US Lighting Trends

Message From The Editor

Behind the Scenes of the Integrated Home Competition

I am thrilled to have been on the judging panel this year for the relaunched Integrated Home Competition. Several years ago, I had been on the judging panel for its predecessor, Lighting for Tomorrow. There have been a lot of technological advancements over those four years, but the primary purpose of the competition remains the same: awarding product ingenuity, energy savings, and value to the consumer.

That last part is especially important. We, as industry members, sometimes focus on packing as many new features as possible into a given product. The competition, however, is geared toward the end-consumer and making it easy and affordable to incorporate new technology into their homes. I emphasize this because every year, an industry member will look over the winning products and ask, “Really? Why did that win? I know of so many other products that should have won.”

First of all, perhaps the product they are thinking of wasn’t submitted. Unfortunately, there are many terrific, technologically advanced products on the market that weren’t sent into the competition for any number of reasons. Second, there is that value proposition to the consumer to consider. There were a few products that promised a lot of technology on the packaging – and, in fact, delivered on that technology – but either the retail price was completely out of reach for the average residential end-user or getting it to work properly required more engineering prowess than the average homeowner has. There were also good products that solved a basic need, but included features that weren’t necessary for its function and the inclusion of those cool features meant a higher price tag than other comparable products that saved just as much energy and were just as aesthetically pleasing. Again, it comes down to the value proposition.

That said, the strides the industry has made in technological advancements, energy savings, and ease of use are impressive. It is exciting to see how lighting and controls are continuing to evolve to make saving energy an enjoyable experience for the consumer. In this edition of our newsletter, you’ll see the winners of the competition announced.

If you’d like more information on the judging process, I’d be glad to share what I know. Please feel free to reach out to me at lindalongo@uslightingtrends.com