Abstract: A modular lighting system having a plurality of lighting units is disclosed. Each lighting unit includes a plurality of LEDs coupled to a microcontroller that is coupled to a first cable connector and a second cable connector. The system further includes a control box having a user interface, the control box communicatively coupled to each lighting unit through a plurality of cables, the plurality of lighting units and the control box all communicatively and releasably coupled to each other in series. The control box is configured to send through the first cable connector an address packet. For each lighting unit, the microcontroller is configured to adopt a first address received as a first address packet while in an addressable state, the first address being unique among the lighting units, and further configured to send a second address packet to another microcontroller after placing it in the addressable state.