The Future of Vendor-Compatible Wireless Lighting Controls

In September 2023, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) released Bluetooth® NLC, a series of specifications that define roles and responsibilities for common lighting control devices. Bluetooth NLC builds on wireless standards Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) and Bluetooth Mesh to provide full-stack standardization.

By ensuring true multivendor interoperability across the control system, the Bluetooth SIG believes this will enable mass adoption of wireless networked lighting controls in commercial buildings, including small and medium-sized as well as large buildings.

Despite significant benefits, networked lighting controls have seen limited growth. Networked lighting controls have been demonstrated to generate nearly 50% lighting energy savings while enabling value-added services such as optimized space utilization, indoor wayfinding, and asset tracking.

Outside of new construction, however, adoption has been hampered in part by a lack of standardization and interoperability, according to the DesignLights Consortium. As a result, its extraordinary potential to save energy in existing buildings remains largely untapped. As the U.S. enters a post-traditional lighting era in which electrification and decarbonization will increase demand for energy efficiency as a “first fuel” for meeting growing energy needs, the value of energy savings with lighting controls will only increase in importance.

Wireless lighting controls promise advantages related to installation cost, ease, and flexibility of application, with enhanced advantages in existing buildings. Networked lighting control systems may be wired, wireless, or a combination of the two. The advantages of wireless lighting controls will propel them to overtake shipments of wired lighting control systems by 2027, according to ABI Research, which projects global shipments of wireless controls to grow from 2022 to 2027 at a CAGR of 115%.

The architecture of a typical wireless control solution includes three layers. The radio layer defines how devices send data. The communication layer defines how they communicate. And the device layer defines the roles and responsibilities for each device node in the network. Each layer may be based on a proprietary technology or a standard like Bluetooth.

Bluetooth NLC covers the device layer to build on Bluetooth LE (2010/radio layer) and Bluetooth Mesh (2017/communication layer) to achieve the first full-stack standard for wireless mesh-networked lighting controls. Bluetooth NLC takes Bluetooth standardization to the device level. Its inaugural round of specifications spans six device roles, including Occupancy Sensor (occupancy sensing), Ambient Light Sensor (light level sensing), Energy Monitor (energy data reporting), Scene Selector (wall switch/station for On/Off and/or lighting scenes), Dimming Control (dimmer), and Lightness Controller (luminaire with an integrated controller).

A single hardware device may combine multiple roles, such as a Bluetooth NLC occupancy sensor with a DALI/D4i port that provides the roles of Occupancy Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor, Lightness Controller, and Energy Monitoring. In this case, the Energy Monitoring role aggregates energy data produced by the D4i LED driver(s) and passes it on over the mesh network.

Bluetooth NLC touts benefits that include multivendor interoperability, ease of deployment, and scalability. With device roles being standardized, manufacturers can focus on value-added features, combining roles in the same hardware, applications for data, and offering the best system interface. The large number of manufacturers working with Bluetooth suggests Bluetooth NLC-qualified product development will be rapid.

Once familiar with Bluetooth, lighting specifiers can specify it based on its functionalities and the space requirements. Subsequently, products from one or more manufacturers can be selected for the most optimal combination of cost, features, system interface, and technical support.

Regardless of what products are incorporated into the system, Bluetooth NLC offers confidence all devices on the network will be interoperable and then operate in a certain way. It’s not a team; it’s a playing field.

Also facilitating ease of deployment is Bluetooth NLC-qualified devices are fully discoverable using any device with a Bluetooth connection. Therefore, a phone app could directly interrogate devices on the network to learn what they are and other characteristics, regardless of who manufactured them. Once discovered, the devices can be assigned to sequences of operation that best match the space needs and later reconfigured. A remote provisioning feature enables this to occur without being onsite.

After the control system is installed, the decentralized architecture of Bluetooth NLC allows it to be expanded based on changing needs, ensuring scalability and for the control system to be realized over time, highly suited to existing buildings. Security features cover the product lifecycle, from manufacturing to disposal.

Standardization has played a major role in mass adoption of new technologies in many industries. It will be interesting to see what impact Bluetooth NLC has on adoption of networked lighting control systems. As products are developed, lighting practitioners may benefit by familiarizing themselves with the standard and checking out new products as they roll out.

The Lighting Controls Association is a council of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association that provides education about lighting control technology and application, including articles, videos, design awards, news, resources, and Education Express, a free, 24/7 series of online courses covering everything from technology to design to commissioning.