MEDFORD, MA – The DesignLights Consortium (DLC), a non-profit organization dedicated to optimizing energy use through interconnected solutions focused on quality for people and the environment, today announced that its Networked Lighting Controls Online Qualified Product List received a Top Product of the Year Award in the elite Environment + Energy Leader Awards program. The win is an indication that the program’s expert judges consider the Networked Lighting Controls Qualified Product List a top example of the exemplary work being done today in the fields of energy and environmental management.
“Networked lighting controls can dramatically reduce electricity usage while providing a gateway to intelligent buildings,” DLC Executive Director and CEO Christina Halfpenny said. “We are thrilled that the Environment + Energy Leader Awards program has recognized value of our new Online Qualified Products List in accelerating adoption of this high performing lighting solution.”
The DLC’s Networked Lighting Controls (NLC) program defines system capabilities that achieve energy savings and evaluates lighting control systems based on the presence or absence of these capabilities. Those that meet DLC’s annually updated Technical Requirements become listed on the NLC Qualified Products List (QPL), a searchable, filterable online tool that provides key information about each system. Electric utility energy efficiency programs use the QPL to provide savings incentives to commercial and industrial (C & I) customers, while lighting professionals rely on the QPL to select appropriate systems for C & I projects.
Previously available as an Excel spreadsheet, the new Online NLC QPL benefits both utilities and lighting project designers through an improved search and product comparison process with filters tailored to identify features such as manufacturer, ease of installation, wired or wireless communication, energy monitoring, advanced capabilities and more. A customized column menu enables users to compare products to find systems that meet their specific project needs, such as the presence of color tuning or cybersecurity features.
The DLC is eager to speed wider adoption of NLCs in the wake of a 2017 study showing that NLCs can boost the energy efficiency of stand-alone LED commercial lighting projects by an average of 47 percent compared with LED-only projects. A subsequent study last year found that utility efficiency programs for LED lighting upgrades can realize an additional 22 percent average lifetime energy savings by pairing NLCs and LEDs at the time of project installation.
The Environment + Energy Leader Awards is a program recognizing excellence in products and services that provide companies with energy and environmental benefits, and in projects implemented by companies that improved environmental or energy management and increased the bottom line.
“With rapid advancements and a near-constant rate of change in the field, sustainability and energy professionals had to prove to our judges that they were really the best of the best this year,” said Sarah Roberts, Environment + Energy Leader publisher.
“With a highly respected (and critical) judging panel and a strict set of judging criteria, entrants faced an extremely high bar to qualify for an award,” said Roberts.
About DesignLights Consortium: The DesignLights Consortium® (DLC) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to achieve energy optimization by enabling interconnected solutions with a focus on quality for people and the environment. The DLC promotes high-quality, energy-efficient lighting products in collaboration with utilities and energy efficiency program members, manufacturers, lighting designers, and federal, state, and local entities. Through these partnerships, the DLC establishes product quality specifications, facilitates thought leadership, and provides information, education, tools and technical expertise.
About the Environment + Energy Leader Awards: For nearly a decade, the Environment + Energy Leader Awards have celebrated excellence in the world of environmental, sustainability and energy management. Award winners are truly buzz-worthy, and companies that sport a Top Project or Top Product of the Year Award badge are known to be the best of the best. When other companies are seeking a sustainability or energy management solution, they know that E+E Product of the Year Award winners offer a significant group of products, vetted by experts, to peruse for help in making their decisions. Project of the Year Award winners are known to illustrate how sustainability and energy management projects can successfully help other companies improve the bottom line.