CE Pro June 2022 - 61

LIGHTING TECHNOLOGY
6.
Focus on Retrofit
Projects First
Wesco recommends dealers
not start out on a large, new
construction projects to test
their lighting fixtures chops.
" Go into a customer's home
that you're already working
with and retrofit the house to
new LEDs using DMF Lighting.
If you're on more of a budget
or the client is on a budget
use Soraa [lamps]. You can
literally go in and re-lamp the
house and it's a really easy
sale. You don't need to know
much in order to be able to
do that. You can create some
significant revenue doing
that with literally your lowest
skilled folks on staff, " he says.
Libman agrees, saying it is
" huge " for CE pros embrace
the retrofit category as an
entry point for lighting.
" If you're doing a lighting
control retrofit on a project
and you are updating a
touchpanel, on 100% of those
jobs you should be pairing it
up with light fixtures. It's no
longer about doing lighting
controls independently, " he
says. " It's that solution experience.
If you want to provide
quality lighting and controls
in the same bucket, you don't
need to have an electrical
contractor on staff. You can
actually go in with your crew
and swap out fixtures.
" We've seen it a lot where
dealers get a $20,000 PO or
more on a retrofit project. It's
immediate revenue, " he adds.
" If your initial step getting into
lighting is targeting a large,
new construction project,
that's going to take two years
to supply, and it's going to be
cepro.com
harder for your salespeople
to see the commissions and
embrace the category. Doing
retrofit lighting is the fastest
way to see revenue, it's the
least amount of risk, and it's
the simplest logistically. "
Richard Millson of Millson
Home Technologies in Vancouver,
Canada, echoes that
sentiment.
" Start small. Don't jump in
big. If you make a mistake on
a multimillion-dollar home, it's
going to be very problematic
for you and your business.
Build up over time. If you can't
afford a showroom, look at
demo kits, but start small and
build. I think this is probably
the biggest thing that's come
along our industry in maybe
25 years. It's enormous. I can
actually see some integrators
that are currently doing all
technologies migrating into
only doing lighting, " says
Millson.
7.
Incorporate Linear
Tape Lighting
So many dealers want to
focus on the can lights, but
they forget about linear tape
lighting. Asking clients about
under-cabinet and toe-kick
lights is tailor made for selling
linear LEDs. Early adopter integrators
use linear lighting in the
usual places like under kitchen
cabinets and in ceiling coves.
" When you ask the lady of
the house about under-cabinet
and toe-kick lighting, you will
literally see a smile come across
her face. She will light up.
Linear lighting really isn't that
complicated. It's a little more
involved, but it's something
that's manageable to learn, "
notes Allegro's Wesco. Allegro's
go-to brands are Proluxe
from American Lighting, and
Colorbeam using a driver for a
Savant control system.
Jennifer Kirkpatrick, national
sales manager, residential,
for American Lighting, says,
" With linear lighting there's
so many different spaces you
can light linear with - it's
low-voltage, the dealers are
already very familiar with
low-voltage. I almost call it a
steppingstone in getting into
the lighting fixture game. "
8.
Leave Decorative
Lighting for
Designers
" Decorative lighting is
the 'jewelry' added to the
architecture, like rings,
watches and necklaces on
a person, " describes Glenn
Merlin Johnson of Adaptive
Design Group, a Park City,
Utah-based lighting design
and engineering firm. " The
decorative fixtures are not
necessarily meant for room
illumination, but are 'props'
that are critical to the look
and feel of the space. "
Examples could be pendant
fixtures, side-table and
back-table lamps for reading.
In some cases, they can be integrated
with dimmable floor
receptacles. The temptation
to start selling $12,000 chandeliers
is great, but integrators
who are into lighting already
advise leaving that to the
interior designer, while at the
same time making sure they
select decorative fixtures that
are controllable and compatible
with the lighting controls.
Moreover, leaving the decorative
category to designers is
a strong signal of partnership
that will help integrators not
alienate designers who might
want to be more involved in
the lighting decisions.
9.
Do Outdoor
Landscape Lighting
According to Patrick Laidlaw,
director of business development
at AiSPiRE, the integrator-channel-centric
fixture
brand from WAC Lighting,
landscape lighting is another
" safe " way for dealers to dip
their toes into the lighting
market. There is much less
pressure regarding lighting
placements and wire runs that
an integrator will encounter
inside the home. Landscape
lighting is simpler to install
than interior lighting, and can
be a slam-dunk sale using a
starter kit from one of the
manufacturers like Coastal
Source or Garden Light LED.
Wesco at Allegro adds,
" You literally will start popping
in $20,000 to $80,000
landscape lighting packages.
Between Coastal Source and
WAC you have a beautiful
mix of product, and you can
create a serious category. "
10.
Get Lighting
Design Training
or Hire a Designer
With lighting design and
engineering firms like Light
Can Help You and Adaptive
Design Group available to
assist integrators with full
documentation plans and
layered lighting design, when
is the time to pull the trigger
and hire your own on-staff
lighting designer or get your
June 2022 CE Pro | 61
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CE Pro June 2022

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