Industry News

The Next Generation Lighting Systems (NGLS) indoor competition 2, which focuses on LED troffer conversion (retrofit) kits with luminaire-integrated sensors and controls, is underway. Five such systems, all marketed as being easily installed and configured, will be installed this month in a “living lab” at The New School, Parsons School of Design, in New York City:

-Philips Lighting (EvoKit Troffer Retrofit Kit with SpaceWise DT control system)

-Lutron Electronics (Orion Ison Retrofit Modular with Vive control system)

-Acuity Brands Lighting (BLT Relight Series Kit with nLIGHT AIR control system)

-Eaton (Metalux Cruze LED Retrofit Kit with WaveLinx control system)

-LG Electronics (Simple Choice Retrofit Kit with Sensor Connect control system)

These systems will be installed in working classrooms by electrical contractors who are unfamiliar with them. They’ll be evaluated for ease of installation and configuration and performance, and then undergo user evaluations by facilities staff, professors, and students over a two-year period. The installation and configuration evaluations will take place this month at Parsons.

The following month, an orientation and “systems handoff” will be held for Parsons facilities managers, so that they can learn about these new lighting systems, review the documentation, and make sure they know how to respond to any maintenance issues that might arise. The systems will be evaluated for performance at the end of February, with an open-house tour of those systems taking place at Parsons on March 14. For more information, email [email protected].

Competition 1 Update

For the first NGLS indoor competition, seven LED luminaire systems marketed as being easy to install and configure were installed in the living lab at Parsons in the summer of 2017. Those systems were submitted by:

-Cree (with a SmartCast^® control system)

-Crestron Electronics (with a Zum^TM control system)

-LumenWerx (with a Magnum control system)

-Philips (with the SpaceWise DT control system)

-Nextek Power Systems (with a Nextek control system)

-RAB (with a Lightcloud^TM control system)

-Selux Corporation (with a Philips EasySense control system).

Independent evaluators observed the  installation, configuration, and performance of the seven systems, documenting key findings and lessons learned. These systems will remain in place for at least two years, providing manufacturers with a living lab to facilitate improvements in the way such systems are designed, installed, and used.

In October 2017, NGLS held an open-house tour at Parsons to view these seven systems in operation. Co-sponsored by the Designers Lighting Forum of New York and the New York City chapter of the Illuminating Engineering Society, the event drew 100 attendees that included lighting designers, engineers, and manufacturers’ representatives.

Upcoming Webinar

On February 13 at 1:00 pm. Eastern Time, DOE will host a one-hour webinar to share lessons learned to date from NGLS competitions 1 and 2. Ruth Taylor of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will offer an inside look at the challenges encountered in the installation and configuration of 12 different connected lighting systems in working classrooms. How did specifier, manufacturer, and installer preconceptions create delays? How did issues related to user interfaces and conflicting control strategies cause confusion? And what can we learn from feedback from lighting experts and users in the classrooms? Register now.

Related Resources:

Presentation: Lessons Learned in a Living Lab (November 2017)

SSL Posting: NGLS Competition 1 Update (October 2017)

SSL Posting: NGLS Competition 1 Kicks Off (August 2017)

SSL Posting: The New NGL: Big Changes Ahead (January 2017)