The innovation at LightFair International 2016 in San Diego was firmly on technology rather than design. The exciting developments were all about connected lighting, its role in the Internet of Things and turning the data generated by luminaires into sellable information that clients will pay for. Acuity, Cree and GE’s Current were the stand-out players in this field. Light quality was also a big trend, with TM-30 metrics starting to creep into spec sheets. The Lux Review team, fuelled on pretzels and soda, scoured the aisles and here we present our top ten standout developments…
Saliot
Minebea
‘Saliot’ stands for Smart Adjustable Light for IoT. Which tells you all you need to know about this remote-controlled spotlight; you can control pan, tilt, dimming intensity and zoom wirelessly using a smartphone app.
Airelight
GoldenEye
Just a quarter-of-an-inch wide, this recessed linear LED luminaire delivers 42 lumens per inch at 120 lm/W. It magnetically attaches to a T-grid which is flush between tiles or routed into wood. Great for integrating light. Contact GoledEye >>>
CXA2 high-density array
Cree
A family of LED arrays which pack huge lumen packages into tiny spaces. The 9mm version delivers over 6,000 lumens – the equivalent of squeezing seven 60W incandescent lamps into an area the size of a dime.
RSW streetlight
Cree
Across the world, residents complain – rightly – about their new cool colour-temperature, glarey LED streetlights. Here’s Cree’s solution: a 3000K, 80Ra, 115 lm/W fixture with great visual comfort. We want them in our street… Contact Cree >>>
Edge-X
QuarkStar
Making their first public debut at LightFair, QuarkStar’s impressive ‘light-shaping’ optics guide the output from LEDs and sculpt the distribution of light in space. This means you’ll need fewer luminaires in a space to get the same effect as traditional optics.
Frame-in recessed downlight
DMF Lighting
This fire- and sound-rated LED downlight is designed to make the contractor’s life easier. The LED module is mounted with two screws and trim attachments have a simple twist-and-lock connection. Oh, and it’s UL, Energy Star and Title 24 compliant.
Digital services platform
Acuity Brands
Thanks to the recent acquisition of tech start-ups ByteLight and Geometri, Acuity now has a compelling offer for retailers: lighting which can help customers navigate a store and receive marketing offers, and deliver analysis of customer behaviour to the retailer.
Color Amplifier
GVA
Traditional four-colour luminaires limit the output of each individual colour to a quarter of the power rating of the fixtures, so a 100W RGBW unit will limit green to 25W. GVA’s clever algorithm allows the output to match the maximum rated power of the unit. Simple, huh?
Cells
Reggiani
The Speirs + Major designed LED bulkhead is one of the grooviest luminaires on show at LightFair. It boasts a wide range of optical distributions, diffusers and coloured inserts and looks great both indoors and out.
Zip Three 707
Vode
This superslim bi-directional ceiling wash and wall graze fixture is just 7mm thick. It’s got beautiful light quality and represents a great way to put light on both the wall and ceiling with one fitting. You can control both light components independently.
- The next major exhibition in the industry’s calendar is LuxLive 2016 in London on
Wednesday 23 November and Thursday 24 November 2016. More information at www.luxlive.co.uk