CLTC partnered with Bonneville Power Administration, Pacific Gas and Electric Company and Southern California Edison to survey occupancy at four test sites in California and four test sites in Washington State. The sites selected for the research study represent market sectors identified as having the greatest potential to achieve energy savings with exterior adaptive lighting solutions.

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.

The Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program (CLASP), an international nonprofit, partnered with CLTC to conduct laboratory testing of LED lamps currently available in the U.S. market. Data collected and analyzed in the course of testing helped the California Energy Commission develop a voluntary quality-based performance specification for screw-base LED lamps, with requirements for color characteristics and dimmability. CLASP and CLTC are also assisting the Energy Commission in developing a test methodology for measuring these quality characteristics.

Core sunlighting systems deliver sunlight deep into multi-story building cores, where daylight is not available through skylights or windows. An effective core sunlighting system offers physiological and psychological benefits to occupants while dramatically improving the quality and color rendering of lighting, reducing lighting electricity use up to 75%, and reducing electricity loads during peak demand periods.

CLTC is evaluating dynamic skylight systems that automatically adjust light transmission to minimize glare and manage solar heat gain, significantly improving both lighting quality and energy savings. Engineers are using one of the Center's integrating spheres to measure the transmittance of different sample units.

Applications include residential and commercial spaces that receive sufficient sunlight to require some form of shading for occupant comfort or to prevent solar heat gain.

Photosensor control systems have been available for more than two decades, but they have struggled to gain widespread use due to issues with reliability. To address these issues, CLTC partnered with WattStopper, Walmart, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric Company to develop a more reliable, more effective daylighting control system capable of sensing changes in daylight levels with increased accuracy and responding with more appropriate adjustments in electric light levels.

Due to the potential use of xenon lamps in outdoor applications, CLTC in collaboration with PG&E, developed an evaluation and testing program for xenon technology used in general illumination, outdoor applications. The research included under this project informed utilities about the performance and reliability of xenon lamps in these applications as compared to Light Emitting Diodes (LED), induction or other appropriate parking and area lighting solutions.

To address California’s critical need for targeted, practical technology improvements that reduce lighting energy use and advance building energy-efficiency, in 2009, the California Energy Commission initiated a comprehensive lighting research, development, demonstration and outreach program in partnership with the California Lighting Technology Center.