Individual control means that there is a switch accessible to each occupant for control over lighting levels at their individual workspace. It can be a task light in an open office scenario, a main-wall sconce in a private office, a ceiling-hung light in living and bedrooms, or a desk light at a reception desk. Keep in mind, though, that in order to count toward the 90% of individually controlled lighting, 90% of occupants must have a dedicated control or task light.

Although it's not required for credit compliance, providing ambient and individual controls with variable lighting levels is recommended. Also, consider how individual lighting levels could supplement ambient lighting to provide each with variable lighting levels. 

Review opportunities for daylighting, light shelves, skylights, or light tubes. Along with these strategies, consider occupant controls related to each strategy, such as interior or exterior blinds, or changing the aperture on skylights or light tubes. Also consider assessing building orientation and space allocation. These are best practices, not credit requirements.

Employ a lighting designer to develop and review specialized lighting design considerations, such as glare and special-use lighting in art rooms, shops, or A/V presentation rooms.

Employ a lighting designer to develop and review specialized lighting design considerations, such as glare and special-use lighting in A/V presentation rooms.

When designing, consider lighting controllability in combination with your daylighting strategy. For example, if your project has a good design for daylight, you may want to provide task lighting on the interior walls instead of near windows, or daylight sensors in conjunction with an on-off switch for ambient lighting and task lighting for individuals. 

Develop a list of all individually occupied spaces for occupant controls, and core learning spaces and classrooms for multi-occupant space controls. Core learning spaces include: art, band, and chorus rooms, science and computer labs, classrooms, gyms and other physical education spaces, libraries, observatories, and study rooms.

Develop a list of individually occupied and shared multi-occupant spaces. A multi-occupant space is for group interactions―classrooms, conference rooms, cafeterias, lobbies, warehouse loading areas, theaters, break rooms, commercial kitchens, retail stores, and exhibit spaces―where large numbers of people are expected to gather. 

An open office space counts as individually occupied when each person has an individual desk and a defined space. 

Providing individual lighting controllability supports energy efficiency, as the occupants can turn off the lighting system when leaving a space.