Just as LED technology turbo-charged lighting sector energy savings 15 years ago, controls are now poised to take lighting savings to a whole other level. A 2020 study by the DesignLights Consortium (DLC) showed that adding networked controls to LED lighting projects can boost energy savings by an average of about 50% across various building types. Follow up research in 2023 illustrated even greater savings opportunities through integration of lighting controls with HVAC – a practice the study showed could reduce a building’s HVAC energy usage by 30% and potentially cut whole building energy consumption by up to 20%. 

Realizing the potential of lighting controls is both a challenge and an opportunity. As an energy savings strategy, prioritizing lighting controls has been slow to catch on due to a variety of factors, from unfamiliarity with technology to unease about return on investment. The DLC’s recently updated Solid-State Lighting (SSL) Technical Requirements and Qualified Products List (QPL) address one crucial barrier to wider controls adoption – the time and effort required to find luminaires that have integral controls capabilities tailored to specific project needs and can also earn valuable rebates and incentives. 

Nearly 700 North American electric utilities and energy efficiency programs require listing on the DLC’s SSL QPL for product rebates that reduce the cost and payback time of commercial lighting projects. Earlier this year, the DLC implemented revised criteria for determining QPL listing eligibility, adding new controls categories designed to align with energy savings claims associated with specific lighting controls strategies.

While previously contractors had to manually decode complex lighting manufacturer model numbers on the QPL — often toggling back and forth between listed products to find the right combination of integral controls, they can now quickly and easily identify rebate-eligible controls capabilities associated with listed luminaires. No more hunting! A redesigned Product Display Page lets users know immediately what information exists for every listed fixture. (See our new QPL video here.)

In the past, even if just one variation of a luminaire offered a particular type of control (daylight harvesting, for example), all variations of that product were under one heading on the QPL and the control type would be marked “yes” — even if the version being selected didn’t include that capability. Now, the QPL maps each specific model number variation to a standardized controls category, which tells users exactly what capabilities are built into a specific product variation. 

Numbered zero through six, the new controls categories apply to luminaires, lamps and retrofit kits on the DLC’s SSL QPL. They include: 

0          Product with No Integral Controls

1           Product with an Integral Controls Ready Receptacle

2          Product with Non-DLC Listed Networked Lighting Controls (NLC) Controller

3A        Product with Integral Occupancy or Traffic Sensor Function Only

3B        Product with Integral Daylight/Photocell Sensor Function Only

4A        Product with Occupancy or Traffic and Daylight or Photocell Integral Sensor Functions

4B        Product with Traffic or Photocell and/or Part-Night Dim Integral Sensor Functions

5          Product with DLC NLC QPL Listed Networked Controller

6          Product with DLC NLC QPL Listed Networked Controller and Two or More Integral Sensor Functions (i.e., LLLC)

Adding Controls Categories to the SSL QPL means users will save time and effort in finding the most appropriate lighting product for each job, while ensuring that their selections are eligible for energy efficiency incentives. Contractors and others no longer need to guess, decode, or cross-reference to confirm what a luminaire, lamp, or retrofit kit includes. Instead, each model number variation is mapped to a controls category indicating exactly which capabilities are included.

The Controls Categories addition also advances an overarching energy efficiency goal. Associating QPL product data with a product’s controls capabilities will streamline the path from selecting a product to verifying its capabilities and receiving a rebate or incentive for its installation — helping to accelerate the shift toward more energy-saving connected lighting. 

We hope you’ll explore the Controls Categories feature the next time you use the QPL. Finding listed products is simple — just create a free myDLC account, log in and start searching.