Commercial Architecture June 2017 - 5

EDITOR'S

notebook

What I Saw At The Show

question I'm often asked is, "Was there anything new and exciting at the show?" I find

EYE Lighting solved the LED heat issue by simply touching the chips to
the glass jacket and letting the glass dissipate the heat.

that a difficult question to answer because

my tradeshow schedules don't allow me to leisurely
wander the aisles and eyeball everything. So my usual

designs that have been implemented and/or proposed

answer is "no," but that isn't always an accurate answer

to draw heat from LED chips, the fact that it comes

because it's possible I simply didn't see the latest, great-

down to touching chips to glass deserved a round of

est mousetrap. Other times, I'll see products that are

applause.

being "introduced" at a show, but they represent only

The second thing is the accumulation of several

incremental gains, or are variations on what someone

conversations. We have seen in the past three years or

else has already done, so they don't really count.

so, a real push by leading manufacturers to move from

But if you ask me that question about the 2017

the "install LED lamps, save energy, reduce mainte-

Lightfair show, I will say, "Yes, there were a couple of

nance costs" mantra to developing the controls and

things that stood out." That's surprising because I am

sensors that can truly exploit LED technology.

so over LED lamps. I get it: thousands of hours of

We've also moved on from the LED lighting gim-

light, a fraction of energy usage compared with con-

micks, which, I suppose, was a phase we had to pass

ventional lamps, minimal heat, no maintenance, dim-

through to get to today. While people are still demon-

mable, color changing, and on and on and on. This

strating color-changing capabilities and the like, the

year, I flew home feeling that the technology is firmly
on a new level, primarily because of two items.
The first is the EYELED Glass Jacket Series mogul-base
retrofit lamp, designed and manufactured by the people at

real focus is now on how lighting can be used to have
a direct, positive impact on how humans interact with
their environment. Instead of merely moving a touchscreen slider to the left to generate red light and to the

EYE Lighting International, Mentor, OH. When Greg Barry,

right to produce blue, the controls are being combined with

vp of sales and marketing handed me the lamp, which is a

what we know about human needs and behavior to produce

12-in.-long (approximately), corn-cob-style device, and started

light that promotes healing in healthcare, learning in educa-

rattling off the specs (25, 50, and 75 W; 3,000 to 10, 000 lumen

tion, sales in retail, and productivity in offices. The Legrand

range, glass jacket with 50,000-hr. life), I just nodded my head,

people call it human-centered lighting, which is an apt descrip-

thinking, yup, another LED lamp. The game changed when I

tion. A couple of discussions narrowed it down to using sensors

mentally asked the question I always ask about LED lamps:

in fixtures, Internet of Things technology, and taking advan-

"How are those chips cooled?" I was holding a sealed glass tube

tage of the view lights have of a room, then integrating with

that contained 480 LED chips capable of delivering 10,000 lu-

other building components to provide a better environment.

mens, and I didn't see any way to get the heat out. So I opened
my trap and asked the question.
Turns out that the glass does the job. Glass with an air space
between the chips and jacket would not work. The difference is

Building-automation people will tell you that they've been
able to accomplish that for some time, and they have. But this
LED-centered approach seems to be more elegant and certainly
more approachable.

that the EYE people have designed the LED array and the jack-

For the first time in many years, I left that show with a feel-

et such that each chip barely touches the glass. Turns out that

ing of true excitement about lighting. Instead of just an ener-

that connection between each chip and the glass is all it takes

gy-saving light source, we're finally seeing true, practical imple-

to keep the chips cool under just about any conditions. As I

mentation of the tremendous power and reach that those little

thought back through the years and all of the methods and

diodes can provide. CA

Gary L. Parr
Editorial Director

commercialarchitecturemagazine.com

JUNE 2017

COMMERCI A L A RCHI T EC T URE

http://www.commercialarchitecturemagazine.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Architecture June 2017