August 30, 2013 – The market for lighting controls in commercial buildings has entered a period of dramatic transformation, says Navigant Research, as the demand for both local controls (e.g. occupancy sensors and photosensors) and networked controls rises, along with the rising adoption rate of LED lighting systems.

A new report from Navigant shows worldwide revenue from networked lighting controls will grow from $1.7 billion annually in 2013 to more than $5.3 billion by 2020.

“Building owners and managers, who are accustomed to the idea of centrally monitoring and managing their [HVAC] systems are beginning to expect the same level of control from lighting systems,” said Jesse Foote, research analyst with Navigant. “To meet this growing demand, a number of different types of vendors—including pure-play startup companies and traditional lighting vendors—are moving aggressively into the lighting controls market.”

As falling prices for LEDs drive up adoption rates of LED lamps, the adoption of lighting controls will also accelerate, the study concludes. The semiconductor nature of LEDs makes them inherently controllable, says Navigant, with a high degree of dimmability, easy integration of controls with drivers, and instantaneous startup. In fact, adds Navigant, many LED lamps are being sold with built-in controllability, regardless of whether there are plans to make use of those features.