Boutique Design | boutiquedesign.com

(September / October 2011) posted on Wed Oct 19, 2011

Pressures to amp up energy efficiency are powering innovation in hospitality lighting products and design.

By Mary Scoviak

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As much as designers love incandescent lighting, the upcoming implementation of the so-called “Bulb Act” is putting the emphasis on finding eco-friendly alternatives. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 will force lighting manufacturers to start phasing out the 100-watt incandescent bulb in the U.S. on Jan. 1, with 75- and 60-watt bulbs becoming the targets in 2013 and 2014.

“It’s only a matter of time before most incandescent lamps are eliminated and we will all be forced to use compact fluorescent lighting (CFLs) or LEDs,” says Andrew Lang, president, Lang Lighting Design (Dallas).

While revamped incandescents will still be available after 2012, and most specialty lights (colored, three-way, etc.) are not affected by the legislation, tighter energy standards per square foot and developments in alternative lighting make eco-conscious choices appealing regardless of federal mandates. Fortunately, designers are prepared.

“We’ve been designing like it’s 2012 for over two years now,” says Lang. “We did not want a client to come back and say, ‘You gave us a solution that lasted two years.’ ”

Product innovation has been a big motivator for designers to turn off the dependence on incandescents. One of the biggest moves forward has been in the quality of illumination emanating from LEDs and CFLs. “Designers used to think those lighting technologies were cold-looking. That’s simply not true any longer,” says David McCarroll, principal, KGM Architectural Lighting (Los Angeles). Today’s LEDs and CFLs cover a full range of hot and cool shades. “The higher the Kelvin [K] number, the cooler the light will look,” Lang says. “For hospitality environments, we usually use LEDs and CFLs that are 2700 to 3200 K.”

Beyond whites, LEDs bring a multitude of colors to the designer’s palette, says Antonio Di Oronzo, principal, Bluarch (New York). Eco-friendly lighting has also done a lot of catching up in terms of functionality. Dimmable versions of energy-efficient lighting addressed one of the biggest limitations for designers, Di Oronzo says.

McCarroll has seen the same thing happening. “Several years ago, before LEDs dimmed correctly and exhibited decent color, we simply did not use them,” he says. Now, he explains, the firm is doing “beautiful five-star facilities” with no 100-watt incandescents (also known as A-lamps).