Lighting controls are often expensive, complex, hard to commission properly and difficult to maintain. Occupancy sensors are the most common controls other than simple light switches. Yet, their penetration rate is low in the commercial and residential markets. Photosensor and dimming controls have at best a few percent penetration in the commercial market and virtually no penetration in the residential market.

For the majority of applications, the cost of dimming ballasts for fluorescent or HID lighting are prohibitively expensive. This is true even though there are technologies and designs that could reduce the costs dramatically. Daylighting and photosensor control systems need to be custom designed, are complex, require detailed commissioning and are difficult to maintain.

These systems will apply to the retrofit market as well as the new construction market.

Projects in this element develop advanced lighting control systems with improved photosensor technology, integrated with occupancy sensors, and building lighting systems. Ballast technologies and controls system improvements will be developed to reduce the cost for demand reduction systems.

Some specific issues in this Demand Responsive Lighting Systems Element include the following:

• Demand responsive lighting controls can help mitigate peak demand problems in California but the systems to accomplish lighting demand control are limited, expensive, and complex.

• Retrofit technologies for demand responsive lighting or load shedding control are either not available, prohibitively expensive or not optimized.

• Photosensor technology and controls that are cost effective, easy to install and calibrate, and simple to integrate with the lighting system are not available or optimized. Enhanced photosensor systems would enable the effective use of daylighting in classrooms and other commercial applications.