LuxLive 2012: Mark's diary

It’s a busy time here at Gemma Lighting as the days grow darker and November, known as the ‘buying month’ in the lighting industry, hits us like a brisk winter chill.

As if that weren’t enough, November is also when we see LuxLive hit our calendars, the biggest exhibition event in the lighting industry.

Not wanting to miss out on the debates and latest industry news, Gemma Lighting were represented at Earls Court by our marketing administrator Mark Allaway, who shares his thoughts with us in this special LuxLive blog:

“Being a newcomer into the LED lighting industry isn’t easy.

For the past few weeks I’ve been learning my lumens from my CRIs, my LEDs from my metal halides and my high bays from my low bays.

Travelling up to Earls Court London for the biggest exhibition in the lighting industry, LuxLive, last week, I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed ready to get a more in-depth understanding of what the issues in the industry really were.

London's Earls Court hosted the event

I had already discussed with my colleagues at Gemma Lighting some of the issues – the issue of low quality products infiltrating the market at low prices and giving LEDs a bad name. The issue of ‘hero numbers’, where sales personnel talk up what their products can do whilst ignoring and concealing their obvious downsides. And the issue of stoicism in the way some industries think about their lighting setup, being confused by new LED technology and not wanting to change from their fluorescent or sodium-set ways.

Thoughts in my head during the train ride to London surrounded what other lighting manufacturers were doing to combat these problems, were these issues steadily being resolved, and what did the future hold for LED lighting?

The last question was answered to some degree upon my entrance to Brompton Hall, where I saw the number of stands, exhibitors and visitors at LuxLive 2012. I was thoroughly impressed with the hustle and bustle of the venue considering it had only been open a matter of minutes when I arrived. Some had already begun their caffeine intake for the day.

The Caterham F1 car at LuxLive 2012

After a quick look at the winners of the Lux Awards from day one, I made my first lap of the circuit, taking in the different shapes, sizes and colours of the exhibiting stands on display, passing (as you do) a Dalek and a formula one car on the way - LED lighting car.

Then I hastily made my way to the Design Clinic Live, where Lux Review publisher Gordon Routledge was speaking on how LEDs are reshaping the lighting business. Gordon spoke of how LEDs are progressing into areas where they have not traditionally been considered as relevant options – the ability of some LED products to take on the dreaded T5 ceiling light in offices being cited as one example.

Gordon also talked about how customers that are engaging with the lighting industry now are very different customers than before. Previously you may have spoken to the CEO or MD or perhaps the branch manager when discussing new lighting solutions, but now you may be speaking to the facilities manager or the environmental officer, meaning the benefits of switching to carbon-reducing energy efficient LED lighting is already known to the customer, and therefore reducing the barrier that educating the customer on how the technology works used to prove.

LEDs are being used for all sorts...

With the average age of lighting in the UK reported to be 18 years, Gordon said, more efficient lighting technologies are opening up more possible uses for lighting itself. The examples that followed included the wonderful to the wacky – from a clever use of lighting on handrails in a pedestrian subway to a toilet with a bowl that was backlit with bright white LED light.

Wishing to remove that image from my mind, and having a little time before the next session scheduled in my plan for the day, I decided to tour the stands a little more, seeing what some of the biggest organisations around had in the pipeline. I noted that even though LuxLive was a demonstration of what the whole lighting industry could do, LEDs were so dominant, both in the number of products on display and the number of times they appeared in the debates and seminars. LED Street Lighting was on show on many stands, with chips, drivers and bulbs all being showcased as well.

It was with some intrigue that I attended the next session in the Design Clinic Live, titled ‘LEDs: What they don’t tell you in the spec sheets’. Rather than highlighting the downfalls of LEDs as the title suggested, this session was actually about how consumers can better understand what spec sheets are telling them, and how to understand the figures. The Ska rating system from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) was highlighted as a way of comparing LED lighting, as well as the criteria found on the Energy Technology List (ETL). Fittings that comply with the latter may be entitled to tax refunds, further advancing the appeal of LED to customers.

Gemma Lighting has worked with several
Marriott hotels on  LED Car Park Lighting

Hotels and their use of LEDs was next under the spotlight, and I was interested in the considerations that hotels go through when choosing their lighting setups. It may not be rocket science but subtle changes in the way lights are installed, angled and coloured can have a major aesthetic impact on a hotel environment, and all three factors can really affect the mood of the room, a key consideration in areas such as bars, rooms and restaurants for example. Examples were shown whereby poor lighting products or lack of maintenance had led to instances where the brand of the hotel itself was at risk of being damaged. The aforementioned issue regarding industries that were reluctant to make the change to LEDs rang true here also – but it would appear this is changing.

After a break for lunch I made a particular note to grab a seat early for a session in the Tech Theatre, for a talk entitled ‘LEDs: Under the bonnet’. As a newcomer this, I had hoped, would prove to be a good test to what I had learned so far and may provide some extra technical nuggets of knowledge for me. I was not disappointed. I learnt about the dangers of ‘colour shift’ in poor quality products, regulatory tests such as LM-80 and TM-21 and more about the key components of LEDs.

Mark brought this back from his busy day!

My final talk of the day was again in the Tech Theatre, with a discussion on light colour and quality of LEDs. There was more talk of lab tests and the lumens-per-watt figures that are being achieved behind closed doors, the different mixes that can create bright white LED light aside from the traditional mix of naturally blue LEDs and yellow phosphor, and an important point on colour rendering index, and how having a top score of Ra100 may not mean that a particular LED light is the best choice for a certain project.

Before the day was out I met with several of the lighting publications who were also in attendance and was able to speak with some lighting enthusiasts who had come all the way from Germany to be at LuxLive on the tube journey back to Waterloo.

All in all my busy day at LuxLive was a great eye-opener and great timing for this LED rookie to gain an insight into the industry.

The scale of LuxLive and wealth of knowledge and debate on show this year makes me certain that LuxLive 2013 will be an event to remember for LED Lighting Manufacturers and users alike.”

- Mark A.

What do you make of Mark's account of the day? Were you at LuxLive too? Leave us your comments below.