Chris comes to us from NEEA, Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance. Energy savings from LED‘s is pretty much tapped out. Chris explains how utilities are now looking at lighting controls as the next evolution in conserving energy, and how they reach their goals. He enlightens us on how switching the time out on an occupancy sensor from 7 to 5 minutes can make all the difference in reaching the savings target. And please, if there's a projector in the room, don’t place the occupancy sensor too close to it. Spoiler alert: the sensor sees hot air movement. For over 25 years Chris Wolgamott has worked in the utility business in the Pacific Northwest, as a program manager, energy efficiency engineer and product manager. Mr. Wolgamott is recognized as a subject matter expert (SME) for LLLC (Luminaire Level Lighting Controls). He works extensively with lighting manufacturers on where the future of lighting and controls are headed. His work in the utility business has allowed him to gain vast knowledge on how incentive programs are developed and run. As the Senior Product Manager for Commercial, Residential Lighting and Commercial Efficient Rooftop Units (eRTU) with NEEA, Chris works with manufacturers on increasing the efficiency of lighting, lighting controls and natural gas rooftop units. Chris leads all emerging tech research on lighting products to support transformation of the commercial and residential lighting markets. Chris is the SME for the natural gas Efficient Rooftop Unit program and High Performance HVAC program, working with industry to transform the commercial HVAC market. Chris started his energy efficiency career at NW Natural Gas Co. working with residential and commercial customers to find ways to more efficiently use natural gas. After 6 years in the natural gas industry he decided to switch and went to work for Eugene Water & Electric Board, a local public utility. Chris worked with the commercial energy efficiency department to promote electric conservation. It was during this time that he found his passion for lighting. 7 years later he moved to Portland OR to work as a contractor for Bonneville Power Administration. During his 3 years at BPA Chris was the commercial lighting energy efficiency engineer for the Energy Efficiency department. His time as the lighting engineer was spent working with the utilities of the Northwest to promote high quality and efficient lighting. 

Lyn is back earning her 3-times jacket! Lyn starts with the statement that nobody knows what they’re doing and we go from there. Lyn talks about the reason to use the term "commissioning provider" rather than agent or authority (Check out her blog post on the subject: https://kw-engineering.com/commissioning-titles-agent-authority-provider-one-right/). Which makes sense seeing as she is now the President of the Building Commissioning Association. If the MEP thing doesn’t work out, we feel confident she could be pretty successful in stand-up comedy.

Lyn is an MEP Coordinator for DPR Construction. She uses her 25 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 ANSI/IES LP-8 (the standard for lighting/controls commissioning) and is President of the Building Commissioning Association. With Rick Miller, she created the framework for the new standard on control sequences for lighting control systems (LP-16) and was vice-chair. She also teaches classes on lighting controls and supports Techbridge, an afterschool STEM program.

Recent changes from the IALD suggest that lighting designers can have their own controls teams. While this approach may work in some cases, Bryan raises some important considerations. Through our discussions on over 80 episodes of The Lighting Controls Podcast, we’ve explored the complexities and challenges that come with lighting control systems. Each project has unique needs, and a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t always lead to the best outcomes. Bryan has observed instances where control designs have been replicated across projects in ways that didn’t align with the specific requirements. His perspective is that leveraging dedicated lighting controls professionals can help ensure systems are designed and implemented effectively. Bryan Lussier, currently the Lead Controls Systems Specialist at Apex Lighting Solutions, has over 20 years of experience in the lighting industry. As an entertainment and architectural lighting professional, he has worked with various distributors, manufacturers, and specifiers in different roles. Bryan is an award-winning theatrical lighting designer, a member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), and has served as the master electrician for national tours and facilities. In architecture, he holds the Licensed Controls (LC) and Certified Lighting Control Professional (CLCP) certifications and is a member of the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES). Additionally, he is the President of the Designers Lighting Forum of New England (DLFNE) and is currently very busy planning Boston Lights 2025 in October. Bryan’s expertise extends beyond these achievements. He has a pending patent for a Light Emitting Diode (LED) Sports Lighting Luminaire Assembly, which provides a comprehensive guide on optimizing the application of LED lighting sources in sports lighting scenarios.

Connect with Bryan: linkedin.com/in/bslussier
https://www.apexlightingsolutions.com/
https://twitter.com/bslussier
https://www.facebook.com/ApexLightingSolutions
https://www.linkedin.com/company/apex-lighting-solutions/
https://www.instagram.com/apexlighting_apexbuilding

Sponsor: mwConnect www.mwconnect.us  

Dan joins us from Lam Partners Architectural Lighting where they are “crafting luminous environments for people to spend their lives in.” That luminous environment requires lights, obviously, but also controls. That being said, Dan points out that the most successful projects are ones that have simple user interfaces. As Ron says, “You can have the most complicated control system on the back end, but if that end user experience isn't simple and easy, people just get confused.” But even the simplest design needs coordination and communication between the architect, engineer, and lighting and controls designers–A Team Effort. Dan Weissman, AIA, IALD, IES is an award-winning Architectural Lighting Designer, researcher, and craftsman specializing in sustainable design and digital technologies. As Associate Principal and Director of Lam Labs at Lam Partners, he collaborates on innovative projects and engages with leading academics to advance the field. Dan serves as Chair of the IES Daylighting Committee, is an active member of the IES Sustainable Design committee and Solemma’s Climate Studio Product Advisory Group, and sits on the Board of Directors of the Flint Collective. He periodically teaches at Harvard Graduate School of Design, and is a frequent guest lecturer nationally and internationally. An avid musician and amateur luthier of mandolin-family instruments, Dan also tends a garden, and two children along with his artist wife Lanie, and bakes two sourdough loaves a week. 

Parker comes to us from the Edison Report. He gives Webster and Ron a 30,000 foot view of the lighting controls industry. Looking in from the outside, Parker touches on the retrofit world, manufacturer reps, the national electrical grid, and even cryptocurrency. Parker Allen serves as a Manager at EdisonReport, a news website and media network dedicated to covering the lighting industry. He is a content editor and staff writer for designing lighting (dl) magazine, as well as the assistant editor of Lighting Management and Maintenance (LM&M) magazine, published by EdisonReport on behalf of NALMCO. Allen just celebrated his third anniversary at EdisonReport. In a former life, he worked at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, conducting research into the aging process, specifically the role that insulin signaling played in promoting or delaying aging. He graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2014. He is an avid Vols fan (despite his better judgement) and enjoys life in Nashville with his fiancée and 5 cats. 

Avi’s back! And he speaks his mind. Avi contends that the lighting designer should also design the controls. As he says, “If I pick what that thing is, then I gotta figure out how to turn it on and off.” Avi says that it also includes “Liminaire Number One,” by which he means the Sun. Yes, automated shades should also come under the purview of the lighting designer. Oh and yes, for Avi, DALI is “da bomb.”

 Founding Principal, Avraham “Avi” M. Mor has been practicing lighting design for over 20 years. After graduating from the University of Kansas with a BFA in Theater Design with an emphasis in Architectural and Theatrical Lighting Design, he moved back to his hometown of Chicago to further his craft. Avi has grown his business from a small operation with only a handful of clients to a bustling firm with projects of all sizes located around the nation.

Connect with Avi:
https://www.facebook.com/Avmister
https://www.linkedin.com/in/avrahammor/

Morlights - https://www.facebook.com/Morlights/
https://www.instagram.com/morlightsdesign/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/morlights/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC94SRUUcmQ0cXSvCBk7mbpA

Umesh shares with us the latest at MaxLite. They haven’t always been in lighting controls. But from their beginnings in architectural lighting, they have evolved and are even setting the pace with lighting controls, especially with their unique use of USB-C connectors. Be aware that USB-C, in this application, is there to simplify the connection process, not to charge your phone. Umesh is a SVP of Product and Engineering at MaxLite and leads a cross-functional team to develop and bring new product ideas and technologies to help MaxLite grow in the C&I space. Umesh brings more than 20 years of cross-industry experience in product and business improvement. He has held progressively senior leadership positions in product management, engineering and corporate development across diverse organizations ranging from high-tech manufacturing corporations, to Wall Street to Fortune 5 companies like Amazon. His lighting career began with Philips overseeing the downlight and track portfolio for the Americas and of late he has been busy creating the c-Max Lighting controls portfolio for MaxLite. He is an engineer by trade and also has an MBA.

Connect with Umesh:
www.maxlite.com/pub/media/wysiwyg/about/team/Umesh_Baheti.jpg
www.linkedin.com/in/umeshsbaheti
www.maxlite.com
www.maxlite.com/cmax 

Nathan has been digging into the National Electrical Code. He stresses the importance of verbiage in codes. A word as simple as “all” can have an enormous impact on interpretation. For example, Webster and Ron discuss with Nathan a weird transition in Texas electrical and mechanical rooms from using occupancy sensors to timer switches and how, if you are a worker in that room and you aren’t familiar with the system when the lights go out, you won’t know what the heck is going on. Listen to this thought provoking episode to hear more! Nathan Williams is 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. He lives in Spring, TX with his wife and their two cats, and in his spare time, he chairs his neighborhood Architectural Review Committee, enjoys fine tuning his home automation, and is always looking forward to his next Caribbean cruise. 

Marissa comes to us from Tondo Smart. “Smart” is in their name because they are on a quest to bring smart controls to roadways and outdoor areas. That is, possibly, the next frontier in lighting. We’ve saved as much energy as we can with LED’s, now it’s time to take the next step with controls. Marissa tells us about Tondo’s leadership in integrating sensors, energy meters, cameras, and controls for connecting critical infrastructure. Marissa Wright is the Chief Revenue Officer at Tondo Smart, where she leads Tondo’s U.S. and Canadian market expansion. Marissa has over 40 years of experience in the technology sector, business advisory services, and financing early-stage startups, and she’s the driving force behind Tondo’s expansion into the U.S. market, bringing cities next-generation lighting and critical infrastructure management solutions. Marissa is based in Vancouver, Canada, and holds an MBA from Simon Fraser University. Her career has included founding and managing over a dozen early-stage companies, focusing on market strategy, business development, and project leadership for high-growth technology firms. At Tondo, Marissa developed the company’s market strategy and also designed the company’s new adaptive roadway lighting control solution. Join us as Marissa shares her insights on the rapidly evolving world of smart roadway lighting controls, the impact of adaptive roadway lighting on lighting safety and energy efficiency, the importance of cybersecurity for managing critical infrastructure, and her vision for making Smart Cities a reality. 

Dr. James joins us from across the pond. Dr. James strives to “build bridges between end users and lighting designers and specifiers and scientists and controls people.” She wanted to bring all these worlds together so much that she even learned to be an electrician. Her latest venture on the education front is a new podcast, “Thinking Differently About Lighting,” launching soon on the Get A Grip Network of podcasts. Dr Shelley James is an international expert on light and well-being, TEDx and keynote speaker, Author, WELL Advisor and Visiting Lecturer at the Royal College of Art. She is also a trained glass artist and electrician. Shelley is on a mission to inspire others to harness the power of the humble lightbulb to be healthier, happier and help to save the planet too. Clients include global lighting and technology brands and regulators, healthcare and education trusts, architects and designers, academic institutions and museums. A recent social media campaign to raise awareness of the impact of light on teens was translated into three languages and reached over 2.5 million people around the world. Her TEDx talk was the third-most watched in the world in the month following the launch.