Lighting Controls Podcast

The stick is coming. Will HVAC controls become the dominant system, or will Lighting Controls pull ahead? Maury comes to us from the HVAC side of things but he thinks lighting has far more potential as an overall control system. Or perhaps AI will be the stick and replace it all! Maury is a tenured executive with 31 years of diversified experience in executive leadership, sales, marketing, sales management, business development, and operations/general management with demonstrated ability for business growth while managing costs. Areas of strength include change management, rebuilding and scaling businesses, and strategic leadership. He has been Vice President of Sales at Dorse and Company since 2021. 

Nathan tells Webster and Ron about his experiences with a “touring house,” working with “dimmer beach,” and getting off the road to be home in the evenings. He successfully took his “show must go on” attitude from theater to architectural installations and is now a lighting controls field service engineer with over 16 years of controls experience. Throughout his career, he has held certifications with 11 different lighting controls manufacturers, and he also holds NALMCO’s CLCP and CSLT certifications along with Tridium’s Niagara AX certification. Nathan is the senior field service engineer at CW Lighting, a lighting fixtures and controls manufacturers’ rep firm that has been in the industry for 40 years. Nathan entered the lighting industry at 20, building upon his background in technical theater. He has earned a reputation for attention to detail, troubleshooting expertise, and excellent customer service, and he currently serves on the Wattstopper technician advisory council. 

If you missed Lightfair this year, you can watch this and feel like you're there. Webster and Ron visited the ETC, SGM, and Pharos booths. Also, check out the live broadcast with McWong at the end. Both Webster and Ron presented this year, but sorry, you had to be there to catch those. Make sure to attend Lightfair in 2 year. 

Caleb joins the controls conversation from the perspective of an Electrical Engineer. Caleb talks about the importance of documentation in a project. Getting everything right - and on paper - in the submittals will save everyone money and headaches. It’s all about communication!

Caleb Thompson is an Electrical Design Engineer at DFW Consulting Group with 4 years experience in helping clients determine their vision for the space and then realizing it through lighting controls. He specializes in telecommunications & data centers but has experience with multi floor office projects, retail showrooms, & P.O.E. Caleb utilizes his experience to bring a thoughtful & packaged solution to the client to meet their needs. 

Time - something we all wish we had more of. Unfortunately, we only have 24 hours in a day to work with. Zach Mix and Parspec will make you feel like someone added hours to your day. They will take away the tedious work of looking up data sheets and part numbers with their machine learning and AI. And we all know what that means - saving money! Zach Mix leads Sales and Business Development for Parspec. After spending the past decade working for lighting & electrical companies including Green Creative, WattStopper, & ElectroRep, Zach is energized by providing top-tier software technology to help lighting & electrical companies perform their best. When he’s not working, Zach switches to Dad-mode and enjoys time with his family. 

Tom is Sales Director for Pharos Controls, but as you’ll see in the video, he still likes to tinker. (You can’t see it, but he told us he’s surrounded by 23 computers in his attic!) So Tom is the perfect guest to talk about DMX, how its use is growing in the architectural world, and how Pharos is trying to make it easier to use for customers. But don’t discount DALI! Thomas joined Pharos in 2009 and now has over 25 years of experience in theatrical and architectural lighting controlS. He successfully helped launch Pharos products in the Americas and established numerous important partnerships with customers in the region. As Sales Director, Thomas oversees the highly skilled global Pharos sales team. He enjoys tinkering with LED technologies, lighting programming and home DIY projects. 

“You have to get into the weeds,” says Jennifer Bean; lighting controls are so complicated now and there is so much coordination that needs to happen. The lighting designers, the controls specialists and the engineers all need to work together. Or get Jennifer on your project and she’ll make it all happen.

Jennifer joined Sladen Feinstein Integrated Lighting in 2020 after 14 years at a Boston-based engineering firm, where she served as an Electrical Design Engineer, Project Manager, and Associate. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Interior Design from Endicott College and has an extensive understanding and experience of electrical engineering theory, electrical/energy codes, lighting, and controls in large commercial, residential and mixed use developments. Jennifer applies her technical knowledge from engineering to each design project she works on including corporate, mix-used, academic, and life-science facilities. Jennifer enjoys being involved with the lighting community and is on the board of managers of the Illuminating Engineering Society, Boston section.

Sports stadium lighting used to be, pretty much, on and off, with maybe some dimming and mechanical shuttering. Now sports arenas call on theatrical lighting designers to wow the crowd with fully controlled RGB LED lights. (If you find yourself in the TD Gardens in Boston, you’ll likely experience a light show designed by our very own Ron Kuszmar!) Michael Quijano with Ephesus Sports Lighting can even integrate the practical lighting around the facility into the show. Do you own a sports stadium or arena? Give Michael an unlimited budget and he’ll blow your mind! Mike Quijano currently serves as the Strategic Marketing Director for Cooper’s Ephesus Sports Lighting business. Mike Joined Ephesus in 2014 as it was growing from a start-up to the leader in sports and entertainment lighting. Prior to joining Ephesus, Mike worked at Future Elections as a Regional Technical Manager and holds a bachelors in optics engineering from University of Rochester and a Masters in Lighting from RPI. 

Something a little different here. We recap Webster’s and Ron’s visit to LEDucation with a fun yet informative video. Virtually visit some of the booths and “talk” to the reps. You’ll feel like you’re actually there! Almost. 

Picture this: It’s your birthday, you sit down at work and your favorite color of light comes on over your desk. Or a VIP walks into the building and everyone is notified via the lighting controls system. These are just a couple of outside-the-box ideas that Rob and Coffield have for smart building controls. Also in this episode, Ron puts up a defense for integrators. It’s not always their fault. Coffield began his career working in architecture firms with a strong focus on 3D visualization and custom detailing. Projects included larger commercial buildings, as well as the design and fabrication drawings for custom light fixture installations. Over the last 13 years he has had the opportunity to design lighting solutions for an expansive array of project types including a large number of LEED Silver, Gold, and Platinum projects. Coffield has a passion for sustainable design and a talent for making projects come to life through close integration with all members of the design team. Rob is an experienced Electrical Engineer, project manager and systems-design integrator within hospitality, higher education and healthcare disciplines. An accomplished lighting designer and engineering client leader, he positively impacts quality control at a complete MEP oversight capacity. Rob is a role model for younger engineers and provides mentorship throughout CannonDesign’s national engineering practice.