LEDs go to LIGHTFAIR

By Brian Owen

The LIGHTFAIR 2012 Trade Show opens the doors to lighting today in Las Vegas, definitely a city of lights, shows and LEDs. tED magazine Editor Misty Byers and tedmag.com contributor Brian Owen will be bringing you a three-day overview and perspective with daily show reports online to help you get the most out of your time and provide you with education, events and exhibitors to attend and see during your Las Vegas visit, including some best practices advice and education, so you don’t lose it all in the casinos or on the trade floor.

Billed as the world’s largest annual architectural and commercial lighting trade show and conference, LIGHTFAIR® International, a partnership of the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) and AmericasMart’s show manager and producer, blends continuing education courses with innovative products ranging from high-end design to cutting-edge technology. LIGHTFAIR’s Las Vegas edition is expected to attract more than 20,000 design, lighting, architectural, engineering and industry professionals from around the world. Nearly 500 of the world’s leading manufacturers will showcase products in more than 200,000 square feet of exhibits. Moving from the east to the west in opposite years, last year, the new East Coast home in Philadelphia, saw a record breaking attendance.

Going back a few years to my first visit in 2005 in New York City, the mission was to bring LED Christmas or holiday lights to the floor with Holiday Creations. Eager to learn more about lighting, the trade floor tour was quite “enlightening,” however the LED presence was limited, with the exception of being drawn like a moth into the light of the impressive CREE display, where the journey commenced into the potential for future outdoor lighting opportunities. Looking back, that vision developed into an entire outdoor lighting industry, major changes with municipalities and governments throughout the world to date and the development of consortiums, education and standards. This year attendees will see an even larger presence of CREE with the acquisition of RUUD lighting and BetaLED. What a year this has been for lighting and LED. I think it was 2008, where I commented that LIGHTFAIR had become LEDFAIR and the beat has just become stronger, challenging the attendee to find conventional incumbent lighting sources with the myriad of LED offerings. Not that there aren’t, such as the great potential for plasma with companies like Luxim and Topanga and still ever present use of halogen to satisfy lighting designers, although LED is definitely there today.

Companies like Canada’s CRS Electronics partnering with Energizer have lit up the path and “Keep going and going …” In fact, an original project in Toronto’s Palace Pier Condominium building, saw close to 1300 MR16s installed in 2008 and, doing the math with 24 hour common area lighting, that lighting has chalked up over 35,000 hours to date without failure. That is the potential for LED, now with standards and lifetime testing and performance criteria. Other companies on the replacement lamp scene to watch are LEDnovations, Lighting Science, MSi and Nexxus. There have been great strides in the quest for the light sabre being the 4’ fluorescent tube replacement. DOE CALIPER program reports show progress and promise; however the inline sleek flat panel form factor is proving to be the route to go for linear lamp replacement. LEDs definitely take up the sword here to defeat the fluorescent light sabre and its LED alternative.

Start the day off on Wednesday, May 9 with the LFI Innovation Awards. Presenters will introduce the latest in product innovations in this quick overview of hundreds of products to be introduced this year.  LIGHTFAIR® will honor and celebrate the industry’s most innovative products and designs.  The event will take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Wednesday, May 9 from 8:30 am – 10:00 am with breakfast at 8:00 am; just before the opening of the LFI exhibit hall at 10:00 am. This is a great way to prepare yourself to see some of the best and the brightest.

Also, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) lighting program manager Jim Brodrick will present awards to the winners of the 2012 Next Generation Luminaires™ Solid-State Lighting Design Competition in the indoor category at 9:00 a.m. at LIGHTFAIR on May 10. The awards ceremony will include a hands-on showcase of the winning products, and NGL judges will be available, along with representatives from the competition’s sponsoring organizations: DOE, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, and the International Association of Lighting Designers. The event takes place in Conference Room N219-220 on the second floor of the Las Vegas Convention Center. This is another awards presentation not to miss that will start your LEDay off right on Thursday. Further updates tomorrow.

Also on the DOE beat, the Solid State Lighting Program will be offering a full line-up of brief topical presentations in their booth #813. Here is the Wednesday schedule with an explanation from the DOE which follows.

10:30 a.m. Department of Energy SSL Program Overview

11:00 a.m. The L Prize®: Update on the Winning Product and What’s Next 

11:30 a.m. Recent Findings from CALiPER Testing

1:00 p.m. LED Standards Progress: Focus on Long-Term and Application Performance 

1:30 p.m. Updates on the LED Lighting Facts® Program

2:00 p.m. The Municipal Solid-State Street Lighting Consortium: Case Studies

2:30 p.m. What You Need to Know About LEDs/SSL Dimming and Flicker

3:00 p.m. GATEWAY Demonstrations: What Have We Learned About LED Performance and Cost Effectiveness?

DOE SSL Postings, a DOE regular email communication initiative notes, “If the past few years are any indication, SSL will once again dominate LIGHTFAIR® International 2012. This means that most of the products you’ll encounter in Las Vegas next week – which invariably include some that are so cutting-edge they haven’t even hit the market yet, and others that are being commercially launched at the show – will likely involve LEDs. But despite its rapid development and the profusion of new products, SSL is still an emerging technology, and as such has many issues that must be understood if the right purchasing and specifying decisions are to be made. With thousands of SSL products on display at LIGHTFAIR, and the hype from eager sales types flying hard and fast, buyers and specifiers can easily find themselves feeling bewildered and overwhelmed. That’s why DOE is once again offering a series of free tutorials at the show, aimed at providing people with the information they need to make the right decisions about solid-state lighting. Far from unreservedly promoting the technology, these tutorials take DOE’s unbiased, ‘call ’em as we see ’em,’ vendor-neutral approach to providing updates, insights, and the latest trends. The tutorials will be held in DOE’s booth (#813) throughout the day on all three days of the show, so check the schedule posted on the DOE SSL website if you’re heading to LIGHTFAIR.

One tutorial will focus on the L Prize® competition. The winner in the 60W replacement category is now available on the market. Find out where it’s available and what the early buzz is – as well as what’s happening with the competition’s PAR 38 replacement category. Another tutorial will take a look at how LED lighting products perform in the lab, focusing on the latest CALiPER testing results. A third will use the findings of recent GATEWAY demonstrations to explore how SSL does out in the field, identifying applications where it makes economic sense, as well as issues that warrant a closer look. Another tutorial will look at market trends that have emerged from DOE analysis of the extensive LED Lighting Facts® database, which now has more than 4,900 LED lighting products registered.

“A separate tutorial will cover recent progress in developing SSL standards, specifically those having to do with application performance and performance over the long term, and another on dimming and flicker of SSL products will examine the key question of compatibility of the LED driver and the dimmer. Because of the widespread interest in LED street lighting, one tutorial will focus on DOE’s Municipal Solid-State Street Lighting Consortium, which leverages the efforts of the growing number of cities that are pursuing evaluations of LED street lighting products. “

Education is a big part of LIGHTFAIR, supported by its partners, so please be sure to visit the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) in booth #3316 and the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) in booth #3918. The IES offers a full range of industry related programs and services, including conferences, committee involvement and very importantly, the development of and participation in guidelines, protocols and standards. If you are involved in outdoor lighting, make sure you pick up information about this year’s Street and Area Lighting Conference to be held in Miami in September. The IALD offers the latest education and support to lighting designers throughout the world.

Over the course of LIGHTFAIR, there is also an extensive education program including the pre-conference LIGHTFAIR Daylighting Institute and LIGHTFAIR Institute. There are also three days of informative and value presentations throughout the show days.

Tomorrow, we will recap the hot topics discussed on Monday and Tuesday, including Dr. Jack Curran’s presentation “LED Performance: Myths and Facts – An Industry Update” and an update from the Zhaga Consortium, “Zhaga Modularity for LED Sources.” With a quick reflection back to the trade show, attendees will be able to get updates from many other strategic industry alliances, collaborative, consortiums, organizations and programs, such as the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) standards, testing and verification, DOE Municipal Solid-State Street Lighting Consortium (MSSSLC), Emerge Alliance developing standards leading to the rapid adoption of DC power distribution in commercial buildings, ENERGY STAR lighting program, Enocean Alliance for building automation and wireless technology, Intertek testing and verification, Lighting Facts at the DOE, Underwriters Laboratory (UL) standards, testing and verification and the Zhaga Consortium on specifications that enable interchangeability of LED light sources made by different manufacturers and the standardization of LED light engines.

Here is the must see agenda for Wednesday. For those of you who are new to LIGHTFAIR, there is a New Attendee Orientation at 10:00 am. in Conference Room N119. This session will be entirely interactive, allowing participants to ask specific questions about their first LFI experience and also meet other first-time attendees.

2:00 PM – 3:30 PM Commercial Building Energy & Green Code Requirements for Lighting Controls N101

Join Lutron presenters and learn how lighting controls can eliminate 60% or more of the wasted lighting energy in buildings while enhancing occupant comfort and productivity. This session will review the mandated current and future lighting control requirements in standards/codes such as ASHRAE 90.1 2010 and IECC 2012.

4:30 PM – 6:00 PM An Evolution in Efficiency: The Benefits of Next-Generation Lighting Controls N116

Join Lawrence Berklely National Laboratory and lighting company representatives to hear how the industry is recognizing that lighting controls play a crucial role in energy conservation in Zero Net Energy buildings. According to the U.S. Dept. of Energy, lighting is the largest user of electricity in commercial buildings consuming 38% of a building’s total electricity use. Lighting controls can eliminate 60% or more of the wasted lighting energy in buildings enhancing occupant comfort and productivity. This session will also review the mandated current and future lighting control requirements in standards/codes such as ASHRAE 90.1 2010 and IECC 2012. Hear about latest developments in wireless technology and open architecture that are enabling more intelligent lighting in commercial buildings, and allowing these new systems to easily integrate with other smart building controls. Understand how advanced, networked lighting controls provide facility managers with more options including broader and more granular control, multi-facility management, and drastic reductions in the cost and complexity of installation.

4:30 PM – 6:00 PM LED for Roadway, Area and Parking Facility Applications N101

Join Hubbell lighting professionals to learn how the use of LEDs in outdoor applications continues to grow at a fast pace. Traditional lamp sources have widely been used in roadway, area, and parking facility applications, but LEDs offer new ways to meet challenges existing for these applications. This seminar will discuss the significance of choosing LEDs for these applications, taking an in-depth look into scotopic/photopic (S/P) ratio modifiers, task efficiency, and controls.

4:30 PM – 6:00 PM What’s New in Lamps and Ballasts N119

Join industry author and lighting professional Craig DiLouie and industry veteran in lighting design, dimming and standards development Howard Wolfman to hear an unbiased view of the latest trends and developments in lamp and ballast technology over the past 12-18 months, along with the implications for how lighting is designed and used. Light sources explored include fluorescent/CFL, HID and LED. New advances will be compared and contrasted with existing technologies and each other, with a focus on lighting quality, energy savings, lamp/ballast/control compatibility, applications and legislative and code compliance.

You must register separately to attend the education program. Visit www.lightfair.com and follow he links to the conference.