DesignLights Consortium and Lighting Controls Association Join Forces to Improve Network Lighting Controls Training

The DesignLights Consortium (DLC) and the Lighting Controls Association recently announced an agreement to collaborate in the offering of online courses that advance students’ knowledge of networked lighting control (NLC) technology and applications.

A 2020 study by the DLC and Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) found that adding NLCs to LED lighting projects yields additional energy savings of nearly 70 percent for some building types and averaging 49 percent across a variety of building categories. For various reasons, however – including inadequate training, the technology remains under-utilized and its energy savings potential largely untapped. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the DLC and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (the LCA’s parent organization) will help boost adoption of NLCs by filling this need for greater awareness and understanding.

“By supporting the LCA’s online Education Express program, we are expanding the reach of practical, high-quality training about NLCs and thus expanding the community of professionals who will be eager and able to adopt this transformative technology,” DLC Executive Director Christina Halfpenny said. “We are especially excited about bringing more education about lighting controls to members of the building industry.”

With advent of this collaboration, the DLC will continue to offer its longstanding in-person NLC training but will sunset its online offerings to support the LCA’s Education Express courses. Since the DLC’s trainings are primarily offered through DLC members (i.e., utilities and energy efficiency programs), the DLC’s support of the Education Express platform will introduce additional lighting stakeholders to NLC education, while providing DLC members and their trade allies with fresh new courses.

“The Lighting Controls Association is proud to be recognized by the DLC as a leading industry educator and as a resource for commercial lighting rebate program trade ally training,” said Charles Knuffke, Systems VP & Evangelist, Legrand Wattstopper and chair of the LCA. “With this recognition, we are excited to support effective application of lighting controls promoted by rebate programs, notably advanced control solutions identified in the DLC’s Qualified Products List for Networked Lighting Controls.”

Under the MOU, DLC joins other industry organizations that recognize and use LCA’s training materials. The Education Express website will note that its online courses are “recognized by the DesignLights Consortium as a preferred resource for lighting controls instruction.” The DLC has identified and will recommend specific courses that align with the DLC’s NLC5 Technical Requirements.

All Education Express online courses are free, easy to navigate, allow students to learn at their own pace, include course conclusion quizzes with real-time results, provide auto-generated completion certificates, and enable students to earn Continuing Education Units. In addition, Education Express

• Offers more than 67 hours of instruction available in 31 learning modules on a wide range of topics, including lighting control technology, application, design, energy codes and commissioning; and
• Has enrolled more than 42,000 students as of April 2022, with over 390,000 learning modules completed (representing more than 500,000 hours of instruction), and over 280,000 online tests completed for education credit.

Under provisions of the MOU, the LCA will list the DLC on the Education Express website as an accrediting/qualifying organization and Education Express course descriptions will indicate that the DLC has identified courses “as relevant to the DLC’s NLC Technical Requirements.” The DLC, in turn, will direct members of the building industry to Education Express, which it now recognizes as its primary third-party education provider for lighting controls. Education Express courses are now also listed on the DLC NLC training page.

The MOU also calls for the LCA to create two new courses this year – one on luminaire-level lighting controls and another on controls and rebates, which will include a brief description of the DLC and its technical requirements and Qualified Products Lists.