In his Controls Column contributed to LD+A Magazine in late 2020, Wattstopper’s Charles Knuffke, chair of the Lighting Controls Association, makes the case that energy codes should recognize the non-energy benefits of lighting controls.

Outcome-based commercial-building energy codes are an idea gaining new interest among policymakers in the United States. This type of energy code prescribes building energy budgets instead of a complex list of requirements. The first efforts started 10 years ago, and we are still years away from a model sure to gain significant adoption. Due to the concept’s potential benefits, however, it is possible, if not likely, that outcome-based codes will be a tool in future energy regulation.

In January 2021, the International Code Council published the 2021 version of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), which has been updated every three years since 2000. This new version reduces lighting power allowances, expands mandatory controls requirements, and issues clarifications.

Next month, the 2016 version of ANSI/ASHRAE/IES 90.1, Energy Standard for Buildings except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, takes effect as the national energy reference standard, based on a 2018 Department of Energy (DOE) ruling. By February 2020, all states must adopt a commercial building energy code at least as stringent as the standard, or justify why they cannot comply.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) recently published ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2019, Energy Efficiency Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings. This edition includes more than 100 changes from the 2016 version, covering administrative and enforcement, commissioning, mechanical, and lighting. For lighting, the new version adjusts interior power allowances, updates several control requirements, and introduces a simplified compliance method for office, school, and retail buildings.

This article provides general introductory knowledge about the lighting control requirements imposed by the 2016 version of ASHRAE/IES 90.1 and the 2018 version of the IECC.

One of the most striking changes to the 2019 code version is the addition of Section 130.1(f)1-130.1(f)7 – “Control Interactions.”

“I recently wrote about how lighting energy allowances under current codes are now approaching a practical minimum, thanks to significant improvements in source efficacy, optical efficiency, and controls that automatically extinguish lighting when it is not needed.”