LightFair has announced its 2023 LightFair Innovation Award (LIA) winners in advance of its biennial conference and trade show, held this year at the Javits Center, in New York, May 21–25. Winners were named in four overall excellence awards—Most Innovative Product of the Year, Technical Innovation, Design Excellence, and Judges’ Citation—and in 11 best of product categories.
“The 2023 winners represent new and necessary industry innovations, and we are thrilled to give the industry a sneak peek at some of the exceptional products to be showcased at the LightFair Trade Show next month in New York,” said show director Dan Darby in a press release.
The Most Innovative Product of the Year went to TLS LumiPano by TLS Architectural Lighting, which also was named the best of the Indoor General Lighting category. This perforated metal panel system features a diffused and luminous design evenly backlit by TLS’s patented systems. The perforated patterns can be customized using panels of six standard sizes from 2-foot square to 4-by-10 feet with a lightweight polycarbonate diffuser that is 87% transmissive. Multiple color options and pixel control are available, and panels are installed with a magnetic profile clipping technology
LumiPano from TLS Architectural Lighting on Vimeo.
The Technical Innovation winner was LynxEM Wireless Control by Magtech, which also won best of the Specialty Lighting category. LynxEM enables monitoring of battery capacity, light loads, voltage, and status of emergency battery drivers, emergency exit signs, and emergency lighting all from a handheld device. It performs monthly and yearly testing per NFPA 101 regulations to reduce labor cost and the risk of error; the test report will be automatically delivered and kept on record for 60 months.
In Design Excellence, the OCL Architectural Lighting Neo Pendant and Surface Mount was named the winner; it also won Best of the Indoor Decorative category. The Neo Pendant is a one-piece rotational molded diffuser that produces a soft, uniform illumination with a 60/40 distribution. The impact-resistant light is enclosed and sealed, making it suitable for interior and exterior use, including educational spaces and fully wet locations. It is available in four CCTs at 80 or 90 CRI, warm dim, and RGBW, and in 18-, 24- and 36-inch diameters. An IP66 wet location surface-mount version is available with a stem-mount pending.
Finally, Poleclick by Tekpoles earned the Judges’ Citation, an award that explicitly is not chosen from the best of category winners; rather, it is selected from all submissions for its noteworthiness. The Poleclick connector simplifies and expedites replacement of LED street and area luminaires by providing a universal data and electrical connector between LED lamp heads and poles. The company estimates it can reduce street light maintenance from two workers taking 20 to 25 minutes to one worker, replacing a lamp head within 5 minutes. Poleclick can be used for horizontal and vertical applications.
The remaining LIA best of category winners are listed below.
- Controls Components: ATOM Series Wall Switch with Scene Controls by Magtech
- Control Enabling Technology: Intelligent Lighting Control Ecosystem with AI-Based Video Analytics by WiSilicia
- Drivers: LiteStream D by LTF Technology
- Downlights: Ghost by Bold Lighting
- Indoor Decorative: Neo Pendant & Surface Mount by OCL Architectural Lighting
- Indoor General Lighting: TLS LumiPano by TLS Architectural Lighting
- Non-Luminous Products: LightStanza by LightStanza
- Outdoor Lighting: BlueHopper Permanent Roofline Lighting by MeshTek
- Sources: LUXEON HL1Z by Lumileds
- Specialty Lighting: LynxEM Wireless Control by Magtech
- Track: Solo by Glint Lighting
The winners were selected by an independent panel of five lighting professionals, moderated by Mark Roush, an IES Fellow, marketing consultant, and principal of Experience Light. This year’s jurors were Domingo Gonzales, principal at Domingo Gonzales Associates; Zachary Pearson, designer at Fisher Marantz Stone; Kenneth Schultz, principal at Focus Lighting; Scott Guenther, associate principal at MCLA Architectural Lighting Design; and Monica Llamas, lighting designer & project manager at the Office for Visual Interaction.
According to the press release, judging criteria included assessing each product’s clarity of purpose, versatility, adaptability, sustainability, ease of use, design efficiency, and aspects that enhance human well-being.
LightFair trade show attendees will be able to view a gallery of the winning LIA products at the LightFair LIA Lounge on the exhibit floor and in the exhibitors’ booths.
Read more about each 2023 LightFair Innovation Award product winner here.
