Interview: Signify On Commercial Indoor Lighting Trends

Craig DiLouie interviewed two Signify executives about commercial indoor lighting trends, Steve Baronoff, National Distribution Leader at Genlyte Solutions, a Signify Business and Lisette Ditters, Indoor Segment Leader at Genlyte Solutions, a Signify Business

This interview was conducted for an article that will appear in the November 2025 issue of tED Magazine.

DiLouie: The lighting industry appears to be reaching a new inflection point as LED lighting surpasses market saturation passing the 50 percent mark in many regions of the United States. The big question is: As the LED revolution completes its displacement of traditional lighting systems, what’s next for lighting as a category and an industry?

Ditters:

Yes, LED lighting has reached a point of market saturation in many regions of the United States and the world. In 2024, Signify’s LED-based sales represented 93% of its total sales globally (up from 85% in 2023).

Virtually every new US construction project incorporates LED lighting and controls; however, there is still a big opportunity to upgrade existing buildings to the latest technology.

As for what’s next: we expect to see a greater shift to connected LED lighting and controls systems. Luminaires can be fitted with sensors to acquire information about the environment around them, for example, to gather occupancy trends in an office. Being connected, these light points become data points that deliver actionable business insights and can help power advanced services and capabilities far beyond illumination and basic energy savings.

DiLouie: What do you see as the top five trends in the marketplace shaping demand for commercial indoor lighting products?

Ditters:

Trends shaping demand for commercial indoor lighting products include:

• The desire to achieve quality lighting with a minimalistic approach or quiet ceiling design. For example, traditional troffers are increasingly being displaced with architectural linear slot fixtures, especially in Class A commercial office buildings. Customers seek tailored solutions for specialized spaces.
• Continued interest in luminaires with embedded or integrated controls and connectivity, to help manage lighting assets efficiently. It’s especially about making wireless lighting controls simple to install and use.
• The need to create adaptable and comfortable indoor spaces for occupants, using tunable light and bringing the benefits of natural lighting indoors. This can enhance their well-being and performance and help gain points towards healthy building or sustainability certification programs.
• Leveraging the flexibility of LED lighting. The latest luminaires match architectural design trends with curves and shapes. There is also flexibility in terms of material use, for example, with 3D printed lighting products.
• Lastly, customers are increasingly using digital tools and AI to search for and visualize indoor lighting products in their space. This is rapidly reshaping the buying/selling process.

DiLouie: What vertical markets are particularly strong for commercial indoor lighting products this year?

Ditters:

New construction projects in the healthcare, education and data center segments are showing strong growth across the country. The largest segment, office, is starting to come back around, particularly for tenant improvement projects, with more companies opting to bring their employees back to a physical office space.

DiLouie: What are the top five technological trends in commercial indoor LED luminaires, shaped by capability and demand?

Ditters:

Going back to the second question: Today’s indoor LED luminaires need to provide more than just functional light. Solutions that are tunable, bring natural light indoors and enhance occupant well-being and performance are increasingly of interest.

In addition, specifiers are looking for luminaires that are aesthetically flexible and cohesive with their design. The latest indoor lighting solutions allow them to take their creativity even further without a lot of effort; luminaires from brands like Ledalite and Lightolier offer the choice of unique color combinations, shapes, patterns or textures.

DiLouie: What impact are these trends having on the state of lighting in 2025?

Ditters:

The aforementioned trends are opening new frontiers in lighting innovation, to enhance well-being and performance, elevate experiences and advance sustainability. That said, there is still demand for commoditized solutions like flat panels, and there is price sensitivity. Consequently, distributors are relying on supplier availability and not stocking as much product as in the past.

Lighting can be so much more than functional, on/off illumination. It’s time to transition the focus from an energy and dollars and cents conversation to one about well-being and performance and other qualitative benefits. The trends and technologies support this shift.

DiLouie: As LED achieves a high degree of saturation, thereby becoming the standard, do you believe the lighting industry will return to embracing standardization? Specifically, standard interfaces enabling light sources and drivers to be easily field-serviceable and replaceable/upgradeable?

Ditters:

Today’s innovations have created a challenge for standardization. There is a lot of customization in the field, with selectable products and programmable drivers. These solutions improve operational efficiency and optimize energy efficiency.

DiLouie: As lighting controls became popular, some predicted the luminaire would become a primary platform for control implementation with embedded controllers and sensors. How would you characterize demand for luminaires with onboard controls, and how do you see that category evolving in the future?

Ditters:

All Genlyte Solutions indoor luminaires from brands such as Ledalite, Lightolier, Day-Brite or Alkco are sensor ready, so offices, schools, warehouses or healthcare facilities can have the capabilities they need when they’re ready, to gain even greater value from their lighting.

As mentioned for the first question, new US construction projects are increasingly incorporating wired controls or a hybrid, wired/wireless approach. With retrofits, wireless controls that are simple to install and use are becoming standard.

DiLouie: What are the top five trends in lighting design in commercial buildings? What today is considered “quality lighting?”

Ditters:

A highly efficacious CRI 90 is becoming standard, as is meeting TM30. Light quality and well rendered colors are vital for task effectiveness.

Beyond traditional “quality lighting” parameters like these, sustainability is a clear trend. Do lighting products have the Declare label? Are manufacturers using recyclable packaging materials or redesigning their packaging to minimize waste? These are questions increasingly being asked by lighting designers when considering partners for their commercial building projects.

DiLouie: An age-old struggle in the lighting community is communicating the value of quality lighting to the owner. How does the typical owner regard lighting today, and what opportunities exist for distributors to promote lighting options that save energy but provide a better luminous environment?

Baronoff:

Building owners are starting to realize that connected lighting and controls systems can help enhance operational efficiencies, lower maintenance costs and drive occupant well-being and performance, as well as maximize energy savings with features like adaptive dimming and dwell time. Continued education is required – and distributors can play a role here, by communicating the flexibility and benefits the technology offers immediately and in the future. (Refer to the fifth question above.)

One area to note: owners are increasingly seeing the value of color-changing lighting on their building’s façade, to differentiate its “brand” and create aesthetic appeal.

DiLouie: What can electrical distributors do to become more effective lighting sellers in their territories?

Baronoff:

Electrical distributors should develop their technical proficiency and targeted marketing strategies – all while staying laser focused on the customers’ needs. They can become more effective sellers by:

• Staying up to date on the latest LED and connected lighting advancements as well as sustainability standards.
• Enhancing their digital capabilities, by providing customers with access to online tools like lighting calculators and specification libraries and virtual design platforms, to help streamline decision-making;
• Collaborating with manufacturers like Signify’s Genlyte Solutions, who lead in new technologies and solutions; and
• Networking and building relationships with the entire ecosystem, including specifiers, contractors and agents.

DiLouie: What can electrical distributors do to more effectively partner with manufacturers to develop lighting business?

Baronoff:

Building on the above, electrical distributors should invest in their internal talent. Work with your manufacturers to develop specialized knowledge in lighting design and controls and connected system integration within your team. Integrate your systems with manufacturers through AI and APIs to maximize capabilities for customers.

In addition, they should collaborate with manufacturers to identify and prioritize the opportunities/sectors that are ripe for lighting upgrades.

An effective partnership is all about creating customer value and staying agile in the dynamic lighting market.

DiLouie: If you could tell the entire electrical distribution industry just one thing about current trends in commercial indoor lighting, what would it be?

Ditters:

To reiterate the fifth question above: Lighting can be so much more than functional, on/off illumination. It’s time to transition the focus from an energy and dollars and cents conversation to one about well-being and performance and other qualitative benefits. Seeing and experiencing the latest technologies for yourself is important for driving this shift in conversation.

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

Baronoff:

Distributors should understand their local territories – there are nuances to trends by geography.

It’s also important to reiterate the significant impact AI will have on distributors’ jobs – making their work less manual, so they can more efficiently serve customers. We see it already supporting product search crossing and in quoting, especially when aligned with the right APIs. We’re excited about its potential to develop lighting business.

DiLouie: Thank you both for sharing your expertise and insights.

Image: Signify.com

Craig DiLouie

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