CARRIE MEADOWS reports on the technology entries that scored 3.25 Sapphires and above.
In the September issue of LEDs Magazine, we celebrated the annual Sapphire Awards winners, detailing key features that earned recognition for enabling technologies, systems, and solid-state lighting (SSL) end products across categories from packaged LEDs to drivers and electronics to disinfection, horticultural, and circadian lighting applications. Although our announcement of the winners was held online only Aug. 24, 2021, during the week of the Strategies in Light virtual event, the accolades were earmarked with a very real appreciation for the hard work and ingenuity demonstrated by LED and SSL stakeholders during the past year under challenging and ever-changing conditions.
Even as the 2020 Sapphire Awards ceremony was held last February, chief editor Maury Wright had remarked that the judging process becomes more difficult each year as the industry responds to top the previous year’s level of performance improvements and innovation in materials, installation, form factor, efficacy, and many other qualities exhibited by the entries received.
As we have in years past, we release the scores of products that received 3.25 Sapphires and above. The quality of informational materials included with each submission greatly impacts the judges’ ability to determine merits of the products alongside their intended use and specifications. While we offer numerical scores here, this is no paint-by-numbers evaluation process. A product receives 3 Sapphires minimum if it is deemed suitable for commercial deployment. To receive 3.25 Sapphires and above, a product must perform efficiently and reliably, contribute to profitability, and demonstrate ease of use. If a product is judged to deliver superior performance in terms of high efficacy, appropriate light distribution, excellent light quality for the intended application, and/or added value in installation or commissioning, integration, controls, and intelligent features, it would receive a score of 3.75 Sapphires or above. There are many levels of refinement in between these scores.
Many of the judges noted that attention to aesthetic details even in what may be considered the most utilitarian of luminaires helped SSL products score big. The words “functional” and “flexible” appeared multiple times alongside “elegant” and “beautiful,” demonstrating the panel’s appreciation for delivering on photometric standards for light delivery, light color, and light quality; the ability of controls to achieve granular operation; and the appearance of simplicity belying the complexity of modern engineering and design.
*Editor’s note: All companies are listed based on the submitted company name at the time of awards entry.
3.25
Acuity Brands
Incito 4-in. direct-indirect wall-mount cylinder — Indoor Troffer, Track, and Downlight SSL Luminaire Design
Brilli Wellness Lighting
Brilli Bright Clean antimicrobial 5/6-in. recessed LED fixture — Visible Light Disinfection Technology
CATI B.V.
FCS (Floating Chip Solutions) material and interconnect technology — Specialty SSL Design
Elemental LED
GRAZE X fixture by Diode LED — Indoor Decorative and Pendant SSL Luminaire Design
Elemental LED
LO-PRO UL Listed wet-location junction box by Diode LED — ICs and Electronic Components for SSL
Laser Components USA, Inc.
High-power UV-C LED 6060 SMD packaged LEDs — Specialty SSL Design
Sonneman
Intervals recessed downlights — Indoor Troffer, Track, and Downlight SSL Luminaire Design
3.50
Acuity Brands
Aculux Lini linear downlight — Indoor Troffer, Track, and Downlight SSL Luminaire Design
Acuity Brands
EVO and Incito 2-in. Tilt and Rotate Cylinders — Indoor Troffer, Track, and Downlight SSL Luminaire Design
Acuity Brands
Juno R620L track head with adjustable beam — Indoor Troffer, Track, and Downlight SSL Luminaire Design
Acuity Brands
nLight AIR Autonomous Bridging Technology (ABT) — Smart and Connected SSL Systems
ConTech Lighting
Gallery XL tracklight — Indoor Troffer, Track, and Downlight SSL Luminaire Design
Cooper Lighting Solutions
Metalux VHS Selectable Lumens LED high bay luminaire — Industrial SSL Luminaire Design
Elemental LED
OMNIDRIVE X dimmable driver by Diode LED — LED Drivers
Fulham
HotSpot 4W constant-power emergency LED driver — Emergency SSL Luminaires, Modules, and Drivers
Hatch Lighting
V-LOC Key programmable constant-voltage LED drivers — LED Drivers
Horticulture Lighting Group Corp.
HLG Scorpion Diablo horticultural fixture — Horticultural Lighting
iGuzzini North America
Ghost for cladding — Outdoor SSL Luminaire Design
iGuzzini North America
Palco InOut floodlight — Indoor Cove, Strip, Specialty, and Lamp Design
Inter-lux
Box Cove 2 indirect luminaire — Indoor Cove, Strip, Specialty, and Lamp Design
Keystone Technologies
MR16 Transformer KTET-20-1-LED-FDIM — ICs and Electronic Components for SSL
Keystone Technologies
XFit SmartPort Gen 2 sensor — ICs and Electronic Components for SSL
MaxLite
c-Max lighting controls — Smart and Connected SSL Enabling Technologies
MetroSpec Technology
Linear360 — Modular LED Light Engines
Nichia Corporation
NF2W585AR-P8 dual-function LED — Visible Light Disinfection Technology
Xicato
Xicato AC Driver (XAD) — LED Drivers
3.75
Aleddra LED Lighting
UV-free air-sanitizing desktop lamp — Visible Light Disinfection Technology
A-Light
Aloft tubular luminaire system — Indoor Decorative and Pendant SSL Luminaire Design
BIOS Lighting
BIOS SkyView Wellness table lamp — Circadian Lighting Technologies
Blossom LLC
WH-1000 V1 horticultural luminaire — Horticultural Lighting
Digital Lumens
SiteWorx application suite — Smart and Connected SSL Systems
Elemental LED
AlphaTECH X linear LED lighting by Diode LED — Modular LED Light Engines
Eureka Lighting
Outline projector luminaire — Indoor Troffer, Track, and Downlight SSL Luminaire Design
Green Creative
REFINE VHO PAR38 lamp — Indoor Cove, Strip, Specialty, and Lamp Design
GrowFlux, Inc.
GrowFlux Dimmer lighting controller — Horticultural Lighting
Infineon Technologies
BCR601/BCR602 linear LED controller IC — ICs and Electronic Components for SSL
Keystone Technologies
XFit Color Select Power Select linear high bay — Industrial SSL Luminaire Design
The Lighting Quotient
elliptipar S51x Family luminaires — Indoor Decorative and Pendant SSL Luminaire Design
Lumenpulse
Lumencore downlights — Indoor Troffer, Track, and Downlight SSL Luminaire Design
LUXTECH LED Modules
LUXroll — Modular LED Light Engines
MetroSpec Technology
FacetCore — Modular LED Light Engines
Signify
Bodine BSL20B6-Cold emergency LED driver — Emergency SSL Luminaires, Modules, and Drivers
SLD Laser
LaserLight fiber coupled SMD module — Modular LED Light Engines
Solais Lighting
Solais Lucie family tracklighting — Indoor Troffer, Track, and Downlight SSL Luminaire Design
Traxon e:cue
ProPoint Kontour family — Outdoor SSL Luminaire Design
4.00
A-Light
Align magnetic lighting system — Indoor Decorative and Pendant SSL Luminaire Design
Bolb, Inc.
Transparent deep-UV LED — UV LEDs and Systems
B Plus L Technologies Inc.
QX7 programmable Bluetooth mesh wireless control LED drivers — LED Drivers
Cooper Lighting Solutions
Metalux Perceive LED Specification Series — Indoor Troffer, Track, and Downlight SSL Luminaire Design
Energy Harness Corporation
Active Airflow UV-C fixture — UV LEDs and Systems
Environmental Lights
Continuous LED strip light – 2400K/6500K — Indoor Cove, Strip, Specialty, and Lamp Design
Environmental Lights
Continuous LED strip light – RGB — Indoor Cove, Strip, Specialty, and Lamp Design
Environmental Lights
REVI Drive DMX controlled power supply — LED Drivers
Espen Technology
Espen emergency inverter, Model #VEMB15W-10V (C) — Emergency SSL Luminaires, Modules, and Drivers
Fluxwerx Illumination
Portal multi-mount luminaire — Indoor Decorative and Pendant SSL Luminaire Design
Igor
Nexos Intelligent Disinfection platform — UV LEDs and Systems
Infineon Technologies
NLM0011 wireless configuration IC — ICs and Electronic Components for SSL
Innovations In Optics Inc.
LumiDLP – 35W UV LED DMD illuminator — Specialty SSL Design
Inventronics
EUM-Bx Series — LED Drivers
Light Cognitive
LC Skylight — Circadian Lighting Technologies
Luminis
Hollowcore pendant — Indoor Decorative and Pendant SSL Luminaire Design
Mean Well USA
LCM-25/40/60KN LED driver — LED Drivers
Nichia Corporation
NCSU334B deep-UV LED — UV LEDs and Systems
Osram Opto Semiconductors
Osconiq C 2424 — Packaged LEDs and OLEDs
Osram Opto Semiconductors
Oslon Square Hyper Red horticultural LED — Horticultural Lighting
Power Integrations
LYTSwitch-8 controller IC — ICs and Electronic Components for SSL
Samsung Electronics
LM283N+ LED — Circadian Lighting Technologies
Samsung Electronics
LM301H EVO horticultural LED — Horticultural Lighting
Signify
Bodine BSL06M emergency LED driver — Emergency SSL Luminaires, Modules, and Drivers
Signify
Bodine BSL07B2-4Hour emergency LED driver — Emergency SSL Luminaires, Modules, and Drivers
Xicato
Xicato Intelligent Gateway (XIG) — Smart and Connected SSL Enabling Technologies
Xicato
Xicato Intelligent Module (XIM) — Modular LED Light Engines
Xicato
Xicato Smart Controls — Smart and Connected SSL Systems
4.25
Acuity Brands
SAF product family — Outdoor SSL Luminaire Design
Elemental LED
AlphaTECH X linear LED lighting by Diode LED — Outdoor SSL Luminaire Design
eLumigen
High CRI Class 1 Division 2 fixture — Industrial SSL Luminaire Design
Eureka Lighting
Mill acoustic luminaires — Indoor Cove, Strip, Specialty, and Lamp Design
Inter-lux
20Linear Perimeter linear system — Indoor Decorative and Pendant SSL Luminaire Design
IOTA
IOTA ILBHI emergency driver — Emergency SSL Luminaires, Modules, and Drivers
Kenall Manufacturing
SimpleSeal CSERO/CSERI cleanroom luminaires — Industrial SSL Luminaire Design
Lumenpulse
Lumenblade — Outdoor SSL Luminaire Design
Lumileds
Luxeon 3030 HE Plus Deep Dimming — Packaged LEDs and OLEDs
Lumileds
Luxeon SkyBlue LEDs — Circadian Lighting Technologies
Luminis
Bellevue — Outdoor SSL Luminaire Design
Maxim Integrated Products
MAX25605 6-Switch sequential LED controller for automotive lighting systems — ICs and Electronic Components for SSL
McWong International
TruBlu interoperable Bluetooth-Zhaga-DALI controls — Smart and Connected SSL Enabling Technologies
Osram Digital Systems
Indoor and outdoor D4i/DALI-2 certified programmable LED driver — LED Drivers
QuarkStar
Q-Wall asymmetric linear fixture — Indoor Decorative and Pendant SSL Luminaire Design
Sollum Technologies
SF4 smart LED lighting system — Horticultural Lighting
4.50
Eureka Lighting
Celeste decorative pendant — Indoor Decorative and Pendant SSL Luminaire Design
LED Linear
ULTIMA linear lighting — Indoor Cove, Strip, Specialty, and Lamp Design
The Lighting Quotient
elliptipar style S151 outdoor adjustable asymmetric luminaire — Outdoor SSL Luminaire Design
Nichia Corporation
H6 Series LEDs — Packaged LEDs and OLEDs
2021 Sapphire Awards Judging Panel
Maury Wright, LEDs Magazine
James Benya, Benya Burnett Consultancy
Carl Bloomfield, Intertek
Chris Brown, NextGen Lighting
Kandice Cohen, Trane Technologies
Basar Erdener, LED Linear USA, Inc.
Monica Hansen, LED Lighting Advisors
Kasey Holland, DesignLights Consortium
Michael Kershner, Innovative Lighting Consultants
Brad Koerner, Cima
Clifton Stanley Lemon, Strategies in Light
Carrie Meadows, LEDs Magazine
Levin Nock, DesignLights Consortium
Axel Pearson, DesignLights Consortium
Leora Radetsky, DesignLights Consortium
Willem Sillevis-Smitt, Lumileds
Philip Smallwood, Fluence by Osram
Aaron Smith, Finelite
Robert Steele, Strategies in Light
Erik Swenson, Nichia Corp.
Carrie Meadows | Editor-in-Chief, LEDs Magazine
Carrie Meadows has more than 20 years of experience in the publishing and media industry. She worked with the PennWell Technology Group for more than 17 years, having been part of the editorial staff at Solid State Technology, Microlithography World, Lightwave, Portable Design, CleanRooms, Laser Focus World, and Vision Systems Design before the group was acquired by current parent company Endeavor Business Media.
Meadows has received finalist recognition for LEDs Magazine in the FOLIO Eddie Awards, and has volunteered as a judge on several B2B editorial awards committees. She received a BA in English literature from Saint Anselm College, and earned thesis honors in the college's Geisel Library. Without the patience to sit down and write a book of her own, she has gladly undertaken the role of editor for the writings of friends and family.
Meadows enjoys living in the beautiful but sometimes unpredictable four seasons of the New England region, volunteering with an animal shelter, reading (of course), and walking with friends and extended "dog family" in her spare time.
