Spring 2020 NALMCO Update
April 23, 2020
The 2020 NALMCO Spring Seminar and Learning Labs, held March 3-5, was the most highly attended spring session ever with 159 turning out at the Acuity headquarters in Atlanta, GA.
Here were some of the hot topics:
IoT and Future-proofing Projects. Many of the sessions focused on Internet of Things (IoT) and the how-to’s of future-proofing projects. There was a lot of discussion about building IoT capabilities into lighting installations now versus making it so they can be added later. The additional project cost conflicts with the “quickest ROI” approach that is currently the standard for our industry.
Helping clients understand long-term ramifications is key to making the shift to selling value over lowest first cost. Consensus among attendees is that this is a good time to go live with IoT projects in terms of the capabilities currently available.
LED Fixture-based Emergency Lighting. New this spring was the topic of emergency LED lighting. Often overlooked in the past due to cost or limited options, cost-effective options are emerging. Emergency lighting is experiencing a change in governance, especially in requirements for maintaining proper illumination of egress areas now that long-lasting LED products are being used.
Benefits of Networked Lighting Beyond Energy Savings. Lastly, there was a lot of discussion about the benefits of networked lighting beyond energy savings. Using lighting controls to move towards overall facility management, including capabilities like monitoring the performance of lighting and non-lighting equipment or asset tracking, came up in many conversations. To be ready for this, lighting services providers must expand their training and certification for these more technically challenging controls projects.
While the pandemic has made travel and meeting planning difficult for 2020, the 67th NALMCO Annual Convention and Trade Show is still scheduled to take place October 4-7 in Glendale AZ. We hope to be there and will continue to monitor the situation. Until then, stay healthy and safe!
