Live Design December 2015 Digital Edition

While this was to be the last Lightfair to be held in San Francisco, not too many manufacturers were complaining about not returning to this great city. (Although they are happy with the show in New York City, they are not too enamored of another trip to Las Vegas.) The attendance this year was down from previous years, not too surprising given the state of the market right now. Most of the attendees were from California and the surrounding regions, and a number from the New York design community, but not a lot of attendees from other markets outside. And, of course, as there were a lot of lighting reps, some refer to this show as Repfair.

Now on to LEDfair. If there was a theme or undercurrent for this year's show, it was LEDs. They are going to revolutionize the industry, save energy, save our lives, etc. OK, so they are the next big thing, but these are pretty much the same promises that we got from the fiber optics crowd, and the dimmable ballast crowd, and the . . . well, you get the point. There are a lot of development dollars being thrown at LEDs to come up with a white LED that lasts and produces usable illumination. The major lamp companies--GE, Osram Sylvania, and Philips--all have divisions that are working toward what may be the A-lamp of this century. Lumileds, a division of Philips Lighting and Agilent Technologies, lit its entire booth with LEDs from OEMs that use its LEDs. The entire booth drew 1,100W of power! On display were some very interesting products including step- and edge-lights as well as a thin shelf and under-cabinet system that fully illuminated the cabinet when the doors were opened. Also shown was a car headlamp made up of ganged LEDs that meets the auto industry's standards for brightness and distribution. Some of the manufacturers were discussing LEDs that would outlast the applications. (Definitely a New York restaurant!)

There were a number of companies with single-color LEDs in a range of package designs, a number of offshore companies coming in with their versions. Almost all of the fixture manufacturers have come up with a version of standard fixtures that will accommodate LED lamps. Even some of the fiber-optic companies, Super Vision for one, are adding LEDs to the line of sources. You could not turn around and not trip over an LED or an application with LEDs.

On the color-mixing LED front, Color Kinetics has started to change some of its products over to the larger Lumileds 5W packages for brighter outputs. Color Kinetics is starting to feel the heat of competition as a number of manufacturers are coming up with variations on the RGB LED packages. Bright Lighting, a new company based in Texas and the UK, has a linear product that mixes colors in some very exciting ways. The product is another from the inventive lads of Wynne Willson Gottelier. They are even looking at curvilinear pieces of color-mixing LED tubes, which could become a viable replacement for neon applications.

Awards presented at Lightfair include the prestigious GE Awards and the 2001 GE Edison Award which was presented to Kris L. Wilde, LC, of Creative Designs in Lighting, Phoenix, AZ, for his lighting of Sapporo Sushi and Teppan Yaki in Phoenix. The Edison Award, made by Steuben Crystal, was presented at a gala dinner held on June 2. Sapporo Sushi was selected from three GE Award of Excellence winners, the other two being Toys "R" Us in Times Square, lit by Focus Lighting of New York City, and the facade of the National Sanctuary Church in Panama, lit by Robert Daniels of Brilliant Lighting Design of Miami, FL, and Julio Vasquez Pretto of Lamparas Varibe in Panama. Six GE Awards of Merit were also presented at the dinner. Full details are available at www.gelighting.com.

The 19th annual IALD Awards ceremony took place at the spectacular San Francisco City Hall. The 2001 IALD Award of Excellence went to the UK firm Jonathan Speirs and Associates for its beautiful lighting of the Gateshead Millennium Bridge in England. Complete award details can be found at www.iald.org.

Advance Transformer's new Optanium™ high-efficiency ballasts are for use with T5 HO lamps; Matchbox™ ballasts, SmartMate™ ballasts for CFL lamp applications, and Xitanium™ drivers for LED sources.

Altman is a making a strong move into the architectural fixture market. In addition to its theatrical fixtures that have been modified for architectural use, it has designed purely architectural fixtures. On display were the new UV-250 blacklight floodlight, the EconoCyc fixture, and the Jazz Strip, which, by using sheet aluminum, is 40% lighter than the sheet metal models. Altman now has a track-mounted PAR fixture that comes in a variety of mounting options, its line of CDM fixtures including the StarPar™, and the Mirage wall-wash luminaire. In addition, there is a new outdoor ellipsoidal spotlight in a weatherproof enclosure for pattern work (it even accepts a pattern rotator) and a new recessed framing projector that takes advantage of the CDM lamp technology for a very bright architectural highlight or for projecting a logo.

There was a lot of buzz about Bright Lighting's new ColorStream™ very bright LED product developed by Wynne Willson Gottelier in the UK. This new approach to LEDs has individually-controlled pixels that change color, create patterns, and move fluidly along an IP66-rated weatherproof tube. Available in 2m, 1m, 50cm, 20cm, and 10cm lengths. When multiple tubes are linked together, pre-programmed or custom effects cascade down the daisy-chained units. Bright Lighting was formed by Nils Thorjussen, cofounder of Flying Pig Systems and subsequently marketing VP at High End Systems until last year, along with industry veterans Chris Varrin and Jeremy Hochman.

Color Kinetics celebrated its fifth anniversary in business with its fifth appearance at Lightfair. New in the color-changing line: iColor® Accent, ColorBlast® 12, ColorBlast 6, ColorBurst™ 6, and ColorBurst 4. Also new: the unoColor series of single-color LED products.

E-Lite Technologies showed Flatlite, a 30"-wide (76cm) by 35'-long (10.5m) electroluminescent strip for 85 sq. ft. (7.65 sq. m) of illuminated area. Also available are strips that are up to 300' (90m) long, using just 1W per foot with no loss over the run; an exterior version is available for signage. Also, a DMX controller for dimming applications is being released.

ETC Architectural introduced the new Irideon AR250 exterior washlight, expanding its line of automated color-changing fixtures for architectural use. The new fixture offers dynamic color washes for outdoor use. The fixture will be ideal for mid-range to smaller-scale applications with shorter throw and punch requirements and lower-wattage access. Users can choose between CYM color-mixing or the economy color-wheel version. The unit uses a 250W discharge lamp, DMX control, and an IP rating of 44. The unit has a full 360º lens rotation for total space coverage and comes with four interchangeable lenses. Also introduced were the new Source Four® PAR HID and PARNel HID fixtures.

Eiko showed its Solux Natural Daylight 3500K, 4100K, and 4700K lamps help generate what is billed as the purest white light on the market today.

Electronics Diversified Inc. featured lighting and dimming controls that can be customized for various architectural applications. While their products may seem a little "theatrical" for the architectural arena, they fit a niche market for installations that need sophisticated control options. New products include the Smart MPI Station, and EDIG, the EDI Ethernet Gateway.

Fiberstars displayed its award-winning EFO (Efficient Fiber Optics) system that delivers up to 80% in energy savings while drastically reducing maintenance costs. Can replace MR-16s at 330W with a fiber package at just 74W, for example.

Fluorescent Lighting Technology Corporation showed its T5 fluorescent lamp and its SMD and SMS series of T5 fluorescent fixtures.

GE's new T8 Watt-Miser® Ultra XL 29W fluorescent lamps are available in 4' lengths. This new lamp, with its 25,000-hour life, offers an 11% energy savings over standard T8 lamps and reinforces GE's energy efficiency initiatives. Also new was the High Output Multi-Vapor® 1,500W Universal Burn MVR1500 SportStar™ lamp for crisp, cool color in stadiums and arenas.

Genlyte Thomas Group displayed the recently acquired Entertainment Technology and its range of Intelligent Power Systems dimmers in the form of the Capio installation rack and the first appearance of the Intelligent Raceway. This product replaces a conventional dimmer rack and connector strip with one lightweight raceway that provides both. The IPS dimmers can now be built into a batten as long as needed, up to 100' in length, and contain up to 48 dual dimmer modules, for a total of 96 dimmers. Dual dimmers feature a new, dynamic method of sharing a single power feed. Either dimmer may be loaded up to 20A when used alone, or when the two dimmers are operated at the same time, any combination of loads may be connected, as long as the combined total of both dimmers does not exceed 20A. The raceways are in production now and there is already an order backlog for the units. A number of theatre consultants have seen the raceway and have been favorably impressed, enough so that they are starting to specify the raceway system.

High End Systems exhibited the C16 (Color 16) architectural fixture with MR-16 lamp and six color filters on a rotating carousel, plus onboard dimmers and two channels of DMX. Available in white, black, or silver standard finishes, and an optional lens kit to project gobos or images. Also dip-switch options for simple color-changing presets. Aimed at the retail, restaurant, and themed market as well as any architectural application calling for color.

Hubbell Lighting introduced its new HX architectural series of automated luminaires. These lightweight, low-profile luminaires can be mounted in a standard 2x2 drop grid ceiling or in a 2' on-center joist opening. Wash or profile fixtures are available in 150, 250, or 400W. Options include various color wheels, fixed or rotating gobos, effects, and various beam angles. Profile fixtures are available in beam spreads of 12, 25, and 40º, as well as a 3-to-1 auto-zoom option. The units are available as standard in black or white. Hubbell recently acquired USI Lighting.

Hydrel 8100-8200 series architectural floodlights for exterior applications come in a more compact size.

Juno Lighting showed the MH2™ series of metal-halide track fixtures, which won an ADEX Award for design excellence in January, and the Professional Halogen series of track fixtures for high-impact display and merchandise lighting.

KATIE Group was showing off Renaissance Lighting's Wall Washer™, a low-profile, high-output, semi-recessed luminaire which provides even lighting distribution on the wall or building surface, yet allows much wider fixture separation (up to 12'[3.7m] on center). The patented optical system, Constructive Occlusion™, provides this superior performance. The ability of the luminaire to properly illuminate a wall on 12' centers results in up to a 50% reduction of fixtures compared to other units. This reduction creates obvious savings in fixture costs, electrical consumption, and ongoing maintenance costs. Additional savings to the customer are achieved by using 10,000-hour 39W, 70W, or 150W ceramic metal-halide lamps with an Aromat electronic ballast which carries its own warranty of up to five years. Quartz versions of the luminaire are also available. Also being shown was an uplight version for lighting a large portion of the ceiling with much fewer fixtures.

Kopp Glass featured colorful glass lenses and filters for all forms of lighting fixtures.

Lambda Research showed TracePro, billed as the first truly visual three-dimensional illumination software tool.

Lee Filters displayed its line of color filters as well as its line of dichroic colors for longer-lasting permanent installations. Also shown were the award-winning Quick Rolls, which provide a fast solution for coloring a large quantity of fluorescent tubes.

Lehigh introduced the new high-density architectural 30-dimmer rack with plug-in dimmers for architectural applications.

Lightolier showed the new Paraplus recessed direct/indirect luminaire, which incorporates a white aluminum louver with prismatic acrylic overlay and a soft-looking contoured body to create an exciting new look. Paraplus is UL-listed for air return with many high-efficiency models to choose from. Paraplus is available in 1x4, 2x2, and 2x4 sizes with many lamp options. Lightolier is part of the Genlyte Thomas Group.

Lite Puter's new EDX DMX-programmable dimming and switching pack features 12-channel output and standard DMX512 digital signal output, as well as six-scene preset, and multiple control options.

Lucifer Lighting introduced Versailles, a precision-engineered low-voltage picture light; the source is the Lucifer Light Strip, with 20,000-hour xenon frosted lamps, up to 10W maximum.

The Lumenyte StarBurst™ linear fiber-optic lighting system combines fiber and LEDs, with a special fiber core coupled with colorful LEDs in notches along the Teflon coating to create a bright, low-voltage system for indoor and exterior applications.

Lumileds announced the release of the Luxeon™ 5W, an LED-based light source that achieves a new benchmark in brightness by providing an output of up to 120 lumens from a single white emitter package. This addition to the Luxeon family of white and colored light engines delivers four times the luminous flux previously available from a single Luxeon LED greatly expanding the kinds of light fixtures and luminaires that can benefit from the small size and long life of LED lamps. A white Luxeon 5W produces a record-breaking intensity of 120 lumens in the same footprint occupied by a 30 lumen white Luxeon 1W. Green, cyan, blue, and royal blue Luxeon 5W packages also deliver record-setting luminous output ranging from 30 lumens for blue to 130 lumens for green and cyan. The Luxeon 5W also lowers the cost per lumen. The white Luxeon 5W produces roughly four times the brightness for three times the price of the Luxeon 1W.

Lutron Lighting's new products included the Faedra™ Smart Dimmer, GRAFIK Eye® Series of multiscene preset lighting controls, the Hi-Lume® and Eco-10™ fluorescent dimming ballasts in 24W 2' and 39W 3' models in both 120V and 277V, among others.

Martin won the best large booth design, with a number of its architectural luminaires as well as the innovative ViroStation, which combines color-mixing on a wafer-thin flat panel speaker that provides a surface for color-mixing as well as some great audio. Also on display was the very small Alien 05 luminaire and a prototype of the Alien 02, which resembles the old beehive hairdryers. With a variety of mounting options, the Alien 02 offers CMY color-mixing with full intensity control, a 6,000-hour CDM 150 SA/T lamp, and can operate with DMX control or standalone operation. Also, Martin gets props for the clever display cases showing cut-away displays of how the luminaires mount and function in the architectural world.

Natural Lighting Co. showed the new NCLI Day-Light combination unit that incorporates fluorescent lighting with a DayLighting unit, which captures sunlight and diffuses it even through a room, thanks to an interior diffusing lens. This product is designed for schools, gymnasiums, and factory spaces, among others.

Norlux exhibited Monochromatic Hex high-performance LED modules in red, green, blue, and amber.

Osram Sylvania was the place to check out what is new and hot in lamp technology including fluorescent, HID, and the ubiquitous LEDs. The Opto Semiconductor division displayed the new package designs for LEDs including the new LINEARlight Flex and the COINlight® LED modules. The LINEARlight Flex strips are useful for those applications where flexibility is required and the COINlight module is designed for compact fixtures. Also introduced are the HPL Ultra Plus (UCF) high-performance tungsten lamps for the ETC Source Four series of fixtures. The Ultra Plus incorporates an improved ultra-compact filament with four or six compact tungsten coil segments. It has a low energy consumption and high lumen output along with low head load to the socket and is available in extended life versions of 2,000 hours.

Prescolite debuted Alum Fourmations™, a series of 4" modular downlighting and accent trims for use with Prescolite's H4 and LVH4 series recessed ceiling downlights. Also new is the Lumex family of architectural luminaires for use with circular T5 fluorescent lamps.

RSA Lighting featured the Combolight line of multi-lamp architectural fixtures, recently specified by LD Paul Gregory for merchandise and aisle lighting for the Toys "R" Us flagship in Times Square.

Rosco showed its new, award-winning ImagePro projection system and the ability to get some great looking projections for not a lot of money. They of couse had plenty of samples of the dichroic filters and custom glass patterns including the high resolution patterns for very nice images.

Schott Fostec LLC introduced the SpectraAngle 90 system, a new display lighting product for furniture, cabinet, and showcase industries. The SpectraAngle system, when incorporated within a shelf, can illuminate an area directly above or below. The fitting reflects light 90º without bending the fiber optic or distorting the illumination.

Selecon displayed the Ardiis line of architectural luminaires, many of which can be track mounted, the popular Aureol fixture series, and the HiPort, its recessed high-output pattern, framing, and color projector.

Space Cannon showed its CAT (color advanced technology) 150W exterior and interior wash and spot luminaire, which features color mixing with variable photometrics in a fully weatherized IP65 static unit. Other new products included the S.C. Wood 160W, which produced highly efficient ultraviolet rays without a loss of visible light and the BAT (beam advanced technology) 400 outdoor/indoor ecological architectural lighting unit.

Super Vision, previously known as a fiber-optic company, showed Flex-LED™, an LED unit which allows the user to toggle through three different color systems, with no DMX needed to operate the system.

TIR Systems Ltd. introduced an RGB LED indoor/outdoor color wash fixture that uses the new high-output Luxeon™ LEDs from Lumileds. By incorporating an optical film as a diffuser, the unit only needs 60 RGB LEDs. It is DMX-controllable, has an IP rating of 65, and provides even punch from a very low-profile fixture. Tentatively titled Destiny 3, it is an addition to the TIR Destiny line and is slated for an October release and shipment to follow next January.

Tempest exhibited its line of exterior enclosures for conventional and automated luminaires including its award-winning Storm enclosure for conventional ellipsoidal spotlights and accessories like color changers or pattern rotators.

Times Square Stage Lighting has adapted a number of its theatrical fixtures for the architectural market as well as expanding its line of purely architectural fixtures, many of which are used in retail and display work. One of these, the MHG852 is a short- to medium-throw, high-intensity fixture designed for the 20W G8.5 metal halide lamp, received a good response at the show. The fixture's lightweight and architectural design makes it ideal for retail, exhibit, and residential designs. It comes complete with a clear protective lens that projects a very narrow beam pattern. Other beam patterns and accessories are available.

Tokistar is sponsoring retrofits of many of its projects, using its new LED products, which help reduce energy consumption.

Universal Lighting Technologies has a ballast for just about any application, including a comprehensive line of energy-efficient ballasts for fluorescents and HID applications. Triad® electronic compact fluorescent ballasts cover lamp applications ranging from 13W to 70W and feature installer-friendly universal input voltage (108-305V). The ballasts are designed to operate one or two lamps and can power multiple lamp types for added versatility. Triad compact fluorescent ballasts are ideal for a wide variety of downlight and surface-mount applications, including atriums, hotel corridors, elevators, and vandal-resistant fixtures. All models incorporate Programmed Rapid Start technology ensuring optimal lamp performance, feature an auto-reset shutdown circuit for end-of-lamp-life protection, and are designed in a metal case and special potting compound for optimal heat dissipation. Total harmonic distortion (THD) is less than 10%. Universal Lighting also offers a variety of 347V models in the 13W to 70W range for the Canadian market.

Ushio America displayed a number of new lamp developments. The Whitestar full-spectrum 50W MR-16 lamps now offer 5300K and 6500K color temperatures for designs such as highlighting jewelry and accenting retail displays and feature an integrated UV protective capsule. Fiberline™ MR-16 lamps are specifically designed for fiber-optic illuminators. The lamps are UV-protected and feature high luminous output, are available in 20, 35, 50, and 75W, and have an average life of 4,000 hours. Also added to the Colorlite 1,000W metal halide lamp line are green and blue colors, for applications where the design calls for color, but color filters cannot be used.

Vantage Lighting showed the InfoStar 700/1500™ LogoVision®, a stationary logo projector for retail applications.

Visual Lighting Technologies specializes in fiber-optic technology and is the distributor for the new XPO Conduit Lighting System manufactured by Robolon Fiber Optics of Denmark. The system is designed for showcases, shop windows, and lighting tasks that call for flexibility. The XPO system can be combined with light points and swivel-type fittings to create a level of ambient lighting or pinpoint spotlighting of objects. Also announced was the addition of designer Stacey Westbrook as in-house lighting designer and product specialist. Westbrook was a lighting designer at Walt Disney Imagineering, most recently a part of the design team for the Disney Quest project. Current Visual Lighting projects include a relight of the ConEd clock tower and the Met Life building in NYC, as well as a 30-story office tower in Brazil, the Louis Vuitton store in NYC, and several bowling alleys.

W.A.C. Lighting introduced a new line of compact fluorescent wall-wash track heads for supermarkets and retail stores, and metal-halide track heads for retail, houses of worship, malls, and other large spaces.

Wybron showed its line of color changers and lighting accessories including the new, award-wining Eclipse II iris douser for discharge and sports light fixtures as well as its Aquaram series of exterior color changers.

Xenon Light featured a sleek line of track fixtures (Sinus, Ponto), recessed downlights (MXE, MXN), recessed downlight track fixtures (MXK, MXA), suspended track fixtures (VXS, VXL), and high bay fixtures (Atrio, MXAQ) for either metal-halide or fluorescent lamps up to 250W.