Recently, I conducted a survey of about 600 lighting designers, mostly IALD members, asking them questions about their specifications of nonresidential spec-grade downlights and also their perceptions of popular brands in the market. To qualify to take the survey, the designer had to confirm that they have specified commercial downlights over the past three years.
The survey was part of a larger study I conducted of a larger sampling of architects and lighting designers subscribing to Illuminate, the lighting design supplement to Architectural Products that I produce. Depending on the type of response we get to it here, we will go ahead with publishing the full results in the next issue of Illuminate and also possibly make it a regular feature in Illuminate, covering a different market in each issue (direct/indirect, track, outdoor, etc.).
So: What do you think? Please leave us a comment!
First, I asked lighting designers to break down their nonresidential downlight specs by general type:
Second, I asked them to break down their specs by size:
What are the most important factors designers consider when selecting a downlight brand?
And lastly, I asked lighting designers what is their perception of a list of common downlight brands in terms of average price of product (1-7 scale representing low to high) and average quality of product (1-7 scale representing low to high). The results are below. (Note that Juno is not listed horizontally for any special reason; that is a glitch courtesy of the Excel version in Microsoft Office 2007.)
Any surprises here?
These are good questions you are asking. I also wonder about lighting designers and the “vanity” market. Do some designers specify KV, Edison Price, or Zumtoble because they can? Lots of time a line like KV is terrific because they offer so many options–and if they don’t have something to complement their family they will consider making it. But, having used the “Name Brand” stuff I gotta tell ya, it is not necessarily any better (and sometimes inferior), quality-wise or performance-wise than the spec grade lines produced by the big commodity conglomerates. Before their was precision 3D CAD industrial design software and CNC machines, the boutique downlight manufacturers very much had the edge. Now, I’m not so sure. Is this heresy? God save me if it is.
Interesting that Erco did not make your survey.