STUDIO Field Trip: China Through the Looking Glass at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

We took a morning last week to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibit: China Through the Looking Glass. The exhibit presented a wide assortment of fashion and art (photographs and film); focusing on the Western perception and portrayal of Eastern culture. The first room of the exhibit included a field of acrylic "bamboo" tubes lit from below, which was a really exciting use of material and light. There was also extensive use of edge-lit LED panels in the tops of display cases - sadly this was not done very well, including some discoloration in LEDs and causing linear striations in photographs (not constant current!). It was also too flat of a light to highlight the exhibit very well. The final room of the exhibit featured a fantastic moon projection that reflected onto a black glass floor that had been placed around a number of exhibit pieces. The moon "rippled" in the "water" and around the reflections of the artwork. Through the looking glass indeed...

Visa Lighting

Visa Lighting stopped by today to show us some new fixtures and to get some feed back on new products in development. The Escape is an LED wall sconce already available which requires a remote driver, but they are developing a new version that is line voltage. The fixture can be oriented as an uplight or downlight. It is indoor damp rated, and a wet location exterior version will also be available. The Escape has a plate at the bottom of the fixture as a junction box cover but it is not required. Standard color temperatures are 3K, 35K and 4K. For larger quantities than 20 they can do custom color temperatures such as 27K. The fixture is non-dim and available in two sizes; 14" at 900 lumens and 26" at 1800 lumens. It is ADA compliant. You can also specify the lens to be high impact vandal resistant.

We also got to take a look at the revamp of the Ether. Traditionally the Ether is a fluorescent fixture but has been reworked to incorporate LED. It is available with either a symmetric or asymmetric distribution for wall wash applications. It is dimmable standard with 0-10V dimming. The Ether also has an interior damp rating.

The Meridian is a new pendant that has just been released. It is a direct/indirect circular pendant with fully diffuse acrylic lenses. The driver is remote in the canopy so you do not see any dark spots and get a complete glowing fixture. The Meridian provides 11,400 lumens and is available in standard 3K, 35K or 4K. They are also developing a version that can be mounted to the wall vertically.

Lumino

Lumino has now opened up their U.S. headquarters in New York City. The F40 is a flexible linear strip that has LEDs 40mm on center and is a great option for coves. The fixture is IP67 rated when the fixture is installed facing down. It is available in 2600K, 2900K, 3300K and RGB.

The largest extrusion Lumino has had previously is the V30, but it is now being replaced by the V36. It is available in a surface or recessed channel. Lumino has improved their frosted lens with the V36 to be more effiecent and allow for more light to go through while still eliminating the node image. They provide standard lengths, but custom lengths are available as well. An IP68 in-grade version is also available.

Lumino is in the process of developing optics for their lenses that will be used across the board on their linear products. They hope to have them ready by this fall.

The SolidEdge is an extruded knife edge LED linear fixture that comes in two sizes. It can also come with adjustable spotlights that mount to the extrusion.

Lumino is also going to be transitioning their strips to use a different LED manufacturer and will offer a high CRI of 95+. The color temperatures will change slightly from what they currently offer and will start as low as 2000K. We got to see a sample of the 2000K. Sometimes when the color temperature is that low it can appear orange, but this one was a nice warm white.

We also found out about the EQ series that Lumino is offering. It is a cheaper option than their standard strips with a looser bin. It is a good option to consider when it comes to VE stages. There is a 30-40% cost savings.

Birchwood

Birchwood have reworked their housing for the Jake wallwasher so it is now completely recessed. We took a look at the sample and it has about 1/4" to 1" of a dark spot at the top of the wall. They can provide a kicker reflector that will allow you to get to the top of the wall, however, it will stick down about 1" from the ceiling plane.

They have transitioned all of their fixtures to be constant current and provide options of standard output, high output, or a custom output. The custom output is a great option when you need to comply with restrictive energy codes. You can specify either the delivered lumen output or the wattage per foot needed.

The Ashley is another new fixture they are releasing. It is a surface cove fixture. It is adjustable up to 15° in 5° increments. Birchwood recommends that the fixture be held off 4" from the ends in order to light the cove properly. It is available in various lengths, but is not field cuttable.

Birchwood are also developing a new circular direct/indirect suspended fixture that will be released later this year called Katrina. It will also be available in a direct option as well. Katrina will be offered in either 2' or 4' diameters. Because of the way they have to manufacture the fixture, it is not available with their standard anodized finishes and will be provided with powder coat finishes instead. They can provide two separate circuits. As of now they cannot do an integral emergency option so it would have to be remote.

Erco

Erco has been working on the next version of high powered exterior flood lights. The Kona will be released within the next few months and we got to see a preview of it before its release. With the Kona, they are able to better control comfort while still providing a good punch of light. The fixture includes an integral snoot regressed from the lens that reduces glare. Starting at 6°, Kona comes in various beam spread options. Multiple lumen packages are available in both 3K and 4K standard. The version we looked at was 48W with 4800 lumens, and it provided quite the punch.

LightFair 2015

From May 5 -7, LightFair International invaded the city! As expected, the show was filled with new LED fixtures and sources. But we found that, by far, the most interesting developments were in control. Companies like Lumenetix and Ketra are developing wifi and bluetooth controls to change CCT, CRI, add color, and dim. And we saw many manufacturers partnering with these sources to take full advantage of the new technologies. We are starting to see the realities and benefits of LED, as an inherently electronic source, that we always thought were possible. Special thanks to ALW, BIRCHWOOD, CONTECH, CORONET, FEELUX, SACO, and USAi LIGHTING for providing the evening entertainment!

ALW (ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING WORKS)

AMERICAN GLASS LIGHT

AURORALIGHT

BARN LIGHT

BIRCHWOOD

B-K LIGHTING

CONTECH LIGHTING

CSL LIGHTING

DELRAY

ECOSENSE

FEELUX

HERA LIGHTING

HESS AMERICA

INTENSE LIGHTING

INTER-LUX

KETRA

MP LIGHTING

NULUX

OSRAM

RAB

SACO

SELUX

SOLAIS / POWERSECURE

SOLAVANTI LIGHTING

SONNEMAN

SORAA

TECH LIGHTING

TIVOLI

UNIVERSAL FIBER-OPTIC (UFO)

USAi LIGHTING

VISUAL LIGHTING TECHNOLOGIES (VLT)

XAL

Luminis

Luminis has a series of downlights in both cylinder and rectangle versions available in three sizes with wall, pendant and suspended mounting. Direct, indirect and direct/indirect distributions can be used with the wall and pendant versions. These fixtures are adjustable with lockable 30° vertical tilt and 360° rotation. Luminis can also offer RGB with color on one side and white on the other for the direct/indirect version.

There are three beam spreads you can select from, 20°, 45°, and 60°. A linear spread lens is also available and can become an asymmetric distribution when the module is tilted.

In the 6" and 8" versions of the fixtures, an occupancy sensor can be added. Emergency back up battery is available but it is remote.

We took a look at the sample and noticed some discoloration but it could be attributed to the sample being a bit banged up.

Zaneen

Zaneen Glorious 32" L30301__ suspension custom sizes available 25 standard finishes Direct + indirect version is now available and will be online soon

Victory 32” suspension L30217__ custom sizes available 25 standard finishes Direct + indirect version is now available and will be online soon

Quantum 32" L30211__ suspension custom sizes available 25 standard finishes Direct + indirect version is now available and will be online soon

Super-G custom sizes available 25 standard finishes Direct + indirect version is now available and will be online soon

Tubes 1” diameter: 15, 25, 40 degree 19” 31”

2” diameter: 25, 40 degree 8” 16”

Handmade D1-1100 (natural) D1-1101 (black)

Bessons D9-2184 6.6W LED

Neva D9-3164

Mini Signal D9-3124

A Light

A Light is moving towards being a primarily LED company and has developed a new line of fixtures that are designed specifically with LEDs in mind. The New AccoLED line (ACL) is similar to the D series but with a smaller profile. It has a pendant mount, direct, indirect, direct/indirect, surface, recessed and regressed perimeter options. They are going to be coming out with an asymmetric version soon that has the reflector recessed in the fixture. A Light now offers their fixtures in either constant voltage or constant current boards. With constant voltage, you are able to cut the boards in the field in set increments, but dimming is not integral to the driver so it requires an additional dimming module. The constant current boards are only available in 6" increments from the factory and cannot be cut in the field. However, dimming is integral with 0-10V to 1%.

One important thing we found out is that they will default to constant voltage boards if lengths do not fit within the 6". It is something they are trying to address and make sure during submittals that the correct boards are chosen.

The Pendant K is now available in LED. It's a very bright fixture. Because of the way the fixture is built, it cannot have a lens on the top. We noticed a harsh line on the side and slight discoloration.

They have also developed a new co-extruded lens that has a white reflector integrated with the lens. This increases the efficiency by 20% and will be available for all of their fixtures soon. It also blended the light better to reduce the center brightness of the fixture from the LEDs.

Another new fixture we took a look at is their edgeless cove. It is only available in their integrations section. It offers inside corners as a standard option, but could potentially be provided with outside corners as well. They recommend 12" from the ceiling.

Product of the Day: Round Bevel and Round Inset trims from No. 8 Lighting

We love the No. 8 Lighting series, so we are very excited to be able to offer the new Round Bevel and Round Inset trim options to our clients. Looking good!

we-ef

we-ef showed us a circular post-top fixture. It has two distributions: a typical Type V and a rectangular one. It is dark sky compliant with full cut-off. With either 3K or 4K, they have two outputs of approximately 45oo lumens and 8300 lumens. The lens they provide is PMA acrylic. They have impact rating for all of their lenses available in their fixtures across the board.

We also got to see their rectangular post-top. This fixture comes with more options in terms of its distribution. Along with the typical distributions, We-ef also has a narrow Type II distribution that is good for paths. A typical spacing for post-tops would be 4:1, but with this narrow distribution they are able to get something more close to 8:1.

They also told us about their quick ship program set up for their step lights. Most of their options are available to ship within 5 days.

Flos

Flos stopped by with their latest products. They have modified their mini monopoint so it now is available with a magnet attachment for easy installations. We also suggested that they look into a high grade suction cup as well for installations that do not have metal surfaces available. They have also expanded the Running Magnet line. ACT ceilings can now be accommodated for. Decorative pendants can also be installed in the Running Magnet.

The Circle of Light is a unique fixture. It comes in multiple diameters and has a series of individual points in a recessed circle that create a large spot on the floor. Each aperture is fitted with a black rubber cone that creates a crisp cut-off and reduces the glare considerably. It is only a downlight and does not adjust so it would have to be for a specific application. Each diameter results in a corresponding disk of light on the ground. Dimming is standard with 0-10V. There are two beam spreads that can also provide variability along with the diameter size with 11° and 52°.

Flos has also been working on more if their Find Me series. They are offering a pendant version as well as a double recessed version. The double Find Me is adjustable but cannot pull down like the single version.

We also got to see their new Super Flat which is an edge-lit panel that can be direct, indirect or both. It is available in multiple sizes and can be dimmed.

SSL

SSL introduced us to some of their latest products including their exterior and interior rated cove fixtures, which are both line voltage. They pride themselves on the care and precision which each LED is handled and installed on the boards. Because optics are so important with the cove fixtures, it is nice to see a manufacturer pay attention to how each LED relates to the other, whether it is color temperature consistency or even just alignment. Multiple beam spreads are available for both interior and exterior, as well as multiple outputs. Standard lengths are stocked in 1’ and 4’ increments, but they can do 2’, 3’, 5’ and 6’ fixtures as well. However, it might be a longer lead time. They showed us their new under-cabinet fixtures. They have a line voltage as well as a remote driver version. Both fixtures boast thin profiles. The remote driver version is half as thin as the line voltage on at 0.3”. With the frosted lens it was almost node free.

All of the linear fixtures that we saw are dimple standard down to 10%, and they will be able to bring it down to 1% soon.

We also got a look at their linear color fixture, which comes in an array of seven static colors. They create the colors using remote phosphors as opposed to colored LEDs. In the sample they showed us, it was a line of 7 fixtures with all of the color options available. When you pulled them away from the wall it looked like white light which was an interesting effect. The fixtures are line voltage and dimple to 3% standard with ELV or trailing edge. One thing we were cautious with is the consistency that you would have to get with the phosphors each time to maintain the color throughout the fixtures you are using.

Holophane

Holophane is known for their traditional high bays with HID sources, but they have recently developed an LED version to add to their product family. The Phuzion has a unique shape compared to a traditional high bay, but it is just as high performing with up to 27,000 lumens. It can come with either a glass prismatic lens or an acrylic one. Dimming is available with 0-10V.

With the latest version Holophane has come out with, you can add on an uplight component. It is recommended that you use a frosted lens instead of a clear prismatic lens. It reduces the light output but is much better in terms of glare comfort. We talked to them about the possibility of incorporating more glass to try and stick with the traditional look of a high bay and it sounds like that is something they are perusing for further iterations.

They can also remote the heat sink up to 50', which allows you to have just the disc of the fixture without the tall heat sink protruding up from it. Of course, for more industrial or warehouse applications aesthetics aren't as important.

Montreal Factory Tour with SDA

Another great trip with Stan Deutsch Associates, this time up to Montreal to visit Luminis, Lumenpulse, and SACO. LUMINIS was our first stop. Their standard warranty is 5 years with an average LED life of 65-80,000 hours (until L70). They predominately use Bridgelux LED, but also are compatible with CREE. Their thermal properties are able to support at least two manufacturers in case of an LED shortage. I was also happy to hear that they purchase a percentage of each generation to store for any future needs (so that the 5yr warranty can actually be covered). 0-10V dimming to 10% is standard, and the LUTRON 3-wire can be offered to 1%.

Their products are technical looking, but have a consideration of design. The Aramis LED (above) highlights and celebrates the thermal heat sink - and the reflector can either be visible or hidden behind frosted glass. The aluminum pieces can typically be painted, but the heat sink must remain in its cast aluminum standard finish. There is a similar technical style in the Prisma LED pendants (below) with a visible heat sink, but also a nod to the well-loved factory light shape. The optics incorporate frosting into the acrylic to soften the LED.

LUMINIS also has a nice range of outdoor products - including an exciting tube family called Syrios (below). This family features an adjustable head (360deg rotation) within the tube structure - which is the first time I've seen this offered on an exterior product. The family includes a pendant, wall, and ceiling mounting - and a square shape is being presented at LightFair in early May.

A few other features LUMINIS offers is Amber LEDs for turtle lighting areas, a "wood" paint coating to help fixtures blend into the terrain, and low-copper cast aluminum components (to reduce rusting). They are working on the optics for their street lighting fixtures - looking into silicone (instead of acrylic) which is inherently dirt and UV resistant.

LUMENPULSE gave a nice presentation primarily highlighting their excellence in manufacturing, thermal management, and LED binning. Except for the LED itself, LUMENPULSE designs everything themselves (boards, optics, heat sinks, etc.). Most fixtures are offered with a 5yr warranty, but the Lumencove Nano is actually offered with a 10yr. They claim that their LEDs having a 120,000 life until reaching L70.

LUMENPULSE takes great care in the LEDs chosen for each fixture. They chose from 16 micro-bins, with each LED selected with 4 quadrants, always within the visual tolerance of the eye. They use this "recipe" to create the same color temperature over and over again - not relying on a specific manufacturer to reproduce the same quality.

Within each fixture, the DMXrd feature is a two-way communication that keeps track of the driver, heat, and LED output. This is a great component is perfect for bridges, building facades, etc. anywhere that is difficult to maintain. Another control option is Lumentalk, which is retro-fit smart control which turns existing wiring into a digital network.

We were able to take a quick peak at the new Lumenalpha products, in-grade linear grazer, and also hear about the advancement in the Lumenline optics. I'm excited to see more of this at LightFair in early May.

SACO has been around for over 20 years, developing LED lighting and media solutions for a variety of projects (including at least three installations that have made it into the Guinness Book of World Records!). They break down their service into a few devisions: Shockwave Video Lighting, Smartvision and SACO Design Lab, all offering impeccable service and integration with the design team and installers. They showed us a small representation of their control capabilities as well. The video sequencing is very easy and very intuitive, with more control than DMX.

One of my favorite projects that we were shown is the Maple Leaf Square Canopy in Toronto, CA, which was "inspired by the experience of walking through a forest’s dappled light." They integrated LED modules into repeating geometric cells (the abstract form of leaves) and utilized a computer controlled digital output to show a non-repeating pattern moving throughout the canopy. During the day, the cells allow for daylight to come partially through and activate the canopy continuously.

SACO offers only a small quantity of products, but stresses the options for installation and integration. They maintain only a 2% difference in color, brightness, and voltage from fixture to fixture and LED to LED. And all products are backwards compatible. All products have excellent thermal management, allowing for smaller platforms and fixture dimensions - they actually have an aversion to heat sinks, believing they are only a target for dust, which actually traps heat and makes the fixtures hotter. Their adaptive white products are a combination of 5500K and Amber LEDs, which they find produces a more halogen looking color.