This year LightFair was in Manhattan, NY and it may become known as the year when it seemed most major manufacturers produced a solid state light emitting diode (LED) luminaire for folks to review. Everything from a 98 CRI MR16 to a some very high quality LED PAR lamps were on display as well. The big question now is cost per lumen. Applications where servicing the light source is expensive, such as hazardous locations and street lighting are interesting opportunities. Merchandising, which can leverage the small size of the light source for display lighting is another great application.
The Department of Energy and the EPA are working together to insure that LED quality standards are created and that manufacturers adopt them to insure that when folks begin to specify a source they have a common language and performance baseline to compare. Other interesting emerging technologies included a high-intensity discharge plasma light source and completely self-sustaining outdoor lighting designed to utilize solar power to charge a battery, which then drives an occupancy sensor driven high/low LED area light. This is great for campus lighting and trailway lighting where trenching for power can be difficult.
One of the most interesting seminars I had a chance to attend was a discussion led by an architect and engineer in the Bay Area who worked with a team to acquire an old branch bank building that had fallen into disuse, and convert it into what may be the first Net Zero Emission commercial office in California. The team designed a super-efficient building and were then able to power the entire office from a roof integrated photovoltaic system tied with net metering to the local utility. California set the Net Zero commercial office building as a goal for the year 2030, demonstrating that it can be done 21 years ahead of schedule.
