By John Arthur Wilson and David Shiller This is the second of a four article series about important concepts in wireless networked lighting controls (NLC). What Is A Gateway? A gateway is a hardware device that connects two networks with different protocols. Two common examples that most people are familiar with are WiFi routers and [...]

By John Arthur Wilson and David Shiller This is the first of a four article series about important concepts in wireless networked lighting controls (NLC). John Arthur Wilson is an educator for wireless NLC systems. This first article is about wireless integration versus networking performance. Addressability Types To properly understand the variety of wireless NLC [...]

  A different kind of lighting show has been quietly growing. Lightapalooza will be holding its 3rd annual conference & trade show, February 26-29, 2024, at the Renaissance Phoenix Glendale Hotel & Spa, in Glendale, AZ. The event is organized by the Home Technology Specialists of America (HTSA), a national association of specialty retailers and [...]

  An interesting article by Trane lays out the basics of Building Automation System (BAS) communications and then addresses four common misconceptions. We should first define the protocols and mediums. Protocols are the language in which the building is speaking—BACnet® over MS/TP, BACnet over IP, Modbus, and LonTalk are some of the non-proprietary languages used [...]

  Clifton Lemon Associates today announced that Pacific Gas & Electric will present a free webinar on the growing importance of building controls integration in the process of building-grid connection, load management, decarbonization, and electrification. Titled Lighting and Smart, Grid-Integrated Buildings, the webinar presents a history and overview of building controls integration in both commercial [...]

  Li-Fi utilizes light (typically infrared), instead of WiFi radio waves, to provide blazing fast, secure, wireless connectivity. There has been some Li-Fi adoption by military organizations around the world, but generally, overall adoption has been very slow. That may be about to change. The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has been writing about a new [...]

By Maria Bragina, General Manager, Sundrax Electronics In the rapidly evolving lighting industry, the demand for efficient and reliable connection options has led to the standardization of specialized connectors like NEMA and Zhaga. This article explores the evolution and significance of NEMA connectors, shedding light on their historical roots and modern adaptations. Origin of NEMA [...]

  The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) recently announced its full-stack standard for wireless lighting control, Bluetooth Networked Lighting Control (NLC). It is designed to meet the scale, reliability, and security demands in commercial settings. Bluetooth NLC enables multi-vendor interoperable wireless lighting control systems and unlocks the potential for mass adoption of wireless lighting control. The standard creates [...]

  Two weeks ago, I wrote about the coming lighting-HVAC control integration tsunami, here. The following are 10 trends in lighting-HVAC control integration: IoT Integration: The Internet of Things (IoT) has played a significant role in the integration of lighting and HVAC systems. This involves using sensors and smart devices to collect data and control [...]