Manufacturer: Cooper Lighting
Center name: The SOURCE
Location: Peachtree City, Georgia
Overview: The SOURCE is a 35,000-square-foot facility that offers lighting education in a variety of fields—everything from the basics to lighting for specific areas such as retail and residential. Some classes have prerequisites, such as a lighting fundamentals class or some basic lighting knowledge. More than 85,000 people from a wide range of backgrounds—including architects, builders, engineers, facility managers, retail planners, electrical contractors, landscape architects, lighting and interior designers, university students, and distributors—have participated in workshops at The SOURCE, which has served those interested in lighting for more than 14 years. Many professional organizations require members to earn a form of continuing education credits, and The SOURCE acknowledges that, providing credits to attendees of its seminars and workshops, which are pre-certified educational opportunities.
Course offerings: Energy Solutions for Commercial and Industrial Lighting Design, Lighting Fundamentals – Lighting Basics, Fundamentals and Lighting Basics for Distributors and Contractors, Advanced IRiS Solutions Workshop, Healthcare Lighting Solutions Workshop, Lighting Fundamentals and Specification Training for Agents, Residential Lighting Solutions Workshop, Retail Lighting Solutions Workshop, Exterior Lighting Design Solutions
Website:cooperlighting.com/content/source/source_overview.cfm
Manufacturer: General Electric
Center name: Lighting & Electrical Institute
Location: Cleveland
Overview: Located seven miles from downtown Cleveland is GE's lighting institute, which was founded in 1933. The facility hosts more than 4,000 visitors annually, including distributor sales representatives, contractors, lighting specifiers, consulting engineers, property and facility managers, and other end-users. The conferences offered at the institute teach the latest lighting and electrical solutions, often with a focus on energy efficiency. Courses can be taken at the institute or online via GE's Learning Central, which can be found at gelearningcentral.com. The 92-acre Nela Park, which houses the institute, was the first industrial park in the world, according to the website, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Course offerings: Advanced Lighting Update, C&I Products 101, C&I Products 102, C&I Products 103, Commercial Real Estate, Dollarization for Distributors, Fundamentals of Commercial and Industrial Lighting, Industrial Solutions, Introduction to Electrical Systems, Lighting for Healthcare Facilities, Lighting Retrofits, Lighting Update for Fixture Agents, Museum Lighting, Residential Homebuilders and Developers, Retail Lighting, Solutions Seminar for Contractors, Switchgear Basics, Trends in Electrical Solutions
Website:gelighting.com/na/business_lighting/education_resources/conferences/institute/
Manufacturer: Holophane
Center name: Light and Vision Center
Location: Granville, Ohio
Overview: The center just opened in April 2007 and provides education and training via seminars on topics such as ballasts, computer-aided lighting design, and lighting fundamentals. The seminars offer general lighting education in addition to information specific to Holophane luminaires and lighting systems. Facility tours and lighting demonstrations are included with the majority of the seminars. Previously, the Light and Vision Center was in Newark, Ohio, where the main manufacturing facility is located. The new center now features a 40-seat capacity, up from 24, and has new audio-visual and demonstration equipment.
Course offerings: A 2008 schedule was not available as of press time. Check Holophane's website for updates.
Website:holophane.com/education/L&V.asp
Manufacturer: Hubbell Lighting
Center name: Lighting Solutions Center
Location: Greenville, South Carolina
Overview: This state-of-the-art 25,000-square-foot facility, along with a 3,000-square-foot lighting solutions lab and training rooms, opened in July 2007. The facility offers educational programming for Hubbell employees as well as architects and lighting designers. The center includes five museum exhibit-style demonstration areas, which address current lighting topics of import such as energy efficiency, daylighting, and solid-state lighting. Exhibits will be updated annually to respond to new lighting industry advancements.
Course offerings: A full schedule of seminars and online offerings are being developed for 2008. Check Hubbell's website for updates.
Website:hubbelllighting.com
Manufacturer: Juno Lighting Group
Center name: IdeaLab
Location: Des Plaines, Illinois
Overview: This 5,000-square-foot facility's main purpose is to educate specifiers, contractors, architects, distributors, and end-users about the fundamentals of light. Highlighting the company's nine product lines, Juno's IdeaLab offers a handful of courses, mostly geared toward distributors and contractors.
Course offerings: Advanced Residential Lighting for Distributors and Contractors, Lighting Essentials, ModuLight, Alfa Lighting, Aculux, AccuLite Interior and Exterior Lighting, Commercial and Retail Lighting, Juno 101
Website:junolighting.com/education_t.asp
