Integrated Lighting Resources

Do you have a lighting project that is worthy of ILC recognition? This webinar is for building or facility owners and managers interested in tapping into the benefits of advanced lighting systems and/or the integration of lighting with other building systems. Learn how to access practical resources, gain access to technical assistance and guidance, and receive recognition for your advanced lighting projects. Speakers introduced new recognition categories and explained how to successfully submit your project for recognition. Join other industry professionals like you who are using advanced lighting to improve energy efficiency, operations, and occupant comfort.

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 Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has more than 1,075 buildings with 137 truck station campuses across the state. MnDOT’s Cedar Avenue truck station, located in Richfield, Minnesota, provides critical roadway snow removal support within the Minneapolis metro area. It includes administrative offices, a training room, and a large breakroom, along with truck maintenance and service facilities.

The focus of this case study is to highlight the strategies used at Cedar Avenue truck station for integrating plug load and lighting systems. An integrated controls pilot project with retrofit installation was conducted from October 2019 to April 2020 and has been recognized by the Integrated Lighting Campaign in the following categories:

• Integrated Controls for Plug Loads & Lighting Systems
• Integrated Controls for HVAC & Lighting Systems

"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 presentation from Michael Myer, Lighting Researcher at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, covers energy savings potential for lighting systems integrated with HVAC and plug loads, reviewing findings from several field project case studies conducted on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy.

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 project provided a packaged solution for a retrofit of the lighting, including site survey, design, system selection, and financial assistance with materials and labor.

The city of St. Paul upgraded about 13,100 ft2 of its Street Maintenance Division building with a new networked light emitting diode (LED) lighting system integrated with heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC ) and plug load controls. The city installed the lighting and plug load controls and worked with a lighting manufacturer to commission the networked lighting control system. A local HVAC controls contractor was hired to integrate the lighting with the HVAC system.

The county partnered with Slipstream–a non-profit focused on energy efficiency and climate solutions–to integrate lightemitting diode (LED) lighting with luminaire-level lighting controls (LLLCs), automatic receptacle (plug load) controls, and zoned heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) controls in one floor of a multi-story building in downtown Minneapolis. The floor is occupied by an outpatient clinic and a fitness center; both are served by a common variable air volume (VAV) system, covering a total of 7,300 ft2.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) maintains the state roads and highways in the Twin Cities Metro area from the Cedar Truck Station. Before the retrofit project, the building used outdated fluorescent lighting that over lit the building.

The University of Minnesota wanted to reduce energy costs in Jones Hall since the building had fallen behind in some of the University’s aggressive sustainability initiatives and needed new lighting and controls. The mixed-use building, one of many on campus, includes a combination of offices, classrooms, and public spaces, and is currently home to the University’s Admissions, Language Center, and College of Liberal Arts classrooms.

The Better Buildings Plug and Process Load Technology Research Team hosted two technical presentations from recently published studies that describe novel approaches for better understanding device-level energy consumption in buildings.

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.

The Integrated Lighting Campaign (ILC) confers recognition each year to organizations that are helping drive the adoption of advanced lighting systems and the integration of lighting with other buildings and business systems. Supporters (e.g., utilities, designers, ESCOs, energy efficiency organizations, and manufacturers) help the campaign identify and recruit exemplary projects that may be eligible for recognition from DOE. Learn about the new recognition categories for Participants and opportunities available to Supporters, including recognition available as an Exemplary Supporter or DEI Champion and how your products and/or services may be featured in a future case study. For more please visit Better Buildings.

Interested in submitting a lighting project for recognition to the Integrated Lighting Campaign? Learn about the recognition categories, four of which are new in 2023. Participants and Supporters now have more opportunity than ever to get recognized by DOE!

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.

The Lighting Controls Association offers free, comprehensive online education about lighting controls technology and application.

This course, available through Lighting Controls Association, an ILC Organizing and Supporting partner, is offered via its Education Express program.  Learn more about the Education Express program by filtering “Webinars | Training” on the right panel.

This is a case study for the Tinker Air Force Base. By replacing the existing lighting with LED fixtures, this project saved more than 60% energy compared to the existing technology. This is consistent with savings of converting either fluorescent or high-intensity discharge fixtures with either new LED fixtures or retrofit kits, which typically result in at least 45% savings. The lighting controls saved between 8-23% compared to the LED baseline. Because LEDs are very efficient, the new LED baseline uses less energy. As a result, the 20%+ savings does not result in sufficient savings for a reasonable payback. However, using lighting controls to control other building systems can make the lighting and control system more cost effective.

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.

Updated Plug Load Efficiency Utility Incentives List - as of 2/24/2021

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.

This class examines examples of integrating lighting controls with other building controls, primarily HVAC. Rather than presenting a set of established best practices, it reviews a few notable case studies of commercial and institutional buildings where integration has been both successful and challenging. Presenters describe the design process, how key decision points were identified, and how issues were resolved. They also cover Owners Project Requirements, Basis of Design, and Sequence of Operations, and report on commissioning and post occupancy evaluations.