Lighting Controls Podcast

Marissa comes to us from Tondo Smart. “Smart” is in their name because they are on a quest to bring smart controls to roadways and outdoor areas. That is, possibly, the next frontier in lighting. We’ve saved as much energy as we can with LED’s, now it’s time to take the next step with controls. Marissa tells us about Tondo’s leadership in integrating sensors, energy meters, cameras, and controls f...

Dr. James joins us from across the pond. Dr. James strives to “build bridges between end users and lighting designers and specifiers and scientists and controls people.” She wanted to bring all these worlds together so much that she even learned to be an electrician. Her latest venture on the education front is a new podcast, “Thinking Differently About Lighting,” launching soon on the Get A Grip...

Shoshanna figures the U.S. is 30 years behind Europe in adopting interoperable lighting controls. She has a very interesting take on why that is. It all comes down to a market structure issue. It seems Europe has figured it out with DALI and the U.S. is still not coming together for the good of the industry. Becaus…, well…, “because capitalism.” Shoshanna Segal believes in the power of light to ma...

If you are a distributor, a rep, a designer, or an electrician, you have dealt with lighting controls at some point. And they’re growing in the marketplace. You’re going to be dealing with them more and more. Now, you can meet a client, boost your credentials, and show proof that you have some expertise in the field because NAILD is offering a certification in lighting controls. The certification...

Yes, there is a market north of the border! The Toronto area is huge and deserves its own lighting show. Gaurav saw the opportunity and jumped on it all the way from India. With his company, MEX Exhibitions, he plans to “provide a platform for the lighting community to engage in meaningful dialogue and explore the future of smart lighting, LED technology, and design.” And he’s getting help from Th...

Javid and Robert are two guys who dive into the long, boring stuff of standards and protocols so you don’t have to. Because of them, you will know which cables and wires to use for your DMX512 projects. You have the ANSI E1.27-2 Task Group to thank for setting the standards for “Permanently Installed Control Cables for Use with ANSI E1.11 (DMX512-A) and USITT DMX512/1990 Products.” Did you know th...

Bruce “The Lighting Sherpa” is not a “lighting controls guy by definition, by pedigree or by training,” but he certainly sounds like one. He knows enough to warrant us bringing him back for a second appearance. He is a lighting designer, educator, consultant and coach. With Bruce, we discuss custom integration, future proofing, what HTA stands for, and the unholy communion lighting wafer. Bruce br...

Everything you ever wanted to know about standardized lighting controls, but were afraid to ask. Paul is back to give us a preview of the DALI North America Summit, taking place October 30th at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York. You can expect an overview of DALI, a market update, a panel session, breakouts, and some technical training. And of course you get to geek out on lighting controls wi...

Anthony has done a lot of installs in houses of worship. With their limited budgets, you want to get all your wiring right while the conduit is open and the drywall has yet to be done. And sometimes that means pressing your customer a little harder to get a more detailed and explicit Control Intent Narrative which will help you get it right the first time. Listen in and find out the intricacies of...

Bill Ellis is back with his wealth of knowledge. Bill gives us his perspective on what’s trending and shifting in the Lighting Controls industry. Digital controls, 0-10V Analog, POE, ethernet, the advantages of DC power, DMX, DALI, 2023 NEC class 4 power…Bill brings us up to date. Bill Ellis is an industry expert in lighting systems integration and is very proud of Candela Controls Inc.’s enduring...

Want to be a part of ESTA’s Control Protocols Working Group, at least temporarily? Then get you, your ideas, and your lighting controls down to the Dallas Fort Worth Marriott Solana from October 24-27 and “plug in.” While there, you can meet our guest, Milton Davis, and find out the latest on ANSI, TSP, the CPWG, DMX 512, and of course, ESTA. And while you are there you can see the area by taking...

“Faster than a speeding bullet! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound…!” Yes the people at Control Force are like Supermen or Wonder Women. After the sales rep has sold the equipment, and the installers have finished, and all those people have moved onto the next project, Control Force can sweep in, finish the startup, clean up the system, get it working as originally conceived and be ther...

When Jose is not filming documentaries, he’s a “Solutions Engineer.” If you’re in the northeast, Jose can go into a space and audit ASHRAE levels 1, 2 and 3. He can help you comply with local energy saving ordinances by identifying fluorescents or halogens or opportunities for natural light. Then he’ll come back with a plan to give you the same level of light, using LED’s, controls and fenestratio...

Get ready for an exciting deep dive with Ron and Webster as they tackle the confusing world of lighting controls definitions! In this episode, our hosts break down the inconsistencies in industry jargon, share their own takes, and explore how communication can go haywire when jumping between niches. But don’t worry, there may be a solution: The Lighting Controls Forum! Tune in to this guest-free e...

Bruce “The Lighting Sherpa” Clark talks with Webster and Ron about CEDIA (Custom Electronics Design and Installation Association), dealers, buying groups, reps, and lighting designers. Bruce likes his analogies. He talks about “trunk slammers,” “The Golden Goose,” “Pacman” and “Zelda,” and of course “lights as paint brushes.” It’ll all make sense when you listen to this episode. Bruce brings his p...

In this LCP Short, Webster and Ron talk about handling simple DMX512 and sACN presets that you don’t need to actively control and don’t want to buy a whole architectural processor for. They discuss the recent advent of small, inexpensive preset scene controllers, like the ETC Snapback. These devices not only reduce the cost of a lighting controls setup, but it also makes the control easier for the...

Getting connected is what mwConnect (formerly McWong) specializes in with their award winning Bluetooth Mesh. They’ve been around for 40 years, so you know they know what they’re doing. Margaret and Stephen give us a retrospective of the company from its beginnings manufacturing ballasts, and they tell us about their rebranding process. If you’re in competition with mwConnect, they welcome it as i...

Just one away from his 5 times guest jacket, Steve Mesh joins us to discuss… education, semantics, UL924, emergency controls, security, and in-rush. You already know Steve knows his stuff and he’ll always open your eyes to something. Listen to his interesting perspective on emergency vs life saving controls. Steve has been a lighting designer and educator for 43 years. He was the Senior Lighting P...

The listeners give feedback to hosts Ron and Webster to clarify some things that were unclear or confusing in episode 53 "It's Not a Protocol." In this short episode, past guests Mitch Hefter and Javid Butler discuss the definition of a protocol in our industry vs. the OSI definition of a protocol, what did and did not get revised regarding emergency lighting control, and what the basic requiremen...

The LED revolution has done its part in the energy saving space. Now it’s going to fall on the Controls industry to take it to the next level. You can tell people to just turn off their lights when no one is in the room, but we all know humans and human nature makes that a challenge. So it’s up to us, the controls specialists. But… sometimes it’s up to the end user. Listen to David’s story about a...

This one covers a lot of ground. Avi Mor, Founder and CEO of Morlights, a design firm in Chicago, speaks his mind on interoperability, protocols, dimming, CAT5, Dali, specifications, and… elevators. Using elevators as an analogy, Avi would like to see open protocols for controlling luminaires allowing designers to replace fixtures rather than ripping out the controls system.    Founding Principal,...

Daniel works for one of the big guys. As Global Hardware Product Manager at Philips Dynalite, he has the resources to really make a difference. Daniel tells us about the evolution from contact closures to devices in a network having mini computers in them. You're still pressing a button, but a microprocessor is interpreting those button presses. Daniel joined us from Australia. Luckily, he was fre...

How do we maintain our lighting control systems? We’ve said it before and Kelly says it again. Education! - and interoperability, but we’re not there yet - so, education! The facilities manager who leaves that job 5 years down the road is then replaced by a new facilities manager who doesn’t know the system and doesn't know who to contact. Now the lighting doesn’t perform as it should and the comp...

Lightovation. Lightapalooza. LEDucation. These conferences have different perspectives and roles within the lighting industry, but they all contribute to shaping the future of lighting and controls. These are only three of MANY lighting conventions, but they are a good start if you want a well rounded education.   https://lightapalooza.com/ https://dallasmarketcenter.com/markets/lightovation https...

A market transformation for lighting controls is coming whether we are ready or not. Carol contends we've seen market transformation before, several times, but there are growing expectations for interoperability in the construction industry and lighting needs to be in on the conversation. If lighting professionals don't step up and leave their silo, other trades or groups may take over, forever ch...