Lighting Control System
CSI Division 26, Electrical
The switches, occupancy sensors, daylight sensors, and central control panels that automatically turn lighting on, off, or dim it based on occupancy, time of day, or available daylight, increasingly required by energy code rather than simply offered as a convenience feature in most commercial buildings.
Why it matters
Energy codes now require automatic lighting controls, such as occupancy sensors in most spaces, in most commercial construction, making a properly commissioned lighting control system a code compliance issue, not an optional add-on the owner can skip to save budget.
On a real project
An office building's lighting control system uses occupancy sensors in individual offices and conference rooms combined with daylight sensors along the building's perimeter, automatically dimming perimeter lighting when enough natural daylight is already present.
Who this matters most to
An Electrician installs the lighting control system's wiring and devices. A Commissioning Agent verifies the sensors and programmed sequences actually function as designed before turnover.
Where this goes wrong
A lighting control system is installed and wired correctly, but the occupancy sensors are never actually programmed with the correct time delays before the building's energy code inspection. Several offices go dark mid-meeting because the sensor's default delay is too short for the actual occupancy pattern, and the programming has to be revisited after complaints from occupants.