PARADIGM SHIFT 2 Lighting can be
By C. Webster Marsh, Penumbra Controls,
brighter or dimmer.
Lighting Controls Association,
PA R A D I G M S H I F T / / S E P T E M B E R / O C TO B E R 2 0 2 4 / / L M & M
The Lighting Controls Podcast A version of this article originally appeared on the Lighting Controls Association website. The article has been updated.
The simplicity and effectiveness of lighting controls can change dramatically when lighting fixtures are dimmed via digital protocols, such as DMX512 or DALI. This change has facilitated more advanced controls solutions, improved interoperability, and has altered the landscape of lighting control systems and how they are installed. Many people are resisting this change, however, and it appears as though we are headed towards another paradigm shift that will sustain those who adapt and eliminate those who don’t.
1 26
At the outset, electric lighting controls began with a simple control scheme: lighting can be on or off. This was often via a light switch or a relay that would control groups of luminaires that shared the same circuit. Power to the luminaires was cut off by physically severing the circuit that powered the luminaires. With this scheme, it was common to assume that control groups shared a power circuit and that any new zones needed a new circuit and switch.
Lighting can be on or off.
Eventually, a new scheme was introduced with the innovation of dimming controls. No longer was it just on or off, but it was also: lighting can be brighter or dimmer. This new truism still relied on the same principles of the first control scheme, in that zones shared the same circuit and were switched and dimmed together, and it was very expensive to provide individual control of each luminaire. At the outset of this new principle, phase dimming was the most popular option available, which used the power feeding the luminaires to also dim them.
Lighting can be static or dynamic.
3
Following this improvement, we saw another moment of change with a new scheme: lighting can be static or dynamic. Traditional dimming systems would only be able to adjust the brightness of a static white luminaire, but many luminaires today are no longer just static white. Luminaires can be color changing, tunable white, or dim to warm. Whether it’s a trend or not, dynamic color control capabilities are currently in a phase of growth, and their controls needs are much more advanced than their predecessors.