Lighting Controls Podcast

It’s always nice to hear from the guys that have been around the block. Mitch Hefter has been around it a couple of times (with all due respect, Mitch!). Webster and Ron and you get a lesson in standards like DALI and DMX and a refresher on acronyms like ESTA and USITT. You’ll even learn how a Norelco Razor played a part in the development of POE. Mitch Hefter has been working in lighting controls for over 40 years. He has played a major role in setting entertainment technology standards, promoting electrical safety and developing certification for entertainment industry electricians, and is an ETCP Certified Entertainment Electrician and Recognized Trainer. He is a founding member of the Entertainment Services and Technology Association (ESTA) Technical Standards Program (ANSI E1) and co‑chairs the Electrical Power Working Group. Mitch was instrumental in the development of USITT DMX512 in 1986 and chairs the ESTA E1.11 USITT DMX515‑A Task Group. 

This turned out to be one of our favorite episodes. If you want to hear how to design lighting controls thoroughly and effectively, listen to this one. Ben talks with Webster and Ron about taking ownership of the design and implementation of controls as a Lighting Controls Designer, which includes: identifying the right devices, coordinating mounting locations, designing integration points, following up with occupants, and avoiding the finger-pointing game.

Ben Sullivan is a lighting controls and integration designer for DC-based design firm CM KLING + ASSOCIATES. Prior to his venture into architectural design, Ben worked in theatre and event production as a lighting designer, projectionist, and audio/visual technician. He was drawn toward architecture through his work in the museum industry and as a field technician with Pixelumen Lab, a multimedia design and integration studio. As a controls designer, Ben combines his theatrical design background with a passion for curating environments, ensuring that a variety of complex design elements can come together to create a cohesive and user-friendly system.

Where are we with Power Over Ethernet? You know it’s coming so you might as well get on board. Akram and Kim from MHT, one of the industry leaders on POE, let you in on where the technology is headed and the hurdles to overcome, both technological and mental. Hey, your office landline is probably VOIP, so you’re already using POE. Now start thinking about using it for lighting.

Akram Khalis (AK) serves as MHT’s chief technology officer and co-founder of MHT's Inspextor® smart building platform. As an entrepreneurial executive who currently holds three US technology patents, AK's background in technology, product, and general management allows him to bridge the gap between engineers and businesses to bring high quality solutions to market efficiently.

Kim Johnson serves as chief marketing officer for MHT Technologies, a leader in Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) lighting and building automation software. At MHT, Johnson leads strategic marketing of the company’s core brands, products, and solutions, as well as initiatives around education, partnerships, digital strategy, and thought leadership.

Webster and Ron talk with Dan about UV light. What’s so good about UV light? Well, it kills pathogens. But using UV light in the indoor environment requires engineering for safety and effectiveness. Dan explains the use of UV light along with the use of controls and sensors for room occupancy, toxin and virus levels, fans, and filters. And don’t forget that old technology - opening your window. Dan Litvin is president and co-founder at PureTek Group where he has vast experience supporting germicidal system implementation from specification and design through programming and commissioning. He is a member of the IUVA and IES, a regular speaker at conferences nationwide, and a contributing author to industry-leading publications including LD+A. 

This is one episode we soap you like. Lighting design in a car wash? Yep. Adam has found a tidy little niche market. But just like any other project, it requires skill and technology. Adam has created theater-like experiences that draw families to the local car wash. Visitors see the flashy light show but not the pixel mapping, zone control and DMX technology behind the soap and water. 

Since the age of 8, Adam has been very interested in electrical systems and software. Thanks to church, he was raised around stage lighting and audio systems through helping with services and special events. As an adult he stumbled into the car wash industry doing their electrical control systems, pneumatics, and hydraulics. A few years passed before he had the idea to bridge lighting, audio, and car washing. What was ultimately birthed is an architectural lighting platform that takes the 'human' aspect of stage lighting design and packages it into reusable sequences per customer building. He is able to pixel map each location according to the actual architecture, meaning each customer's location can be unique according to their marketing goals. Audio synchronized light shows are natively supported meaning customers can build marketing events around his platform like Christmas or Halloween shows. 

Connect with Adam: 

http://www.sutrainnovations.com 

IG: @builditwithadam and @sutrainnovations 

FB: www.facebook.com/sutrainnovations 

LinkedIn: Adam Grant 

Controls are still new to lighting reps but we have Todd M. Reemtsma, a multi-year multi-industry veteran to help understand better.

One issue is that controls remain separated from other parts of the process, commissioning, design and even reps. Everyone wants more of every pie and that extends up to manufacturers and their platforms and protocols. The barriers between fields and between protocols will start to come down when it’s something that end users demand, much like how it happened in theatrical lighting. Control intent narratives, even simple ones, from designers, even ones that don’t deal in controls, can do a lot for creating what customers and users want. We also get into generation gaps, lessons from that infamous Massachusetts High School and the value of using wires for your controls.

Opportunity is the word.

We are joined by Michael Colligan of Restoring Darkness to discuss why lighting controls and smart city projects are a natural fit for eliminating excess light at night. Integrators, researchers, and city managers have the tools in place to examine what works and doesn’t in terms of beam spread, brightness, and color across every vector. Those opportunities represent money-earning potential for integrators and lighting experts. We can all win here and look good doing it.

Kelly is in the weeds when it comes to codes and standards. She spends A LOT of time thinking about controls as she is on the Codes and Standards team at PG&E in California. And you know what that means. If it’s adopted in California, it’ll be everywhere else eventually. So get ahead of the game and listen to this podcast. Kelly Cunningham currently serves as a program manager on Pacific Gas & Electric’s Codes and Standards team. Her role includes managing the program responsible for the development of codes and standards enhancement proposals to advance California’s Energy Code, leading the Local Energy Codes program which offers technical assistance to California jurisdictions pursuing energy ordinances, and supporting the evolution of national building energy model codes. She is also an NBI Senior Fellow. 

Matthew talks with Webster and Ron about “getting grandma to not click on bad things,” how to keep networks secure, and how to avoid a “spear-phishing” attack (as opposed to a just plain “phishing”). Matthew has been in the cybersecurity world for 24 years and he and Morphisec know how to make it EXTREMELY difficult to mount a successful cyber attack. Matthew encompasses a rare combination of qualifications in information security, networking, security research, forensics and incident management. 

We’ve had some brainiacs on this podcast before, but the products Pathway Connectivity has engineered around switching, PoE and networking… well, suffice to say, you’ve probably used something they have or his team has built. Robert discusses, with Webster and Ron, how switches, designed for entertainment, are making their way into architectural lighting and “architainment.” Robert Bell a Consulting Director for Product Market at Acuity Brands and oversees the development of the entire Pathway Connectivity product line. Robert has been awarded multiple US Patents for lighting controls and networking which have been assigned to Acuity Brands. In 1992, he won the first ever Wally Russell Newcomer Award as the creator of WYSIWYG, the Emmy Award winning previsualization software.