# Lighting controls info?



## FireInTheWire (Oct 30, 2011)

Hello! I'm a 2nd year apprentice and I am working with my journeyman on low-voltage lighting controls. This is really interesting to me and I would like to learn more about it. I am learning lots at work already but knowing some of the details behind how everything works would be cool too. My JW doesn't like it when I barrage him with questions during work or break . Does anyone know of any good internet resources that give basic explanations of different types of systems?

Thanks!


----------



## Celtic (Nov 19, 2007)

Lets start with the one you are working on...it will allow for ready reference 

Details...


----------



## angryceltic (Feb 21, 2012)

Right here. Thats too bad for you. The crew i work with right now is a foreman, 5 jw and three apprentices. I ask non stop questions whenever Something new comes up. They answer fully and go deeper if needed.


----------



## FireInTheWire (Oct 30, 2011)

Ok- what I know is this:

The lighting is going to be controlled by motion sensors, photocells, and can be switched and dimmed also via devices in the wall. There are low voltage cables that go from all these devices back to control boxes that take the signals and control the lights. The system we are running is a LON system I think, and there is even a lighting control panel that looks kind of like a regular panel with breakers but is also different. Also there are "Bodines" that I think tie the control boxes in with emergency power circuits.

I will try to pry more information out of my JW tomorrow, at the slight-to-moderate risk of incurring his wrath... 

I just really want to get a better grasp of how this system works!


----------



## FireInTheWire (Oct 30, 2011)

angryceltic said:


> Right here. Thats too bad for you. The crew i work with right now is a foreman, 5 jw and three apprentices. I ask non stop questions whenever Something new comes up. They answer fully and go deeper if needed.


Nice. The JW I had before this one was AWESOME about answering questions. No two JWs are alike though . Ya just gotta go with the flow.


----------



## Celtic (Nov 19, 2007)

Try and get a brand/model from the foreman or JW if you can.

The last one/s I worked one were Lutron Grafik Eye and QMark.

They were installed about 5 years ago


----------



## Cujo (Feb 4, 2012)

I have seen a number of different models, most of them work in a similar way.

Most use relays to control the separate switch legs. Typically we pull the switchlegs + any neutrals needed to the line side of the low voltage panel to go on the load side of the relays. Then we run a conduit to the power panel and bring all the lighting circuits into the line side of the panel. Sometimes you use multiple relays per circuit.

The low voltage side usually has some type of computer that controls all the panels, and locally at each panel. We usually just run LVT or cat5 to the switches depending on the system. The last low voltage lighting panel I did was made by wattstopper and used momentary contact switches and the motion sensors we simply NC or NO depending on what they needed to do. On the inside of the panel you can usually program certain relays to come on together, come on a certain time of day, set up relays for remote switching through the BMS, etc. 

Ive worked on systems form a few different manufacturers now in the past few years, and most of them have been fairly similar to what I just described.


----------



## FireInTheWire (Oct 30, 2011)

Cujo said:


> I have seen a number of different models, most of them work in a similar way.
> 
> Most use relays to control the separate switch legs. Typically we pull the switchlegs + any neutrals needed to the line side of the low voltage panel to go on the load side of the relays. Then we run a conduit to the power panel and bring all the lighting circuits into the line side of the panel. Sometimes you use multiple relays per circuit.
> 
> ...


 THis is really close to what we have been doing, and what you said about how switching is achieved really cleared up some confusion! What seems to be going on in the system I worked on (which was actually a wattstopper system) was what pretty much exactly what you said.

That helped a lot! Thanks!


----------

