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The CREE LRP-38

We can’t tell you  how excited we are at Cree’s achievement in the LRP-38 LED lamp.

Originally we saw this new technology at LightFair and were cautiously skeptical.   Show booths are of course designed to make things look the best they can – hiding every possible flaw.  Further, it’s very difficult to evaluate color temperature and output when your standing in the middle of a convention center. 

Cree’s display for this lamp consisted a multitude of these lamps landing on a bunch of fruit demonstrating its application for the grocery store market place. 

To be honest, at the show, I thought the lamp looked like it might read a bit too pink off the trade show floor. I knew I had to reserve judgement because I realized I was also immersed in cool color temperature metal halide. Fortunately, Cree agreed to send us a sample of this lamp to review.

So we mocked it up in the toughest environment for LEDs possible … residential.   This is the domain of the incandescent and halogen bulbs.   The results,  I have to tell you,  were very impressive.   We put this 12 watt lamp side by side with a 50 watt 25 degree halogen IR. The output was very comparable. It appeared to us that the Cree color temperature was ever so slightly pink compared to straight halogen but definately, in our opinion, a workable lamp in residential and hospitality design projects.

The LRP-38 beam spread was exceptionally smooth.  It far surpased it’s halogen predecessor in that department.  The glare control is outstanding due to the design.   The LED is actually in the fin in front of the reflector and aims backwards not towards the occupants in the space.    Awesome!   We can’t wait to see more bulbs in this family. 

Congratulations Cree!! on an outstanding accomplishment in LEDs.

And, more good news, the box comes labeled with a lighting facts label. How will this affect consumers in the future? See our post Legislate this!

For more about this lamp from the Cree website go to http://www.creeledlighting.com/lrp-38.htm

We’ve found this lamp for sale online as various vendors for $160 – $179.

For more detailed information on our comparative testing please email us at
editor@lightrightnow.com

SSL Label – Good news for Consumers of SSL Product

The US Department of Energy has jointly developed wtih the Next Generation Lighting Industry Alliance (NGLIA) a voluntary pledge program. The pledge is to use a new label to better inform the lighting consumer about the performance of a particular solid state lighting product (SSL).

Not only will manufacturers who take the pledge agree to follow specified guidelines in using the label, lighting designers, contractors, buyers and distributors will agree to look for and use products that bear the label.

LightRightBlog support the use of this label and encourages manfacturers to become SSL quality lighting advocates.

Lightfair 2009 Overview

There was much speculation about the value of this years light fair show amidst a tough construction economy.  The editorial staff at LightRightBlog was happy to find  an outstanding show turn out and more than 170,000 sq ft of exhibitors.  This is physically largest show ever.    Numbers on the actual visitors to the show are still being calculated but again, record breaking numbers are expected.

Additionally, in recent years and months we have heard increasing commentary amongst manufacturer representatives that  would have the architectural and lighting community doubting the  the reason to make a trip to the show.   They claim consensus by their manufacturers that show is dying due to fears of manufacturers ideas being stolen  by off shore imitators.   They say that manufacturers are turning to local rep agencies to create private showings regionally.   While this blog does not doubt the value of reaching out to the design community in smaller formats,  we are happy to report that we found Light Fair to be well worth the trip,  even in a down economy, and perhaps especially in a down economy.  Better get your walking shoes on next year guys, you’re missing out!  

As we pounded our way around the trade show floor we found the quality of the booths to be high and new product investments and introductions to be well thought out.   Almost as if economic conditions weeded out the distractions.   Investments in the booths themselves varied.   Belfer lighting literally took the down and dirty approach.  Lucifer lighting reports they took a very practical approach to their booth this year displaying their best products in a very hands on fashion.  This won them a best booth award.  We applaud Lucifer for our two favorite LED steplighting products; the Stealth and the Impact .   The Impact just received some new packaging in a bollard format which was displayed at the show and looks really sharp.    

Philips, in this blog’s opinion had the most prominent display at the show.   Located on the center aisle the Philips booth seemed to go on and on with several key lighting manufacturers recently aquired by Philips.  It was dubbed Philipsville by some show attendees.   We’d like to say thanks Phillips for the 3″ thick padding under your booth!  And for your new pitch .. blue is the new green.  Anybody not on an overload of gre… I can’t even say it.    If this blog was giving awards for the show, we’d give our best booth tour award to Colleen Pastore of Lightolier.    Thanks Colleen!   More about  what we saw at the Lightolier booth will be coming in future posts…

The direction of the seminars at this Lightfair seemed to be selected to balance the very strong industry over focus on energy with messages on Epidemiologic design,  and lighting quality.     Seminars included presenters beyond the lighting industry who have extensively studied and continue to study the effects of lighting on people.   One such seminar discussed not only how  the elderly see,  but what impact having difficulty seeing affects their mental, emotional and physical well being.   In 2000 the direct cost of falls for adults over age 65 was 19 Billion dollars for non-fatal falls according to the Center for Disease Control.  With the aging population, that number is expected to reach 54 Billion by 2020.  How do we  weigh the energy savings restricting wattage and lighting levels against those numbers?   Of the 5 recommendations the CDC makes to reduce these costs, one is to improve the lighting in homes.   Many other seminars discussed the impact of light on the human body had questions and specifically the impact of light sources inherently rich in the blue spectrum.

The most spoken word around the show was about the incandescent lamp.  You either heard..  try this to replace it or expressed concern about the how combined qualities of the incandescent lamp and the simplicity of it’s design could not yet be replicated by any other source.  

Howard Brandston, participated on a panel on Outlawing the incandescent lamp.   Despite his successful career and accomplishments he summarized how he was unable, after even certified letters to several government officials, to get an audience to discuss his concerns.     His feeling was that the Obama admisitration did not have an open door policy on this issue.  (The incandescent lamp ban was signed George W. Bush in Dec 07).    Howard  further stated there was no evidence to back up the fact that CFL’s were a more efficient lamp.   Brandston said that “CFL’s should actually be called the energy wasting bulb.”     (The incandescent lamp ban was signed George W. Bush in Dec 07).   See  The Anti-American Non-Energy Bill   for other LightRightBlog coverage on this topic.   Brandston’s recently published book  can be found at the IES bookstore.   We haven’t read this book yet but we’re looking forward to.    Howard was far from alone in his views at the show on the niche served by the incandescent lamp.  Many experienced and notable  lighting designers echoed the belief that the incandescent lamp still had a place in lighting.  

Despite fears that the economy would mean a show devoid of exciting product developments we found  much development in products by passionate manufacturers eager to show their well thought out response to market demands by adding quality product to the mix.   When we arrived at the Visa booth, at near 6 pm on the 2nd day of the show, Richard Diehl a Sr. Applications Engineer of Visa Lighting  was literally beaming with delight and nearly jumping up and down in excitement that Visa had won a Best in Show under the Interior Fixture/Decorative Category with the introduction of their Air Foil fixture.  

Strong themes in development were:     power management and control products,  integrating control and service technologies,    LED street and garage lighting product,  (show Car Image)  warm color temperature, red rich LED product, LED linear product and display type lighting, continued development in the small aperture Halogen MR16 and HID MR16 downlight category.

New recognition in how to measure LED lighting is entering the discussion as a result of LM 79  and LM 80 the IESNA.     This lead the discussion of manufacturers to include how many lumens per watt each fixture delivered instead of just discussing the light source on it’s own.

We found many take-aways from the show that we’re eager to test more thoroughly and hopefully integrate in our work. 
          
Congratulations to the IALD, the IESNA and Americasmart for an outstanding 20th anniversary show !

How many lighting fixtures are required today?

If, how, and where a ceiling plane may be interrupted with lighting fixtures is generally a strong consideration in any lighting design; this is followed by what it might look like if it is.

We think most designers, architects and developers would agree that the sought after goal is to achieve architectural balance;  sufficient and effective lighting, and an enjoyable experience in any given space.

Achieving these goals and transitioning from older technology fixtures and bulbs requires some rethinking of lighting layouts which many consumers, designers and architects may have become accustomed to.  Developing a realistic picture of how many and what kind of fixtures are needed in a room can be difficult in changing times.  

Because lighting installations may be expected to last 15 to 20 years or more, and because construction budgets have many times precluded the newest lighting technologies from being implemented, there are still quite a few spaces that  consumers might encounter on a daily basis that are lit with fixtures that were designed decades ago.  Successful designs from the past, and variations of them, have had high market penetration. This may give consumers a distorted reference point. Here are a few examples of fixture designs that have been in use for decades from Lightolier’s commemorative book  ”The First 100 Years” .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not only might everyday consumer experiences of lighting be misleading in terms of what today’s designs could be but some consumer’s research efforts in design publications may be confused by digital manipulation of photographs.   In our experience designers or architects often want to manipulate a photo to remove a visual of an offending fire alarm devise, sprinkler head or lighting fixture from a photo.  

In addition to the photofinishing techniques used to erase fixtures from the ceiling plane, another common practice that leads to misconceptions on lighting spaces are photos that have been lit by photographer fill lighting.

In either case, the consumer could see the light of a fixture that doesn’t appear in the space. We’ll try to find some examples of this and post some pics later.

Beyond understanding possible limitations of some reference points, consumers could gain by building an understanding of some technology changes in fixtures today that affect the approach in lighting fixture selection and layout determination.

Halogen and incandescent bulbs used in residential lighting today generally have more directional control than bulbs of the past.   Historically the fixture was used as the beam shaper via reflectors, baffles, lenses etc;   today that control can come in a large part from the bulb itself.   The 5 inch diameter incandescent R40 bulb has been replaced by PAR technology lamps and MR16 technology lamps that have greater beam control and less spill light.

Older style fixtures with 6 and7″ apertures that contained 150 watt lamps are now largely being replaced by fixtures with 2-3″ apertures and 20-50 watt lamps.

Ceiling Effect: Fixture apertures are smaller because the bulbs are smaller and their presence in the architecture is minimized.   Lighting Effect: there tends to be less high angle spill light as beams are more directed.  Application/Layout Effect: More fixtures must be used to implement a broad stroke general lighting scheme, however, having more fixtures allows for a more sophisticated lighting composition with multiple scene options.

Many new housing options exist today that were designed to preserve roof integrity and prevent energy loss through ceiling penetrations. These housing construction options have lower maximum wattages due to heat dissipation limitations.

Ceiling Effect: Nothing visible. Lighting Effect: Less light can be generated from a single fixture. Application/Layout Effect: More fixtures must be used to implement a broad stroke general lighting scheme, however, having more fixtures allows for a more sophisticated lighting composition with multiple scene options.

After consumers familiarize themselves with new technologies they can begin to understand what lighting fixtures are capable of and can then ask themselves more specifically what they want their lighting to accomplish and how it should make them feel.

Is the lighting industry being out-marketed ? Part 2

Western Interiors just sent out a Email update regarding their July issue.

One of the articles is about 5 cool urban lofts in the west. Locations include San Francisco, Scottsdale, LA, Dallas and Vancouver. Likely suspects for cool loft properties.  Prices ranged from 300,000 to 4.4 million.

Each loft is listed along with a description of the unit amenities:

Steel-framed windows, concrete floors, hardwood floors, exposed brick, Jenn-Air, Bosch, Sub-Zero, GE appliances, Scavolini cabinets, Waterworks fixtures even a mention of a local Green Building Certificate.

No lighting mentioned. 

No Lutron control system, no GE Precise MR16 lamps, no recessed 3″ aperture accent or art lighting.   No Lucifer, Lightolier, Focal Point, Pure lighting, Flos, Artemide… nothing!   Wow.

 

Who missed the mark more?   The lighting manufacturers for not positioning themselves to be mentioned in this article?  Or the real estate marketers for clearly missing a premium sales feature?

 

 

 

Lutron Highlights the Merits of the Incandescent Bulb

Consumers and legistators alike may find some new information in this table by Lutron Electronics which outlining the advantages of halogen, standard incandescent and compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs. Lutron Bulb Selection Guide This table complements Lutron’s efforts on another site they launched last year.

In 2007 the company launched a site called www.lutron/energy to provide detailed data about the energy-efficiency capabilities of dimming, spefically Lutron dimming.

Lutron Electronics is a world leader in architectural dimming technology and they claim on their website that their dimming technologies have saved 28 billion kilowatt hours of energy and counting.

Are lighting manufacturers being outmarketed?

Lighting follows only water, food and shelter as an essential basic need in our modern lives and yet lighting manufacturers have let this resource disappear from our daily consciousness.  

Forefront in the consumers mind are technology devices such as the latest MP3 player options, multi-function cell phones, email or T.V.   These consumer technologies are being constantly re-invented and pitched with the trendiest ad campaigns.   The consumer is conditioned to anticipate the arrival of the next version with the expectation that it will be even better.   Even better,  they think their image is at stake with their selection of devises.  Bravo marketers!  Way to penetrate the consumers psyche.

How is it then that the lighting products are completely lost to this audience?

Last time I checked this was a 3 billion dollar a year industry and yet there’s no direct contact to the consumer?

Do lighting manufacturers think that consumers can’t make technical decisions? Do they think they can’t convince these consumers to select quality or commit to a substantial financial investment?   Do they think the only message a consumer can digest is green?

The success achieved by any technology business is in part determined by it’s ability to break through the technical knowledge barrier and build consumer confidence and their ability to choose what’s best for them.  The average American consumer knows what DPI options they need for a HDTV, (High Definition Television – bet you didn’t need me to spell that out), what kind of cable they need to connect it; how the signal gets converted, if their preference is Plasma or Digital, if their purchase will be affected by their altitude, what DVD player and DVD will get them the best picture and yet… the latest lighting terms they know are likely 20 years old.

These consumers are buying $8-15,000 motorcycles, $20,000 and up boats, and now they’re purchasing a family suite of $1-3,000 mountain bikes and yet somehow the lighting industry and home builders think they can’t afford to spend more than $5,000 on lighting their new $500,000 homes.  

Reason number one the lighting industry is failing to reach the consumer is that the enjoyment of living in a well lit environment isn’t being pitched at all.   The focus in only on meeting the basic need of illumination.   The International Association of Lighting Designers has begun to change the image of lighting in their new branding campaign.   It’s about the impact of lighting on people.   Manufacturers need to follow suit, create the desire, educate on the difference their product offers and stop treating consumers like simpletons by beating the green drum.

The second reason is how lighting is being purchased by the average consumer.   It’s through the electrical distribution process.    And this isn’t this working because it’s not bringing the best quality products for the best price to the consumer.    There is no real incentive for distributors and contractors to advise consumers on the best choice.  Their business model is based on encouraging purchases of products from which they can make the most profit.   In a market where the consumer doesn’t currently know anything about the product and can’t tell a valuable purchase from a cheap substitute there is trouble.    

So the $5,000 worth of fixtures in your new home or remodel are likely worth only $600. Yes. Sorry to break the news to you. You’ve probably grossly overpaid and underpurchased at the same time. It would be like going out and getting a 19inch black and white TV for $2,000 because you didn’t know you could get a 50″ Plasma HDTV. Bet you can’t imagine that happening right?

If one of the latest lighting terms you know is halogen, or if you’re thinking LEDs are ready to go prime-time you’re about to be bamboozled on your next lighting purchase.    Better get yourself an independent lighting designer or consultant because you’re missing some important info that no one is even bothering to pitch you.

Crazy huh?

 

Lighting Facts Label



Light Up The World Foundation



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