Get Educated on Lighting Control

Current stay-at-home regimes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on how the construction industry works, including education, with online distance-education becoming more popular. The Lighting Controls Association is proud to offer Education Express, a free, robust series of courses covering all aspects of lighting control, including technology, application, design, and commissioning.

Authored by Craig DiLouie, LC, CLCP, IES; Steve Mesh, LC; and Kevin Willmorth, PE, Education Express courses offer more than 50 hours of learning and education credit. Each course is registered with the AIA Continuing Education System (CES) for Learning Units (LU)/Health, Safety, Welfare (HSW) credits, and recognized by NCQLP for Lighting Education Units (LEUs). All courses are required reading to prepare for NALMCO’s Certified Lighting Controls Professional (CLCP) certification exam. Successful completion of all courses enables students to print a Certificate of Technical Knowledge in Lighting Control. All courses are downloadable as PDF files for offline reading and printing.

Several courses are prerequisites for CALCTP and NALCTP training and certification, and several are prerequisites for NLCAA certification as an Acceptance Testing Technician in California. Further, Education Express is used by the California Community College System to train the next generation of electrical workers in the state, and LCA is recognized as a continuing education provider by California for electrical workers maintaining certification through education.

Registration takes about a minute and provides access to a wealth of learning about an important feature of high-performing buildings. Simply click on the Education Express tab on this page to start your education experience.

EE 101. Introduction to Lighting Control

This course provides an overview of the basic functionality of today’s lighting controls, benefits, control strategies, and how light sources behave when controlled. An ideal starting point for identifying lighting control strategies appropriate for lighting systems and applications.

EE 203. Lighting and Commercial Energy Codes

This course summarizes mandatory and optional lighting control requirements in ANSI/ASHRAE/IES 90.1 and the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), the major standards serving as model commercial building energy codes for states and other jurisdictions. Each standard is broken down into control strategies, which applicable requirements presented in a graphical format. The course consists of three parts, with each part dedicated to a different version (by year) of the standards, from 90.1-2010 and IECC 2012 through 90.1-2016 and IECC 2018.

EE 301 Wireless Lighting Controls

Lighting control systems provide significant benefits such as energy savings, flexibility, and analytics, but installing controls in existing buildings has traditionally been inhibited by constraints on installing control wiring. Wireless lighting controls send and receive signals through the air, eliminating the need for dedicated wiring. The result is the potential to install lighting controls, even highly sophisticated systems, more cost-effectively in both new and existing construction. This course provides a detailed view of this technology, including benefits, equipment, protocols, and application information.

EE 302. Intelligent Lighting Control

Intelligent lighting controls enable layered, more responsive, and more sophisticated lighting control strategies, resulting in average higher energy cost savings and other benefits such as measuring and monitoring. This course describes intelligent lighting control technology and application, spanning features/benefits, types of systems from luminaire to room to building level, networking, software, measuring and monitoring, protocols, and design considerations.

EE 304: Internet of Things

A significant new benefit of networked lighting controls is two-way communication, which allows measuring and monitoring using sensors. This sensor data can be used for energy analysis, optimization, and maintenance, while also serving additional applications such as space optimization and inventory tracking. This course presents the capabilities of networked lighting control systems that enable IoT strategies and integrate into larger IoT systems.

EE 303: Tunable-White Lighting

LED lighting technology promises many benefits, one of which is practical color output tuning. Popular approaches include full-range, dim-to-warm, and white light tuning. This course covers tunable-white technology and application. Students learn color fundamentals and how to select and apply appropriate color-tuning approaches and tunable-white lighting technologies.

EE 105. Lighting Control System Design

This course provides a step-by-step guide to how to incorporate lighting control into every step of the design process, from developing owner project requirements through design concept, development, installation, and occupancy. Special attention is given to developing a lighting controls narrative and outlining what documentation is needed to realize a controls solution from need to delivery.

EE 110. Commissioning and Lighting Controls

Commissioning is a proven quality assurance process to ensure building systems are designed, installed, and operate in accordance with owner requirements, manufacturers’ instructions, and the design intent. This course provides an overview of ASHRAE’s The Commissioning Process, benefits of commissioning, and applicable commercial building energy code requirements. It then provides guidance for commissioning, including functional testing of installed equipment.

EE 300. Lighting Control of LEDs

This course provides information about LED behavior while being controlled, new control capabilities created by this illumination technology, and how LED lighting can be controlled as both a fixed white source and via color tuning.

EE102: Switching Control

This course features two learning modules covering occupancy and vacancy sensors and panel-based control systems. All aspects of technology and application are covered, including strategies, types, operation, application considerations, and more. This course is must-take fundamentals education.

EE 103. Dimming Control

This staple course provides information about dimming operation and benefits, approaches to dimming, perception of light level, devices and systems, and information about fluorescent dimming ballasts.

EE 201. Daylight Harvesting

Daylighting, the use of daylight as a primary source of general illumination in a space, has become a more important feature of mainstream construction due to the sustainable design movement. Daylighting also enables daylight harvesting, a lighting control strategy required by a majority of commercial building energy codes. This course describes a simple process for design and application of lighting controls used to enact energy-saving daylight harvesting control strategies.

EE 107. Lighting Controls for Existing Buildings

Upgrading lighting systems to next-generation lighting technologies can deliver significant energy cost savings while maintaining or improving lighting quality. By incorporating advanced lighting controls into a lighting upgrade, building owners can generate additional energy cost savings, maximize the value of the upgrade investment in labor, and convert lighting into a managed building asset. This course introduces lighting control strategies suitable for existing buildings. It outlines energy code obligations, identifies rebate opportunities, and provides application guidance.