2026 Commercial Lighting Rebate Outlook

The commercial lighting rebate outlook is strong for 2026, with widely available rebates covering all popular categories of LED lighting and lighting controls, including networked lighting controls.

Lighting Controls Academy’s 2026 LEDucation New Product Guide

The Lighting Controls Academy is proud to announce the latest offerings in lighting controls from industry-leading manufacturers in this year’s annual product guide. Check them out!

Plug Load Control: Good, Better, Best

Controlling automatic power receptacles is a natural extension of lighting control systems, as the same strategies and devices used for automatic switching of general lighting can be deployed for plug load control at the receptacle or circuit level. This article by the Lighting Controls Academy’s Craig DiLouie explains the why and how, based on NEMA guidance.

2026 Nonresidential Construction Forecast: Modest Outlook

This article by the Lighting Controls Academy’s Craig DiLouie reviews 2025 construction spending and key industry economic indicators, with a detailed 2026 forecast by the AIA Consensus Forecast Panel.

Hybrid Lighting Controls: A Symphony of Wired and Wireless Technologies

This guest post by Cooper Lighting Solutions’ Martin Mercier applauds a new era in “hybrid” lighting control solutions that blend the best strengths of wired and wireless control.

Lutron’s Brent Protzman Talks Lighting as Infrastructure

In a recent article contributed to LightNOW, Brent Protzman, Director of Product Management at Lutron Electronics, describes lighting’s evolution from utility to infrastructure, with insight in how to design for what’s next in lighting.

Controllability Takes Front Seat in New DLC Technical Requirements

The DesignLights Consortium (DLC) recently released Version 6.0 of its Solid-State Lighting (SSL) Technical Requirements, the first major update in over five years, as well as Version 2.0 of Light Usage for Night Applications (LUNA), the DLC program designed to promote responsible outdoor lighting. The updates recognize advances in LED technology while promoting controllability as a strong path to energy savings.

Cut the Cord, Keep the Code: Wireless Paths to Code-Compliant Emergency Egress

In this extraordinary guest post, Cooper Lighting Solutions’ Martin Mercier describes the codes and options that make up emergency lighting and the role for lighting control systems, including wireless.

A Deep Dive Into Daylight-Responsive Lighting Control

Based on an updated version of EE201: Daylight-responsive Lighting Control, a course in NEMA Academy, this article describes a process for designing and applying lighting control solutions that utilize daylight-responsive lighting controls.

Wireless Controls As The Backbone Of Commercial Upgrades

LightNOW recently published a guest post by Tom Shearer, Commercial Business Development Manager, Lutron Electronics, that makes the case for including lighting controls in upgrade projects, powered by wireless communication.