An Untapped System: Navigating the new lighting control world

摘要

Because they install differently and require more commissioning than conventional controls, contractors generally have been more hesitant to get on board, particularly regarding systems at the building level. Lighting educator Steve Mesh said networked lighting controls are not as complicated as they may seem, and contractors that become knowledgeable about the controls' installation and use can position themselves as more competitive as demand grows. Mesh speaks as a veteran of more than 55 contractor training sessions as part of the DesignLights Consortium's networked lighting controls market transformation program. In each hands-on class, he said, every electrical contractor attendee properly wired, commissioned, programmed, operated and troubleshot a system. "Networked lighting controls are systems, and by definition, a 'system' is automatically complex," Mesh said. "But how complex are they? I'd say they're at the low end of the complexity spectrum."