Method and system for controlling functionality of lighting devices from a portable electronic device

A system for controlling one or more lighting devices, the system comprising:

• a portable electronic device comprising a processor and a user interface;
• and
• a memory device containing programming instructions for a lighting system control application that is configured to cause the processor to:
• detect that the portable electronic device has paired with a gateway controller in proximity to the portable electronic device, wherein the gateway controller is communicatively coupled to one or more fixture controllers, and each fixture controller is connected to one or more lighting devices in a network of lighting devices,
• identify one or more scenes, each scene comprising a set of data corresponding to one or more optical characteristics of at least a first lighting device in the network,
• cause the user interface to display the one or more scenes,
• receive, via the user interface, a user selection of a scene from the one or more scenes,
• identify a time duration for the selected scene,
• generate a light operation request comprising the selected scene and the time duration,
• confirm that the portable electronic device is authorized to initiate the light operation request, and
• transmit the light operation request to the gateway controller to cause the gateway controller to activate at least the first lighting device according to the selected scene and the time duration.