As lighting controls become more sophisticated in application and capabilities, properly documenting the system’s intent and settings becomes critical. One of the most important documents is the control narrative, including a detailed sequence of operations. Though required by commercial building energy codes as documentation for many new construction and major renovation projects, aside from the Lighting Controls Association, manufacturers, and a few other sources, there are few resources providing guidance about how to write them. Enter the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), which took on the challenge by publishing ANSI/IES LP-16-22, Documenting Control Intent Narratives and Sequences of Operations in June 2022.

Modern lighting control systems require a lot more components than they used to. As a result, a lighting controls designer’s job has come to include the documentation required to fully specify a system, which includes well-defined devices, narratives, and sequences. This column by C. Webster Marsh is the first part of a multi-part series that hopes to identify how lighting controls interact with each other and how best to implement a documentation style that is shared with current industry trends.