Lighting & Controls
Networked Lighting Controls
Systems where every fixture is individually addressable, monitored and adjustable — the difference between switching lights and managing them.
A networked lighting control system makes every fixture individually addressable, so lighting stops being something you switch and becomes something you manage. It is also, on most commercial retrofits, where the second half of the energy savings lives — LEDs cut the connected load, and controls cut the hours those watts actually run.
What a networked system does that a switch cannot
Standalone occupancy sensors save energy in one room. A networked system knows what every fixture in the building is doing, records it, and lets you change the strategy without sending an electrician to rewire a zone.
- Individual fixture addressing, grouping and zoning — reconfigured in software, not in conduit
- Occupancy and vacancy control with tunable timeouts per space type
- Daylight harvesting that dims perimeter fixtures against measured light levels
- Task tuning — trimming maximum output to the level a space actually needs
- Scheduling by area, day and season
- Energy monitoring and reporting at fixture, zone or building level
- Demand response participation where the utility program supports it
- Remote diagnostics that flag a failed driver before anyone reports it
Why the DLC listing matters to your budget
Most utility incentive programs that pay for networked controls require the system to appear on the DesignLights Consortium Networked Lighting Controls Qualified Products List. The NLC QPL verifies interoperability, cybersecurity and data access — not just that the product works, but that you will be able to get your own data out of it and integrate it later.
The requirements are actively tightening. DLC's NLC V5.2 technical requirements take effect on 3 August 2026, strengthening interoperability, cybersecurity, data access and configuration reporting, and adding recognition for lighting-to-HVAC integration. Specifying a system that is not listed, or is listed under an older version than your utility requires, can cost you the incentive entirely.
We check the QPL status of every system we specify against the program you are applying to, before the order goes in.
Where savings actually come from
In our experience the ranking surprises people. Task tuning — simply reducing maximum output to the level the space needs — is often the largest single contributor, and it costs nothing to implement once the system is in. Occupancy control follows. Daylight harvesting is genuinely valuable in perimeter and skylit areas and close to worthless in a windowless core, which is why blanket daylight sensing specifications waste money.
This is also why commissioning matters more than hardware selection. An excellent system left at factory defaults delivers a fraction of what it should.
The failure mode we get called in to fix
The most common problem with existing NLC installations is not hardware. It is a system that was installed, energised, never properly commissioned, and then partially disabled by occupants who found the behaviour irritating — lights cutting out during meetings, aggressive dimming in a space that needed the light.
The result is a building carrying the capital cost of a control system while producing close to none of the savings. If that describes a system you already own, we can usually recover most of the intended performance through recommissioning alone, without new hardware.
Common questions
Is a networked system worth it over standalone sensors?
It depends on building size and how much the space changes. For a small building with stable use, standalone sensors are often the right economic answer. For larger facilities, multi-tenant space, or anywhere layouts change, networked systems win — partly on additional savings from task tuning and scheduling, and substantially on the ability to reconfigure zones in software rather than paying an electrician to rewire.
Can networked controls be added to existing LED fixtures?
Often yes, if the existing drivers are dimmable and support a compatible control input. Fixtures with non-dimmable drivers need a driver replacement, which is usually far cheaper than a full fixture replacement. We survey the installed drivers before proposing an approach.
Do controls qualify for utility rebates?
Frequently, and the NLC incentive is often larger than the fixture incentive. Most programs require the system to be on the DLC NLC Qualified Products List. As with all incentives, the application must be approved before installation begins.
What happens if the network goes down?
Properly specified systems fail to a safe, usable state — typically lights on at a preset level rather than off. This is a specification decision, and it is worth confirming before purchase rather than discovering during an outage.
Ready to talk about your project?
Tell us what you need and we will give you a straight answer on scope, schedule and cost. No obligation, and no pressure if it turns out we are not the right fit.