Introduction to Advanced Lighting Controls Training
Electrical Joint Training Committee Enterprises, August 2016
1. An Opportunity for Red Seal Electricians
Beginning in early 2017, colleges in British Columbia will offer a new Advanced Lighting Controls
certification for qualified electricians.
This is a first-time opportunity for electricians to learn a new set of skills and prepare for a growing
market demand.
The National Advanced Lighting Control Training Program (NALCTP) is the highest level of
certification in this field. E2 Inc, a training partnership of contractors and labour based in Port
Coquitlam, has adapted this U.S. program for Canadian conditions and is the sole Canadian agent.
Worldwide, investment in advanced lighting controls is expected to double between 2015 and 2020.
B.C.’s building codes are setting increasingly high standards for the installation of lighting controls in
commercial and industrial facilities.
For updated information on course schedules, visit www.nalctpcanada.ca
2. What are Advanced Lighting Controls?
Lighting controls benefit buildings and their owners and occupants by enabling lighting systems to
produce the right amount of light, when and where it is needed.
Lighting controls enable flexible selection of light intensity based on user choice, both to support
visual needs and to save energy. Lighting can be zoned to ensure it is only used where it is needed,
reducing energy consumption. Controls can also ensure that lighting only operates when it is needed,
eliminating energy waste.
With lighting controls, users can:
o
adapt lighting to basic personal preference;
o
adjust lighting as appropriate for the tasks being carried out;
o
set lighting to respond to the coming and going of employees or customers; and
o
set the desired mood in restaurants or public spaces.
3. NALCTP: Learning Objectives
The National Advanced Lighting Control Training Program is an intensive seven-day course. At the end
of this course, participants will be able to:

understand the benefits of lighting controls, including visual needs, energy management, energy
code compliance and sustainability;

understand the basic functionality of lighting controls, including the basic inputs (manual and
automatic) and outputs (switching and dimming);
Advanced Lighting Controls Training – Introduction
(Aug 2016 version)
Contact: pdavis@e2inc.ca

recognize and be able to plan control strategies—manual control, occupancy sensing, time
scheduling, daylight harvesting and demand response—using the descriptions and application
guidance provided; and,

have the basic background required to begin conceptualizing an effective lighting control system
for a given application.
4. Advanced Lighting Controls: Key Concepts
Lighting controls are input/output devices. The control system receives information, decides what to
do with it, and then adjusts lighting output accordingly. In a basic lighting circuit, power is fed along
the circuit to energize a group of light fixtures called the load. This basic lighting system supplies
illumination, but is not controlled.
a) Switches and dimmers.
When a switch is closed, the circuit is complete, allowing power to flow to the load and turning it
ON. When it is open, the circuit is broken, disrupting power to the load and turning it OFF. This
makes the switch a power controller.
If a dimmer-switch is used, the controller can be used to not only change ON/OFF but also alter
the current flowing through the load during the ON state, raising or lowering light output.
Which is better: switching or dimming? Of course, the answer is a judgment based on the given
load and application. Often, both approaches will be desirable in the same building and even the
same space (although not the same load).
Switching is a simple, relatively economical strategy that is easy to design, install, commission
and maintain compared to dimming. It is limited in its flexibility, however. Abrupt, noticeable
changes to light level are likely to be considered irritating and disruptive to users performing
stationary tasks. As a result, it is particularly effective for energy management applications such
as automatic lighting shutoff of empty spaces, as well as manual control of spaces where user(s)
have a unified expectation that the lights will be switched.
Dimming changes light output with smooth transitions between light levels, resulting in a high
level of flexibility that can satisfy user visual needs and promote satisfaction. However, it
typically presents a higher installed cost compared to switching, and can require more
sophisticated commissioning.
Greater energy savings from dimming may offer attractive financial paybacks and should be fully
evaluated to determine if the additional cost can be justified.
b)
Control zones
Power controllers allow control of connected lighting loads typically comprised of light fixtures.
A group of light sources controlled simultaneously by a single controller is called a control zone.
Control zones are a very important tool and decision point in control system design.
Designing a space with a higher number of control zones will increase complexity and installed
cost. However, a higher density of control zones will also increase flexibility and control
resolution, while potentially increasing energy savings and user comfort.
Advanced Lighting Controls Training – Introduction
(Aug 2016 version)
Contact: pdavis@e2inc.ca
Advances in digital technology enable relatively economical zoning as small as individual
fixtures or ballasts, and zoning and rezoning using software instead of hard wiring.
c)
Manual versus automatic input
Manual control is a simple strategy providing users the capability of choosing light levels in steps
(switching) or over a wider range, with smooth transitions between levels (dimming). Manual
control is driven by visual needs, although some energy is saved.
Manual switching can be as simple as an ON/OFF switch, or it can offer bilevel or multilevel
switching schemes (full/50%/OFF or full/66%/33%/OFF).
Manual dimming solution range form basic wallbox dimmers controlling a single load up to
sophisticated programmable control stations interacting with dimmer modules in a centralized
panel for control of large numbers of loads.
Although the main purpose of manual control is typically to provide flexibility and support visual
needs, a useful byproduct is energy savings. Bilevel switching has been demonstrated to generate
significant energy savings in common commercial spaces. Energy savings are variable and will
depend on how occupants use the controls.

Private office: 22% energy savings

Open office: 16% energy savings

Classroom: 8% energy savings

Retail: 15% energy savings
Source: ADM Associates, 2002
Savings may also be maximized by combining with occupancy sensing. A 2009 study conducted
by the California Lighting Technology Center demonstrated 11% higher lighting energy savings
by coupling bilevel switching with manual-ON or auto-ON to 50% occupancy sensing.
Manual controls are highly suited to spaces requiring flexibility from the lighting system, such as
private and open offices, meeting and education spaces, houses of worship, entertainment venues
and other spaces. The larger and more complex the load to be controlled, the more sophisticated
system that will be required.
d)
Occupancy sensing
Occupancy sensors are devices that automatically turn the lights ON and OFF based on whether
the sensor detects occupancy, resulting in energy cost savings.
If the device automatically turns the lights OFF but requires manual ON, it may be called a
manual-ON occupancy sensor or a vacancy sensor.The sensor and power controller may be
integral to the same unit, or they may be separate components.
Occupancy sensing has been demonstrated to generate up to 38% lighting energy savings in
private offices and 55% in classrooms. Energy savings are variable and will depend on occupancy
patterns.

Private office: 38% energy savings

Classroom: 55% energy savings
Source: Lighting Research Center, 2000
Advanced Lighting Controls Training – Introduction
(Aug 2016 version)
Contact: pdavis@e2inc.ca
Occupancy sensors are 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.
e)
Time Scheduling
Scheduling adjusts the output of the lighting system based on a time event implemented using a
time-clock, which may be implemented using software-based intelligence built into the control
system. At certain times, controlled lights will turn ON, OFF or dim to save energy or support
changing space functions.
Scheduling is highly suitable for larger, open spaces that are regularly occupied as well as spaces
that are intermittently occupied but where the lights must remain ON all day for safety or security
reasons. Local override (time extension) wall controls are often used to allow for irregular use of
the space.
f)
Daylight harvesting
Daylight harvesting is a control strategy that utilizes a photosensor with a power controller to
switch or dim lighting in response to available daylight. As light levels rise above a target
threshold due to daylight contribution, the photosensor signals the controller to reduce light
output, saving energy.
Daylight harvesting has been demonstrated to generate up to 70% lighting energy savings in
private offices and 50% in classrooms. Energy savings are typically variable and will depend on
application characteristics such as daylight availability in the space.

Open office: 40% energy savings

Private office: 50% (manual blinds) to 70% (manual blinds used optimally, or automatic
shading) energy savings
Source: National Research Council Canada, 2002
Daylight harvesting is highly suitable for lighting zones adjacent to windows and clerestories and
under skylights and roof monitors—anywhere daylight is consistent and plentiful. The strategy is
particularly favored in LEED and other projects seeking to maximize energy savings beyond
energy code.
g)
Demand response
Demand response is an emerging control strategy in which the building owner agrees to
voluntarily reduce lighting load upon request during an emergency grid event, thereby helping to
preserve the integrity of the power delivery system. As many lighting systems cannot be turned
OFF during the day, this entails dimming. In exchange for installing this capacity, some utilities
offer financial incentives such as discounted rates.
5. Putting It All Together
Many projects require that different lighting control strategies be layered in the same space to satisfy
different requirements. For example, in a conference room, a combination of manual switches and
dimmers may be used to provide needed flexibility, while occupancy sensors may turn the lights OFF
automatically when the space is unoccupied.
Advanced Lighting Controls Training – Introduction
(Aug 2016 version)
Contact: pdavis@e2inc.ca
Advances in digital technology enable multiple strategies to be combined economically, maximizing
capabilities and associated energy savings, flexibility and other benefits.
The above summary draws from materials developed by the California Advanced Lighting Controls
Program (see www.nalctp.org).
Advanced Lighting Controls Training – Introduction
(Aug 2016 version)
Contact: pdavis@e2inc.ca