Winners of the indoor lighting category of the fourth-annual Next Generation Luminaires (NGL) Design Competition were announced recently at the LIGHTFAIR International conference in Las Vegas. The competition, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, and the International Association of Lighting Designers, was launched in 2008 to promote excellence in the design of energy-efficient light-emitting diode (LED) commercial lighting fixtures, or luminaires. Solid-state lighting (SSL), which includes both LED and organic light emitting diode (OLED) technologies, has the potential to save Americans $30 billion a year in energy costs by 2030. Advancing energy efficient lighting choices is part of the Obama Administration's strategy to help families and businesses save money by saving energy, while ensuring American leadership in energy-efficient building technologies.
A panel of eight judges, including experts from the architectural lighting design community, evaluated the NGL entries based on lighting quality, appearance, serviceability, efficacy, value, dimming, and lifetime. The Best in Class winners came from three different manufacturers and covered three different lighting types:
Out of 114 entries submitted to the competition from 45 companies, 50 were recognized as winners, deemed by the judges to have met the stringent requirements of the competition, in addition to the three that were chosen as Best in Class. These winners represented a wide range of manufacturers and lighting applications, such as recessed accent lighting, recessed down-lighting, recessed wall washing, cove lighting, decorative lighting, linear lighting, pendant lighting, task lighting, and high-bay industrial lighting.
Design competitions are a key part of DOE's national strategy to accelerate technology advancements from laboratory to marketplace and boost the adoption of energy efficient lighting products. More information on all of the winning entries is available at the Next Generation Luminaires website.