Integrated building controls – where lighting, HVAC, and other systems work together to optimize building performance – are essential to building  an equitable, resilient, decarbonized power infrastructure and meeting the challenges of climate change. In order to manage the influx of renewable energy sources, balance the load on the grid, and create truly smart buildings, building systems and equipment must be able to collect and report data, respond to dynamic price signals, and talk to each other in a much more robust way than they currently do today. As one of the most important building systems, lighting plays a key role in the transition to a sustainable, resilient future.  

Control systems have long been a weak link in the building industry, and as they become more complex, the challenges will only increase. But the main hurdles we face are not technological, they’re economic, behavioral, and cultural. Contracting business models in particular must evolve and adapt to face the reality of the enormous challenges we face today. 

Despite being far from accepted mainstream practice, integrated controls are being successfully implemented in a growing number of projects. This talk presents several compelling case studies of controls integration and explores the connections between integrated controls and larger issues like policy, codes and standards; engineering best practices; economic metrics and overlooked externalities; real estate asset value; building performance; and resilient grids.

Total AIA CEU Credits: 1.5 (must attend all three Lighting Controls sessions)