Commissioning Lighting Controls - Reprinted in part from the November 2008 issue of Consulting-Specifying Engineer

by John Riley, PE, CCP, GBA, Lenexa, Kansas and Tom Hudson, PE, LEED AP, Green Building Services, Portland, Oregon

Current studies and practical field experience indicate the need for detailed design, proper installation, timely commissioning, ample documentation, and owner training of lighting control systems in order to meet predicted energy savings.

Indoor lighting is one of the single largest consumers of energy in nonresidential buildings, representing more than one-third of total electricity used. Recognizing its significant effect on energy consumption, the U.S. Green Building Council included requirements for commissioning lighting, including controls in its LEED rating systems.

Other strategic organizations will likely join the call to require commissioning of lighting systems to meet their energy reduction objectives. These organizations include ASHRAE Vision 20/20, Architecture 2030 Challenge, and the Clinton Climate Initiative.

Code requirements driving lighting control design include California's Title 24 multilevel or bilevel switching to decrease lighting power 50% to 70% while maintaining uniformity, and ASHRAE's 90.1-2004 automatic shutoff controls for office spaces greater than 5,000 sq ft.

Some state and city codes require occupancy sensors and daylight responsive controls. Most codes require time clocks and/or photocells to turn off lights that are used to illuminate building facades, canopies, parking lots, pedestrian walkways, gardens, and other landscaped areas. With LEED's adoption of the ASHRAE 90.1-2004 energy standard, LEED projects must meet specific lighting control provisions and prescriptive power allowances, and they must include commissioning.

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Author Information

Hudson works as a technical consultant within a multidiciplinary team of architects, engineers, planners, and building analyst who share extensive hands-on experience in green building. He manages commissioning, retrocommissioning, and energy audits while supporting design simulation for new construction including energy modeling, daylight modeling, and CFD analysis to assess the effectiveness of specific green building strategies.

Riley serves as a project manager and lead electrical engineer for GBA commissioning projects. He has been providing electrical systems start-up and commissioning services for more than 15 years and has specialized in commissioning critical facilities for the past eight years. He has provided educational presentations for Labs 21, 7x24 Exchange, National Assn. of State Facilitators, and the Data Center Journal.

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