Latest from Lighting

Photo 226496518 / mohd izzuan ros / Dreamstime.com
acquisitions_2023_photo_226496518__mohd_izzuan_ros

Sponsored

Nyc At Night Ledvance Cruise 646e92e94fbb9

LightFair 2023 Report

May 24, 2023
On LEDVANCE’s dinner cruise to the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, guests got a great view of the New York City skyline – and the thousands of lighting jobs past, present and future in the Big Apple.

Although some lighting industry insiders were concerned that LightFair 2023 would see a steep decline in attendance because several big-name lighting companies chose not to exhibit at the show at New York’s Javits Convention Center, May 23-25, attendance through the first two days of the show was better than many attendees expected.

LightFair show organizers said that registration by the end of Wednesday had hit 11,450, an impressive turnout that topped attendance at the Las Vegas show last year, and even more impressive considering that several former exhibitors including Acuity, Signify and its Cooper Lighting division, Current and Maxlite were not at the show. More than 300 exhibitors were on the show floor, and the International Market Centers (IMC), along with co-owners the International Association of Lighting Designers and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), launched several interesting new programs at the show, including an immersive lighting experience highlighting groundbreaking lighting designs and a new format for the show's popular Lighting Innovation Awards.

Despite some mixed reviews on booth traffic and the smaller footprint of the exhibition hall compared to years past, exhibitors at many of the booths that editors from Electrical Wholesaling and EC&M magazines visited on Tuesday and Wednesday at the show visited reported a steady flow of visitors, and the conference sessions the editors attended also had solid attendance. And while LightFair will start being held every other year because some exhibitors said their product development cycles took two years and they didn’t have new products to bring to the show every year, many of the exhibitors at LightFair 2023 that the EW and EC&M editors spoke with had plenty of new products to show off.  Here are some of the products and trends that caught our attention.

Smaller fixtures that pack a punch

WAC Lighting’s new Aether Atomic LED fixture was a good example of the trend of packing more quality light into a smaller form factor. The Aether Atomic has a one-inch diameter aperture.

Cloud connectivity

Lutron was back at LightFair this year with some major enhancements to its Athena lighting control system, which now offers a scalable solution and cloud connectivity for a wide range of new construction and retrofit applications. Cloud connectivity is a feature becoming more common in lighting systems because manufacturers can collect data from individual fixtures, push out firmware updates as needed, and perform predictive maintenance.

Lighting companies leaping into EV charging systems

At least two lighting manufacturers exhibiting on the show floor were extending their focus on energy-saving solutions from lighting into electric vehicle charging systems. LEDVANCE was showcasing its Phase EV Level 2 Commercial Charging Stations, which offer a software package from AmpUp that allows facility managers to a method of monetizing a return on their investment in EV charger installations.  Espen Technology is now marketing Level 2 and Level 3 chargers, including a unique portable Level 3 charger.

Conference sessions enjoy solid attendance

LightFair once again offer a solid conference component, ranging from the keynote on how the National Park Service implements Dark Sky lighting practices to eliminate glare and light pollution in the 424 national parks it manages and helps surrounding communities implement glare-free lighting, to dozens of other sessions on all facets of lighting.

LightFair will be held again in 2025, but as of May 24, show organizers said they will first review feedback on this year's show before announcing more details.

About the Author

Jim Lucy | Editor-in-Chief

Over the past 30-plus years, hundreds of Jim’s articles have been published in Electrical Wholesaling and Electrical Marketing newsletter on topics such as the impact of amazonsupply.com and other new competitors on the electrical market’s channels of distribution, energy-efficient lighting and renewables, and local market economics. In addition to his published work, Jim regularly gives presentations on these topics to C-suite executives, industry groups and investment analysts.

He recently launched a new subscription-based data product for Electrical Marketing that offers electrical sales potential estimates and related market data for more than 300 metropolitan areas, and in 1999 he published his first book, “The Electrical Marketer’s Survival Guide” for electrical industry executives looking for an overview of key market trends.

While managing Electrical Wholesaling’s editorial operations, Jim and the publication’s staff won several Jesse H. Neal awards for editorial excellence, the highest honor in the business press, and numerous national and regional awards from the American Society of Business Press Editors. He has a master’s degree in Communications and a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Glassboro State College, Glassboro, N.J. (now Rowan University).

Sponsored Recommendations