UCLA Scores Big with Smart Lighting Retrofit

Implement a lighting controls retrofit that would serve UCLA Athletics, as well as help meet California’s tough energy codes.

Given Title 24’s stringent requirements, the most efficient light is one that is off. In fact, the quest to retrofit began when someone said, “Hey, turn the lights off.”

According to the Lighting Controls Assn., lighting can consume up to 40% of a building’s energy. With the company’s wireless control system, notes Nolan Bello, business unit manager, Audacy, the right amount of light can be delivered at the right place at the right time. “For the ucla Athletics lighting program, we were able to deliver advanced lighting controls into their auditorium, and turned their film study rooms into computer classrooms,” said Bello.

In fact, now everything is set up to automatically program lights to turn off when a room isn’t being used. By default, the film study rooms only go to 50% on; in the auditorium, or other places where a speaking engagement may be occurring, dimming—even just a portion of the room—can be done via a physical or virtual switch. According to Bello, the system allows for scenes to be set; vacancy or occupancy to be tracked—even remotely, via Audacy’s mobile app or the audacycontrols.com web interface. Bello adds the system has the scalability to control a single fixture in a room all the way up to an entire campus.

Beyond its operational simplicity, the system is also simple to install and configure. In fact, UCLA Athletics staff noted it takes less than 20 minutes to retrofit fixtures. Bello added IDEAL’s push-in wire termination technology was used, which allows any fixture to be turned into a smart fixture to be controlled anywhere an Internet connection is available.

One thing the university loves is scene setting. For example, in a scenario where someone does not want overhead lights on above their head—such as for a presentation—but wants all of the other lights in the room on, the Audacy Scene Switch can trigger that scenario as a scene with the press of a button. With another press of a button, the lights can go back to the default scenario.

Bello is confident about the potential of the system. “Changing building codes in states like California and New York are mandating large-scale energy management systems.”