The Next Generation Luminaires (NGL) Solid-State Lighting (SSL) Design Competition has announced a major transformation for the 2017 competition. Going forward, the program will be known as the Next Generation Lighting Systems (NGLS) competition. This reflects the changes underway in the lighting industry as a whole, as lighting manufacturers move from stand-alone luminaires to integrated lighting networks.
The 2017 NGLS program will feature four separate competitions scheduled throughout the year. Competition One is for “easily installed and configured systems” and the Intent to Submit Deadline is March 14, 2017. Documentation is due March 17, 2017. Interested parties must fill out the online Intent to Submit entry form.
An overview of the competitions describes Competition Two as being for “easily installed and configured systems that are compatible with conversion/retrofit kits”; Competition Three as being for “more capable and complex systems that are commissioned on site”; and Competition Four as being for “more capable and complex systems that are commissioned on site and feature color-tuning luminaires.” Ruth Taylor, Project Manager, Advanced Lighting Group, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, who helps administer the program, says, “We try to learn year to year what the steering committee is seeing in the field so that the competition can respond.”
Other changes in store for 2017 include a partnership with the Parsons School of Design in New York City. All NGLS entries will be permanently installed in “accessible working space” throughout the university to create a “living lab” scenario. This will enable manufacturers the ability to “observe and improve their products” and give students and faculty a first-hand look a new product developments.
The NGL program was first launched in 2008 and is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Illuminating Engineering Society, and the International Association of Lighting Designers “… to encourage technical innovation and promote excellence in the design if energy-efficient LED luminaires for commercial, industrial, and institutional applications.” The program has gone through several iterations since its conception as categories and review criteria have evolved to maintain the program’s high standards. For compete information about the competition and an overview of all the prize-winning fixtures to date, go to NGLS website.
