This piece was originally published in the March/April 2019 issue of electroindustry.
Lighting systems are everywhere—and they are an important focus area of NEMA. Besides improving lamps using the latest technologies, lighting manufacturers have been hard at work to give us illumination and lighting controls that impact our everyday lives and make our society more healthful and productive.
This issue of electroindustry explores several aspects of lighting—controls, the LED revolution, and human-centric experiences.
Lighting controls are integral to building design and function. Networked lighting systems work within Internet of Things and building management systems concepts to increase value and productivity within building envelops. From simple steps such as mitigating glare to minimizing over lighting and its inefficiencies, lighting controls are the brains behind these changes. Plus solid state lighting can contribute to maintenance notifications, monitoring occupancy and predicting and delivering user preferred lighting.
LED lamps and luminaires are the future of lighting, which is individual choice and control in illumination. This technology, which seems to get better every day, is driving cutting-edge research to help actualize its full potential. “We need to connect the new capabilities of lighting technology with what is best for the application,” says Morgan Pattison, the principal for Solid State Lighting Services (SSLS), Inc., a consulting company.
Many talented and inquisitive minds went into the first light bulb, not the least Thomas Edison’s, but they had in common the notion that people craved artificial light beyond that provided daily by the sun. That same human desire only increases as we expand the uses for illumination in new and specific ways. Inside or out, lighting is an inherent part of how we live, work, and relax. Providing it efficiently and affordably is what NEMA lighting and controls companies are doing every day for all of our benefits.
Kevin J. Cosgriff
NEMA President and CEO