Craig DiLouie, LC, CLCP recently had the pleasure of interviewing David Buerer, Director of Product Management for Controls, Leviton for an upcoming article about lighting control trends for tED Magazine, the official publication of the NAED. Here’s the transcript.
DiLouie: How would you characterize demand for lighting controls in 2024? How strong is the category?
Buerer: Overall, the lighting controls market is still growing, and distributors should look to partner with a manufacturer that can help them capture more market share. Demand for lighting controls has been focused on the ongoing emphasis in energy efficiency, sustainability, technological advancements in automation, system integration, regulatory requirements, retrofits, and even full renovation projects.
DiLouie: What do you see as the top five trends in the marketplace shaping demand for lighting controls? Are there any sweet spots in terms of current vertical markets/applications, particularly among existing buildings?
Buerer: Top trends in the lighting controls market for 2024 include increased integration with smart building systems, increased focus on user-friendly solutions, increased lighting controls requirements in energy codes, ongoing focus on energy efficiency and sustainability.
Top trends in lighting controls shaping market demand across key verticals, include healthcare facilities, educational institutions, industrial applications, hospitality, and retail.
Whereas we are seeing significant demand for a greater degree of technology in simplified environments, we are also seeing a design shift from fully designed systems to a greater share of design-build projects.
DiLouie: In recent years, rebates promoting networked lighting controls have grown in availability, with some even appearing in midstream programs. What impact if any have these rebates had on demand for lighting controls in the existing buildings market?
Buerer: Rebates for networked lighting controls are having an impact on encouraging retrofits, building more awareness and education, improving ROI, increasing adoption, and supporting energy efficiency with advanced lighting controls. In fact, in some cases, you can convert from a fluorescent troffer system to an LED system, with wireless integrated lighting controls, with virtually no impact to building wiring and after rebate very little equipment cost. Furthermore, you get improved performance and lower energy usage resulting in lower energy bills!
DiLouie: What are the top five technological trends in lighting controls, and what impact are these trends having on the state of lighting in 2024?
Buerer: The top five technological trends in lighting controls include integrated lighting controls, wireless lighting controls that simplify installations and reduce costs, smart sensing technology with increased functionality, networked lighting controls (NLC) for interoperability, and human-centric lighting that can significantly impact productivity, mood, and overall well-being.
All of these technological trends are lending themselves to enhanced energy efficiency, improved user experience and comfort, simplified installation and maintenance, data-driven decision making, and modular lighting control systems for increased scalability and flexibility.
DiLouie: Advances in DALI and Bluetooth NLC have promised greater opportunities for interoperability, with lack thereof often cited as an inhibitor to adoption. How strong an impact will these strengthening open standards have on lighting control development and adoption?
Buerer: Honestly, I don’t see how DALI and Bluetooth actually improve interoperability at least when compared to the most common control technologies of 0-10V or phase cut dimming. They in some ways do the opposite as they add an additional layer of digital communication and even though the standards are well defined, the implementation thereof can be different across manufacturers.
That said, the use of technologies based on standard protocols like DALI, Bluetooth, Zigbee, DMX, and the like do offer significant advantages over their more analog counterparts especially in applications like color changing or color tuning. For example, with the market price reductions we’re seeing with DALI drivers, you can get color tuning DALI fixtures with not only color tuning, but energy monitoring and error reporting for a marginal cost increase and improved operation. This in and of itself is really exciting.
DiLouie: As the installed base of LED lighting ages, both indoor and in particular outdoor, there is emerging a national opportunity to replace these older systems with the latest technology. What opportunities will there be for lighting control sales in these applications?
Buerer: Absolutely! The growing number of aging LED lighting systems provides a significant chance for selling lighting controls, especially for outdoor use. Distributors can tap into this opportunity by providing innovative, efficient, and user-friendly lighting control systems.
Upgrading to newer LED models integrated with advanced controls can reduce energy costs and simplify installations. Advanced lighting controls enhance safety and security with advanced sensing technology, scheduling, and programming features.
DiLouie: Several years ago, the Internet of Things promised buildings that generated massive amounts of data that could be used to improve building performance and efficiency. Demand was slow to materialize. What data applications have you seen used most often, what benefits do they deliver, and what needs to happen for more demand to develop?
Buerer: Great question. I suppose we need to first ask ourselves if we want massive amounts of data produced by our buildings….and if we had it, what would we do with it? Data is only useful if there are analytic tools that allow us to do useful tings with the data that make our lives better. The industry isn’t there yet. AI technologies however, which are closely related, could make use of the data to better predict future usage needs based on present performance and historical patterns. This may allow for things like improved occupancy detection and performance, highlight of future energy spikes, and anticipated room preparation based on future occupancy. These areas need a lot more R&D.
DiLouie: Market forces toward greater integration with lighting controls and other buildings systems appear to be strengthening. Would you agree with that statement, and what impact is this having and will this have in the future?
Buerer: The trend towards integration drives innovation in building design, promoting scalability, flexibility, and data-driven insights. Lighting controls integration is crucial for modern buildings, focusing on energy efficiency and user experience. This evolution leads to efficient, comfortable, and sustainable buildings, aligning with broader sustainability goals and operational efficiencies.
DiLouie: As lighting control applications become more complex, particularly where integration or data services are implemented, lighting project participants need to be more adept at best practices. What best practices should distributors be aware of, and how can they learn?
Buerer: Certainly, keeping up with the basics is a good first step. These include things like staying up to date on the adopted energy codes (IECC, ASHRAE 90.1, and Title 24) in your local municipalities for code compliance, expanding your knowledge with industry training and certifications, educating your customers with hands-on training and ongoing support for new technologies, and partnering with a manufacturer who can provide additional technical resources and support with product selection, design assistance, technical training, and joint sales calls.
To learn and stay updated, join industry associations and attend events to network and learn, participate in live and online training hosted by industry experts, engage in beta testing projects, and partner with manufacturers for access to subject matter expertise.
However, the biggest gap in technology implementation is education. Don’t be afraid to dive into the details on the types of system you’re supporting and always look for value add opportunities. Distributors are still at the center of economic flow and this gives them a lot of value-add opportunities.
DiLouie: What else can electrical distributors do to become stronger, more proactive sellers in this category? What’s in it for them?
Buerer: To become stronger, more proactive sellers in the lighting controls category, electrical distributors should develop dedicated teams focused on lighting controls, offer value-add services with turnkey solutions, educate customers, showcase case studies and success stories, and build partnerships with manufacturers, contractors, and integrators.
As a strong player in the lighting controls category, electrical distributors will benefit from increased revenue with higher margins and recurring income, market differentiation through cutting-edge solutions and value-add services to build long-term partnerships and brand loyalty, and access to more opportunities and markets.
DiLouie: If you could tell the entire electrical distribution community just one thing about current trends in lighting controls, what would it be?
Buerer: Position yourself as a leader in the industry by adopting new technologies and offering these solutions to meet market demands and excel in the lighting controls category. Partner with your manufacturers to take advantage of their expertise and resources to help you grow this category.
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