IDEC Lighting Network
Spring 2011
Lighting Software – Free and Available Online
Philips Lighting Co. offers workshops at the Lighting Application Center, Somerset, N.J. Lighting Calculators
Calculate your potential lighting savings with these handy online tools.
+ Eco Calculator
+ Save 5 Watts - T5 HO
+ Simple LED Retrofit
+ Integrated PAR 38
Osram Sylvania ( offers information about home lighting and business lighting at classes at Lightpoint, the company’s Institute for Lighting Technology, Danvers, Mass. They also have facilities in Westfield, Ind., Davis, Calif., and Mississauga, Ontario.
The Kirlin Co. offers courses at its Reflection Point Lighting and Education Center, Detroit, including healthcare and medical lighting. “Architectural Downlighting” is a one-day program that includes information about the principles of commercial lighting as well as recommended practices and application presentations of lighting design using actual projects. Call 313.259.6400, ext. 301, or e-mail for information.
Lithonia ( offers a program that teaches the tools of lighting design and a program covering lighting for design-build contractors at its Jim H. McClung Lighting Center facility in Conyers, Ga.
BetterBricks ( is an initiative of the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, a nonprofit corporation supported by electric utilities, public benefits administrators, state governments, public interest groups and energy-efficiency industry representatives in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana. It offers training and support in those four states through classroom training, consultation services (review of designs) and use of its integrated design lab facilities.
At the Pacific Energy Center in San Francisco, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. ( offers lighting classes. A lighting classroom is available for use by appointment.
Southern California Edison (SCE) offers energy-efficient lighting classes at its Customer Technology Application Center (CTAC), Irwindale, Calif. Visit for information.
CTI Overview
The Crestron Technical Institute prepares you for the control system design and programming challenges facing commercial and residential A/V professionals everyday.We provide the best training in the industry through our regional and worldwide offices, as well as through our online training. Attendance at CTI not only provides personalized face-to-face training, but also solidifies relationships and opens lines of communication with Crestron technical staff. Our ever-expanding online training offers convenience and 24/7 access to information about installing and programming systems. Your technical and sales staff will become vested with the knowledge and skill sets of our company and become an extension of Crestron.Please feel free to contact us with any feedback or questions you have regarding the CTI curriculum at . Laura Ascolese
201.767.3400 ext. 10317 Rockleigh, New Jersey
Universal Lighting Technologies • 26 Century Blvd., Suite 500 • Nashville, TN 37214-3683
Universal Lighting is reaching out to contractors and distributors with new online educational opportunities. In fact, the e-Learning Center designed by Universal Lighting is already winning awards in the industry. The web-based training program currently offers four user-friendly courses in ballast technology. Each one is designed to educate lighting contractors, distributors and end users about the latest lighting technology for versatility, function, and energy savings.
“We want to provide our customers with the knowledge and training they need to be successful,“ says Chris Holstein, marketing director for Universal Lighting. “In a high-tech and growing industry, learning is a nonstop process. Ongoing educational opportunities are vital to staying on top of the technology and ahead of the competition.“
Simply by visiting Universal Lighting‘s website, individuals can sign up for any number of online courses, called modules, free of charge and then learn at their own pace. Navigating through each online course is simple. It requires only a few mouse clicks, and each section wraps up with a quiz on the materials covered.
Universal Lighting‘s e-Learning Center was recently named the “Best of the Best“ website by TED magazine. TED, or The Electrical Distributor, received nearly four-hundred entries for the 2006 “Best of the Best“ awards. Winners were announced at the National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED) annual meeting in Orlando. Universal Lighting tied with General Electric for top honors in the website category.
The most recent addition to the e-Learning Center is a module on HID lighting. The new module is divided into four sections for the user‘s convenience. The first section is an HID lamp overview, followed by two sections on magnetic HID ballasts and one on high-efficiency electronic HID ballasts.
“With online training courses, we give contractors and distributors the opportunity to learn whenever it is convenient for them to sit down at their personal computer,“ said Holstein. “We‘re going to continue to expand our online education program with new modules on a regular basis.“
In addition to the HID module, online training courses are available in three other areas: Ballast Basics I, Ballast Basics II, and a Universal Lighting Products Overview. Registering for the e-Learning Center takes less than 30 seconds. Anyone is welcome to sign up for free classes by clicking on the “e-Learning Center“ graphic on the right-hand side of the Universal Lighting homepage.
Universal Lighting has aggressively pursued online solutions to better serve and educate its customers. An Online tutorial for the AddressPro™ digital dimming system is also available. In addition, Universal Lighting offers an interactive tool on its Web site called Ballast Specs, which allows quick access to ballast specifications as well as a search engine to identify the best electronic, magnetic, compact fluorescent, and HID ballasts for any specific application.