Lighting Controls Podcast

Getting connected is what mwConnect (formerly McWong) specializes in with their award winning Bluetooth Mesh. They’ve been around for 40 years, so you know they know what they’re doing. Margaret and Stephen give us a retrospective of the company from its beginnings manufacturing ballasts, and they tell us about their rebranding process. If you’re in competition with mwConnect, they welcome it as it drives manufacturers to create and produce better products and offer more affordable price points. Let’s work together and make the pie bigger! Margaret founded mwConnect as McWong International, Inc. in 1984. She brings over 25 years of lighting experience from manufacturing and procurement to technology development; including light sources, luminaires, LED drivers, sensors, wireless control systems, etc. For many years, Margaret has demonstrated the leadership and vision to both predict and actively drive profound changes enabled by LED semiconducting, IOT and smart lighting solutions. Her cross-border and financial investment experience has brought together many opportunities and deals between the US and Asia in the lighting industry and beyond. Stephen manages product development and business operations as well as strategic partner relationships. Prior to this role, he worked for the company in a number of roles, including project manager, product manager and sales manager. Zhou holds an MBA from the Rawls College of Business, Texas Tech University and a B.S. from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in Shanghai. He is an IES member and is fluent in English and Chinese. 

Just one away from his 5 times guest jacket, Steve Mesh joins us to discuss… education, semantics, UL924, emergency controls, security, and in-rush. You already know Steve knows his stuff and he’ll always open your eyes to something. Listen to his interesting perspective on emergency vs life saving controls. Steve has been a lighting designer and educator for 43 years. He was the Senior Lighting Program Coordinator at the Pacific Energy Center in San Francisco from 2008-2011. Steve is a member of the Illuminating Engineering Society and was the IES/Northeast Regional Vice President. He was also part of the development team for the California Advanced Lighting Controls Training Program. Steve has taught lighting for 38 years. He won an IALD award for the Palm House at Dowling College and an EPRI award for Brower Commons at Rutgers University. Since 1992, he has given several workshops at LightFair and has spoken at Lux Pacifica in New Delhi, India. He is also a private pilot. Connect with Steve: www.linkedin.com/in/steven-mesh-lc-iesna-b156b83 lightingcontrolsassociation.org/?s=%22Steve+Mesh%22 Sponsor: mwConnect www.mwconnect.com

The listeners give feedback to hosts Ron and Webster to clarify some things that were unclear or confusing in episode 53 "It's Not a Protocol." In this short episode, past guests Mitch Hefter and Javid Butler discuss the definition of a protocol in our industry vs. the OSI definition of a protocol, what did and did not get revised regarding emergency lighting control, and what the basic requirements are for emergency lighting control. No need to listen to episode 53 to listen to this shorty! Mitch Hefter has been working in lighting controls for over 40 years. He has played a major role in setting entertainment technology standards, promoting electrical safety and developing certification for entertainment industry electricians, and is an ETCP Certified Entertainment Electrician and Recognized Trainer. He is a founding member of the Entertainment Services and Technology Association (ESTA) Technical Standards Program (ANSI E1) and co‑chairs the Electrical Power Working Group. Mitch was instrumental in the development of USITT DMX512 in 1986 and chairs the ESTA E1.11 USITT DMX515‑A Task Group. Javid Butler is a lighting designer and energy engineer who holds LC, CEM, and CMVP certifications. He has contributed to the development of many lighting standards including RDM and sACN, and chaired the task group for E1.27 DMX512 cabling standards. He presently chairs the E1.68 DMX512 Compliance task group. In addition to lighting standards Javid enjoys teaching Fundamentals of Lighting. He also writes science fiction under the pen name David Pax. Links mentioned: - Spring 2024 Protocol articles: https://www.esta.org/ Click on the ‘Protocol’ pane | click on ‘Read Protocol Online’ or go to the ‘Read the Archive’ button. - Articles on DMX512 Update and E1.68 are pages 20 & 29 respectively. ESTA standards can be downloaded for free from the ‘Technical Standards Program’ pane. - National Electrical Code: https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/nfpa-70-standard-development/70 - Lighting Controls Association article: Egress and Emergency Lighting in a Controls World https://lightingcontrolsassociation.org/2023/05/24/egress-and-emergency-lighting-in-a-controls-world/ 

The LED revolution has done its part in the energy saving space. Now it’s going to fall on the Controls industry to take it to the next level. You can tell people to just turn off their lights when no one is in the room, but we all know humans and human nature makes that a challenge. So it’s up to us, the controls specialists. But… sometimes it’s up to the end user. Listen to David’s story about a major university during the pandemic shut down. And wait till you see his Zippo lighter! After getting his start in high school running lights for a Sinatra impersonator in the back room of a Chinese restaurant in beautiful Burbank California, David Fox worked in California as a field service technician, production electrician, house electrician, console programmer, lighting designer, and monitor engineer for  several theatres, live concert venues, feature films, and television productions. For the last 25 years, David has been at ETC starting providing frontline phone support. He then transitioned to managing technical support and customer service departments. Currently he works in the education center as the LMS Administrator and instructional designer developing training programs and presenting live and online classes. Since his start in the industry David has been passionate about learning and education believing that what we do is a craft and as such we all have a responsibility to pass along what we know to those who follow us. When not at work, he tries to do as little as possible and generally fails at it.

This one covers a lot of ground. Avi Mor, Founder and CEO of Morlights, a design firm in Chicago, speaks his mind on interoperability, protocols, dimming, CAT5, Dali, specifications, and… elevators. Using elevators as an analogy, Avi would like to see open protocols for controlling luminaires allowing designers to replace fixtures rather than ripping out the controls system.  Founding Principal, Avraham “Avi” M. Mor has been practicing lighting design for over 20 years. After graduating from the University of Kansas with a BFA in Theater Design with an emphasis in Architectural and Theatrical Lighting Design, he moved back to his hometown of Chicago to further his craft. Avi has grown his business from a small operation with only a handful of clients to a bustling firm with projects of all sizes located around the nation. Connect with Avi: https://www.facebook.com/Avmister https://www.linkedin.com/in/avrahammor/ Morlights - https://www.facebook.com/Morlights/ https://www.instagram.com/morlightsdesign/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/morlights/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC94SRUUcmQ0cXSvCBk7mbpA Sponsor: mwConnect www.mwconnect.us 

Daniel works for one of the big guys. As Global Hardware Product Manager at Philips Dynalite, he has the resources to really make a difference. Daniel tells us about the evolution from contact closures to devices in a network having mini computers in them. You're still pressing a button, but a microprocessor is interpreting those button presses. Daniel joined us from Australia. Luckily, he was free at 5 am on a Saturday morning. Daniel Walker has worked at Philips Dynalite for the past 23 years. Originally seeking a position within the electrical engineering team, Daniel soon found his stride in technical sales. Having spent many years consulting on projects all over the world, across a wide variety of segments from office to industry, retail, hospitality, and everything in between, Daniel developed a keen sense for best lighting control application practices. He stepped into his current position as Global Hardware Product Manager ten years ago, and now spends his days working closely with the market to understand and anticipate changes in customer preference, regulatory requirements, and industry trends. Daniel then conveys this insight to Philips Dynalite’s R&D team, giving them tangible product development targets to ensure every product exceeds customer expectations. Daniel also plays an active role in bringing those products to market for launch and providing ongoing support. 

How do we maintain our lighting control systems? We’ve said it before and Kelly says it again. Education! - and interoperability, but we’re not there yet - so, education! The facilities manager who leaves that job 5 years down the road is then replaced by a new facilities manager who doesn’t know the system and doesn't know who to contact. Now the lighting doesn’t perform as it should and the company that installed it receives complaints. Nobody wins. Listen to this episode and learn how sales reps can help your projects from the very beginning to long after the building is occupied. Kelly is in the DC metro area, living 45 minutes south of DC in a rural town on the Patuxent River with his wife and 2 toddlers. His career started as an IBEW Local 26 Electrician, where he spent a few years installing lighting controls. The draw for him was seeing the end-product of a project and seeing everything go from inoperable to working. He followed this over to Lutron as a field service tech performing startups and servicing systems for their commercial division. He was pulled by his best friend over to Chesapeake Lighting, when they needed an outside specification salesperson for lighting controls. He primarily calls on engineers and lighting designers, but sways in the balance of supporting the inside team, distributors, contractors, and end-users. 

Lightovation. Lightapalooza. LEDucation. These conferences have different perspectives and roles within the lighting industry, but they all contribute to shaping the future of lighting and controls. These are only three of MANY lighting conventions, but they are a good start if you want a well rounded education. https://lightapalooza.com/ https://dallasmarketcenter.com/markets/lightovation https://leducation.org/ Financially supported by NAILD (www.naild.org) Presented by The Lighting Controls Association (lightingcontrolsassociation.org) 

A market transformation for lighting controls is coming whether we are ready or not. Carol contends we've seen market transformation before, several times, but there are growing expectations for interoperability in the construction industry and lighting needs to be in on the conversation. If lighting professionals don't step up and leave their silo, other trades or groups may take over, forever changing the landscape of lighting and lighting controls. In this episode, find out how DALI can help you be a part of the Interoperability conversation! Carol is a 35-year veteran of the lighting industry, with a diverse background as a lighting specifier, a ‘labbie’ at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Carol has been involved in more than 15 industry leadership and support roles over the years and has 40-plus presentations as well as 20 publications under her belt. She credits her ability to achieve consensus and market transformation to having 5 planets in the house of Virgo and starting her career in Theatrical Lighting and Production Management. 

Thomas works at Color Kinetics. With a name like that, they obviously deal with color changing lighting, which also means they have to deal with lighting controls, and that has led to the cloud. Thomas explains that many people ask for the cloud solution. Why drive to the office to change the color on the outside of the building when you can just do it from home? Tom Barber joined Color Kinetics in early 2006, working in various roles spanning OEM applications, product management, and most recently product marketing for New England and Eastern US. Connect with Thomas: www.colorkinetics.com https://twitter.com/ColorKinetics https://www.youtube.com/user/PhilipsColorKinetics https://www.linkedin.com/company/color-kinetics https://www.instagram.com/colorkinetics/ 

Jason joins us from the DLC. What is the DLC? In Jason’s words, the Design Lights Consortium is “a bridge between the lighting world and the energy efficiency world.” The LED revolution for energy savings is pretty much over, so what’s the next step? Lighting controls, naturally. The DLC just published an impact report on the use of LED’s over the last 10 years. Jason wants you to know that he misquoted the impact number as one hundred megawatt hours, when it is actually more like ONE THOUSAND TERAWATT hours. Imagine how much more we can save by adding lighting controls! Jason is a Technical Manager at the DLC with 25 years of lighting industry experience, most recently as director of lighting at a sales agency focused on the distributor and contractor markets. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatrical Lighting from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and a Master of Fine Arts in Architectural Lighting from Parsons The New School for Design, Jason spent 20 years as an architectural and theatrical lighting designer in New York City, focusing on lighting controls. He is Lighting Certified and a member of the IES Chicago chapter. 

Want to learn about lighting controls technology and applications? The Lighting Controls Association is offering that FOR FREE! Go to https://aboutlightingcontrols.org/EducationExpress. But, before you do, check out this episode with Craig DiLouie, Education Director at the association. Craig explains that the LCA has educated up to 46,000 students with over a million learning hours. Jump in and get some letters behind your name. Craig DiLouie, LC, CLCP is a journalist and educator in the lighting industry and serves as education director for the Lighting Controls Association, a council of NEMA dedicated to educating the public about lighting control technology and application. He is also lighting columnist for tED Magazine and Electrical Contractor. 

Peter explains that Casambi chooses to partner with hardware companies (like McWong who happens to be sponsoring this episode), so that they can focus on software. That has resulted in sophisticated controls that can handle DMX, DALI, 0-10V, PWM, reverse phase etc. And they’re big time into wireless. Entering the North American market from Sweden during the pandemic, Casambi has flourished. Contact Peter for your next project and you could have YOUR cake and eat it too. Prior to his 20 year career of leading teams and driving revenue in the lighting manufacturing and controls industry, Peter worked in software. It was this distinctive blend of experiences that fueled his passion for harnessing technology for innovative problem-solving—a passion he now brings to Casambi. 

Do you own a bowling alley? Bill will integrate strikes with lights! Hit the jackpot at a casino? Bill can make sure everyone in the building knows. Bill’s definition of an integrator is “the glue that puts the pieces together.” This kind of integrator isn’t needed on every project, but Bill and Candela Controls have found a niche pulling together the lighting designer, the electrical engineer, and the manufacturer on complex projects. Bill Ellis is an industry expert in lighting systems integration and is very proud of Candela Controls Inc.’s enduring history. He is a member of IESNA, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, and sits on its Theatre, Television and Film Advisory Committee and Museum Lighting Committee. Bill is also a member of Control Protocols Workgroup for ESTA, the Entertainment Services and Technology Association. He is a Certified Low-Voltage Systems Specialty Contractor in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, New Jersey, Mississippi, Louisiana and Rhode Island. 

Javid was with us way back when we started on the Conversation Series on Get A Grip On Lighting. Javid is back with some DMX512 standard updates (For all you geeks out there, here’s the link to all published ESTA standards mentioned on the podcast today: https://tsp.esta.org/tsp/documents/published_docs.php). Javid also discusses the pros and cons of using wireless and the surprisingly positive case for using category cable in wired situations. Keep an eye out for his new book on DMX512. Javid Butler is a lighting designer and energy engineer who holds LC, CEM, and CMVP certifications. He has contributed to the development of many lighting standards including RDM and sACN, and chaired the task group for E1.27 DMX512 cabling standards. He presently chairs the E1.68 DMX512 Compliance task group. In addition to lighting standards Javid enjoys teaching Fundamentals of Lighting. He also writes science fiction under the pen name David Pax. 

Our hosts have asked many guests their take on the state of the lighting controls industry, but have they ever asked each other? In this special Short Edition, Webster and Ron do just that. They discuss how and when they are brought into a project and how to balance all the relationships when problems have to be pointed out. Webster asks Ron the scary question, “Have you ever turned someone down who asked for help?” C. Webster Marsh is the owner of Penumbra Controls, where he provides lighting controls design and specification for a wide range of project types. Ron Kuszmar oversees Port Lighting’s Architectural and Theatrical Lighting Design & Installation departments, as well as its Lighting Control Systems and Equipment Sales teams. Ron has been a Professional Lighting Designer for nearly 20 years. 

As a manufacturer, the need to maintain quality products is a no-brainer. But a quality “experience?” It’s Steve’s job, as “Director of Quality” at Touché to ensure that BOTH of those things are maintained. Steve and Touché support and like to get feedback from both end-users - the contractor and the day to day user. Basically, Steve makes sure it all works and everybody’s happy. Steve’s experience in and around the lighting control industry began as a teenager working as a residential finish carpenter. The projects that he worked on did not have lighting control systems as we know them today, but very basic controls. Nonetheless, this experience sparked an interest in the construction process and specifically the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing aspects. After attending university, he worked his way up from Project Engineer to MEP Manager specializing in the start-up/commissioning of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. In 2017, he began working for Touché as the Technical Support Services Manager to grow and refine the on-site start-up and commissioning processes, along with streamlining technical support. In 2021 he began his current role with Touché as Director of Quality. In this position he oversees the quality of products and processes to ensure they provide reliable and simple to use systems that exceed expectations. 

Are Lighting Controls in their adolescent period? Can we be blindsided by the shortcomings of lighting controls systems? These are a couple of questions that come up while chatting with Shoshanna Segal. Clearly written intent is how Shoshanna thinks we can get to better lighting controls. If you want a “multi-layered, visually compelling environment,” Shoshanna can help you design it with a thorough specification. Also, if you want hydroponically grown tomatoes in your pantry, she could probably help you there, too. Shoshanna Segal believes in the power of light to make the world a more equitable and accessible place. She uses both the artistic and scientific sides of her brain to illuminate the spaces where people live, work, and learn because this is the way she can effect change for the greatest number of people. Years of professional practice have taught her that lighting provides opportunities to realize synergies among technology, social interaction, and commerce. Ms. Segal practices creating these synergies as a Principal at Hartranft Lighting Design. She is among the first professionals in the world to achieve the international certification CLD and is serving currently as president of the IES-NYC. Shanna firmly believes that all lighting professionals should drink bourbon (or at least brown liquor). 

In this episode Ron and Webster hit the big 5-0! In this milestone episode they're turning the spotlight on their producer, Scott Griffin, the 'Expert Layman.' Yes, you read that right! Take a listen to the questions Scott has after listening to 49 episodes of lighting controls conversations and maybe find out how better to reach end-users on your next project. After all, it's not just about the switches and buttons; it's also about the people who use them. Scott spent many years in the freelance video/audio world, but eventually settled at Get A Grip Studios where he produces The Lighting Controls Podcast, Get A Grip On Lighting and the Restoring Darkness Podcast. Do you have something to say about lighting controls? Want to be a guest on the podcast? Email us at lightingcontrolspodcast@gmail.com. Connect with Scott: getagrippodcasts@gmail.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-griffin-463814232/ 

It’s hard to get to the end-user. When you’re designing a lighting system for a space, wouldn’t it make sense to talk to the people who will be using that space, like a teacher in a classroom? Mark Olerud, a sales agent for Kore Controls, is always striving to find that path through the Architects, General Contractors, Lighting Designers, and Engineers. It’s not always easy but often you can save hours of meetings and work by just talking to the people who will be using the space. Mark started his career as a production electrician for a children’s show touring internationally. He also worked as a project manager and salesperson for an Architectural Woodworking company, created a retail division for a theatrical staging and rigging company, and worked 14 years as a Controls Specialist at Apex Lighting Solutions. He has spent the past 16 months working with his team at Kore Controls to provide not only sales support for the companies they represent, but also, design assistance to project design teams, technical assistance to electrical contractor partners, field service to ensure Title 24 compliance, and support to the end user to help ensure their project is successful.