Q-TRAN Factory Visit - 2022

We had a great time visiting the Q-Tran factory with Sighte Studio and MOXIE in early August! Alongside the factory tour, the trip included an overview of their existing fixtures - with highlights on new offerings and a sneak peak at what’s coming up, and an educational session on drivers and transformers (we were visiting Q-Tran after all!). Many thanks to the whole team for the excellent presentations and warm welcome!

FIXTURE UPDATES:

OPTI-OPTICS Fixture: Price-efficient alternative option of VERS ($50~$60 per ft)! The smallest beam spread is 40 degrees, but no louver option yet!

TIPS:

Use static white (SW) tape for projects that require high red rendering.

When specifying Dynamic White tape, use the wattage listed on the cutsheet under “Circuit Wattage”. Dynamic white tape lights have (2) chips that are different color temperatures that are programmed to never pull more wattage than the circuit wattage lists (the chips will never be on at full output at the same time).

Most of their LED tapes are done offshore for cost efficacy. Ones done in-house are more expensive (SMT models except for the Micro family) but allow compliance with the Buy American Act, etc.

NEW:

Dedicated pool & spa rated power supply + FLEX family fixture for use in pools & spa.

UPCOMING - 2023:

An encapsulated millwork fixture designed to be silicon mounted.

Designing magnet and track mount, butterfly bracket for plaster ceiling installation. 

DRIVER UPDATES:

Typically the drivers can be used up to the max wattage, except the DMX driver that needs derating.

Driver selection for Dynamic/Tunable White:
DMX is 3-channel and requires derating for 2-channel control.
The best would be: 1) QTM (large ones, single channel pre-programmed) and 2) QTM-eLED+AW (the two-channel driver) 

Their dedicated warm-dim LED tape is fundamentally different. It has the same price as the dynamic LED, BUT it goes with the QZLP driver with 0-10V & phase dimming (down to 10%). The driver is small and goes up to X2 96W. The single X96W is around $175. 

QTMD driver is the go-to when doing fixtures with runs far from the source. This has taps that allow different voltages high mid low to avoid voltage drop and visible difference in brightness between the ones closer to drive via ones further installed. 

For Landscape: Q-SET-mLED power supply provides up to 300W and has AC and DC together in an inground cap.

App & Smart Control System Compatibility:

QZ Driver is compatible with Casambi Control. 

The QZ Non-Dimmable driver is the Eco option for use with Casambi and requires a separate add-on Casambi component. 

QZ-DMX is for indoor application with up to 4channel, programmable with MLFC app, up to 96W fully used. 

UPCOMING:

New DMX for 4-channel, comparably small size, priced around $240. EldoLed driver is also available but is more expensive 

LLI - strip light

WALD received a kit of LLI linear tape light and extrusions. The kit contained the base line of tape (LLIL) with various extrusions, CCT, and output. The offerings of CCT, output, extrusions, dimming protocol, and tunable white/static color are similar to qtran and luminii. Cut sheets are easy to navigate. First select an extrusion, then refer to chart below with compatible tape lights and lensing option, and their imaging quality (uniform, semi-uniform, imaging). Dimension diagram only shows bare fixture without any bracket. Dimension of bracket is on following page.  

  • Hand bendable aluminum extrusion in up/down direction – FLEX extrusion 

  • (3) different lines of static white tape. LLI base (L), High efficacy (HE), and tight pitch (TP) 

  • Color changing with static white CCT 

  • Tunable white with ranges of CCT 

  • DN price range for static white with extrusion is $29/FT + $80/0-10v driver

  • DN price range for color changing with extrusion $34/FT + $90 DMX decoder + $125 DMX controller + $60/nondim driver

In the below photos, tiles are used to show imaging on reflected surfaces. 
Images 1 to 4 are of:
THIN with tight pitch 2.5W tape frosted lens showing a semi-uniform diode imaging true to the cutsheet.

Images 5 to 8 are of:
DEEP with standard 4.4W tape frosted lens showing a uniform diode imaging when at 100% true to the cutsheet and semi-uniform when dimmed.

LUMINII

Today we looked at Luminii's 2021 update to their linear fixtures. They’ve made changes to fixtures and updated their cut-sheet as below:

  • All Static White boards are node free & offered in 1” increments.

  • Now LED tape goes all the way to the edge of the channel.

  • 1" to 4" increments offered for extrusions.

  • Ordering codes change: SO, HO, VHO now are all LL72 LED tape but different outputs.

  • They merged the high efficacy (HE xx) & high quality (L72) in the Static White cut-sheet.

  • All the RGB, RGBW, tunable, and white are now combined in the Dynamic Color cut-sheet.

  • Dedicated 19K to 27K warm dim: Tighter chip, one channel dimming, slight dotting - Dimmed with PSD driver.

  • LL48 and LL64 improved to a higher output but still under 10W

  • Under development: LL68 tunable white with two-channel dimmed with a vintage dim driver.

  • RGBW is now upgraded to have richer color, only available with 30K + RGB

  • FT for asymmetric come with 4w and 7w options. We liked the asymmetric distribution.


SENSO Lighting by LUMINII:

We also reviewed the new Senso line that Luminii has brought on.

  • Titanium body to kick more light out - Special TRI optic, constant voltage - A lot of accessories - Work with any of the current drivers - IC rated as standard.

  • Comes in 3,5,12 inches, lockable, 35 degree tilt - Available in 250, 600, 1260 lm outputs.

  • Distributions: 15,30,55, elliptical

  • Under development: wall-wash optic - Mud-in, trimless wood

  • Coming up as combined louver optic- not a stackable accessory

Pricing: SENOS mini X5 modules 120$ - Track module 110$

Lead time: quick ship Strips and channel available in less than 7days, otherwise 2 to 4 weeks.

PreciseLED

PreciseLED is new to ELA. They are located on Long Island.  

ZENLITE

Zenlite is an in-wall product that goes over the joists and is in line with gypsum. The mudplate is made out of PVC. This is advantageous because the PVC doesn't retain heat. The fixture can be installed with or without the lens in. The lens is laser cut and pre-installed before shipping so on the site, they just need to peel off the protective tape. The LED strip is typically installed beforehand.

Available in 1" and 2" versions.

It costs around $48/ft (DN price).

  

ARC:

The curvable extrusion with a flexible lens. The 15°  radius is the tightest they can go. The curved product is edge-lit (2 LED strips facing each other) with a silicone lens.

Zenlight tile also exists. The lens is poured into place. You can walk or drive on the Zenlight tile fixture.

  

The maximum running length is 100ft.

It costs around $100/ft (DN price).

They also have an asymmetric Zenlite as well.

*the straight and the curve products are using different LED chips and won't be mixed.

DOWNLIGHTS:

The downlights available as trimmed and trimless with IC and Non-IC rated housings, 45° tilt and 360° rotation, and interchangeable lenses.

The Novation is their new 3" downlight/wallwasher . It has one of the shallowest air-tight housing on the market, 18" X 2.44", an interchangeable adjustable downlight and wallwasher lens. The housing has a unique copper piece which acts as a heatsink and therefore allows the housing to be this shallow.

  

*The shallow housing has only 30° tilt adjustment.

*They use CREE LED chip. The LED head is screwed-in and field replaceable (great for changing CCT).

*The trimmed fixture is shower rated.

They do not currently have a trimless option for millwork fixtures but they are currently working on it.

*They do have their own line of drivers but their products work with others as well.

Their wallwasher has an interesting lens design.

It's good to keep in mind, the piece with get really hard and make it difficult for on-site optic adjustment (there is a very tight space to access the clip for adjustments).

DIM TO WARM TAPE:

We also looked at their dim to warm tape. This tape has alternating chips to achieve the desired effect. All of PreciseLED's tapes are a minimum of 90 CRI.

 

UNDER CABINET FIXTURES:

They also have a line of interesting under cabinet fixtures called LUMAMATE.

The system has 90° vertical, 90° horizontal joint connector, motion sensor, on/off switch and dimmer switch all in on.

*The touch dimming, step dimming by tapping worked really smoothly.

They started with the larger size and have evolved to a smaller sized fixture with the same capabilities. The smaller fixture is not yet online or in the catalog but is coming soon.

  • Available in 2700K, 3000K, 3500K, and 4000K.
  • Available in 90CRI (standard) and 95CRI.
  • 45° clip and flush clip are available for mounting.

Airey Thompson

Today we had Airey Thompson visit our office. Airey Thompson is a California based company that uses locally sourced materials. We looked at their 13L and 62L series.

The 13L is their under cabinet fixture with an extruded aluminum body. The fixture is made with Samsung chips LED line voltage with lots of dimming options. Typically hardwired without conduit. Everything is made to order and has a 2 week lead time.

Lots of customization is available. You can get any length. It is 123 Lumens/Watt. 2700K is an option. It is a modular fixture. They have an outlet on them to plug stuff into it. Polycarbonate lens* on the linear fixture which is great for stairwells.

The 62L series is an architectural grad linear LED  suitable for office spaces, overhead, stairway and hospitality spaces. It's available in surface and cable suspended mounting. The Battery backup can be added on 3' and longer lengths.

They are in process of a smaller fixture and a tunable white fixture so those will be coming soon.

*Their new line has an acrylic lens. It is 124 Lumens/Watt and higher efficiency.

*They have an MRI compliant under cabinet and cove light.

*They also make marquee lights that can have an exterior rated socket.