The Lighting Controls Association has announced the results of a recent survey of regular site users. The purpose of the survey, which was distributed to 15,000 subscribers of the LCA newsletter lightingCONTROL, was to determine satisfaction with the LCA website as well as the popularity of potential features. Respondents totaled 241, or 1.6%.
The first question asked respondents to identify the type of firm for which they work. Among the respondents:
* 29% indicated they work in some type of consulting, specifying or design profession;
* 15.9% for some type of contractor;
* 23.5% in manufacturing or manufacturing sales;
* 10.5% for a distributor; and
* 7.1% for an end-user or utility.
Users find the LCA website often through a website link (27.3%), with a significant number finding it through a search engine (17.6%) or because a colleague suggested it (16.3%).
About four out of 10 respondents (38.7%) visit the site about once per month, while one-half (50.3%) visit the site at least several times per month.
About three out of 10 respondents (30.7%) most often visit the LCA website to receive general education about lighting control and controllable ballast technology. More than one out of four (27.8%) say it’s to keep in touch with what’s new in controls and controllable ballasts, and about one out of five (21.2%) say it’s to learn about a specific new trend or technology. About 17% say it’s to keep up with what’s new in control and controllable ballast products, and to learn about manufacturers.
About nine out of 10 (85.8%) respondents more often than not find what they are looking for when they visit the LCA website.
On a 1-7 scale, with 7 being “very satisfied,” respondents are highly satisfied with the LCA website and its features, particularly staple features such as Education Express, the newsletter, and monthly newsletter.
About two out of three respondents (63.3%) say their visits to the LCA website has influenced their choice of control strategies. About the same (61.4%) say their visits to the LCA website have influenced their selection of control products from manufacturers.
The topics of greatest interest to the respondents are LED control (73.9%), wireless control (70%), lighting control trends and usage (70%), digital lighting control (67.1%) and dimming controls (64.7%).
A series of proposed new features were listed for respondents, who ranked them on a scale of 1-7, with 7 being most useful. The top-ranked feature is a series of lighting control design guides by building type, which LCA is now developing.
In general, regular visitors to the LCA website are highly satisfied, find what they are looking for a majority of the time, and often receive information that influences their selection of control strategies and products. Respondents provided insight into new features LCA can develop in the future, with all of the top-rated ideas now being considered for development in 2013-14.
Thank you for contributing to this important survey, and as always, thank you for visiting LCA!
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