Engineering & Technology Report

ALA Annual Conference

A summary of ALA's current technical activities. 

1. 2019 ALA Engineering Committee Meeting
Since this is the ALA’s main technical meeting of the year, both attendees and outside experts contributed to the full agenda of topics. “Flicker Metrics and Other Quandaries”, the featured topic, was presented by Naomi Miller, Senior Lighting Engineer at the DoE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Portland OR. Flicker, otherwise known as “temporal light artifacts” or TLA is a complicated visual phenomenon and, as Ms. Miller pointed out, flicker from LED lighting, as measured by existing flicker metrics, cannot be completely characterized or evaluated. That’s important because flicker is more than visually annoying. It can affect vision, visual performance and health. See below for more about LED flicker. 

Ms. Miller’s TLA presentation, as well as the other presentations from the meeting, are now available for viewing or downloading from the ALA web site at: http://alturl.com/39jxg

Other presentations at the Engineering Meeting included:

- Lighting safety standards updates from CSA Group and UL.
- A report on the status of the 2020 edition of the National Electrical Code (NFPA 70®). The new code is now available at no charge for viewing on line at: http://alturl.com/ohd4g
- A thorough update of changes and new requirements for California’s Title 20 and Title 24 presented by Chris Primous (Maxlite).
- CA Prop. 65 update.
- Results of new Canadian research on DC microgrids. Julian Meuerta (CSA Group) reported that DC power systems for lighting in buildings are being considered because of energy losses that occur when DC power from batteries and photovoltaic cells is converted to AC for general building distribution but then is converted back to DC for loads such as LED lighting. Other appliances and systems may also do such conversions numerous times leading to substantial energy waste. The research report lays out the priorities that would make DC microgrids in homes more efficient including clarifying the rules for interconnection of distributed energy resources and updating product standards to enable commercialization of DC devices. CSA is planning a comprehensive national workshop on the subject during the fall of 2019 to address the priorities in the research report. The report itself can be downloaded from: http://alturl.com/y4esa
- New standards developed by the NEMA/ANSI C-137 Lighting Systems Committee. Mike O’Boyle (Signify) reported that a standard of particular interest to the residential lighting industry was approved in July. Listed as C137.1-19, it encompasses LED drivers and dimming controls that use the 0- 10V analog interface.
- Changes in the Zhaga Standards organization and new “Books” (standards) in development. The new Book 21, titled “Replaceable Linear LED Module” should be reviewed by fixture manufacturers as it provides for a cost-effective mechanical and electrical interface for the replacement (without tools) of linear LED modules up to 5 feet in size.
- Development and expected issue of the new Energy Star Smart Homes Energy Management System (SHEMS) Requirements. (See more on this subject below).
- Topics briefly discussed during the “Technology News and Information Exchange” part of the program:

- Cybersecurity
- Lighting color metrics used in product manufacturing and retailing where color is important such as in the mixing and matching of paints and fabrics and color printing.
- A method to quantify the light exposure necessary to entrain circadian rhythms in people who follow a normal day-active schedule. The ALA is following the work of the LRC/UL task group that has proposed a recommended practice and design guideline for circadian lighting. That document is now in the process of a second public review and can be accessed and commented upon using the UL CSDS system at: https://csds.ul.com/CWA/CWA.aspx?CId=22798 The last day of the comment period is September 20.

Comments by Engineering Committee co-chair, Mike O’Boyle and Don Berlin (Intermatic) who represent the ALA on the NEC Lighting Code-Making Panel 18 indicated that there will likely be proposals for the 2023 version of the NEC that involve remanufactured (refurbished) electrical products. There have been discussions and code changes previously concerning the rebuilding of old products so that they comply with current code requirements, but the current discussion is prompted by commercial interests who are in the business of making new but damaged products suitable for sale and use. If such proposals are made during the new code cycle, the NEC code panels will have to figure out the product types and conditions that would ensure safe products. This may be controversial. NEMA has published a policy document on the subject of reconditioned electrical products including a list of product types that their members feel can or can’t be reconditioned. Lighting fixtures and lighting controls are listed as “not suitable for reconditioning”. Light bulbs are not on either list. The document can be read and downloaded at: http://alturl.com/pzcxk

At their 2018 meeting, the Engineering Committee agreed to work on the idea of writing a guidance document comparing the characteristics of integrated and nonintegral LED fixtures. The document would be written for manufacturers, specifiers and retailers who must evaluate and choose what type of fixture should be considered for a certain function, look or application. Comparison characteristics that were discussed include: component life, durability, thermal management, ease of installation and service requirements. This year, the Committee, after gathering information on the subject, decided to pursue the project and a task force was formed to start the work. Chris Primous (Maxlite) is leading the effort.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Julie Brown, Dallas Market Center staff. led attendees on a tour of the DMC. In the picture, Tim Stumm Creative Dir. of Z-Lite talks about his work and the yearround planning required to prepare the showroom for the January and June Markets.
(Photo of tour by Linda Longo)

2. CABA – Smart Home as a Service Research Project
As a new member of CABA (Continental Automated Building Association), the ALA now has access to information and reports dealing with smart home products and systems resulting from focused research on the technology as well as the market forces, trends, customer needs and behaviors. A new project, The Smart Home as a Service, is planned to start in September and the ALA has been invited to participate joining 16 other companies as a sponsor. The research is expected to cover the following:

- Role of devices
- Cybersecurity and Privacy
- Future direction and market forecast
- Insurance company opportunities
- Defining the business case
- Barriers towards adoption
- Artificial Intelligence
- Interoperability moving to a single app or interface
- Voice recognition and smart speakers
- Data Analytics
- Home Gateways
- Cloud and edge computing
- Impact on installation, set-up and management
- Use cases: remote monitoring, fault detection, preventative maintenance, reoccurring revenue model etc. 

Harbor Research (Boulder, CO) is doing the work. Harbor has been involved in research involving communication technology and smart systems since 1984.

3. ENERGY STAR & SHEMS Follow-up
As reported at the June Market, ENERGY STAR has rolled out a package of products and services called SHEMS or “Smart Home Energy Management Systems” designed to turn connected homes into “integrated homes” using products, systems and services that meet newly-written ENERGY STAR performance criteria. The official title of the package is “Version 1.0 ENERGY STAR SHEMS Program Requirements and Method to Determine Field Performance”. It may be accessed here: http://alturl.com/8e2jx The requirements became effective on 9/3/19.

The SHEMS package is intended to encourage and capture home energy savings using the control, operation and reporting characteristics of connected home products. A certified service provider offers the package to the home owner and the electric utility that connects the home to the grid is involved to offer “grid services” including time-varying energy pricing. The ENERGY STAR package is enclosed by the dashed lines in the drawing. 

At the ENERGY STAR Partners meeting in Charlotte, NC on 9/11/19, ENERGY STAR speakers described SHEMS as an initial step in an ongoing effort to reduce home energy use primarily by controlling electrical loads according to when the home is occupied. Also addressed were questions about the SHEMS service providers (the first service providers are expected to be certified during the 2nd. quarter of 2020) and consumer concerns such as the security of customer energy use data. Home builders were mentioned as likely the first implementers of SHEMS since the service package and savings benefits can be easily built into the features of new homes.

4. Update: Lighting and Homes for Tomorrow (LHFT)
The joint effort by the ALA, UL and the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE) to implement a new energy-efficient product competition for connected lighting products is on hold. While several CEE member electric utilities have signed on to support the program, the funding goal of $140K for 2019-20 is about $10K short of the goal. Part of the problem is timing. Lighting rebate programs are being reduced or eliminated and utilities are experimenting with a variety of new ideas and programs that address both energy use and power demand reductions such as the SHEMS package described above. The ALA has been invited to the CEE Industry Partners Meeting scheduled for October 2-3 as the next step.

5. Flicker!
The subject of flicker has been discussed at ALA Engineering meetings several times in recent years as new research and metrics have been developed to help understand this complex phenomenon which is a characteristic of all LED lighting systems and an important component of residential lighting quality. 

Controlling LED flicker is important for residential lighting products because some people are more sensitive to flicker than others with some 20-25% of the population being highly sensitive. A small percentage of those sensitive individuals is also subject to more serious health conditions such as epileptic seizures, panic attacks, anxiety, headaches, fatigue and blurred vision due to exposure to flickering light sources.

The photo is an example of a “phantom array” which is seen when a flickering light source interacts with eye movements to produce a ghost effect. The effect is visible even though the light source may be turning off and on at more than 6500 Hz – far beyond the frequency range where flicker is thought to be visible by the eye. An important point is that flicker is not inherent in LEDs. It is determined by the LED driver circuitry and so attention to the driver and especially how the driver performs with a dimmer is critical.

Terry McGowan, 09/14/19 - lighting@ieee.org