As companies seek to save on their energy costs, meet sustainability goals, or earn utility rebates, the concept of building automation continues to grow. Many feel this is the “next frontier” in energy management … the convergence of lighting control management and HVAC system management.
Companies such as Acuity’s Distech Controls, Delta Intelligent Building Technologies, Trane Technologies, and others are leading the charge. To date it the manufacturers are leading the sales effort as it is a long cycle sales process that requires technical expertise, but there are opportunities for enterprising distributors to identify opportunities and to differentiate themselves.
And the definition of “building automation” can be further expanded when you consider Acuity’s acquisition of QSC and think about building management possibilities … sound managed by lighting controls!
Recognizing the convergence, the DesignLights Consortium, which has been involved in lighting standards and lighting energy management recommendations for many years, recently shared an innovative toolkit to support the integration of lighting and HVAC systems.
DesignLights (DLC) Toolkit
“The DesignLights Consortium (DLC) has released an innovative resource designed to boost energy savings in the commercial building sector by encouraging the integration of networked lighting controls (NLC) with heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.
Research shows that adding NLCs to commercial lighting upgrades can cut a project’s new lighting load in half. Taking this a step further, integrating lighting controls with HVAC can save up to 30 percent of HVAC energy and 20 percent of the total energy load in large commercial buildings. Adoption of this strategy has lagged, however, largely due to the complexity of integration projects, which require collaboration between building owners and operators, electrical/lighting engineers and contractors, and mechanical/HVAC engineers and contractors, who often work independently.
“Our NLC-HVAC Integration Toolkit facilitates implementation of projects that can significantly reduce energy waste, while lowering operating costs for owners,” DLC Executive Director and CEO Tina Halfpenny said. “Whether you have experience with NLC-HVAC integration or it’s a brand-new concept, the DLC’s toolkit opens the door to better coordinated projects that yield more energy and cost benefits. We’re excited to get it into the market and start seeing the results.”
Development of the NLC-HVAC Integration Toolkit grew from findings of a working group comprising experts across the lighting, HVAC and utility industries convened by the DLC in 2023. The group named lack of communication between people working in lighting and those involved in HVAC controls as a major hurdle to achieving energy savings on a scale only possible by linking lighting controls with HVAC. In developing the toolkit, the DLC aims to break down barriers and improve collaboration between the professional worlds of lighting and HVAC, enabling greater savings.
Toolkit components include:
- Decision Tree to determine which projects are good candidates for integration and avoid those where success is unlikely.
- Case Studies presenting successful integration examples, searchable by building type.
- Template of a sample construction integration specification aligned with CSI Division 25 (a section within the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) MasterFormat regarding integrated automation).
- Handbook that concisely describes the basic information that each group needs to know, with a glossary and references to relevant standards.
- Responsibility Matrix in the form of a sample spreadsheet that presents an integration project in terms of major tasks and indicates which party is responsible for each one.
By bridging the gap between NLC and HVAC systems, the toolkit can help facilities use building automation to level up energy efficiency. The toolkit is designed to fit the needs of an array of professionals – including building management system contractors, specifiers, utilities, manufacturers, engineers and designers – and is available to download free of charge.
The DLC website has more information about NLC-HVAC integration, including an introductory video based on a 2024 DLC Controls Summit presentation.”
About the DesignLights Consortium: As an independent non-profit organization, the DesignLights Consortium provides decision makers with data and resources on quality lighting, controls and integrated building systems to reduce energy use, carbon emissions and light pollution. We envision a net zero future where lighting, controls and integrated building systems enable energy savings, decarbonization and sustainability for all people and the environment.
Take Aways
- This becomes an intriguing opportunity for distributors that focus on the commercial construction market.
- Further, electrical distributors that also offer HVAC products may be best positioned to capitalize upon this emerging market.
- Given the world of growth via acquisition, this niche, albeit large dollar project market, could be a reason for an HVAC distributor to acquire a lighting company (or an electrical distributor) or vice versa … or for likewise for manufacturers.
