#LSW2019 Speakers Recommend...

WestCoast Lighting Insider asked some of this year’s speakers at LightShow West what they were most looking forward to at the show on September 25 and 26, 2019. Besides their own presentations, of course, some spoke about networking opportunities and the high caliber of manufacturers exhibiting. Reviewing the array of vital topics and the impressive roster of colleagues presenting, several speakers were generous enough to call out and recommend specific seminars and workshops.

Gregg Mackell, principal lighting designer and founder of 186 Lighting Design Group, is presenting on color tuning in residential lighting on Wednesday morning, September 25. That afternoon, he’ll attend a seminar by Addie Smith and Maddy Halpern, both of AE Design: Budgets and Lighting Design.

The effect of properly budgeting a project from the start can make all the difference in maintaining quality specifications and keeping all design elements intact. It’s very difficult to add to a budget once the CDs are approved. Addie and Maddy are experienced in setting budgets in today’s marketplace, then seeing their projects through value engineering to successful completion.

Riley Rose, lighting engineer at Clanton & Associates, will discuss circadian entrainment at Seriously, How Well Do You Sleep? He anticipates learning a lot on Thursday as Lawrence O. Lamontagne, Jr. presents an overall survey of wireless lighting controls.

As technology continues to improve, and sensors become smaller and smaller, we consistently see more desire for wireless lighting controls. I am looking forward to this seminar to increase my knowledge of wireless control systems, so I am better prepared to effectively communicate the pros and cons of these systems to clients and end users.

Speaking on the relatively new field of energy-efficient LED horticultural lighting, Axel Pearson is a technical manager at the DesignLights Consortium. He sees building codes evolving and will hear what Jon McHugh, McHugh Energy Consultants; Bernard Bauer, Integrated Lighting Concepts; and Lorne Whitehead, University of British Columbia, have to say on the topic.

Balancing energy efficiency with good lighting quality is a challenging task, but very important in today’s lighting industry. With heavy hitters like Jon, Bernie, and Lorne, Session 11 Lighting Quality and Energy Codes – Not Mutually Exclusive is sure to provide attendees with the information and tools needed to achieve this tricky balance.

Clifton Stanley Lemon, CEO of Clifton Lemon Associates, will present a forward-looking lighting seminar by unpacking lessons from the history of our industry. Check out Lightbulbs, Luminaires, Lifetime – Scenarios for the Future of Lighting on Wednesday afternoon. Lemon recommends Ruth Taylor’s session on contractor installations of connected lighting, based on her research at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Ruth and the crew at PNNL have been doing really important work with installation behavior and actual results from careful observation of facilities and operations. Controls systems usually fail at the handoff point, so this close look at the weak point in the system will be very valuable.

Lawrence O. Lamontagne, Jr. is a lighting controls specialist at Graybar, and will present the Thursday seminar on wireless lighting controls. He has been working with Rita Renner and the California Energy Alliance, and he enthusiastically recommends their panel discussion on the present and future of Title 24.

The California Energy Alliance is an amazing organization, and the work they’ve done with the California Energy Code is phenomenal! I’m looking forward to hearing their perspective on where the code is headed. I’m also happy to see that the panel includes a wide range of expertise, from contractors and end users to the CEC itself.

One of the presenters on effective budgeting strategies, Addie Smith, will definitely be in the audience for the presentation on color tuning by Gregg Mackell of 186 Lighting Design Group and Anne Kustner Haser of AKLD Lighting Design. Smith is a senior lighting designer at AE Design.

We use warm dimming fixtures in many hospitality and residential projects, and we’ve undertaken extensive in-house testing. There’s been some issues with this particular color-changing technology, so I’m interested to hear from two designers I really respect. What have they encountered so far, and what tips do they have to share?

Maddy Halpern, lighting designer at AE Design, is Addie Smith’s co-presenter exploring lighting budgets and value engineering. She expects to learn the latest on circadian lighting at Seriously, How Well Do You Sleep?, presented by Riley Rose of Clanton & Associates:

This session touches on new research on the topic of circadian rhythms that has been completed by a lighting engineering firm, rather than a manufacturer. I think the topic is a hot one that lighting designers are still wary of and need greater understanding of.

Solar generation and circadian lighting produce interesting impacts on the electrical grid’s load profile. Javid Butler, senior engineer at HDR Consulting, will get out his charts and show this synergy in an on-floor workshop, Lighting and the Duck. Butler will attend some seminars, but most looks forward to spending lots of time on the exhibit floor (opening at 11:00 am on both Wednesday and Thursday).

It is so important to stay current on controls, as the market is changing rapidly. We are dealing more and more with networked controls, so I look forward to seeing those manufacturers on the exhibit floor. We’re looking for what’s coming, but also what’s deployed and working effectively now – particularly DALI and DMX512-A.

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About Lois I. Hutchinson

Lois I. Hutchinson is a freelance writer specializing in lighting and energy issues. She is also the content marketing mastermind behind Inverse Square LLC, a Los Angeles–based consultancy. Contact her via lightinginsider@exponation.net with your comments and any article ideas that concern the lighting community here in the Southwest.

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