes emerging plug and process load technologies, the characteristics necessary for successful integration into EMIS platforms, and research questions the U.S. Department of Energy and the national laboratories can pursue to rapidly advance the state of the art.

Fact sheet of three-month study of NREL's Research Support Facility (RSF) that demonstrated that a device inventory and a limited device-level metering effort can produce a disaggregated plug load breakdown, uncovering energy savings opportunities. This study is limited to the RSF, however, and should be validated in other buildings to see if the method is generally effective.

If you are considering smart outlets for your lighting integration project, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory has published a resource that answers common questions and explains the benefits. Smart outlets control the flow of power to devices plugged into them and measure their energy use. These outlets collect control and energy data, which are then sent wirelessly, often via an intermediate gateway, to a cloud database or the building’s energy management system (EMS). With the help of machine learning algorithms, the collected data could be used to predict schedules and save energy. Plug and process loads (PPLs) consume about 47% of primary energy in U.S. commercial buildings. As buildings become more efficient, PPL efficiency has become pertinent in achieving aggressive energy targets.

Success with lighting controls depends on establishing clearly defined objectives and taking a disciplined approach to design and implementation. This practical guide describes four common use cases for lighting controls and outlines the implementation process, from planning through maintenance. These recommended best practices reflect the experience of practitioners and serve to reduce complexity and the likelihood of problems when installing and using lighting controls.

Connected lighting systems provide a platform where integrated control of lighting and other systems can enhance building performance. With detailed information, coordinated systems can deliver lower operating costs and improved return on capital, as well as enhanced occupant wellbeing and productivity.