A more sustainable future | Daylighting Roundtable 

1. What trends are we seeing in commercial building design?
   
   Shana Longo: We are still seeing a trend towards “green building,” but that has evolved to talk about high-performance buildings, which is the collaboration of and coordination between multiple different performance attributes that go beyond just “green” and sustainability.
   
   Then you have a focus around well-being, health and safety that is being driven by the International Well Building Institute (IWBI). Within that, there is this move toward, “personalization of the lighting experience” and providing the right tools and access from the occupant-experience standpoint versus just operationally speaking. And it goes beyond LEED rating system requirements established by the U.S. Green Building Council that focus on indoor environmental and air quality. Whether it is through multiple windows or beautiful, well-lit staircases and personalized task lighting, or even light levels that are set for specific age groups, it is about trying to tailor the building experience to a specific occupant’s needs.
   
   ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Now there is a growing concern around the “return to office” and the user interacting with their environment, along with personal health and the willingness to engage with the build environment based on the amenities it can offer the individual.

2. What are the energy benefits of an integrated lighting and shading system?
   
   Charles Knuffke: The CABA study1 that came out a few years ago was the first one to try to line up players in the shading industry and get them all at the same table. When you are using controls to meet energy codes, the amount of energy you can save from lighting now is getting lower and lower. In California, for example, you have to prove new requirements are effective through an ROI calculation to get them into the code, and that calculation is getting harder to meet. So, the next generation of Title 24 opens motion sensors in large open offices with the opportunity—not a requirement—but an opportunity to have them inter-communicate. This means that if you leave a space, the light does not turn off but goes to a low level.
   
   I think this may be the “last hurrah” for lighting in energy codes except for something that is outside interior lighting, such as shades. And it is not necessarily the light reduction but the energy via heating and cooling that can be reduced and controlled. While I think there is a huge opportunity there, the shading community has just not been at the table when the IECC code, the ASHRAE code or Title 24 have been discussed. We hear about the options for exterior shading of buildings in Europe, and yet we do not see that happening here in the U.S., and so we have got to ask the question, “Why is that?”
   
   ​​​​​​​There are two costs to consider for new buildings: CapEx and OpEx. They [building engineers] are still going to have boilers as large as they ever were and whatever cooling system, but shading would give them an opportunity to impact the operational budget because, ideally, they would not have to run that equipment at the levels as one would without shading.

3. How can Legrand / Wattstopper products contribute to more productive and sustainable buildings?
   
   Jon Null: Coming from the architectural dimming world, we have historically positioned our shading and lighting controls as a “comfort and convenience” type of system. We were not necessarily trying to save the homeowner that much energy but instead, wanted to give them a comfortable environment where the shades and artificial lighting worked in conjunction and made it convenient for them to set moods within their home. But now we can translate that same comfort and convenience in a commercial space. For example, you can walk into a conference room, you hit a scene, the shades come down, the lights go down, you give a presentation and then hit another button to restore the room back to its original scene. Those are the real benefits [of DLM].
   
   CK: The systems are truly integrated since DLM lighting and shades use the same communication protocol and the same connectivity, along with the same setup methodology, all of which are beneficial. Keep in mind, electrical light control is driven by energy codes to save energy and money. In the work environment, it is about the 3/30/300 pyramid2:
   
   $3: cost of the electrification of the space 
   $30: cost of the lease 
   $300: productivity of workers
   
   ​​​​​​​Granted, saving energy is important—we are not trying to remove that entirely from the equation. But the key is to provide a comfortable, enticing work environment, and having shading is a much more beneficial way of ensuring productivity. If you are in the space, you as the user should “own” that space and get to make adjustments to your shades and set them for your optimal comfort. So, I think that the benefits are less about two systems working together as it is a “seesaw.” It is the fact that you are increasing the opportunity for different people to create the exact environment they want in their space.

4. How does Legrand benefit from what’s possible today with regards to productivity in the build environment that goes beyond just open space concepts?
   
   CK: Ultimately, Legrand benefits whenever spaces are reconfigured because of our focus on power, light, and data. It is not just the initial build [that we care about], it is the lifecycle of the building. We are well-equipped to help our customers with their vision for whatever those spaces are about to become.
   
   The thing that I am most excited about is that our shades have evolved into DLM shades. Before DLM, we had power packs, occupancy sensors and switches on the wall. Trying to get a contractor to install those and get all the wiring exactly right was a bit of a challenge, quite honestly. So, what DLM did was help us say, “We will give you a very simple and easy to install solution with basic rules. We can teach the installer what those rules are and how to configure them at the point of use, via handheld remote or from front-end software.” It helped us be able to shift how installers think about lighting control, and I am eager to see how DLM translates to the shading world. 
   
   This introduction will revolutionize and change people’s opinions about how much easier it is to add shades to a space than ever before. DLM shading is ideal for small or individual offices or open office areas where you might otherwise see different sets of switches for shades and for lighting, making the system impractical and less user-friendly.
   
   When you network the DLM system, information about what is in the room becomes incredibly valuable and shareable in a standardized format. We use BACnet because we most often interface with the HVAC industry and BACnet is its native language. Well, now the shade products will also have BACnet opportunities, giving integrators greater control and the ability to do different sequences on different exposures of the building. That is powerful.
   
   There's a benefit to being able to see Occupancy and Shade data side by side. Displaying it in a dashboard allows you to properly assess your control sequences. 
   
   JN: In our experience, architects tend to be leery—and for good reason—of investing in automated shading because there are so many factors that simply cannot be controlled. But we are excited to see how technology and more sophisticated algorithms will play a more important role in informing the occupant, with visual feedback, what exactly is going on in their space. Providing those tools first to the facility engineer and then the extension of that would be to start supplying apps and tools to people to be able to see what is going on [in their space] right on their phone. 
   
   ​​​​​​​Also, if spaces are going to be less occupied, we might see situations where occupants can lower the light level versus an instance where the lights just go off on you without warning.

5. The return to the office will bring about new types of requirements to answer employees’ well-being. The curiosity of “How am I, the employee, going to function safely and comfortably in a space?” will certainly factor into the willingness to return to office life. What advice do you have for architects who are looking to incorporate integrated light and shading systems?
   
   CK: If I could give advice to architects, it would be to talk to the electrical engineers that you work with about how easy it is to set up DLM and what it might mean to them to be able to integrate shading. DLM presents a chance to re-imagine how a unified system can be put into place for both electric lighting and daylighting controls and how these systems interact so well. It is an easy to install and easy to tune system that will be able to grow to whatever level the owner wants. From a single room or an entire campus, we can handle everything in between.
   
   ​​​​​​​SL: We are producing design guides that speak to specific spaces to help paint the picture of what is possible [from the architect’s standpoint] and provide the product parts and pieces needed to enable a particular solution. It is really an aspirational look at how to design the best possible experience, whether it is high-end or something more cost-effective.