DOE Connected Lighting Workshop Highlights Standards, Testbeds, and Data‑Driven Energy Management

Collaboration among lighting, semiconductor, and computing industries on standards and testbeds is essential to realize the full potential of connected lighting systems.

The U.S. Department of Energy hosts an annual workshop, held June 7‑8 in Santa Clara, California, to provide a forum for integrated industry stakeholders to examine technical needs; participants guide the DOE Connected Lighting testbed and encourage development of additional testbeds, offering stakeholders hands‑on experience.

Replacing existing fixtures with LEDs can markedly improve building and city energy and lighting performance, and growing interest in connected lighting systems enables new services such as inventory tracking and emergency response.

DOE’s Solid‑State Lighting program is working closely with industry to identify and address key areas, unlocking the full potential of connected lighting systems to enhance energy efficiency and lighting quality.

Data‑driven energy management can significantly reduce consumption and create new market opportunities for currently unmetered devices, such as performance‑based efficiency programs and energy billing, provided that reporting accuracy is known and meets market requirements.

System performance depends on device interoperability; a common platform and protocols are needed for data exchange among lighting devices, other systems, and the cloud, giving users choice, reducing obsolescence risk, fostering multi‑vendor competition, and simplifying deployment.

Overly complex and time‑consuming configuration systems have historically delivered sub‑optimal performance, a problem especially acute in lighting control due to a lack of standardization.

Connected lighting systems increasingly feature automated configuration, which can markedly boost performance and value, potentially driving broader adoption of advanced, energy‑saving lighting control strategies.

Connected lighting products can collect and exchange data, serving as IoT backbones that support long‑term autonomous building operations; beyond occupancy and daylight sensors, CO₂, vibration, and sound sensors enable air‑quality monitoring, theft detection, and even guidance to vacant parking spaces.

- James Broadrick is the Solid‑State Lighting Technology Manager at the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.