Focus On Sapphire Awards (MAGAZINE)

CARRIE MEADOWS reports on the technology entries that scored 3.25 Sapphires and above.

In the September issue of LEDs Magazine, we celebrated the annual Sapphire Awards winners, detailing key features that earned recognition for enabling technologies, systems, and solid-state lighting (SSL) end products across categories from packaged LEDs to drivers and electronics to disinfection, horticultural, and circadian lighting applications. Although our announcement of the winners was held online only Aug. 24, 2021, during the week of the Strategies in Light virtual event, the accolades were earmarked with a very real appreciation for the hard work and ingenuity demonstrated by LED and SSL stakeholders during the past year under challenging and ever-changing conditions.

Even as the 2020 Sapphire Awards ceremony was held last February, chief editor Maury Wright had remarked that the judging process becomes more difficult each year as the industry responds to top the previous year’s level of performance improvements and innovation in materials, installation, form factor, efficacy, and many other qualities exhibited by the entries received.

As we have in years past, we release the scores of products that received 3.25 Sapphires and above. The quality of informational materials included with each submission greatly impacts the judges’ ability to determine merits of the products alongside their intended use and specifications. While we offer numerical scores here, this is no paint-by-numbers evaluation process. A product receives 3 Sapphires minimum if it is deemed suitable for commercial deployment. To receive 3.25 Sapphires and above, a product must perform efficiently and reliably, contribute to profitability, and demonstrate ease of use. If a product is judged to deliver superior performance in terms of high efficacy, appropriate light distribution, excellent light quality for the intended application, and/or added value in installation or commissioning, integration, controls, and intelligent features, it would receive a score of 3.75 Sapphires or above. There are many levels of refinement in between these scores.

Many of the judges noted that attention to aesthetic details even in what may be considered the most utilitarian of luminaires helped SSL products score big. The words “functional” and “flexible” appeared multiple times alongside “elegant” and “beautiful,” demonstrating the panel’s appreciation for delivering on photometric standards for light delivery, light color, and light quality; the ability of controls to achieve granular operation; and the appearance of simplicity belying the complexity of modern engineering and design.

*Editor’s note: All companies are listed based on the submitted company name at the time of awards entry.

3.25

Acuity Brands

Incito 4-in. direct-indirect wall-mount cylinder — Indoor Troffer, Track, and Downlight SSL Luminaire Design

Brilli Wellness Lighting

Brilli Bright Clean antimicrobial 5/6-in. recessed LED fixture — Visible Light Disinfection Technology

CATI B.V.

FCS (Floating Chip Solutions) material and interconnect technology — Specialty SSL Design

Elemental LED

GRAZE X fixture by Diode LED — Indoor Decorative and Pendant SSL Luminaire Design

Elemental LED

LO-PRO UL Listed wet-location junction box by Diode LED — ICs and Electronic Components for SSL

Laser Components USA, Inc.

High-power UV-C LED 6060 SMD packaged LEDs — Specialty SSL Design

Sonneman

Intervals recessed downlights — Indoor Troffer, Track, and Downlight SSL Luminaire Design

3.50

Acuity Brands

Aculux Lini linear downlight — Indoor Troffer, Track, and Downlight SSL Luminaire Design

Acuity Brands

EVO and Incito 2-in. Tilt and Rotate Cylinders — Indoor Troffer, Track, and Downlight SSL Luminaire Design

Acuity Brands

Juno R620L track head with adjustable beam — Indoor Troffer, Track, and Downlight SSL Luminaire Design

Acuity Brands

nLight AIR Autonomous Bridging Technology (ABT) — Smart and Connected SSL Systems

ConTech Lighting

Gallery XL tracklight — Indoor Troffer, Track, and Downlight SSL Luminaire Design

Cooper Lighting Solutions

Metalux VHS Selectable Lumens LED high bay luminaire — Industrial SSL Luminaire Design

Elemental LED

OMNIDRIVE X dimmable driver by Diode LED — LED Drivers

Fulham

HotSpot 4W constant-power emergency LED driver — Emergency SSL Luminaires, Modules, and Drivers

Hatch Lighting

V-LOC Key programmable constant-voltage LED drivers — LED Drivers

Horticulture Lighting Group Corp.

HLG Scorpion Diablo horticultural fixture — Horticultural Lighting

iGuzzini North America

Ghost for cladding — Outdoor SSL Luminaire Design

iGuzzini North America

Palco InOut floodlight — Indoor Cove, Strip, Specialty, and Lamp Design

Inter-lux

Box Cove 2 indirect luminaire — Indoor Cove, Strip, Specialty, and Lamp Design

Keystone Technologies

MR16 Transformer KTET-20-1-LED-FDIM — ICs and Electronic Components for SSL

Keystone Technologies

XFit SmartPort Gen 2 sensor — ICs and Electronic Components for SSL

MaxLite

c-Max lighting controls — Smart and Connected SSL Enabling Technologies

MetroSpec Technology

Linear360 — Modular LED Light Engines

Nichia Corporation

NF2W585AR-P8 dual-function LED — Visible Light Disinfection Technology

Xicato

Xicato AC Driver (XAD) — LED Drivers

3.75

Aleddra LED Lighting

UV-free air-sanitizing desktop lamp — Visible Light Disinfection Technology

A-Light

Aloft tubular luminaire system — Indoor Decorative and Pendant SSL Luminaire Design

BIOS Lighting

BIOS SkyView Wellness table lamp — Circadian Lighting Technologies

Blossom LLC

WH-1000 V1 horticultural luminaire — Horticultural Lighting

Digital Lumens

SiteWorx application suite — Smart and Connected SSL Systems

Elemental LED

AlphaTECH X linear LED lighting by Diode LED — Modular LED Light Engines

Eureka Lighting

Outline projector luminaire — Indoor Troffer, Track, and Downlight SSL Luminaire Design

Green Creative

REFINE VHO PAR38 lamp — Indoor Cove, Strip, Specialty, and Lamp Design

GrowFlux, Inc.

GrowFlux Dimmer lighting controller — Horticultural Lighting

Infineon Technologies

BCR601/BCR602 linear LED controller IC — ICs and Electronic Components for SSL

Keystone Technologies

XFit Color Select Power Select linear high bay — Industrial SSL Luminaire Design

The Lighting Quotient

elliptipar S51x Family luminaires — Indoor Decorative and Pendant SSL Luminaire Design

Lumenpulse

Lumencore downlights — Indoor Troffer, Track, and Downlight SSL Luminaire Design

LUXTECH LED Modules

LUXroll — Modular LED Light Engines

MetroSpec Technology

FacetCore — Modular LED Light Engines

Signify

Bodine BSL20B6-Cold emergency LED driver — Emergency SSL Luminaires, Modules, and Drivers

SLD Laser

LaserLight fiber coupled SMD module — Modular LED Light Engines

Solais Lighting

Solais Lucie family tracklighting — Indoor Troffer, Track, and Downlight SSL Luminaire Design

Traxon e:cue

ProPoint Kontour family — Outdoor SSL Luminaire Design

4.00

A-Light

Align magnetic lighting system — Indoor Decorative and Pendant SSL Luminaire Design

Bolb, Inc.

Transparent deep-UV LED — UV LEDs and Systems

B Plus L Technologies Inc.

QX7 programmable Bluetooth mesh wireless control LED drivers — LED Drivers

Cooper Lighting Solutions

Metalux Perceive LED Specification Series — Indoor Troffer, Track, and Downlight SSL Luminaire Design

Energy Harness Corporation

Active Airflow UV-C fixture — UV LEDs and Systems

Environmental Lights

Continuous LED strip light – 2400K/6500K — Indoor Cove, Strip, Specialty, and Lamp Design

Environmental Lights

Continuous LED strip light – RGB — Indoor Cove, Strip, Specialty, and Lamp Design

Environmental Lights

REVI Drive DMX controlled power supply — LED Drivers

Espen Technology

Espen emergency inverter, Model #VEMB15W-10V (C) — Emergency SSL Luminaires, Modules, and Drivers

Fluxwerx Illumination

Portal multi-mount luminaire — Indoor Decorative and Pendant SSL Luminaire Design

Igor

Nexos Intelligent Disinfection platform — UV LEDs and Systems

Infineon Technologies

NLM0011 wireless configuration IC — ICs and Electronic Components for SSL

Innovations In Optics Inc.

LumiDLP – 35W UV LED DMD illuminator — Specialty SSL Design

Inventronics

EUM-Bx Series — LED Drivers

Light Cognitive

LC Skylight — Circadian Lighting Technologies

Luminis

Hollowcore pendant — Indoor Decorative and Pendant SSL Luminaire Design

Mean Well USA

LCM-25/40/60KN LED driver — LED Drivers

Nichia Corporation

NCSU334B deep-UV LED — UV LEDs and Systems

Osram Opto Semiconductors

Osconiq C 2424 — Packaged LEDs and OLEDs

Osram Opto Semiconductors

Oslon Square Hyper Red horticultural LED — Horticultural Lighting

Power Integrations

LYTSwitch-8 controller IC — ICs and Electronic Components for SSL

Samsung Electronics

LM283N+ LED — Circadian Lighting Technologies

Samsung Electronics

LM301H EVO horticultural LED — Horticultural Lighting

Signify

Bodine BSL06M emergency LED driver — Emergency SSL Luminaires, Modules, and Drivers

Signify

Bodine BSL07B2-4Hour emergency LED driver — Emergency SSL Luminaires, Modules, and Drivers

Xicato

Xicato Intelligent Gateway (XIG) — Smart and Connected SSL Enabling Technologies

Xicato

Xicato Intelligent Module (XIM) — Modular LED Light Engines

Xicato

Xicato Smart Controls — Smart and Connected SSL Systems

4.25

Acuity Brands

SAF product family — Outdoor SSL Luminaire Design

Elemental LED

AlphaTECH X linear LED lighting by Diode LED — Outdoor SSL Luminaire Design

eLumigen

High CRI Class 1 Division 2 fixture — Industrial SSL Luminaire Design

Eureka Lighting

Mill acoustic luminaires — Indoor Cove, Strip, Specialty, and Lamp Design

Inter-lux

20Linear Perimeter linear system — Indoor Decorative and Pendant SSL Luminaire Design

IOTA

IOTA ILBHI emergency driver — Emergency SSL Luminaires, Modules, and Drivers

Kenall Manufacturing

SimpleSeal CSERO/CSERI cleanroom luminaires — Industrial SSL Luminaire Design

Lumenpulse

Lumenblade — Outdoor SSL Luminaire Design

Lumileds

Luxeon 3030 HE Plus Deep Dimming — Packaged LEDs and OLEDs

Lumileds

Luxeon SkyBlue LEDs — Circadian Lighting Technologies

Luminis

Bellevue — Outdoor SSL Luminaire Design

Maxim Integrated Products

MAX25605 6-Switch sequential LED controller for automotive lighting systems — ICs and Electronic Components for SSL

McWong International

TruBlu interoperable Bluetooth-Zhaga-DALI controls — Smart and Connected SSL Enabling Technologies

Osram Digital Systems

Indoor and outdoor D4i/DALI-2 certified programmable LED driver — LED Drivers

QuarkStar

Q-Wall asymmetric linear fixture — Indoor Decorative and Pendant SSL Luminaire Design

Sollum Technologies

SF4 smart LED lighting system — Horticultural Lighting

4.50

Eureka Lighting

Celeste decorative pendant — Indoor Decorative and Pendant SSL Luminaire Design

LED Linear

ULTIMA linear lighting — Indoor Cove, Strip, Specialty, and Lamp Design

The Lighting Quotient

elliptipar style S151 outdoor adjustable asymmetric luminaire — Outdoor SSL Luminaire Design

Nichia Corporation

H6 Series LEDs — Packaged LEDs and OLEDs

2021 Sapphire Awards Judging Panel

Maury Wright, LEDs Magazine

James Benya, Benya Burnett Consultancy

Carl Bloomfield, Intertek

Chris Brown, NextGen Lighting

Kandice Cohen, Trane Technologies

Basar Erdener, LED Linear USA, Inc.

Monica Hansen, LED Lighting Advisors

Kasey Holland, DesignLights Consortium

Michael Kershner, Innovative Lighting Consultants

Brad Koerner, Cima

Clifton Stanley Lemon, Strategies in Light

Carrie Meadows, LEDs Magazine

Levin Nock, DesignLights Consortium

Axel Pearson, DesignLights Consortium

Leora Radetsky, DesignLights Consortium

Willem Sillevis-Smitt, Lumileds

Philip Smallwood, Fluence by Osram

Aaron Smith, Finelite

Robert Steele, Strategies in Light

Erik Swenson, Nichia Corp.