Become a Member
Join leading lighting distributors, vendor manufacturers and lighting-focused associate members in helping to move the industry forward. As a NAILD member you have access to and share abundant lighting knowledge, networking and training resources while staying ahead of the curve on cutting-edge lighting technology advances and design trends.
Legacy Training Programs
The LS-I and LS-II training programs provide companies in the lighting industry with a measurable and systematic way to help educate staff, recognize their achievements and strengthen their knowledge of lighting fundamentals. Learn more…
The LS-I program helps build staff confidence and competence in talking with customers about lighting products and guiding their buying decisions. Learn more…
LS-II takes your lighting expertise and sales skills to the next level to transform course participants from “product providers” to trusted lighting solutions professionals. Learn more…
Continuing Education
LS-Evolve is NAILD’s exclusive online training program featuring a semi-freeform modular structure where learners are empowered to pick and choose which module(s) they wish to study, on-demand.
Learn at your own pace and keep coming back for continued access to all the latest modules as we regularly add more great lighting knowledge to help grow your business to the next level!
New LS Evolve Modules
Get a Grip on Lighting
The Official Podcast of NAILD
Luminaire Level Lighting Controls. Is it time? Bruce and Angela think so. With wireless and Bluetooth maturing, the time may be right to NOT rip out walls and old control boxes, and just install LLLC. Now lighting controls are accessible to contractors and end users. Everybody’s happy. Okay maybe it’s not quite that simple. Listen to this one to hear about the promises and the challenges of LLLC. Angela Pilant has more than 25 years of experience working within the lighting and energy industries. She has a diverse background as a utility specialist, manufacturer’s representative, and consultant. She has worked at Evergreen Energy Partners since 2009 and specializes in market and trend analysis, utility program development, client engagement strategies, and training. She is a certified instructor for the Building Operator Certification Program (BOC) and has earned a Lighting Certified Professional designation from NCQLP. Bruce Hemmelman has more than 30 years of experience in the lighting and lighting controls industries. He has worked for lighting and lighting controls manufacturers as a Product and Sales Manager, as a manufacturer’s representative and currently as a consultant. His current focus is promoting market transformation and adoption of Luminaire Level Lighting Controls working with the electrical specification, distribution and contractor market segments.
Restoring Darkness
A Podcast about Light Pollution and the Importance of Darkness
Nearly all animals see light differently than we do. Dr. Seymour endeavors to understand how light drives organismal behavior. To that end, he tries to bridge the gap between astronomers, light engineers and biologists. Each of these camps has elements of tools and measurement models that he thinks could be brought together collaboratively and synergistically to benefit our ecosystem and the study of it.
Dr. Seymoure’s research program is interdisciplinary and combines physiological, histological, and astronomical methods to understand the importance of natural light as well as the consequences of artificial light on animal behavior and ecology of animals. Overall objectives of his research are to: 1) determine how light cycles have driven visual adaptations and predator-prey dynamics; 2) quantify and investigate the myriad effects and consequences of artificial light at night on animals (mostly insects, spiders, and reptiles) from the cellular to landscape level; 3) investigate visual and morphological (e.g. coloration) adaptations that render individuals more evolutionarily successful; 4) develop techniques for quantifying light in a non-human and biologically relevant manner; 5) quantify and monitor insect populations in the Chihuahuan desert; and 6) utilize current biological research to increase learning efficacy in undergraduate courses. To accomplish these objectives, Dr. Seymoure relies upon both field and laboratory work that ranges from electrophysiology of animal eyes, automated video tracking of animal behavior, and predator-prey experiments under natural conditions.
Lighting Controls Podcast
Discussing the intricacies and unique challenges of lighting controls in commercial applications
The listeners give feedback to hosts Ron and Webster to clarify some things that were unclear or confusing in episode 53 “It’s Not a Protocol.” In this short episode, past guests Mitch Hefter and Javid Butler discuss the definition of a protocol in our industry vs. the OSI definition of a protocol, what did and did not get revised regarding emergency lighting control, and what the basic requirements are for emergency lighting control. No need to listen to episode 53 to listen to this shorty! Mitch Hefter has been working in lighting controls for over 40 years. He has played a major role in setting entertainment technology standards, promoting electrical safety and developing certification for entertainment industry electricians, and is an ETCP Certified Entertainment Electrician and Recognized Trainer. He is a founding member of the Entertainment Services and Technology Association (ESTA) Technical Standards Program (ANSI E1) and co‑chairs the Electrical Power Working Group. Mitch was instrumental in the development of USITT DMX512 in 1986 and chairs the ESTA E1.11 USITT DMX515‑A Task Group. Javid Butler is a lighting designer and energy engineer who holds LC, CEM, and CMVP certifications. He has contributed to the development of many lighting standards including RDM and sACN, and chaired the task group for E1.27 DMX512 cabling standards. He presently chairs the E1.68 DMX512 Compliance task group. In addition to lighting standards Javid enjoys teaching Fundamentals of Lighting. He also writes science fiction under the pen name David Pax. Links mentioned: – Spring 2024 Protocol articles: https://www.esta.org/ Click on the ‘Protocol’ pane | click on ‘Read Protocol Online’ or go to the ‘Read the Archive’ button. – Articles on DMX512 Update and E1.68 are pages 20 & 29 respectively. ESTA standards can be downloaded for free from the ‘Technical Standards Program’ pane. – National Electrical Code: https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/nfpa-70-standard-development/70 – Lighting Controls Association article: Egress and Emergency Lighting in a Controls World https://lightingcontrolsassociation.org/2023/05/24/egress-and-emergency-lighting-in-a-controls-world/