The 2013 LIGHTFAIR® International expo, held in Philadelphia in April, was impressive, as always. I was especially pleased to see all of the high-bay lighting innovations suitable for industrial applications.
Although LED has definitely ARRIVED for high-bay applications, other lighting technologies shone brightly for high-bay industrial applications as well, including Solatube's tubular daylighting devices and American Green Technology's induction lighting.

Arrived: LED for high-bay applications.

- GE acquired Albeo for its high-bay LED lighting and showcased its Albeo™ ABHX-Series High Bay Fixture at the expo. "We recognized the need for energy-efficient lighting for manufacturing," said GE's Sean Veit.

Sean Veit, GE Lighting

The series' life, rated for 100,000 hours at L70, can replace a high-bay lighting systems from 250- to 1500-watt high-intensity discharge (HID) and four- to eight-lamp T5/T8 high-intensity fluorescent lighting. Veit, citing its longevity as a major asset, said, "Manufacturers can set it up and forget it for a decade."

- Cooper Lighting again exhibited its Metalux HB LED for industrial and other high-bay applications that use traditional HID and linear fluorescent high bays. It features precision-designed optics, available in multiple distributions, three lumen packages (9,000, 18,000 and 23,000) and two color temperatures (4000 K and 5000 K). The highly efficient HB LED offers 91+ lumens per watt.

- Juno and Osram/Sylvania exhibited high-bay LED offerings as well.

Larry Seurynck, AGT

Most Surprising Sleeper Technology: Induction lighting has been around for a long time, but American Green Technology led the charge at LIGHTFAIR to broaden its marketplace distribution and showcase its suitability for high-bay applications.

"Our induction lighting, with its broad footprint of light and full-color spectrum, is especially suitable for high-bay applications. It lasts 100,000 hours and can reduce electricity costs by 50 to 70 percent," Larry Seurynck, American Green Technology, said. The light is diffused, rather than point-sourced, he added.

Least Electricity-consuming: Solatube's Tubular Daylighting Devices. Once installed, the TDD harvests daylight, requiring no electricity input. Sunlight is captured by a dome and directed downward through a highly reflective tubing with engineered refractive capabilities. It redirects low-angle sunlight and emits consistent lighting throughout the day.

Gary Zullo, Arrow Electronics

The device can transfers sunlight more than 50 feet. Sunlight is distributed throughout the room. Optical lenses diffuse the daylight and block UV transmission (See the company's article, "New dawn of daylighting in industrial plants," in our May/June issue.)

The company introduced a smart version (Smart LED System) which integrates daylighting with LEDs.

Although an industrial version is not yet ready, one is in development and expected for release early next year.

Brightest not-a-lighting-company Booth:

Arrow Electronics. "We help lighting manufacturers transition to solid state lighting, said Gary Zullo, director of solid state lighting. The company provides access to the world's leading solid state lighting technologies with design and electronic engineering, production of the electronic guts of the solid state lighting system, and supply chain logistics.

"The solid-state technology has gotten to the point where you can actually buy fluorescent retrofit tubes that come with integrated power inside the tube to allow you to basically bypass the traditional ballast."

Vivek Muchalla, GE Consumer & Industrial Lighting

Best Control Improvement:

GE's new LightSweep™ Modular Lighting Control System provides a way for manufacturers to map a variety of system input devices such as switches, motion sensors and photocells—up to eight--to relays and smaller nested lighting groups.
It makes it easier to meet specification without having to over-engineer the control design and helps users implement advanced control strategies across lighting and HVAC systems. It can be integrated with any building automation systems and with most energy management software.

Most Prize-winning Lighting Material:

Dow Corning's new MS-1002 and MS-1002 moldable optical silicones for LEDs won an LFI Innovation award. The moldable aspect allows lighting designers to design with more complex shapes, thinner wall configurations, and once impossible designs for secondary optics, light pipes, and white reflecting parts. In addition, the manufacturer showcased advanced LED silicones that perform under high temperatures and harsh conditions. "These materials are driving new innovations in next-generation LED lighting designs, and expanding opportunities for solid-state lighting to compete with and displace traditional sources in more demanding high-intensity lighting applications," Hugo da Silva, global industry director of LED Lighting for Dow Corning, explained.

Hugo da Silva, Dow Corning

Coolest Lightshow: Cooper showboated its new scalable Wavestream(TM) in a rather dramatic lightshow in an auditorium section of its booth, demonstrating, with a series of lighting fixtures, how the technology can be used. The patented LED technology features laser-precise, AccuAir(TM) optics that are embedded and arranged in exacting patterns, the company says, offers superior optical control and takes LED mainstream.

Most Versatile: SWITCH Lighting launched what it claims is the first 3-way LED light bulb, the SWITCH 3-Way.

Most Dazzling: Philips' booth, although designed for manufacturers, was absolutely, hands-down, the most dazzling exhibit, showcasing its lighting in retail, patissieries, offices, and showrooms. The manufacturer also threw in a New Year's Eve drop ball just for the fun of it.

Most Suitable for High-bay Applications: All of the products showcased in our July/August issue "Lightfair Spotlight on High-bay" product showcase section. Look for the issue in late July.