The ladies out there will remember that the most popular episode on Oprah Winfrey's show was her annual "favorite things" episode. While I'm certainly not Oprah and not giving any product away, I do want to share some of my favorite things from this past year used in various commercial/industrial facilities. Hopefully, some of this information will be of value and maybe spark some ideas to make your life easier.
I specialize in lighting and electrical, and we are constantly seeing new products. I will highlight 12 items, in honor of the holiday season, in no particular order. These are all things I have seen in action and can personally recommend. So, if you're ready, here we go!
With the Helen Lamp, you switch the lamp, not the socket. The Helen Lamp is an LED replacement that fits standard 4-pin G24-series 26W, 32W or 42W CFL and 2-pin G24d-series 26W sockets and is powered by the existing fixture's ballast. This incredibly easy and powerful product allows you to upgrade to a virtual maintenance-free LED by simply changing the lamp. No downtime, no hassle.
The 13W Helen Lamp has five times the lifespan and cuts energy usage by more than 50 percent compared to 26W CFLs, so the Helen Lamp pays for itself quickly. Even more exciting news is that rebates and incentives are available in many areas to offset the initial cost starting in 2015.
2. Green Creative BR30 Cloud Dimmable LED Lamp
This titanium LED series BR30 has been designed and engineered for demanding commercial applications. Featuring a revolutionary "cloud" design, this 8W lamp weighs just 96 grams and maintains a traditional incandescent form factor.
With an 81 LPW efficacy and an evenly diffused beam spread, this environmentally friendly lamp is an ideal choice for recessed, accent and general lighting applications. This lamp is also suitable for use in enclosed fixtures. Imagine going from 65W to 8W with a turn of the wrist.
3. Octron 800 XP-XL Ecologic3 Lamp by Sylvania
Providing an amazingly long T8 lamp life on T8 ANSI rated ballasts — up to 84,000 hours — it rivals any LED option out there. This life increase reflects up to 2.7 times longer life than standard T8 systems.
Available in 32W and reduced wattage 28W and 25W Supersaver and designed with lead-free glass, Octron 800 XP XL lamps are ideal for education, healthcare, industrial, office and retail settings in recessed troffer, wall-washing, stairways, direct and indirect pendant and linear recessed applications.
The extended lamp life of the Octron XP/XL solution will help businesses and facilities save money on maintenance costs and deliver the high-quality illumination and stable lumen maintenance they need.
4. Precision Paragon (P2 / Hubbell) TKD LED Conversion Kit
The TKD upgrades prismatic and parabolic troffers to energy-efficient LED lighting at up to 101 lumens per watt. Developed as a high-speed kit for high-speed retrofits, the TKD will deliver a long maintenance-free lifespan, calculated for 70 percenet lumen maintenance at 80,000 hours. These are available in 2x2 and 2x4 configurations and made in the U.S. See the installation video below:
Many lighting technologies, including blue-based LEDs, have reduced quality of light due to the starkness of color temperature. In that world, your choice of white light simply comes down to warm white or cool. This ignores the importance of color rendering: Do your colors appear as they would in natural, full-spectrum light?
Soraa abandons a one-color-at-a-time approach in favor of a unified idea. A continuous spectrum in which all colors — pastels, vivids and everything in between — appear as they are meant to be. These amazing lamps are available in MR16, PAR 20, PAR 30, PAR 38 and AR 111.
I especially love these lamps where color is important, such as galleries, museums and retail. You may not realize that the co-founder of Soraa won the Nobel Prize in Physics this year.
6. Intense Lighting's LED V-Rail
The V-Rail product line of solid-state luminaries offer sleek, minimalistic styles that are uniquely designed to illuminate stairways, ramps and paths. The V-Rail optical system also includes a unique patent-pending reflector that allows for precise symmetrical and asymmetrical light distribution.
Providing the ultimate in flexibility, the V-Rail reflector can be adjusted allowing for precision aiming. The optical system achieves full cut-off and is IDA-approved. Other unique features include dimming and emergency options, IDA "Dark Sky" approved, compliance with the Buy American provisions of the ARRA, UL Wet Location listed.
It is suitable for both interior and exterior applications, standard and custom infill options, stainless steel, tamper-proof hardware, security installation tools, mounting height options for stairway or guardrail applications and much more.
7. Techlight Simple LED GEM Series
The Genesis line of LED Landscape Bullets is a versatile LED fixture for a reasonable price. Various beam spreads and wattages allow for a customized finish to any property. The high end residential grade system was designed for 120V operation residential applications.
The die-cast aluminum heat sink has 24 heat dissipating fins to maintain a cool operating LED for maximum life. The fins are independently supported to allow for unobstructed airflow. The fixture is designed to efficiently perform in any mounting orientation.
8. Pass and Seymour USB Wall Charger outlet receptacles
I personally love these. Perfect for any facility, Legrand's USB charging devices are designed to power up your iPhone, iPad, e-reader, etc., quickly, reliably and without the need for bulky adapters or unsightly cords. Charge one device or multiple devices from a single USB receptacle.
Available in multiple configurations, colors, tamper resistant and hospital grade, keep up with the times by offering what people want most. I personally would love to see these in all hotels, as there never seem to be enough outlets to charge the multiple devices we all carry these days. Check these out:
9. Hubbell Lighting VPL Vaportight Parking Garage Fixture
The VPL replaces maintenance- and energy-intensive HID and HPS fixtures. The fixture offers a proven IP67-rated housing platform that withstands the elements, efficacy of between 92 and 99 Lumens/Watt depending on model and a reported L70 of over 51,000 hours. I have been designing parking garage retrofits with these with great success.
They offer a tough diffuser, which resists breakage and reduces replacement and maintenance costs. The LED light engine eliminates risk of glass breakage in parking garages, and the instant re-start ensures no warmup times or reduced light output in cold environments.
An exciting development in 2014 was the introduction of a mighty 1x2 fixture that performs exceedingly well at illuminating evenly, creating an ideal max:min ratio at a surprisingly great cost.
So far, the only LED elevator replacement lamp I've seen, this product is ideal for low-voltage elevator lighting applications. These durable LED lamps are a great lighting conversion solution when considering energy and maintenance savings. These 25,000 hour lamps use 90 percent less energy than incandescent replacements at only 2 watts (that's 25 times longer than incandescent alternatives).
Create unique, breathtaking interior spaces with one solution. Luminous textile integrates multicolored LEDs seamlessly within beautiful fabric panels that also soften sound. This concept gives you endless ways to play with color, movement, texture and light so you can express emotions, add drama and bring spaces alive. I've seen this amazing product in action and find it quite remarkable.
12. Precision Paragon QHC LED High Bay
The QHC combines an integral sensor, excellent thermal performance, advanced discrete optics and a state-of-the-art LED engine in an aesthetic package to provide exceptional lighting performance. This Single 135W fixture directly replaces a 400W HID and equivalent systems, and it is an ideal one-for-one replacement of conventional HID high-bay systems.
I've used this fixture with great success. Great illumination and a striking visual component make this energy-efficient, low-maintenance LED fixture my go-to option for industrial facilities.
So there you have it. My top picks for 2014. I hope you saw something you can use in your facility. It's an exciting time in the field of lighting.
