Lightfair’s Innovation Awards program kicked off the April 23 opening of the annual trade show, held this year in Philadelphia. The program received 307 lighting-related product submissions in 15 categories representing 156 different manufacturers. The program is sponsored by Lightfair, the International Association of Lighting Designers, and the Illuminating Engineering Society.

This year’s entries and winning products reflect the continued diversity of luminaire, light source, and lighting controls offerings, acknowledging the industry’s shift to solid-state lighting, while still recognizing the full range of sources required by lighting designers. This year’s products also represent the increasing level of sophistication associated with lighting products and their move toward an integrated approach with other building systems.

2013 Lightfair Innovation Awards Jury 

Matthew Hartley, Energie Lighting  Howard Lewis, Lighting Alternatives 
Kim Mercier, Lighting Design Innovations 
Leslie North, Aurora Lighting Design 
Marty Peck, Creative Lighting Design & Engineering 
Jason Rainone, Abernathy Lighting Design 
Lauri Tredinnick, Pivotal Lighting Design

BoldPlay
Rob Kater/Courtesy Philips BoldPlay

Most Innovative Product of the Year
BoldPlay, Philips
This suspended LED luminaire was also the winner in its category—Commercial Indoor (Linear Fluorescent, Troffers, Suspended, Surface, LED, OLED).
BoldPlay is an indirect/direct LED luminaire that uses proprietary MesoOptics and light guide technology to provide uniform light levels at the work plane. The judges awarded the luminaire with the “Most Innovative Product of the Year” distinction due to its “extraordinary performance with extreme spacing of up to 20' on center with the photometrics to support it … as well as providing a low-profile stylistic aesthetic.” With an efficiency of up to 106 lm/W, each 4'-long fixture is available in either 3,400 or 4,800 lumens, three color temperatures, and several profiles and finishes. Although the luminaire’s standard distribution is 70% up and 30% down, specifiers can refine light levels with a variable optics kit, in 80% or 100% down, to adjust the amount of downlight required. • philips.com/ledalite

Light Sheet
Courtesy Cooledge Lighting Light Sheet

Design Excellence Award
Light Sheet, Cooledge Lighting
This LED lighting system was also the winner in its category—LED, OLED, Chips and Modules.
Light Sheet combines mechanical, electrical, and LED components together in a single flexible light source. Available in two thicknesses: 7mm (0.27") and 12mm (0.47"), in widths from 1" to 11" and up to 8' long, with a CRI of 80-plus and a choice of 3000K, 3500K, or 4000K, this ultrathin product requires no heat sink and can be mounted to any surface. Low-power LEDs produce up to 135 lm/W and are rated for greater than 50,000 hours of life (per L70). Light Sheet is dimmable from 1% to 100% using a 58V DC input power supply and includes a five-year system warranty. • cooledgelighting.com

Moldable Silicones
(c)Tero Makinen/Courtesy Dow Corning Moldable Silicones

Technical Innovation Award
Moldable Silicones, Dow Corning
This material was also the winner in its category—Non-Luminous Components and Specialty Hardware.
Lighter than glass, with increased heat tolerance over plastic, UV-resistant silicone is a high-transmittance material. It was cited by the jury “as a new customizable material to mold, guide, and transfer light. … [with] the ability to incorporate complex shapes and micro-optics.” These innate qualities and its low optical loss make moldable silicones an ideal choice for secondary optic applications for both LED lamps and luminaires. Complex shapes and features, including small radii and undercuts, can be replicated accurately without draft angles, and thermal and moisture resistance provide additional protection for electronic equipment. • dowcorning.com

Hue
Martin Brent Guest/Courtesy Philips Hue

Judges’ Citation Award
Hue, Philips
This wireless lighting system was also the winner in its category—Dynamic Color, Theatrical, Cove, Strips, and Tape.
Hue is a Web-enabled, picture-based, LED home lighting system available exclusively through Apple stores. The judges recognized Hue with a Citation Award because of the lamp and control system’s ability “to place the awareness of advanced color applications into the public’s hands.” The starter kit includes three LED lamps that fit any standard light fixture and a bridge that connects to existing wireless routers. The system can be controlled by any iOS or Android device, can achieve a CRI of 90-plus in the white range, and provides more than 16 million color customizations. At the beginning of May, Philips launched the next generation application for the system using the new Philips Hue channel on IFTTT (If This Then That). This allows the Hue system to work with any application programming interface (API) on the Internet. Additional features in v1.1 include geofencing and recurring scheduling. • meethue.com/en-US and usa.lighting.philips.com

AGi32 image
Asher Harder/Courtesy Lighting Analysts Inc. AGi32 image

Category: Research, Publications, Software, and Measuring Devices
AGi32 Version 14, Lighting Analysts Inc.
Version 14 of AGi32 uses the mesopic multipliers detailed in IES TM-12-12 (“Spectral Effects of Lighting on Visual Performance at Mesopic Light Levels”) to refine the program’s calculation software for low-light applications, and it was for this “voluntary implementation” of the new standards that the jury recognized AGi32 Version 14 as the best in its category. The spectral performance of a light source can be expressed in terms of its S/P ratio: the scotopic luminous flux divided by the photopic luminous flux. Human visual performance in low-light environments has been shown to improve under whiter light sources, which typically have S/P ratios greater than one. Version 14 includes revised calculations to quantify this effect and show improved visibility at lower light-levels for exterior applications • agi32.com

Octrron 800 XP XL Supersaver T8 Fluorescent Lamps
Courtesy Osram Sylvania Octrron 800 XP XL Supersaver T8 Fluorescent Lamps

Category: Conventional, Retrofit, and LED Replacement Lamps 
Octron 800 XP XL Supersaver T8 Fluorescent Lamps, Osram Sylvania 
The new Octron 800 XP XL Supersaver T8 fluorescent lamps, part of the company’s Ecologic3 line, has an extended lamp life of up to 84,000 hours on a T8 ANSI-rated ballast. As the jury noted, “This lamp will give even LEDs a real run for the money due to its incredibly long life.” Manufactured with lead-free glass, the 48" (nominal) lamp is available in standard 32W, as well as 28W, and 25W Supersaver (reduced wattage) versions. It includes Osram Sylvania’s five-year Quick 60+ warranty. • sylvania.com

Highhorse Controllable Induction Generator
Courtesy Fulham Highhorse Controllable Induction Generator

Category: Ballasts, Transformers, and LED Drivers
HighHorse Controllable Induction Generator, Fulham
The HighHorse Controllable Induction Generator is a universal voltage generator that communicates instructions to induction lighting systems. It was selected by the jury “because it allows for the palette of outdoor fixtures to grow to include induction [options] for municipalities and departments of transportation.” This “smart” generator supports multiple wattage induction lamps with the same hardware and also reports details such as lamp performance, energy use, and other defined variables back to a user interface. Control functions are achieved
via a wireless network or remote control, and motion sensing and daylight harvesting are also possible using Plug-n-Play technology. • fulham.com

Smart LED System
Courtesy Solatube International Smart LED System

Category: Solar, Shades, and Daylight Integration
Smart LED System, Solatube International
The jury selected the Smart LED System as the best in its category because of the way in which it brings “two currently prominent technologies together in a potentially impactful new opportunity.” Similar to Solatube’s other daylighting systems, the Smart LED harvests sunlight during the day, but then uses a patented daylight sensor to switch to an LED lighting system at night. According to the manufacturer, this saves up to 94% on energy costs. The Smart LED System is suggested for use in hallways, bathrooms, closets, and entryways. • solatube.com

Precision 2 In-Grade with Color Tuning
Courtesy B-K Lighting and Teka Illumination Precision 2 In-Grade with Color Tuning

Category: Outdoor Luminaires (Sports, Step, Landscape, Pool, Fountain)
Precision 2 In-grade with Color Tuning, B-K Lighting and Teka Illumination
An LED luminaire, the Precision 2 In-Grade with Color Tuning provides both tunable white light from 2700K to 6000K and full dynamic color in the same LED module, one of the features that made it stand out for the jury as the best in its category. Fixtures are controllable via a light-commissioning tool that uses a wireless network to enable individual control of on/off, dimming down to 5% output, correlated color-temperature modulation, and full saturation and hue control. A copy/paste function on a hand-held remote helps to easily match settings from one fixture to another. • bklighting.com

HBA WASP2 Dimming Outdoor Occupancy Sensor
Courtesy Hubbell Lighting HBA WASP2 Dimming Outdoor Occupancy Sensor

Category: Controls, Building Integration, Site Automation, and Distribution Systems
HBA WASP2 Dimming Outdoor Occupancy Sensor, Hubbell Lighting
Acknowledged by the jury for its ability to bring “indoor control functionality to exterior environments in extreme outdoor temperatures,” the WASP2 Dimming Outdoor Occupancy Sensor is designed to provide zero-to-10V DC output for the control of dimmable LED, fluorescent, and HID fixtures. Through DIP switches, the user can set occupied and unoccupied dimming levels, and an integrated daylight sensor provides on/off control when there is sufficient natural light. Line- and low-voltage options are available and the sensor can be either end- or
surface-mounted. It is also gasketed for wet locations and can withstand temperatures from -40 to 65 C. • hubbelllighting.com

Cielux T120 LED Tracklight
Courtesy DiCon Lighting Cielux T120 LED Tracklight

Category: Track, Display, Undercabinet, and Shelf
Cielux T120 LED Tracklight, DiCon Lighting
The Cielux T120 LED tracklight was selected by the jury as the best in its category due to its original use of an adjustable beam pattern in an LED trackhead that did not require additional accessories. The 25W LED tracklight is compatible with Halo track, features three correlated color-temperature settings, has a CRI of 90-plus, and can continuously dim down to 5%. A single, dense LED array produces defined shadows and a single-lensing option allows for beam angles of 16 to 50 degrees in a single fixture. • diconlighting.com

CBM Central Battery with Monitoring and Reporting System
Courtesy Signtex Lighting CBM Central Battery with Monitoring and Reporting System

Category: Industrial, Vandal, Emergency, and Exit
CBM Central Battery with Monitoring and Reporting System, Signtex Lighting
CMB is an integrated emergency lighting system that uses central batteries to power remote LED emergency fixtures and exit signs. Automated self-test diagnostics and status reports are available on-demand via an Internet communication. The system will also generate written records required by the Life Safety Code, and it was for this reason that the jury noted it as its best in category. They said, “This automates what, to date, has been a manual process.” High lumen outputs, efficient optics, and long lamp-life all contribute to a low life-cycle cost. • signtexinc.com

Evolve LED Scalable Cobrahead Roadway Lighting
Courtesy GE Lighting Evolve LED Scalable Cobrahead Roadway Lighting
Category: Parking, Roadway, and Area Luminaires 
Evolve LED Scalable Cobrahead Roadway Lighting, GE Lighting The Evolve LED Cobrahead Roadway Lighting series is a family of scalable fixtures designed to optimize roadway photometric distribution classifications. Because of this “scalability and a choice of four distributions,” the jury deemed it best in its category. Composed of high-brightness LEDs available in 4000K and 5700K with a CRI of 70, the light engine uses scalable reflective technology designed to increase efficiency and minimize glare. The IP65-rated fixtures are available in hundreds of photometric configurations, multiple voltages, and several mounting options. • gelighting.com
Planar Series Horizontal Core Pendant
Courtesy Digital Speck Lighting Planar Series Horizontal Core Pendant

Category: Indoor Decorative (Chandeliers, Pendants, Sconces, Tasklights)
Planar Series Horizontal Core Pendant, Digital Speck Lighting
Available in two diameters—28" and 40"—the Planar Horizontal Core LED pendant uses 4000K LEDs at the pendant’s aluminum “X” to edge-light blades of acrylic below. The judges recognized this luminaire as best in its category for “using LEDs for their inherent form factor, rather than trying to force LEDs into conventional aesthetics or exiting products.” Each blade of acrylic uses an embedded microlens pattern to control glare and create a defined distribution. At the center is an optional 3500K Xicato downlight module in either 1,300 or 3,000 lumens. Constant current drivers are located in the ceiling canopy. • digitalspeck.com

Multisource Recessed Lighting System
Courtesy Hubbell Lighting/Kurt Versen Multisource Recessed Lighting System

Category: Recessed Downlights (Wallwashers, Directional, Modulars, Multiples)
MultiSource Recessed Lighting System, Hubbell Lighting/Kurt Versen
The MultiSource Recessed Lighting System is a series of universal housings spanning 10 product lines that can swap LED remote phosphor, LED MR16, LED PAR, metal halide light sources, and power supplies from below the ceiling using quick connectors. Each source has a specific optical assembly to optimize performance and control brightness. The modular footprint is adaptable to new technologies—the feature that made this stand out to the jury—and allows for a single-sized aperture look with several light source options. • hubbelllighting.com

 
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