It’s an exciting time for lighting products and technology as we develop new, more efficient, and totally different concepts to light everything with products that fit on a key chain to the those that light up the sides of skyscrapers. Read what some experts say about how we are retrofitting old lighting fixtures with LEDs and figuring out ways to control and conserve energy in our new lighting designs.
Electronic Products Magazine asked ERG Lighting, and Leviton what they thought were the short term and long-term lighting trends.
Cheryl De Los Santos , Marketing Manager, Leviton Lighting & Energy Solutions, says that currently, the lighting industry is all about LEDs. Over the past several years, this trend has continued to increase and dominate the market’s demand for products to accommodate LED retrofit and new installations. However, the biggest challenge for current LED technology is dimming control. Unlike traditional incandescent lighting, compatibility between dimming controls and LED lamps is not easily predicted by the type of dimming or switching technology in use. With LED lamps, control compatibility is dependent on the relationship between the control system and the particular LED driver being used in the luminaire or lamp. In today’s market, there are thousands of LEDs and no two are designed exactly the same way. Subsequently, it is difficult for a control provider to design a dimming control that is guaranteed to be compatible with a wide range of LED luminaires or light engines. In the years to come, we anticipate the LED control market to expand meeting the growing demands of this market.
The industry is also experiencing an increased focus on understanding how and when buildings and facilities use energy. Employing submetering systems allows facility operators to gauge the effectiveness of implemented energy sources such as lighting by providing a snapshot for equipment maintenance requirements and areas of wasted energy use. They can even help facilities to make smarter choices about how they purchase energy. Submetering systems help to keep building energy costs low over the long term and reduce the footprint the facility has on limited resources.
Scott Barney , VP Sales and Marketing for ERG Lighting, says the near-term product trend for LEDs in general lighting is the evolution of the troffer/LED retrofit products currently being introduced to the market. Not only are they highly focused on energy savings, but as LEDs are inherently controllable, these products will lead to dramatic savings through daylight harvesting, occupancy/vacancy sensing, and individual task tuning.
The market is returning its focus to the quality of light, the luminaire, and its components. The days of cheap retrofits are long gone. Luminaire manufacturers looking to capitalize on the ESCO and retrofit opportunities need to partner with component suppliers who have a credible reputation in the marketplace and who are focused on and understand the value of quality, performance, durability. Suppliers need to stand behind their products and work with the industry throughout the design process of the luminaire.
Traditionally viewed as the weakest component link in the luminaire, a driver (power supply) that is expertly designed for high efficiencies and long life, and that has exceptional technical and warranty support, ensures the luminaire manufacturer of the durability of their products. A product that is designed, supported, and manufactured in the USA can be essential for the explosion of the LED Lighting industry for general lighting and retrofit projects. Quality will be the key to the overall acceptance of LED lighting in the future.
Long-term product trends in this marketplace will certainly incorporate the advancement of all types of dimming to maximize energy savings leading to an explosion of LEDs in general lighting.
Kyle Rogers , Lighting Product Manager for Cree Lighting, says the big wins for LED lighting come from products that give customers what they expect from traditional light sources—while being more efficient and longer lasting and with higher color quality than fixtures previously used. Technologies like Cree TrueWhite Technology enable a combination of color quality and high luminous efficacy – higher quality light using fewer watts. Manufacturers like Cree have been able to leverage these advantages for an array of traditional form factors: recessed downlights, lay-in troffers, roadway lighting and even the iconic Edison A-lamp bulb.
As the technology continues to advance, a new world of opportunity awaits us, beyond traditional form factors and lighting applications. Small size, high efficiency and long lifetimes are inherent advantages of LED lighting, allowing for many new product types and system-level integrations that lighting manufacturers are just beginning to explore.
The latest products entering the market point toward a world where LED lighting will help to enable a new age digital building infrastructure. Just as many other elements of the digital revolution have enhanced adaptability, controllability and the humanization of complex and abstract technologies, LEDs are spawning a lighting revolution. Soon new shapes, sizes, form factors and the next level of building system integration will be here—enabling more beautiful, more productive environments, with amazing energy savings.
Sidebar
The E54W is made in the USA and ideal for troffer applications and T8 replaceable tubes. It can drive 4 outputs, each capable of driving 25-38V at a constant current of 350mA. Outputs can be tied together in multiple configurations to increase current up to 1400mA. Dimmable to 20%. ERG Lighting www.erglighting.com
VerifEye submeters from Leviton are smart meters that identify how and where energy is being used throughout commercial and industrial facilities. They provide an integrated approach for tracking, monitoring, and verifying lighting consumption, and implementing cost and carbon footprint reduction. www.leviton.com/les
There is no reason to ever specify a CFL downlight again. Featuring Cree TrueWhite Technology, Cree KR Series LED downlights deliver specification-grade performance with the features designers expect at every day specification-grade pricing. Get proven performance with exceptional 90+ CRI illumination while achieving efficacies greater than 65 lm/W. www.cree.com
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