Commercial Lighting Controls
Dimmers, occupancy sensors, scheduling and smart integrations that give you control.
Lighting controls decide when a light is on and how bright it is. Done well, nobody notices them: the restroom lights when someone walks in, the parking lot lights at dusk, the open office dims near the windows on a bright afternoon. Done badly, they are the reason a light switches off on somebody sitting still at a desk.
ThreeCo designs and installs controls on their own or as part of a lighting job. The best time to add them is during an LED retrofit — the ceiling is already open and the crew is already there — which is why we design the controls with the fixtures rather than after.
What this covers
- Occupancy and vacancy sensors — lights that turn on with people, or have to be turned on by hand and turn themselves off.
- Dimming, from a single room to a sanctuary or a showroom with scenes.
- Daylight sensors that pull fixtures down near windows and skylights.
- Time clocks and scheduling for exterior lighting, signage circuits and after-hours shutoff.
- Photocells for parking lots and building exteriors.
- Smart integrations, where the building has a system the lighting should answer to.
Where controls earn their keep
Rooms people pass through rather than sit in — restrooms, storage, corridors, warehouse aisles — are where occupancy sensors pay back fastest, because those lights are otherwise on all day for a few minutes of use. Open offices, classrooms and retail floors with windows benefit from daylight dimming. Exterior lighting needs at least a photocell or time clock; a lot that lights at noon is wasting a full day of power.
Controls also matter for code. Energy codes adopted by most cities require automatic shutoff and, in many spaces, occupancy or daylight controls in new construction and major renovations, so a remodel can trigger a controls requirement the old space never had.
How ThreeCo does it
We walk the space with you and ask how it is actually used: when people arrive and leave, which rooms sit empty, where people sit still for a long time. Our CEO, Bob DeFries, whose background is in electrical engineering and architectural design, lays out the zones and picks the devices. A crew led by Master Electrician Jason Strange wires them, and the last step is programming and testing every sensor and schedule before we leave. A sensor with the wrong time delay is the most common complaint about controls, and it is a setting, not a fault.
What affects the cost
The number of rooms and zones, wall-switch sensors versus ceiling sensors, whether the existing fixtures can dim at all, how much new dimming-control or line-voltage wiring the layout needs, and whether the controls have to talk to another building system. Adding controls during a retrofit is almost always cheaper than coming back for them, because the labor overlaps.
Permits and inspection
Controls wired into the building's circuits are electrical work and are permitted and inspected the way the rest of a lighting job is, depending on the city. On a Kansas-side Evergy account, occupancy and daylight sensors are on Evergy's current incentive list; our Evergy rebate guide has the details and the sources.
Recent work
Controls we put in, in 2026
Finished between August and early October 2026. We describe the work and the town; we do not name the customer.
- Lee's Summit, MO — Occupancy sensors and power packs for the lighting controls.
FAQ
Questions about commercial lighting controls
Why do our lights turn off while people are still in the room?
Usually the sensor cannot see them, or its time delay is set too short for a room where people sit still. Moving or adjusting the sensor fixes most of it; a different sensor type fixes the rest.
Can you add controls to the fixtures we already have?
Often. Occupancy sensors and time clocks work with most fixtures. Dimming needs fixtures and drivers that can dim, which older fluorescent fixtures usually cannot.
Should we add controls during an LED retrofit?
Yes, if you are doing one. The ceiling is open and the crew is there, so the extra labor is small. We design the controls with the fixtures.
Do lighting controls qualify for Evergy rebates?
On a Kansas-side Evergy account, Evergy's current brochure lists incentives for occupancy and daylight sensors. When a program is open, ThreeCo files it. Our Evergy rebate guide has the current state.
How do I get a quote?
Start with Watt, the chat button on this page: tell it which rooms or areas you want controlled and how they are used. You can also call (816) 730-9100. Estimates are free unless a site visit is needed to scope the job; where one is, there is a trip charge, waived if you move forward with the work.
Lights on in empty rooms?
Tell Watt which spaces and how they are used. We will come back with a design and a number.
New customers: start with Watt and get 10% off your first job.