Lighting agencies win more bids when they standardize lighting controls by working with one manufacturer. A lighting rep agency competes on the reliability and speed of its bids. Functional Devices, Inc. manufactures a range of RIB® (Relay-In-a-Box®) lighting control products in the United States, on an ISO-certified line. For a rep agency, that consolidates the controls package from several vendors down to one, makes the quote and submittal faster to produce, and is a broad-enough product range to cover a project’s full controls scope.
Why Juggling Multiple Lighting Controls Lines Slows Your Bids
Each controls manufacturer an agency carries has its own catalog logic, part-numbering system, and submittal package. On a bid, that multiplies the amount of work required and the risk of error. It also increases lead-time exposure: a bid is only as dependable as its least predictable product. When one manufacturer covers the entire controls scope, the takeoff relies on one catalog, the submittal comes from one source, and there is only one lead time to confirm.
How Standardizing Lighting Controls Speeds Up Bids
When you standardize on one lighting controls manufacturer, repeat work becomes simpler. The same relays specify the same way across projects, submittal packages are reused rather than rebuilt, and the agency’s team learns one line deeply instead of several shallowly. Functional Devices covers the common lighting controls scope with one catalog—light controllers, power packs, UL1008-listed transfer switches, and UL924-listed emergency lighting lines—so a project’s lighting controls can be specified entirely in one place.
However, a specified product is only helpful if it’s reliable.
Functional Devices has manufactured products in the United States since 1969, is ISO-certified, and tests every unit before shipment. Reported field failures are less than 1 in 16,000. For a rep, that predictability translates into credibility with contractors.
One Line Covers the Whole Lighting Controls Scope
The controls scope on a lighting project spans from normal switching to code-regulated emergency lighting. Functional Devices has UL924- and UL1008-listed lines that cover this emergency requirement specifically. Automatic load control relays (ALCRs) such as the ESRN and the ESRN-U control emergency fixtures alongside normal lighting and force them to full output when normal power is lost. We also carry bypass/shunt relays such as the ESR2401B (120 Vac) and ESR2402B (208-277 Vac).
Standardizing Builds Agency Credibility With Specifiers
When an agency specs the same reliable, code-compliant line across projects, specifiers and contractors learn that the controls package will ship on schedule and perform reliably. That track record is what builds repeat business. Adding Functional Devices to an agency’s line card is how a rep can make their agency the default for contractors rather than a case-by-case choice.
Frequently Asked Questions About Standardizing Lighting Controls
How does standardizing on one controls manufacturer help win bids?
One line means one takeoff catalog, one submittal package, and one lead time to confirm, which makes a bid faster to produce and less prone to transcription error. A reliable line is also less likely to be value-engineered out.
Does one manufacturer cover both normal and emergency lighting controls?
Functional Devices covers normal switching with RIB® relays, and code-required emergency lighting with its UL1008- and UL924-listed lines.
What makes a controls supplier reliable enough to standardize on?
U.S. manufacturing with predictable lead times, an ISO-certified process, and a documented field failure rate—Functional Devices reports below one in 16,000—so a specified part ships and performs reliably.
What is the difference between an ALCR and a bypass/shunt relay?
An ALCR such as the ESRN controls emergency fixtures with the normal lighting and forces them on when power is lost. A bypass/shunt relay such as the ESR2401B simply overrides a wall switch or dimming signal to force the fixture on. Both are UL924-listed.
How does an agency add Functional Devices as a controls line?
By becoming an authorized Functional Devices distributor, which adds the line to the agency’s line card and provides specification support for writing it into project designs.
Ready to Standardize Your Controls Line?
To make Functional Devices your standard lighting controls line, become an authorized Functional Devices distributor or browse the Functional Devices lighting controls catalog to learn more about the full lighting and UL924 emergency lighting range.