In recent years, the Next Generation Lighting Systems (NGLS) program has studied the ease of installation and use of connected lighting systems and their everyday effectiveness in two Living Labs—an indoor lab at Parsons School of Design in New York City and an outdoor lab at the Corporate Research Center adjacent to the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) in Blacksburg, Virginia. The living lab concept allows lighting systems to be studied in real-world settings. In collaboration with the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA), NGLS is expanding these evaluations with a full floor installation of LED luminaires and connected lighting controls at the new NEEA headquarters in Portland, Oregon.
In June 2021, the system was installed in working spaces totaling 13,000 sq. ft. at NEEA, with the selection of products and manufacturers resulting from an RFI process. The NEEA installation provides NGLS and manufacturers with another indoor Living Lab in which to evaluate, observe, and improve connected lighting systems.
Through its Living Labs, NGLS explores the gap between what industry states as the potential of lighting systems and the reality experienced in actual use. Findings in the Living Labs reveal that from installation through everyday operation, connected lighting systems can be complex, with associated challenges.
NGLS recently released three reports related to ongoing investigations in the Living Labs into the installation, configuration, and use of systems currently available on the market.
• An Observational Understanding of Connected Lighting Systems provides a look at the NGLS research method, its evaluations and data synthesis, and conclusions and recommendations to date.
• The Impact of Wall Control Performance on Connected Lighting Systems details the installation and configuration challenges of wall controls, their performance in day-to-day use, and conclusions about the state of the technology.
• The Influence of Communication on the Complexity of Connected Lighting Systems looks at manufacturer information available to installers, its effectiveness during system installation, and the further work required to get these systems up and running and configured for daily use in Parsons classrooms.
Click here to download them.
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