The Tip of the Iceberg

Until recently, lighting controls for complex energy-saving strategies such as daylighting have proven difficult to commission in the field, and lighting controls and shading systems have sometimes proven unpopular with office occupants.

To a considerable degree, that is true because the U.S. lighting control market traditionally has been composed of manufacturers of components like ballasts, switches, controls and shading−not systems−and lighting control components historically have not worked well together.

That picture is changing rapidly.

From the perspective of Jason Warnock, marketing and sales director at Calgary, Alberta-based Nysan Shading Systems Ltd., a Hunter Douglas lighting control partner, major commercial developers are finding that early integration of construction teams and the involvement of vendors can pay big dividends.

The U.S. is Playing Catch-Up

"The U.S. is playing catch-up in that regard," Warnock says. "When we finally achieve full integration in design, when we achieve a real convergence of building technologies, the savings will be tremendous."

As more and more buildings are constructed with substantial areas of glazing, there is an increasing need to integrate design solutions with light and energy management techniques, Warnock says.

Hunter Douglas has long recognized the disconnect, he says, and is now moving toward "intelligent" integrated systems in the U.S. as it has done for years in Europe, where integrated solar control, lighting and shading systems have become routine.

Often overlooked, in discussions of the energy-saving potential of advanced lighting control systems, is the impact the systems have on productivity.