The Lightfair Innovation Awards kicked off the June 3 opening of the 25th-annual eponymous trade show, held this year in Las Vegas. The program received 261 lighting-related product submissions in 14 categories, representing 135 manufacturers. The entries were reviewed by an independent jury of the following seven lighting professionals: Deborah Frankhouser, Four Point Lighting Design; Archit Jain, Oculus Light Studio; Gerard Plank, Wilger Testing; Marissa Tucci, Tucci Lighting; Eric Graettinger, Peter Basso Associates; Patrick Quigley, Patrick B. Quigley & Associates; and Matthew Tanteri, Tanteri + Associates.
The entries and subsequent winners in this year’s program showcase the broad range of light sources used by designers, while recognizing the growth in and innovation of solid-state lighting required as the technology continues to gain market acceptance. Additionally, this year’s products illustrate the evolution of LED luminaires’ form factors and light output toward increased sophistication of design and efficacy.
The following products were named winners in the awards’ major categories:
Most Innovative Product of the Year: Open, Acuity Brands
This suspended LED luminaire was also the winner in its category of Commercial Indoor—Linear Fluorescent, Troffers, Suspended, Surface, LED, and OLED). Open is a direct/indirect and wallwash LED luminaire that uses constructive occlusion to reflect and diffuse light up and down an inner arch, allowing for a lens-free linear form. The jury recognized this fixture for its comfortable illumination achieved through the use of an internal indirect optic. Output ranges from 1,020 lumens at 12W to 6,200 lumens at 68W, per 4' section, depending on the type of fixture and whether high, medium, or low output versions have been selected. Suspended, recessed, and surface-mounted options are available and come with transitional reveal, square reveal, or flat conceal end-caps. The luminaire can be specified with an integrated sensor and control for daylight dimming, occupancy detection, lumen management, and system networking. peerlesslighting.com
Design Excellence Award: Moon, Hess America
This slim-profile LED bollard was also the winner in its category of Outdoor Luminaires—Sports, Step, Landscape, Pool, and Fountain. Moon is a contemporary architectural bollard designed for pathway and general illumination whose sculptural form impressed the jury. “This luminaire is art,” juror Archit Jain said on behalf of the jury. “It is sculptural and beautiful.” The luminaire’s housing and the fixture’s bollard shaft are made of extruded aluminum. Its centerpiece feature, a circular ring with a beveled profile, is crafted from low-copper die-cast aluminum and has a white powdercoat. Three LEDs available on one or both sides of the ring’s interior edge offer two different light distributions at 3000K and 4000K each. Textured, graphite, and matte gray finishes are offered. hessamerica.com
Technical Innovation Award: Cielux T80 LED Tracklight, Dicon Lighting
This museum-grade tracklight was also the winner in its category of Track, Display, Undercabinet, and Shelf. Cited by the jury as compact and versatile, the Cielux T80 LED Tracklight offers continuous color tunability from 2800K to 4500K at a minimum CRI of 90. Fitted with the company’s proprietary LEDs, the 80W system offers 4,000 lumens at a standard 67-degree angle with 34- and 15-degree angles available with an optional lens. The fixture’s housing offers 330 degrees of rotation and has a black finish. Each unit weighs 2.4 lbs. cielux.com
Judges’ Citation Award: Traxon Debut, Osram
Despite being neither a winner nor a finalist in its category of Dynamic Color, Theatrical, Cove, Strips, and Tape, this combination of smart LED lighting and media received the jury’s accolades for its use of innovative technology for clothing retail applications. “We liked this daring application of technology in selling clothes,” juror Deborah Frankhouser said. The intelligent media system uses LED illumination to replicate lighting conditions measured from video taken of real-life settings, such as a bright office or a dimly lit restaurant. Integrated Traxon Cove Light AC HO RGBW fixtures offer dynamic color mixing. A touchscreen control panel allows users to alternate among scenarios, which are stored in the cloud and are subscription-based. osram-americas.com
The remaining categorical winners are:
Conventional, Retrofit, and Replacement LED Lamps: SlimStyle LED, Philips
The company’s third-generation A19 LED replacement lamp, SlimStyle emulates the look of an incandescent from the front but challenges traditional lamp form-factors with its slender side profile. The jury cited the lamp’s illumination quality and consumer-friendly price as reasons for its award. “We expect this lamp to go a long way to foster the adoption of LED in every home,” juror Eric Graettinger said. Available in 60W and 40W replacement versions (10.5W and 7W, respectively), the lamp comes in Daylight (5000K) and Soft White (2700K). Both are dimmable and have a lumen output of 800 and a CRI of 80. The lamp measures 4.2" tall by 2.6" wide and fits an E26 medium base. usa.philips.com
LED/OLED, Chips and Modules: Luxeon CoB with CrispWhite Technology, Philips Lumileds
This 90 CRI chip-on-board (CoB) LED offers warm saturated and crisp white light to showcase the rich but varied hues of retail merchandise. “[It] represents a new and impactful tool for retail,” juror Marissa Tucci said. For use in downlights, high- and low-bay fixtures, lamps, and spotlights, the LEDs offer lumen packages from 1,000 to more than 5,000 with efficacies of more than 90 lumens per watt. To achieve the crisp-white effect, the LEDs feature a second blue peak in the color spectrum—from 410nm to 415nm—that activate fluorescent whitening agents in paints and fabrics. The LEDs are a part of the Luxeon CoB product family of thermally resistant, small light-emitting surfaces. philipslumileds.com
Ballasts, Transformers, LED Drivers, Systems, and Kits: Programmable Constant-Current Outdoor Dimmable LED Power Supplies, Osram
Osram is expanding its Optotronic line of programmable LED power supplies with a constant-current LED for outdoor applications. Offered with either 350mA to 800mA or 600mA to 1,250mA, the power supplies are IP66-rated with 6,000V surge protection and come in 50W, 100W, and 180W versions. One-click programming allows OEMs to match LED loads and optimize performance while reducing the number of power supplies stocked. Various loads and form factors available suit the product for uses in such applications as building-mounts, bollards, cobraheads, and decorative landscape lighting. osram-americas.com
Non-Luminous Components, Specialty Hardware, Shades, and Solar: MS-2002 Moldable White Reflector Silicone, Dow Corning
An alternative to glass and other plastic, Dow Corning’s MS-2002 Moldable White Reflector Silicone can be molded into complex shapes, micro-optical features, and multifunctional parts of various sizes. Additionally, it can be over-molded onto transparent silicones to improve the light output from LED mixing chambers. The material remains stable at temperatures exceeding 150 C, the point at which conventional materials tend to yellow and degrade, the company says. The material aims to let manufacturers deliver more intense light from smaller packages. “Its impact on future LED optical design is exciting,” juror Marissa Tucci said. dowcorning.com
Research, Publications, Software, and Measuring Devices: Recommended Practice for Daylighting Buildings, Illuminating Engineering Society (IES)
The IES’s recommended practice provides data and techniques to inform lighting designers, architects, and engineers on the opportunities and constraints for incorporating daylighting into a project. Among the topics addressed are daylight delivery methods, fenestration properties of glazing systems, shading techniques, control strategies, glare, control of electric lighting, and the coordination of factors that influence interior light levels from initial planning to occupancy. “It is a long-overdue update to a timely and critical document,” juror Patrick Quigley said. ies.org
Recessed Downlights (Wallwashers, Directionals, Modulars, Multiples): Aculux 3 1/4" LED Precision Recessed Luminaires, Juno Lighting Group
Each 3 1/4" LED luminaire offers blackbody dimming and tunable white technology to improve precision in high-end recessed applications, inciting juror Patrick Quigley to comment that the fixture “represents the future of downlights.” The “specification-grade” luminare offers either 700 or 1,000 lumens with efficacies of up to 50 lumens per watt. Its blackbody dimming mode uses a zero-to-10V slide dimmer and provides dimming from 3000K down to 1800K to emulate halogen dimming. The tunable white mode also uses a zero-to-10V signal while letting users adjust from 4350K down to 2000K while remaining on the blackbody locus. junolightinggroup.com
Indoor Decorative (Chandeliers, Pendants, Sconces, and Tasklights): Interlace Suspension, LBL Lighting
A 29.5"-diameter aluminum ring is hand-machined to accommodate the thin stainless steel cables that give this decorative fixture its woven design. A 30W, 2,400-lumen LED module set in the ring’s interior offers 2700K, a CRI of 80 at 120V or 277V, and is dimmable. It weighs 8 lbs. and can be suspended at any angle from a trio of 12'-long, field-cuttable aircraft cables. The aluminum fixture has a satin nickel finish. lbllighting.com
Parking, Roadway, and Area Luminaires: McGraw-Edison TopTier LED Parking Garage and Canopy Luminaire, Eaton’s Cooper Lighting Business
Incorporating the company’s WaveStream optics to obscure its LED light sources, this luminaire maximizes output using a patented coupling process. The result is a “low-profile, low-glare solution in a benign, simple aesthetic,” juror Archit Jain said. Concentrated, medium, and wide light distributions are offered in a standard 4000K correlated color temperature (CCT), with optional 3000K and 6000K CCT, all at a CRI of 70. Lumen packages deliver 3,000 to 9,000 lumens. The fixture’s die-cast aluminum housing has a spun, sloped aluminum top. It mounts to standard one-gang, two-gang, and 4"-round wet-location junction boxes. IP66 rated and UL and cUL wet-location listed. cooperindustries.com
Controls, Building Integration, Site Automation, and Distribution Systems: Energy Insight, Schneider Electric
A Web-based, automated alternative to spot checks and one-time verification, Schneider Electric’s Energy Insight energy management system can be used by branch circuit, space, and system controls to monitor lighting and plug loads. It combines circuit zoning, energy data analytics, and a customizable dashboard to evaluate the performance of lighting and plug-load energy conservation measures. Juror Deborah Frankhouser called the system “a likely solution for retrofitting existing tenant spaces at the time of turnover.” The system auto-populates a dashboard with current, power, energy, and voltage data on a per-circuit or per-zone basis. schneider-electric.us
Dynamic Color, Theatrical, Cove, Strips, and Tape: Source Four Mini LED, Electronic Theatre Controls (ETC)
The jury called ETC’s Source Four Mini “a miniature LED version of a time-tested classic,” for its crisp optics and image projection in a housing one-third the size of the company’s original Source Four theatrical luminaire. The 12W fixture offers interchangeable lens tubes that allow for field angles of 19, 26, 36, and 50 degrees. Its 9"-long aluminum housing features a rugged die-cast aluminum construction in black, white, silver, and custom colors. For use in museum, retail, restaurant, lobby, and theater applications. Forward and reverse-phase dimming is available. Lumen output varies based on beam and field angles. etcconnect.com
Industrial, Vandal, Emergency, and Exit: Metalux SkyBar High Bay LED Series, Eaton’s Cooper Lighting Business
This high-bay luminaire offers uplight and adjustable optical blades for use in warehouses, convention centers, atriums, big-box retailers, and other applications requiring a greater focus on aesthetics than are offered by conventional high-bay solutions. Field-adjustable two- and four-blade configurations in wide and narrow distributions are available and incorporate the company’s WaveStream LED light-distribution technology. Correlated color temperatures of 3500K, 4000K, and 5000K are available in five lumen packages of 10,000 to 29,000 lumens with an efficacy of up to 105 lumens per watt. Equipped with a zero-to-10V standard dimming driver. cooperlighting.com
This article has been updated from its original publication to reflect the version of the story that ran in the July-August issue of Architectural Lighting.
