Coopersburg, PA (May 8, 2014) – “The most effective and impactful light control systems must first provide meaningful benefits to the people who work and live in the space, and then be optimized for energy efficiency without sacrificing the needs of the people." This concept was the focus of a talk given today by Lutron President Michael W. Pessina at the Smart Lighting Conference in Barcelona, Spain. Pessina’s “Systems Approach to Lighting a Building” theme addressed both the economical and sociological considerations of installing a light control system in a home or office.

Considerations addressed include:

1. The importance of designing light as part of the building system and total visual environment of a space.
2. A light system overview, including luminaires, sensors, controls, window systems and monitoring equipment, and ways they can provide automated control based on occupancy, time of day, daylight availability, time of year etc. as well as manual control to address occupant preferences.
3. The importance of integrating lighting with all aspects of a building system, inclusive of HVAC, window solutions and plug load control.
4. System benefits, including the optimization of energy conservation, but most importantly, providing thermal and visual comfort to the occupants in order to enhance productivity in the work place and to improve well-being in the home.

“Homeowners and business owners alike need to think beyond the energy-saving benefits of a light control system,” said Pessina. “When you start to consider the people in the space and how controllable light will affect them from a visual comfort and performance perspective and improve overall well-being, the energy savings almost becomes secondary.”

Now in its fourth year, the Smart Lighting Conference focused on state-of-the-art technology, applications, business models and best practices in intelligent and dynamic solid state lighting worldwide – all of which will impact future smart lighting applications. Visit http://www.smartlighting.org/sl2014/ for more information.