Erco

ERCO stopped by with Stan Deutsch and Associates last week. We got a look at their new fixture called the Lightscan. The Lightscan is a large exterior rated flood light with a slim profile that is available internationally as well as in the US. It comes in 5 different sizes ranging from 18 to 96 watts and offers various beam spreads; narrow spot, spot, flood, wide flood, oval flood and wallwash. The Lightscan has a high cutoff angle which makes it comfortable to look at.

The lens technology ERCO has developed for the Lightscan as well as several of their other fixtures takes multiple diodes and with the use of a lens, they are able to smooth out the light to create one beam spread.

We also took a look at the Tesis which is an inground adjustable uplight. The Tesis comes with a double housing collar made out of fiberglass which helps to keep water out of the fixture. The fixture is adjustable with 360° horizontal rotation and 30° vertical tilt and comes with either round or square trims, both flush and overlapping. The interior of the fixture is black so the fixture blends in when it is not turned on unlike other fixtures which can appear glary. This fixture is very customizable and there are 96 different combinations, one of them includes a wall wash reflector.

We briefly took a look at some downlights, both interior and exterior. The exterior downlight uses the same technology as the Lightscan with the individual diodes having the ability to control the beam spread then use a lens to create uniformity. We looked at the interior wall wash fixture for the international market which produced a nice even wash with a high cut off angle. They also have a double wall wash version that would work great in long corridors to evenly light both sides, but it also is only available in the international market.

Tribeca Penthouse New York

TriBeCa Penthouse, a project we completed last year with Steve Blatz Architect, has been awarded a "Best of Year 2013" from Interior Design Magazine. This project was also featured in their September 2013 issue. The TriBeCa Penthouse was a fun and extensive project to work on. It combined an open loft interior (5,000 sq.ft.) with multiple terraces and a roof deck (combined 7,000 sq.ft.). The relationship between the outdoors and interior allowed us to play with daylight levels and create a bright space during the day, and a private lodge at night. The gem at the center is the spiral staircase leading up from the courtyard to the roof, which glows at night with color-changing LED fixtures inside the curving handrail. The terraces themselves are lit with varying levels of light and set to highlight the amazing views.

All photography credit to Interior Design Magazine.

Lucifer Lighting

Lucifer Lighting

Lucifer stopped by to show us some improvements they have made recently. One thing that we went over with them was the different housing options. Lucifer provides their typical housing for IC rated installations, however for non-IC installations, the LED components are able to be exposed in the plenum due to the cool temperatures from their heat sync. They also told us about their ability to modify the heat sync if we have plenum issues. With combining different options, the shortest they are able to provide as a modification is 4”.

We took a look at their new wall wash fixture. They are switching over from glass lenses to an acrylic film which will be part of a roll out in April. The previous wall washers have a suggested 32” on center installation and the new ones are 48” to 51” on center. They have added a kicker reflector to allow for a more efficient fixture. The kicker reflector seems to come below the ceiling slightly and it was not great. We will have to check on this once the real models are produced.

We also took another look at their adjustable surface cylinder we got a glimpse of last time while it was in development. It is scheduled to be released by the end of the first quarter. It will have three lumen packages available: 1000lm, 1300lm and 3000lm. For the smaller lumen package, they are able to provide a smaller housing than the largest package, however they can provide the small lumen package in the large housing if we need it. The fixture is not lockable, but they have provided it with a hinge that can handle 70lbs of pressure so they are confident that the fixture will stay in place once it is adjusted. They are hoping to add a straight down light, a wall washer as well as a pendant version sometime in the future.

They also now have a sample kit showing all of their finish options which is available to loan when it's needed.

Intra Lighting

Intra Lighting

Intra Lighting stopped by to introduce us to their fixtures which are produced in Slovenia and Italy. Most of their products are UL listed but not identified in the book, so we would have to confirm with them directly before specifying. The first fixture we took a look at was their Deux Pieces which is an adjustable rectangular fixture with Citizen LEDs. The fixture can be surface, pendant, track and recessed mounted.

We also looked at their linear fixture the Kalis. It’s a small profile of 1-1/2”. With their recessed mounting extrusion, spacers can be added for a semi-recessed application. With their small profile, they offer the standard end cap with an inch overlap on the lens as well as a fully extruded lens with acrylic end caps. The Minus S comes in regular fluorescent, seamless fluorescent and LED options. They have designed their lens to accommodate expansion from heat by shaving a part of each lens and overlapping them at the junction. This creates a continuous line of lens with no gap (a gap is typical in other manufacturers when lenses are butted end-to-end).

Intra also has a larger profile of the linear fixture that we took a look at called the Gyon. The larger profile can have track within the same extrusion allowing for the ability to have track fixtures along the same line as the linear components. The larger profile has the same standard overlap end cap. There is a possibility of doing an acrylic end cap but only for the LED version.

Intra puts a lot of effort into the efficiency of their products. They have their own spectrometer so they can test the fixtures themselves. They also make their own reflectors and blades themselves which are silver coated aluminum for a higher efficiency. The lenses Intra uses are also very high quality. With a laser, they were able to show us how their microprism lens perfectly directs the light, while a lower quality competitor’s scatters the light in various directions.

Kurt Versen

Kurt Versen

We got a chance to take a look at the new LED pinspot Kurt Versen is providing that comes with a xicato module. The fixture has an interior reflector with an approximate 40° beam spread. With the trim almost half of the light is cut off. The standard color temperatures, 27K, 3K, 35K and 4K are all available in two lumen packages. Currently they only offer the round option but might consider looking into a square aperture.

We proposed the suggestion of making the aperture slightly larger to allow more light out. Also the possibility of a downlight and a wall washer was suggested because right now just having the pinspot adjustable makes the fixture a little too limited.

We also had the opportunity to look closer at the surface downlights that we have previously looked at in their developmental stages. They have both a round and a square version. Dimming is standard 0-10V, however Lutron drivers are available but require a taller body to accommodate them.

The last fixture we looked at is their open wall washer-downlight which comes with a Fortimo LED module. Comparing the open fixture to their lensed wall washer we were able to see the advantages of the open version. Having the downlight component combined with the wall washer allows for more light to be thrown back down instead of concentrated solely on the wall. The open fixture also allowed the light to reach higher on the wall than the lensed version allows.

Kurt Versen told us that their next round of fixtures they are working on will be a family of chip-on-board fixtures and will hopefully be made available in 3-4 months.

Aion LED

Aion LED

O’Blaney Rinker Associates stopped by to introduce Aion LED to us and see some of the products they have to offer. Aion is a linear LED company that titles themselves as a custom company. Each product is made to order and can be provided up to 1/8” in custom lengths. Aion does not recommend field cutting their product because they want to be able to verify the quality and provide a five year warranty.

Aion has four different color temperatures that they currently offer: 22K, 26K, 3K and 43K. The 22K comes with a 92CRI, the 26K comes with a 97CRI and both the 3K and 43K have an 83CRI.

All of their linear strips come in a single or double row. Aion currently offers an extruded housing that is an inch wide but will soon offer a smaller housing that fits better with the single row strips.

We also took a look at their RGBW which combines an RGB LED strip as well as a 22K strip which allows you to create any tone of white. The RGBW is ideal for indirect applications because pixilation is evident when it is in the channel with a lens. Aion is currently working on this technology to be able to provide dim to warm applications.

One thing we noted after looking at their fixtures is that you should not use the strips with wall box dimmer because they flash at the end as you are dimming to off. Aion’s fixtures are closet rated.

VIBIA: Skan Pendant

We had a chance to review the VIBIA Skan Pendant today and it looks great! The 12inch version is 10watt LED and gave off 70fc mounted at 2FT and 30fc mounted at 3'-6" (from desk surface). The spread was even and the color was a nice warm 3000K. It is also dimmable with TRIAC control (driver is hidden in the canopy). A 2FT diameter version is also available at 12watts. We are told it is not too much brighter and is all about the project's scale requirements. The fixture was a lovely matte white, but custom colors are available with 10+ of the small and 5+ of the large. This is a great fixture and we look forward to getting a chance to use it.

WaveStream Expo

Last week we stopped by the Pennsylvania Hotel to see the Enterprise Lighting Showcase for Cooper Lighting’s newest innovation; WaveStream LED. WaveStream is a technology that incorporates LED strips to edgelight panels with microscopic optics designed for optimum illumination. Cooper has implemented this technology throughout their lines and some of the manufacturers introduced those fixtures at the showcase. Most of the products will be available later in the year. The great thing about the WaveStream technology is that it allows the fixtures to have a slim profile. Corelite had both a recessed and a pendant to show us. The pendant has a 25-75 ratio for a nice batwing distribution.

Halo has a surface mounted downlight that utilizes the new technology called SLD. Because of the slim profile from the edgelighting, the fixture has a relatively small profile as well and mounts to a j-box. The SLD comes in three sizes; 4”, 5” and 6” and will be offered in only 3K. This fixture would work great for spaces that have minimal recessing depth.

iO Lighting has a tile fixture that can be surface mounted or recessed called tile Gen II. The tile comes in increments of 6” and has a profile of ¾”. iO also offers the tile with custom colors from Lee or Rosco.

Neo-Ray is offering a direct indirect pendant fixture with adjustable wings in 1 and 2 foot increments. The fixture has a nice look, and when it is powered off it has a nice architectural aesthetic that masks the fact that it is a light fixture.

Metalux is offering recessed troffers called the Encounter and is available in 2’ x 2’ and 4’ x 4’ versions with a 1’ x 4’ coming early 2014. The Encounter comes standard with 5 lumen packages with 11 more available with an extra lead time.

There has been a lot of progress made since the WaveStream was introduced to us a year ago and we look forward to seeing where it goes from here. It is always good to have options for fixtures with slim profiles that can adapt to spaces with tight restrictions while still providing a high performance.

Lite Control

Lite Control

LiteControl stopped by with International Lights to introduce their LED fixtures to us. We took a look at the LED cove fixture first. The Cove comes with an integral driver and uses Cree LEDs. The LED version has as smaller profile than the T5 version they still offer.

We also looked at their 4” LED strip that comes in both recessed and surface mounting options. With the lens they offer, there was no lamp image.

All of their LEDs fixtures come in three output options: low at 4w/ft, medium at 8w/ft and high at 16w/ft. The medium output is the closest to the output of a T5. LiteControl also offers their products in color temperatures from 27K to 4K. Their fixtures use boards in 12” increments and dimming is standard for all of them.

VIBIA: Scotch

We had a chance to review the VIBIA Scotch CFL wall sconce today. The fixture itself is quite beautiful with heavy duty glass with a frosted interior and solid chrome surround. But the compact fluorescent lamping was not bright enough for our use and is not dimmable. The lamp itself is currently made by only one uncommon manufacturer. The halogen version is still our choice for residential applications. But we are looking forward to a dimmable LED version.

AXO Light

AXO Light

AXO stopped by to introduce their new LED line, MindLED. All of their products are offered in either 3K or 4K options. First we looked at the Momus and Momus Mini which are surface wall sconces. Right now the large and small version of the fixture do not use the same LEDs so they probably would not have the same color temperature so it would be best not to use them together.

We looked at the Favila which is a surface adjustable spot fixture. The Favila can come with several options with a surface mount, a semi-recessed mount and a pendant mount option.

The Asperitas is a surface step light that we liked. It is a small fixture that currently only comes in a gunmetal color.

We also looked at the Virtus line of fixtures which incorporate long thin cylinders that are adjustable at the base. The Virtus wall lamp has three stems on one side of the fixture and an up light component on the other side. Virtus can also come in a larger version that is pendant mounted. This version can be field adjusted to alter the beam spread. Both the Virtus as well as another line the Stilla, can come with a canopy that allows you to mount multiple suspended fixtures to create a chandelier.

For almost all of the lines, there is the option to have either a surface mount or suspended mount. Most of their fixtures come in the standard white finish. They can do custom colors, but they have to be larger orders of at least 80 pieces. Although the design comes from Italy, they assemble the fixtures at their facilities in Connecticut. All of the ies files for their fixtures are online.

Amerlux

Amerlux

Amerlux came to the office to show us a few of the new products they have developed. The first fixtures we saw were part of their Hornet line. The Hornet LED line uses refracted lenses to control the beam spread. It comes in 15watt and 21watt versions to act as a replacement for 50watt MR16 and 20watt Metal Halide lamps respectively. The beam spread comes in 15° as a standard option but can be altered with the use of films. We noticed a lot of spill light that is similar to using regular Metal Halide fixtures. We also looked at another line of theirs, the Fiato. It is intended to be a replacement for higher wattage Metal Halide lamps. They designed the Fiato to come in several similar wattage options so you can adapt to meet code requirements. The Fiato comes with 12°, 20° and 25° beam spread options. The Fino is a linear wall recessed up light fixture with a slim profile. The fixture is a unique alternative to cove lighting. The recommended spacing is 3’ from the ceiling for an even wash. We took a look at their recessed fixtures that are going to be released soon. They incorporate the Hornet platform. The recessed line comes in fixed down light, adjustable and wall wash options. The wall wash seemed to have a bit of a hot spot about 2’ from the top of the wall.

A-Light

A Light

A-Light stopped by with the Dulanski Group so we could get a close look at the new products they have to offer. Recently, A-Light has focused more on primarily LED products. Different lens options are available for the linear LED and also has no lamp imaging.

A-Light has engineered their linear LED fixtures to maintain the light output levels they achieve from their fluorescent versions. A-Light prides themselves on how they engineer their products around the light source itself so they have a high efficiency rate for their performance. They can do custom lengths up to 1/8”.

Span Mount is a fixture that spans from wall to wall, while it can also be mounted as a cantilever. They also have an LED linear picture light that is a good option for an incandescent replacement.

Because a big portion of their product can be heavily customized, A-Light has created two categories for specifying their products. The Elements line consists of their standard products without customization. Elements comes with a 15 day lead time. Architectural Integration offers their complete line with full customization. With this full customization, there are longer lead times.

WAC Lighting

WAC Lighting

WAC came by with the Dulanski Group to show some new fixtures they have been working on. The first one we looked at was their Slice fixture that goes hand in hand with the Dice fixture. The Slice is a round surface LED area light while the Dice is a square fixture. Both incorporate a thick wall etched white glass lens. Two sizes are available, 8 7/8” and 11”. It comes in a 3K option, but for large orders WAC could do a 27K version. The price point for the larger version of these fixtures comes in at around $150.

Another fixture we took a look at is their new task lighting option Line. Line uses LEDs to edge light the surface creating an evenly illuminated fixture with a 30° forward throw for under cabinet lighting. Line ranges from 6” to 30” and can be installed easily end to end. The installation for Line uses magnets on the main portion with the lens that snaps in place to the connector mounted to the surface.

WAC also showed us their Exterminator which is an LED track fixture. The Exterminator has a smooth beam spread and good color rendering. We looked at both the 3K and 27K versions and liked both.

Lumetta

Lumetta Enterprise Lighting Sales stopped by with Lumetta so we could view their product line. Lumetta is known for their pendant and surface decorative fixtures. They use a material called Luminate, made exclusively for them, for the shade material. Luminate is a non-porous material that makes the fixtures easy to clean. The process to create the Luminate also reduces the wear and degradation from UV radiation.

With the Luminate material, there are no lamp images or shadow sockets because of the diffuse white layer on the interior. Lumetta has 87 standard options to choose from but can also accommodate custom colors and patterns.

All fixtures are made in the US and are built to order. Standard lead times for manufacturing are 6-8 weeks with added time for customization. Lumetta does not add a design or custom fee adder and instead determine the price from parts and labor required per job.