The 15th annual Lighting for Tomorrow competition challenged manufacturers to develop residential lighting products that successfully incorporate advances in both design and energy efficiency. The goal? To showcase exceptional new products that meet consumer expectations and leap over market barriers that inhibit the adoption and use of energy-efficient residential lighting products.
[dropcap style=”letter” size=”52″ bg_color=”#ffffff” txt_color=”#180084″]T[/dropcap]he 2017 Lighting for Tomorrow competition reflected several key technology developments and market trends:
Acuity Brands’ Lithonia LED Grow Light
The market is witnessing a reinvigorated drive for simplicity and user-friendliness in connected or smart lighting products.
The success of a decorative luminaire is often due to the way the designer uses various materials in conjunction with LEDs, as well as the combination of functional lighting plus an artistic appearance.
Ceiling fixtures with flat luminous surfaces, as well as traditional slim under-cabinet fixtures, have become even thinner thanks to optical plastics and tiny LEDs designed to uniformly edge-light large diffuse surfaces.
LED filament bulbs are becoming larger and more decorative in their filament design, some even acting as functional light sources in their own right rather than just luminous decorations for dim environments.
The 2017 judging panel – which included enLIGHTenment Magazine’s Editorial Director Linda Longo – met in June at the UL University facility in North Carolina and reviewed 130+ products in diverse categories such as LED indoor fixtures, LED outdoor fixtures, LED retrofit kits, LED replacement lamps, OLEDs, lighting control devices, connected lighting products, and ceiling fan lights.
Overall, the judges were pleased to see outstanding products demonstrating developments in form factor and construction, while taking advantage of solid-state lighting technology.
The 2017 Lighting for Tomorrow Awards were announced last month at the American Lighting Association (ALA) Annual Conference on September 12 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The competition is sponsored by the American Lighting Association (ALA), the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE), and UL. More than one dozen energy-efficiency organizations across the U.S. and Canada supported the 2017 competition as co-sponsors.
The award-winning products are showcased in a downloadable Lighting for Tomorrow brochure and on its Web site (www.lightingfortomorrow.com). In addition, the awarded products and companies will be featured in videos, lighting publications, and trade show exhibits throughout the coming year.
