An LED-based lighting unit (100, 200, 300, 400, 1000, 1100, 1200, 1300, 1400, 1500) may be installable into a luminaire (108, 208, 308, 408, 1008, 1108, 1208, 1308, 1408, 1508) to cause the luminaire to be responsive to applied forces and/or movements to control one or more properties of light emitted by the lighting unit. The lighting unit may include one or more LEDs (102), an accelerometer (114), and a controller (112). The controller may: receive, from the accelerometer, a signal representative of a measured mechanical force applied to or movement of the luminaire in which the LED-based lighting unit is installed; determine, based on the signal from the accelerometer, that the measured mechanical force or movement corresponds to one or more predetermined forces or movements; and energize the one or more LEDs to emit light having one or more properties selected based on the determination.