The Basics of Lighting Control

Lighting Control is a way your lights are installed and function. Traditional lighting control would have a lighting module (device that controls the information sent to the lights).

The newer light fixtures have the ability to be controlled digitally and individually. This is called a digitally addressable light system. These systems are daisy chained together like a single string tied to several different pins.

The panelized system that lighting control previously was limited to was each pin have a different string tied to it. This creates major cost savings in electrical with a higher cost in equipment. These prices average each other out. Meaning that the newer systems make installation easier providing more user control and at a similar cost to a regular system.

I’d like to talk briefly about a few of the benefits a digitally addressable system has over a traditional panelized system. First is the ability to create zones through a mobile app. This means that you can select which lights will turn on and off together.

This gives the user control to create scenes with preset kelvin color/color temperature/brightness. With a panelized system you would likely call the integrator post installation to reprogram the fixtures which can quickly add up costs. Tunable white fixtures are infinitely superior to their predecessor.

Tunable white simply put is a fixture capable of changing its’ color temperature from a candle like color to an arctic blue or mix of blue/white. This is arguably the most important addition to these lighting fixtures.

When I’ve spoken to interior designers about color and lighting they put a large emphasis on the environment that you view furnishings and finishes. Considering what color temperature you are viewing a paint color under is very important. A color of paint you select at a store can look totally different under your fixtures at home.

With tunable white you can always adjust the color temperature to create the best fit atmosphere for furnishings and finishes. Some newer fixtures use GPS to control the color temperature of the fixtures to have them match the color temperature of the sun.

There are many control systems that are available for automating lighting functions including but not exclusive to Crestron, Control4, Lutron Homeworks, and Savant.

A few things to consider with your lighting control are keypads, trim, flange, CRI, Lumen Output, and beam angle.

There is more to consider about lighting than just these specs, but past these specs I would recommend a professional for designing your lighting system. Having functionable keypads that tell you what your lights are going to do helps with the user experience.

Engravings and labelling are common to show what scenes are going to occur when selecting these buttons.

The trim can be square or round with wall wash and diffusers attached for added effects. The flange another design option you can opt out of for a more discreet look. CRI is a way to measure the quality of light coming from your LED’s. 90+ is considered high quality for an LED. Lumen output is the brightness of your fixtures.

Cheaper LEDs are around 500lm and higher grade LEDs will be around 1000lm. Narrow beam angles increase beam intensity while wider beam angles have a lower beam intensity with a larger foot candle.

The application of these features should always be discussed with a professional for the highest quality lighting design for any of your projects.

While it is important to use downlight fixtures for ambient lighting there are many different types of lighting and ways to apply them. Check out this article to learn more about types of lights and their applications.