Interviews + Opinion, LED + SSL

My Interview with Jerry Mix on LED Suspended Lighting

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Jerry Mix, CEO of Finelite. The topic: LED suspended general lighting. I’m happy to share his responses with you here. The interview informed an article I wrote coming up in the February 2016 issue of tED.

DiLouie: How would you characterize the market for suspended general lighting luminaires?

Mix: If you had asked this question five years ago, we would have said that suspended lighting was a stable to shrinking market. Today it is absolutely expanding. LEDs are the enabling technology that is making this growth possible.

DiLouie: Suspended luminaires may be direct, indirect, direct/indirect or indirect/direct? What is the most popular way to categorize direct/indirect and indirect/direct in terms of % uplight vs. downlight?

Mix: The most widely specified product is an indirect/direct luminaire with a glare-free direct component and a higher indirect output. Due to the programmability of many LED power supplies and the ability to build luminaires to custom lengths, customers have an infinite number of configurations to choose from.

DiLouie: How would you characterize penetration and growth of LED lighting in this category? What would you estimate the percentage of current unit sales of LED suspended general lighting luminaires versus other light source types in 2015?

Mix: Architects and Lighting Designers are using LED suspended lighting luminaires in ways that were not possible with fluorescent technology. As a result, the growth of this lighting in the commercial space is gaining share versus legacy approaches.

DiLouie: How does that compare to five years ago?

Mix: Five years ago, this category was stuck in neutral. Benefits of fluorescent technology stopped at energy efficiency and good lighting quality. Shapes were mature and applications pretty repetitive.

DiLouie: Besides energy efficiency and longer life, are there any particular advantages of LED technology in this category?

Mix: LED technology lets luminaires be tailored to the architecture of the building. For today’s projects, you can choose the watts, lumen output, color temperature, lengths to 1/16th of an inch and configurations to meet architectural needs. Well-designed LED luminaires let the lighting system be part of the building structure with an expected lifetime of 30 to 50-years. When architects understand this is possible, they want to use these luminaires on every job.

DiLouie: What typical energy savings are possible compared to linear fluorescent in a new construction scenario involving linear suspended luminaires?

Mix: Today a LED suspended luminaires can deliver up to 120 lumens per watt of efficient, glare free lighting. The best fluorescent luminaires deliver 80 to 100 lumens per watt.

DiLouie: LED lighting has been stratifying similarly to conventional lighting, with white goods and specification segments. How would you characterize LED suspended luminaires in each of these segments?

Mix: Projects are moving away from white goods and towards tailored LED lighting because the offerings are so compelling when considering the whole package.

DiLouie: What are the top three trends in LED suspended lighting?

Mix:
1) No boundaries when making choices. Any length, any lumen output, lots of CCT choices. Finelite calls it Tailored Lighting.
2) Lots of fun configurations, squares, pentagons, through walls.
3) Selectable and controllable color temperature is coming fast.

DiLouie: With dimmable drivers standard or a standard option for a majority of LED luminaires, LED lighting in general offers good opportunities with lighting controls. One strategy that can increase occupant satisfaction is personal dimming control with dedicated workstation lighting. On LED projects, how would you characterize demand for designs with dedicated workstation luminaires and, separately, personal dimming control?

Mix: For enclosed offices, local dimming control is important. However, we are not seeing this in open offices. Why? When properly combined with task and vertical lighting layers of light, the ambient light levels are such that individual control does not provide the payback to justify the incremental cost and there is no significant increase to user preference to help offset the cost and complexity of that type of granular control of the ambient light. Task lighting for open plan workstations continues to be a better way to give individual users control over the lighting for their unique tasks.

DiLouie: Advances in LED source technology have impacted luminaire design from optics to integrated control to smaller luminaires. Please describe the ways in which the LED source has impacted luminaire design and what benefits these developments present.

Mix: Today’s LED is smaller and brighter than most of us ever imagined. However, users are learning that glare control is very important. Even a mid-power LED operating at 0.2 watts is so bright and small that it requires careful luminaire design to minimize glare.

DiLouie: How would you characterize the retrofit opportunity for linear suspended luminaires replacing either fluorescent linear suspended luminaires or troffers?

Mix: The retrofit market for suspended luminaires is a significant opportunity. It will mean a complete fixture replacement. LED luminaires may have the same foundational look and shape as the existing fluorescent linear suspended luminaires but the optics and construction are completely different. It will result in a 30-50% improvement in energy efficiency on a 1 for 1 replacement with more control, flexibility and longer life.

DiLouie: If you could tell the entire electrical industry just one thing about suspended LED luminaires, what would it be?

Mix: The reasons to light spaces with LED suspended luminaires have never been more compelling. Today, you can have it all. You get energy efficient, high quality light that is affordable, ships in 10 working days, and is tailored to your requirements.

DiLouie: Is there anything else you’d like to add about this topic?

Mix: For now, not every manufacturer can provide tailored lighting. Know what you are getting and pick you partners carefully.

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Craig DiLouie

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