Controls

  Parks Associates’ recent whitepaper, From Smart Home to Building Intelligence argues that multifamily properties are moving beyond standalone smart-home features toward integrated building-intelligence platforms that unify connectivity, access, automation, security, and energy management. The report’s most important message for the lighting industry is that lighting is no longer just a fixture-level upgrade; it is increasingly part [...]

  The DesignLights Consortium (DLC) has published its Networked Lighting Controls (NLC) V5.2 technical requirements, with the update taking effect Aug. 3, 2026. The revision strengthens interoperability, standardizes reporting, and expands the role of lighting controls in integrated building systems, including HVAC-related applications. The new version positions networked lighting controls as more than a lighting-only [...]

Eaton has introduced a new line of residential occupancy and vacancy sensors designed to improve energy efficiency, simplify installation, and align with evolving code requirements. The OS306A Occupancy Sensor and VS306M Vacancy Sensor combine enhanced detection performance with a streamlined form factor suited for both new construction and retrofit applications. The devices reflect continued demand [...]

  Smart home technology can improve quality of life for people with autism, older adults, and others who benefit from added support at home. Smart home tools are more than novelty gadgets. Rather, they can be practical systems that can reduce stress, increase safety, and make daily routines more manageable. Technology works best when it [...]

  Parks Associates’ 2026 State of Connected Home report says the connected home market is shifting away from selling devices and toward owning the customer relationship through data, services, and recurring revenue. The biggest growth opportunities are in platform control, AI-driven home experiences, security, and home energy management, while trust and privacy remain the main [...]

  By Gary Satanovsky, Product Design and Marketing Manager, NuWatt Lighting Since the earliest days of electric light, illumination has played a central role in keeping people and property safe after dark. Along the way, security lighting became governed by a simple, seemingly intuitive principle: brighter spaces are safer spaces. And while that assumption – higher [...]

    By Szymon Slupik, President & CTO, Silvair Energy saving is the primary feature of lighting control systems. The concept is well known: dim the lights if there is enough sunlight (daylight harvesting controls) or turn the lights off when there are no people in the room (occupancy / vacancy – based controls). The [...]

  Briteswitch has pulled together the latest rebate trends for Commercial Lighting Controls and EV Chargers, in separate articles. Rebate Trends For Commercial Lighting Controls Commercial lighting controls are moving from an add-on feature to a central part of rebate strategy as utilities push for deeper energy savings and look beyond simple LED retrofits. In [...]

  By C. Webster Marsh, Lighting Controls Designer, Sladen Feinstein Integrated Lighting Changing White Lighting: What is the End-User’s Experience? I have learned that one of the fastest ways to lose someone outside the lighting industry is to ask, ‘Do you want 2700K or 3500K?’ It is a perfectly normal question for us inside the [...]