The Promise

When it comes to a clean energy future, no technology has more potential to save energy and reduce carbon emissions than solid-state lighting. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is widely credited with accelerating advancement of SSL, including LED and organic LED lighting, and pushing the industry to levels of energy efficiency once thought impractical. Still, the future energy-saving and carbon- cutting potential of LED lighting is more than 20 times greater than where we are today. In fact, by 2035, DOE projects that LEDs can reduce energy consumption for lighting by 75%, compared to the amount our nation would have been consuming if LEDs had not entered the lighting marketplace.

The Challenge

Realizing this potential will not be easy. The biggest single challenge: integrating lighting within connected networks that provide a new level of control over buildings and street-scapes. Using advanced sensors, controls, and communica-tions, these networks will not only control lighting based on occupancy and user needs, but also enhance the security, comfort, health, productivity, and safety of people in their workplaces and communities. Nearly half of the energy-

saving potential of LED depends on the success of connected lighting systems and other advanced control applications. Yet connected lighting for the built environ-ment is the new Wild West in America, with competing technical standards, divergent business models, exagger-ated or over-simplified claims claims by some manufacturers, and a lack of systems compati-bility—all acting as formidable barriers to marketplace success. To further complicate the situation, many experts see connected LED lighting systems as a potential back-bone of the Internet of Things

(IoT), enabling intercommunication among an ever-growing array of diverse intelligent devices. This view is far from unanimous, however, and the marketplace needs sound evidence on competing scenarios to make informed investment and adoption decisions.

2325 East Carson Street • Pittsburgh, PA 15203 • 412.481.9800 • www.akoyaonline.com

Taming the “Wild West” of Connected LightingU.S. Department of Energy, Solid-State Lighting Program

a little grit and the right chemistry

AKOYA PROJECT PROFILE

Client’s GoalAccelerate adoption of connected lighting systems (CLS) to maximize solid-state lighting’s energy-saving potential

Akoya’s RoleBuild an influential community-of-interest to tackle CLS barriers and inspire action

Highlights• Leaders in networking

and IoT now engage with lighting and utility communities in DOE’s must-attend CLS workshops

• Many specifically cite the DOE as a catalyst for the CLS field

Akoya markets and manages the DOE Connected Lighting Systems Workshop—two days of high-energy presentations, panels, and networking—bringing together thought leaders at the intersection of solid-state lighting and connected devices.

Our Approach

Akoya got the charge in 2015: position DOE as the trusted, impartial “sheriff” of the nascent connected lighting field, in order to bring key players to the table and drive progress in a direction that will maximize benefits to American taxpay-ers. We envisioned a must-attend annual workshop focused on connected lighting. Success would hinge on attracting a mix of thought leaders in such diverse fields as lighting research, materials providers, lighting designers, power utilities, energy efficiency organizations, state and munici-pal governments, networking and controls, IoT, IT, sensors, software, and systems integration.

Results

In just a few exciting years, DOE has built a community- of-interest in connected lighting systems (CLS), attract-ing influential industry players with the capacity to drive investment in research and deployment. Akoya continues to grow this community, publicizing and managing increas-ingly popular CLS workshops that bring together executives from Cisco Systems, Intel, Silver Spring Networks, Oracle, Qualcomm, IoTIUM, and Google as well as leaders in light-ing technology. In evaluations of the CLS workshops, many attendees specifically cite the DOE as integral in catalyzing the CLS field—and taking the first essential steps to taming the Wild West. ■

2325 East Carson Street • Pittsburgh, PA 15203 • 412.481.9800 • www.akoyaonline.com

Our email blasts feature a drumbeat of messaging about CLS. We also earned coverage of CLS in LD+A magazine guest columns and in electroindustry magazine’s special issue on lighting.

We created an animated video of the CLS concept and infographics highlighting benefits to industry and taxpayers.

Akoya populates the DOE website for CLS for technical and non- technical audiences, including testbed results, standards development, model specifications, and other tools vital to implementers.