Lighting 101: Lighting control strategies

Published: September 2014

By Craig DiLouie

Lighting controls are devices and systems that regulate the output of lamps and luminaires.
They either turn the lights on and off using a switch or adjust light output using a dimmer.
Growing demands for energy savings and flexibility to support visual needs have given
lighting control much greater prominence. In particular, commercial building energy codes
are driving demand for more sophisticated, detailed and layered control systems. The digital
revolution in lighting control technology has enabled manufacturer solutions to keep pace
with these demands.
A good lighting design requires a good controls design. A good controls design, in turn,
ensures that the lighting system produces the right amount of light where and when it is
needed. Benefits of a good control design include reduced energy costs and flexibility, which
can support the users visual needs and create a desired mood or ambience. This article
provides a brief introduction to how lighting controls work, resulting control strategies and
how those strategies are applied to projects.
A lighting control device or system operates on an input/output basis. An input component or
device provides information to a lighting controller. Based on its logic circuit, the lighting
controller decides if and how to change output and subsequently signals the power controller.
The power controller then makes any required changes to the output of the controlled lights.
These functions may be integrated within a single device or enacted as a series of devices that
are rated as compatible. The basic inputs are manual or automatic while the basic outputs are
dimming and switching.
Manual controls require a person to interact with them. Because the user initiates the control
action, it is typically driven by applications involving output being adjusted based on a desire
to achieve certain visual conditions. A good example is a meeting space where the lights may
be raised to full during face-to-face discussion but lowered in part of the room for an
audio/video presentation.
With automatic controls, the input is a signal automatically produced by another component
or device, such as a computer, occupancy sensor or photosensor. These components and
devices generate signals typically based on time, occupancy or light level. Automatic control
is generally driven by energy management, that is, saving energy by reducing or turning off
the lights in response to conditions such as lack of occupancy or abundant daylight.
In both cases, the outputs are switching and dimming. Switching may be enacted as simple
on/off, though a degree of flexibility may be gained through bilevel or multilevel switching.
This allows a choice of two or more output levels from the luminaire or lighting system (in
addition to no output) by assigning alternate lamps, ballasts or luminaires to different control
outputs. For example, a three-lamp fluorescent luminaire may be configured with a ballast
that controls the outboard lamps and another ballast that controls the inboard lamp, resulting
in a choice between outputs of 0 percent (off), 33 percent (one lamp on), 66 percent (two
lamps on) or 100 percent (all lamps on). Switching is a simple, relatively economical control

method well-suited to applications where a limited range of light-output levels is acceptable

and where abrupt, noticeable changes in light level will not be irritating or disruptive. A
simple example is a device that automatically turns the lights off (or reduces light output)
when a space is unoccupied.
Dimming may be continuous or step. Continuous dimming enables light output adjustment
across a range, with smooth transitions between each output level, resulting in a very high
degree of flexibility to satisfy visual need. It is ideally suited to applications where we need
transitions between light levels that are not irritating or disruptive to users. Daylight
harvesting in an open office is a good example of where continuous dimming is
advantageous. As daylight levels rise and fall, electric light levels fall and rise to maintain a
constant light level, thereby saving energy.
Step dimming typically involves one or several output levels with the transition either being
abrupt, as in switching, or a smooth fade. Step dimming is well-suited for applications where
we want a smooth fade to a preset output level, such as for demand response. It also works
for bilevel switching but without changing out alternate ballasts, lamps and luminaires. A
good example is light-level reduction in an HID or induction luminaire during times when the
space is unoccupied.
These inputs and outputs can be combined to achieve unique lighting control strategies suited
to addressing visual needs, energy management needs or both. Manual control is fairly well
understood, so well focus on automatic control. Typically, with automatic control, lighting is
reduced to save energy in response to occupancy, a time event or daylight level. Manual and
automatic control strategies can be enacted using the same control system by networking
controllers with multiple input devices.
Occupancy sensing: This proven strategy involves reducing lighting use during periods when
a space is unoccupied, saving energy by minimizing waste, using occupancy or vacancy
sensors. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratorys (LBNL) best estimate of average
lighting energy savings is 24 percent.
The input for on operation may be manual (manual-on occupancy sensor or vacancy
sensor), automatic (occupancy sensor) or both (auto-on to 50 percent output). The input for
off operation is automatic; following a designated period of time after the sensor detects a
lack of occupancy, it turns the lights off. However, a manual-off override option may be
available.
The output may be switching or dimming. In interior applications, typically the lights are
turned off, though for applications that are intermittently occupied, the lights may be
switched (e.g., two fluorescent lamps in a stairwell luminaire) or dimmed (e.g., continuous
dim to off in an overhead luminaire in an open office or step dim to a lower level for a highintensity discharge parking-lot luminaire).
Occupancy sensing is highly suited to smaller, enclosed spaces that are intermittently
occupied, such as private offices, classrooms, conference rooms, copy and break rooms,
restrooms and other spaces. It is also frequently applied to parking lots and area lighting
applications, wallpacks, stairwell luminaires, warehouse aisles, and lighting within or over
workstations in open offices.

Time scheduling: This proven strategy involves reducing lighting use during times of the day
when illumination is predicted to not be needed. The LBNL estimates average lighting energy
savings of 24 percent (lumping it in the same category as occupancy sensing, though it is
arguable that occupancy sensing typically results in higher savings by being more precise).
The input for on may be manual or automatic, while the input for off is automatic,
usually combined with a manual on/off override. The automatic input is typically a signal
from a physical timeclock, timeclock software intelligence built into a control system, or
some other building system, such as a building automation or security system. The output
may be switching or dimming, depending on whether some light is needed during unoccupied
periods or whether the light source cannot return to full output quickly.
Time scheduling is suited to larger, open spaces that are regularly occupied and spaces that
are intermittently occupied but where the lights must remain on all day for safety/security
purposes. Local override (time extension) manual wall controls are often installed to allow
for irregular use of the space.
Another method related to both time scheduling and occupancy is the timer switch, which
turns off the lights if a set period of time passes after a person enters a room. This type of
control device is suited to applications such as utility and storage closets.
Daylight harvesting: This strategy involves raising or lowering output to maintain a set light
level based on daylight contribution. As daylight rises and falls, the electric lights lower and
raise to save energy and provide a consistent light level. Due to the variability of daylight,
this strategy can be more complicated to apply to spaces, but lighting energy savings average
28 percent, the LBNL estimates.
Input and output are automatic, though its arguable that separately zoning lights near a
daylight aperture to a manual switch could be considered daylight harvesting as well. The
input measures daylight (open loop) or a combination of electric and daylight (closed loop)
using a light sensor. The output may be switching or step-dimming (typically in spaces where
switching is less likely to be disruptive, such as in circulation areas) or continuous dimming
(typically in regularly occupied spaces with intensive tasks).
As one might anticipate, daylight harvesting is suited to areas adjacent to windows and
clerestories and under skylights and roof monitorswherever outside light is abundant and
consistent.
Other strategies: Other options include demand response (reducing lighting during certain
times of day or in response to a utility request during an emergency grid event) and
institutional task tuning (reducing lighting by task areas across a large space designed to a
single light level). The LBNL estimates task tuning saves an average of 36 percent lighting
energy. The LBNL further estimates that combining any of the above control strategies
produces average lighting energy savings of 38 percent.
Combining strategies: Many projects require a layering of control strategies in the same space
to satisfy different energy code and owner requirements. For example, in an open office, time
scheduling may be layered with manual control (for local override of the schedule) and
daylight harvesting. Advances in digital communication technology enable multiple strategies
to be combined economically, with multiple devices attached to the same control points using
a single low-voltage wiring bus.

Application: Identifying the right lighting control strategies begins with identifying
opportunities, energy code demands and owner requirements. What control capabilities does
the project need? Manual dimming to support visual needs? Automatic shutoff to comply
with code? Daylight harvesting to maximize energy savings? Or a combination of these?
In existing buildings, owner needs and economics drive this choice of control strategies. In
new construction, commercial building energy codes are the primary driver, establishing a set
of mandatory strategies that must be implemented (see page 70 for some examples).
Control strategies can be conceptualized and communicated using a written control narrative
and control zoning plan. Also called the basis of design, the control narrative describes the
lighting control system, including a sequence of operations, or description of system outputs
in response to various inputs for each control point. This document provides a roadmap for
the control strategies that will be implemented in each space or space type.
The control zoning plan indicates which lighting loads will be assigned to which control
strategies/controllers. This document bridges the conceptual and finished design, providing a
visual or text-based description of how each luminaire in the project is controlled.
By thinking about lighting controls in terms of strategies based on inputs and outputs,
specifiers can be strategic about application, which allows them to engage clients in
discussion and decision-making based on their needs before even considering hardware. Once
control strategies are decided, these hardware choices become relatively simple because they
will flow from the choice of strategies.