SSL products featuring flexibility gain an edge with Sapphire scores (MAGAZINE)

In reviewing the judges’ comments during the Sapphire Awards evaluation process, it became clear that the panel praised added value and flexibility in control across all categories, CARRIE MEADOWS discovers.

The 2018 LEDs Magazine Sapphire Awards program culminated in a Gala dinner packed with entertainment and networking highlights during the evening of Feb. 14. Aboard the RMS Queen Mary docked in Long Beach, CA during the week of Strategies in Light, solid-state lighting (SSL) professionals celebrated and saluted the Sapphire Award-winning technologies, projects, Illumineer of the Year, and teams responsible for the recognized innovations.

Products across 20 categories were evaluated in this year’s program, with more than 120 submissions in total being considered. Categories range from enabling technologies such as packaged LEDs, modules, drivers, and others to finished LED luminaires, application-specific SSL offerings, and control systems. In this article, we are covering submissions that scored 3.25 Sapphires and above, with a summation of judging comments in the product and project categories.

Material considerations

The Sapphire Awards judges represent all areas of the lighting industry supply chain as well as the design and specification community. Therefore, it is no surprise that they consistently commented within the evaluation platform that they wished to see more detailed documentation and datasheets included with each and every submission. Photometric specifications, wherever applicable, were on the "wish list." Lumens per watt should be in balance with light quality metrics, a comment seen in several evaluations.

Judges also noted that clearer descriptions may have been needed where claims were made regarding compliance with regulations such as the California Energy Commission (CEC) Title 24 or acceptance into market transformation programs such as Energy Star and DesignLights Consortium (DLC). What specifications enabled the products and systems to be labeled as such, they wondered. The panel also remarked consistently about how helpful spectral power distribution (SPD) and power factor (PF) information would be in the future.

The judges noted that in some cases additional material demonstrating the products in situ, such as applications photos or links to video, would help in comparing similar offerings against one another — providing more evidence of the beam distribution, color quality, and visibility of light sources in some of the lamps and luminaires.

Flexibility factors

A common theme among the comments was a desire to see both wired and wireless flexibility in control components and systems as well as in LED luminaire offerings that were submitted. Where these characteristics were apparent, there was high praise indeed. An extended range of dimming performance and dim-to-warm functionality were big winners with the panel.

Glare control and optics were top of mind with the panelists. Beam angles, aiming optics, and the ability for field adjustment were all considered and rated accordingly. Protecting users and occupants from discomfort and/or disability glare was a top concern, and diffusion where needed was a point of mention — praised wherever those qualities and features were apparent in the literature.

Down to the digits

Now on to the numbers. Scoring ranged from 0–5 Sapphires. Each entry was considered upon its own merits while taking into account what might represent an ideal product in the intended application. To achieve a score of 3 Sapphires, an enabling technology or lighting product was expected to be suitable for commercial deployment. Higher scores were given to products and projects that were judged to perform efficiently and reliably, contribute to profitability, and demonstrate ease of use. Projects were judged similarly, with attention to cost and performance objectives in the application. Additional comments will be made available privately to all entrants. For more details about the winning entries, see our feature article that is being posted with the March issue by the time you read this. Stay up to date with information about the Sapphire Awards, the next call for entries, and more at ledsmagazine.com/sapphireawards.

Axis Lighting
Stencil – Indoor Decorative Pendant Luminaire Design

Cerno
Revelite Art Light – Residential SSL Lamp and Luminaire Design

Chess Wise
Chemelot Chemical Plant in the Netherlands – SSL Smart Lighting Project

DMF Lighting
DRD4M and OneFrame – Indoor Troffer and Downlight SSL Luminaire Design

Echelon Corporation
LumInsight 2 Central Management System – Smart and Connected SSL Systems

Elemental LED
Omnidrive 2 – Constant Voltage LED Drivers

ERP Power
VLM Series – Constant Voltage LED Drivers

Filamento
Valto High Bay LED Lamp – Commercial-Quality SSL Lamp Design

Flex Lighting Solutions
Essentials Series 4.0 LED High Bay – Industrial SSL Luminaire Design

Ketra
Ketra Linear Luminaire Series – Lighting for Health and Wellbeing

Kichler
2V LED Accent with Variable Lumen Output – Outdoor Landscape and Architectural SSL Design

The Lighting Quotient
elliptipar S43x Indirect Luminaire – Indoor Ambient, Cove, and Accent SSL Luminaire Design

Litecontrol, a Hubbell Lighting brand
Inde-Pendants 32L – Indoor Decorative Pendant Luminaire Design

Lumenpulse Group Inc.
Lumentalk Power Line Communications Platform – Smart and Connected SSL Systems

Lumileds
Luxeon L1V1 CSP LED Series – Packaged LEDs and OLEDs
Matrix Platform Advanced Technologies – Modular LED Light Engines

Luminit
Double-sided Batwing Light Shaping Diffuser – SSL Enabling Technologies

Maxim Integrated
MAX20078 Synchronous Buck Controller – ICs and Electronic Components for SSL

MaxLite
LED LiteBars – Residential SSL Lamp and Luminaire Design

Osram Digital Lighting Systems
Optotronic Programmable LED Emergency Driver with Single Snap-on Battery Harness – SSL Enabling Technologies

Osram Opto Semiconductors
Oslon Square Hyper Red – Horticultural Lighting

Plessey Semiconductors
Hyperion LED Grow Light – Horticultural Lighting

Soraa
Soraa Arc Adjustable Luminaire – Indoor Ambient, Cove, and Accent SSL Luminaire Design

Unilux
ED2000 with Smart Assist – Specialty SSL Design

United Power Research Technology Corp.
UPRtek PG100N Spectral PAR Meter – Tools and Tests in SSL Design

Acolyte LED
Synthesis LED Linear – Indoor Decorative Pendant Luminaire Design

ams
AS7225 Tunable White Smart Sensor – ICs and Electronic Components for SSL

Artesyn Embedded Technologies
iHP Series High Power System – Constant Current LED Drivers

Eaton
WaveLinx Wireless Connected Lighting System – Smart and Connected SSL Systems

ERP Power
CDB Series – Constant Current LED Drivers

Fraen Corporation
Embedded Optic Module OM003-0100 – Specialty SSL Design

GL Optic
Spectis 1 Touch Flicker Meter – Tools and Tests in SSL Design

Green Creative
Refine Series PAR38 LED Lamp – Commercial-Quality SSL Lamp Design

Hubbell Healthcare Solutions, a Hubbell Lighting brand
Evexia – Lighting for Health and Wellbeing

Hubbell Lighting
Karl Chevrolet, Ankeny, IA – SSL Outdoor Lighting Project

Inventronics
ESD-600S – Constant Current LED Drivers

JLC-Tech
T-BAR LED Asymmetrical Wall Wash – Indoor Troffer and Downlight SSL Luminaire Design

LEDvance
Sylvania Smart+ A19 Filament – Residential SSL Lamp and Luminaire Design

Lumenpulse
Lumenfaçade – Outdoor Landscape and Architectural SSL Design

Optic Arts
VintageDim – Constant Voltage LED Drivers

Osram Opto Semiconductors
Osconiq P 3737 3W – Packaged LEDs and OLEDs

Samsung Electronics LED
LH351C LED – Packaged LEDs and OLEDs

SoraaLaser
LaserLight Fiber Module – Modular LED Light Engines

TE Connectivity
Lumawise Z50 Drive LED Holder – SSL Enabling Technologies

Vode Lighting
ZipThree 707 Wall Mount – Indoor Ambient, Cove, and Accent SSL Luminaire Design

Zumtobel
Craft – Industrial SSL Luminaire Design
Mellow Light Infinity – Indoor Troffer and Downlight SSL Luminaire Design

Bright spots in the SSL community

At LEDs Magazine, much of our content focus is by necessity on the product, system, and technology developments that are driving innovation in the solid-state lighting (SSL) industry. And of course, the Sapphire Awards program was launched to bring awareness and recognition of those engineering developments that have helped to advance SSL technology and build out related applications and new markets.

The Illumineer of the Year award embodies these qualities in the program and is selected separately from the product and project submissions. Many of our talking points about the SSL industry have revolved around communication, controls, and connectivity — rather than strictly the illumination itself. And those themes were clearly reflected in this year’s Sapphire Awards submissions, as we’ve stated in the main portion of this feature. The 2018 Illumineer was Tanuj Mohan of Enlighted for his work in advancing connected lighting and digitalbuilding management solutions.

It also occurred to our team in the 2018 planning phase that there are other contributions to the LED and lighting community — beyond the nuts and bolts of product design and commercialization — and they too are worthy of accolades. Thus, we debuted the Humanitarian Award this year, which honors a company or organization that has provided lighting materials, lighting products, or services to those in need. Manufacturers, distributors, and consultants working in the SSL industry were eligible. All projects or initiatives needed to be undertaken within 18 months of the timing of the Sapphire Awards call for entries. Humanitarian efforts were voted on by the judges and members of PennWell’s LED & Lighting Network team.

The inaugural Humanitarian Award was bestowed upon the Philips Lighting Foundation for global efforts that provided solar-based LED lighting to regions with unstable power grids or less access to grid power. The organization also participated in developing a lighting-centric training program for underserved regions that will both create job opportunities for young professionals and establish solar infrastructure in those areas.

We welcome the opportunity to see what the lighting community has in store for 2019!