Research & Innovation

Working in partnership with lighting sensor and control manufacturers and PG&E, CLTC will develop a next-generation exterior occupancy sensor capable of reliable operation in a variety of exterior applications not currently serviced by existing products. This includes applications with high mounting height requirements, broad coverage zones, and areas with diverse traffic flows.

The project consists of three main tasks: 

CLTC partnered with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and the California Energy Commission to create Lux, a retail lighting showcase that lets boutique owners see, firsthand, how LED lamps perform in a realistic store setting. The space includes information and demonstrations of LED parabolic aluminized reflector (PAR) lamps, primarily PAR 38 lamps, and smaller multifaceted reflector (MR) lamps, MR 16s, used most commonly for accent lighting in retail applications.

The California Energy Commission sponsors the development and demonstration of energy-efficient, environmentally safe building technologies. It does this, in part, through the State Partnership for Energy Efficient Demonstrations (SPEED), a program that demonstrates innovative lighting and HVAC technologies. The SPEED program is managed by the California Institute for Energy and Environment (CIEE), which is a branch of the University of California. The California Lighting Technology Center (CLTC) is subcontracted by CIEE to develop and implement lighting technology demonstrations.

Ubiquitous Communication by Light (UC-Light) is an emerging technology that uses visible light to perform wireless machine-to-machine communication. The mechanism at work with UC-Light is similar to the infrared technology used in TV remote controls, but UC-Light uses visible white light from modulated light emitting diodes (LEDs). Visible light communication (VLC) is potentially cheaper than conventional wireless communications because VLC can use pre-existing LED luminaires for communication purposes.

With support from a CITRIS seed grant, researchers at CLTC and UC Berkeley are working together to develop advanced lighting control algorithms that make use of multiple data streams, both local and remote, to improve lighting and energy management in buildings. Applications include electrical lighting systems in commercial spaces with windows and/or skylights.

CLTC is partnering with the UC Davis Energy Efficiency Center (EEC) to address untapped efficiency opportunities in the Multi-Tenant Light Commercial (MTLC) building sector. The project is focused on identifying and overcoming the biggest barriers to energy-efficiency retrofits in the MTLC market. More than half of the energy-saving contributions of the team's proposed solutions will come from lighting-related retrofits, as the group hopes to reduce interior lighting energy consumption by 20% and exterior lighting energy consumption by as much as 50%.

CLTC has partnered with CIEE to develop and demonstrate adaptive lighting systems for retail and agricultural buildings. These lighting systems will ensure lights are off or dimmed when no occupants are present or when daylight is available.

CLTC collaborated with the California Energy Commission and the California Institute for Energy and Environment (CIEE) to develop adaptive envelope technologies for retail and agricultural buildings. The objective was to develop systems that optimize both lighting and thermal efficiency in these facilities, using advanced fenestration materials, daylighting technologies and lighting controls.

CLTC has collaborated with the City of Davis to field-test a network-controlled LED street lighting system along Second Street in Davis, CA. The project team will demonstrate and measure the effects of various sensor technologies and communication protocols for adaptive street lighting, in terms of performance characteristics and energy savings. The demonstration involved replacing 12 high-pressure sodium (HPS) fixtures with LED streetlights and retrofitting 14 existing LED fixtures with dimming capabilities and controls.

“Smart” luminaires use integrated sensors to adapt light levels based on available daylight and/or occupancy patterns; “ultra-smart” luminaires function similarly, but they are also capable of communicating with one another through wireless radio frequency (RF) connections. This RF networking allows the luminaires to operate as a larger system. Different luminaire types can be incorporated into the network, including wall packs, post-tops, parking lot luminaires, and streetlights.