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