Lighting Controls Podcast

It’s hard to get to the end-user. When you’re designing a lighting system for a space, wouldn’t it make sense to talk to the people who will be using that space, like a teacher in a classroom? Mark Olerud, a sales agent for Kore Controls, is always striving to find that path through the Architects, General Contractors, Lighting Designers, and Engineers. It’s not always easy but often you can save hours of meetings and work by just talking to the people who will be using the space. Mark started his career as a production electrician for a children’s show touring internationally. He also worked as a project manager and salesperson for an Architectural Woodworking company, created a retail division for a theatrical staging and rigging company, and worked 14 years as a Controls Specialist at Apex Lighting Solutions. He has spent the past 16 months working with his team at Kore Controls to provide not only sales support for the companies they represent, but also, design assistance to project design teams, technical assistance to electrical contractor partners, field service to ensure Title 24 compliance, and support to the end user to help ensure their project is successful. 

Listen up Project Managers: Casey has no skin in the game. If DMX or DALI or even 0-10V is the right choice, he’ll put it in the specifications. That’s what you hire these people for, to make sure it’s done right. Casey is a proponent of the DALI protocol because, in many cases, it makes sense. It is available in North America, so all you specifiers, take a look at it and if it’s right, specify it!

Casey has created hundreds of architectural spaces and interactive environments, as well as live performance, film, television, and music video lighting.  With experience as a lighting controls system integrator, Casey serves as lighting controls designer for Morlights complex and varied projects.  Casey's reputation for meticulous attention to detail and his knowledge of both the art and science of light, combined with a willingness to speak up when a detail can be just a little better, make him a valuable resource on any project.

Casey has a degree in Lighting Design from The Theatre School at DePaul University.  He is a member of the Illumination Engineering Society, the United States Institute of Theatre Technology, and holds a Certified Lighting Controls Professional certification from the International Association of Lighting Management.  Casey has contributed to industry standards via the ESTA Technical Standards Program and the IES Standards program and sits on the IES Lighting Control System Committee.

Advanced and interoperable. That’s McWong’s thing when it comes to controls. So when the L-Prize came along, looking for those exact values, McWong was a shoe-in! Not so fast. It’s not easy to win an L-Prize. It requires a serious commitment, hard work, and a talented team. McWong won the Prototype Phase Lighting Prize with a Bluetooth mesh wireless lighting control solution. It took a team at McWong 16 months to put together the submission, so you better get started! Stephen is Executive Vice President of McWong International Inc., a leading innovative lighting company headquartered in Sacramento, California. He oversees the company’s daily operations and its several subsidiaries in China, and leads a cross-functional R&D team developing state-of-art smart wireless lighting control products that won multiple industry awards. He has deep technical expertise in lighting components such as LED drivers and power supplies as well as lighting controls such as occupancy sensor technologies, and wireless networked control platforms such as Bluetooth mesh. Stephen is a serial entrepreneur, investing in and advising on several technology start-ups. 

Renovations aren’t just for kitchens! We’ve talked a lot about system integrations in new projects, but don’t discount retrofits. Daniel tells us that much of the work that comes his way lately is from existing projects. As he says, if you want to test your mettle, take on a renovation project. But don’t forget, good relationships and communications with the rest of the team and the owner are still vital!

Daniel Salinas has been in the electrical industry since 1978, beginning as a residential lighting consultant for a lighting showroom, quickly progressing to showroom manager and eventually to commercial lighting designer and consultant for Design/Build electrical contracting firms, electrical engineers, interior designers and architects. In 1987 he joined Nelson Electric as Senior Designer/Project Manager for lighting and lighting control systems. The breadth of his design and project management experience spans both commercial and residential projects, specializing in complicated installations with new techniques of constructability and ease of maintenance. Commercial lighting control design has been his passion where working with integrated technology is a requirement. He has received two Illuminating Engineering Society, International Awards of Merit for his work on special project applications. In 2015 Dan left Nelson Electric to found Salinas Lighting Consult with the idea of expanding the concept of holistic design of lighting systems. 

First of all, Lyn won the Benner award from The Building Commissioning Association. That’s a big deal! So she is someone worth listening to. Lyn talks with Webster and Ron about looking at the industry as a team sport. As Lyn likes to say, it’s not about how fast you get across the finish line, it’s about how many people you bring along with you. Lyn is an MEP Coordinator for DPR Construction. She uses her 20+ years of experience to start up and build quality into integrated systems for HVAC, electrical/lighting, control systems, fire protection, backup power, and technology. In her spare time (lol), she’s the chair for the update to DG-16 (the standard for lighting/controls commissioning), on the board of the Building Commissioning Association as well as co-chair of the annual conference, co-chair for the new standard on control sequences for lighting control systems (LP-16), teaches classes on lighting controls, and supports Techbridge, an afterschool STEM program. 

Paul has been nicknamed “The DALI Lama” for good reason. He’s a big proponent of the DALI (that's Digital Addressable Lighting Interface if you didn’t know). That’s no surprise as he is the General Manager of the DALI Alliance. Paul talks with Webster and Ron about interoperability, misconceptions, and the challenges of DALI gaining traction in North America. Maybe he'll be able to challenge your own views on DALI! Paul is a highly qualified and experienced management professional with more than 30 years’ experience in the electronics and LED lighting industries. He has held a number of senior roles in management, sales, operations, business development and strategic marketing, at companies involved in electronics distribution, semiconductor manufacturing, precision optics manufacturing and management consulting. He is a Member of IEEE and AMBA, and a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management. 

Emergency Lighting Controls primary purpose is to provide sufficient illumination during emergencies for building evacuation and maneuvering. So just transfer the circuitry from utility power to emergency power. But wait, it’s not that simple. As Steve reveals in this episode, there are many considerations, like what kind of emergency is it? Power failure? Fire? Security? Steve points out the irony of the “bug-eye” security light at an emergency exit that blinds anyone who is approaching that exit. As more designers/engineers use general luminaires with controls for their emergency lighting, it further expands how these systems are wired and interact with each other. It might be complicated, but it’s not rocket science. Get educated and have that detailed conversation at the beginning of the project to avoid last-minute changes. Steve has been a lighting designer and educator for 42 years. He was the Senior Lighting Program Coordinator at the Pacific Energy Center in San Francisco from 2008-2011. Steve is a member of the Illuminating Engineering Society and was the IES/Northeast Regional Vice President. He was also part of the development team for the California Advanced Lighting Controls Training Program. Steve has taught lighting for 38 years. He won an IALD award for the Palm House at Dowling College and an EPRI award for Brower Commons at Rutgers University. Since 1992, he has given several workshops at LightFair and has spoken at Lux Pacifica in New Delhi, India. He is also a private pilot. Connect with Steve: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-mesh-lc-iesna-b156b83/ lightingcontrolsassociation.org https://lightingcontrolsassociation.org/2023/05/24/egress-and-emergency-lighting-in-a-controls-world/ Catch Webster's presentation at NYControlled (nycontrolled.com) on November 14, 2023. 

Illuminart and Peter Basso Associates collaborated and integrated very successfully 7 years ago. Robert discusses, with Webster and Ron, the advantages of being part of both a lighting design firm and a larger MEP consulting firm. Are you sensing the “collaboration” theme here? Here’s a direct quote from Robert in this episode: “The controls people out there - they are worth their weight in gold, times ten!” Kinda makes you feel all fuzzy inside, doesn’t it? Robert has been practicing lighting Design for over 30 years and is Principal at Illuminart based in Troy Michigan. He has a BFA from College for Creative Studies and has received over 40 lighting design awards including several Guth Awards of Distinction. His wide-ranging design experience includes projects throughout the US as well as the Middle East. He also enjoys teaching and is adjunct faculty for LTU, and CCS. 

From a European perspective, breaking into the North American market is daunting unless you’ve got someone like MJ and Global Lighting & Controls on your side. They're helping North American projects take advantage of European systems and they know how to sell it on this side of the pond. North America is a unique market with lots of quirks and GL&C has a network of local sales agents that ensures European ecosystems are supported just like other systems. With MJ's business model, even though you have a mixture of manufacturers, you don't need to worry about who's responsible for startup and programming! From a European perspective, breaking into the U.S. market is daunting unless you’ve got someone like MJ and Global Lighting & Controls on your side. They can show you how it’s done on this side of the pond. They have a national network of local sales agents that ensures your products are marketed in every major U.S. market. Hurry up though - GL & C are careful not to create competition among the companies they rep. The U.S. is a huge market, here’s your foothold. Connect with MJ: www.globallightingcontrols.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-mj-johnson-99580bb/ Financially supported by NAILD (www.naild.org) Presented by The Lighting Controls Association (lightingcontrolsassociation.org)  

Dan talks about the need to focus on data management within building management systems and lighting controls. He emphasizes the significance of collecting and storing data, the potential for machine learning and predictive models, the need to break down data silos, and the importance of providing control and intelligence to various types of buildings. Daniel Hollenkamp Jr. is responsible for Toggled’s day-to-day operations; he oversees sales, marketing, manufacturing, and research & development. Previously, Dan was Toggled’s lead manufacturing engineer, where he ramped up the company’s mass production efforts. He has more than 12 years of experience in electronics manufacturing and seven years of experience in the LED industry. Connect with Dan: www.toggled.com https://www.facebook.com/toggledlighting https://twitter.com/toggledLighting