Next Generation Luminaires Background
The Next Generation Luminaires™ (NGL) Solid State Lighting (SSL) Design Competition seeks to encourage technical innovation and recognize and promote excellence in the design of energy-efficient LED luminaires for commercial, industrial and institutional applications.
Next Generation Luminaires encourages manufacturers to develop innovative luminaires that are energy-efficient and provide high lighting quality and consistency, glare control, lumen maintenance, and luminaire appearance needed to meet specification lighting requirements.
Background
The Department of Energy (DOE) administers federal investment in SSL research and development to advance the technology and realize its projected energy efficiency, lighting service, and economic benefits. DOE has developed a comprehensive program to support the effective commercialization and application of SSL in the general illumination market. This program includes technology demonstrations, product testing, development of industry performance standards and test procedures, information dissemination, and design competitions, to recognize and reward excellence in application of this emerging technology.
On-going advances in SSL technology and the growing number of product introductions signal an opportunity to encourage, recognize, and promote LED luminaires suitable for the commercial specification market, implicitly differentiating them from LED products that will not meet the needs of lighting designers, specifiers, and users. DOE has partnered with the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) and the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) to organize this competition.
Past Competitions
In its first year, 2008, the competition recognized 22 products from a total of 68 entries. In 2009, as the number of commercial LED lighting products on the market increased, the number of NGL entries nearly doubled – to 126 – coming from 60 different lighting companies. Of these entries, 43 were chosen as "Recognized" winners and four were chosen as "Best in Class." With stringent documentation requirements for the 2010 competition, a total of 138 products representing 61 different manufacturers were judged. Thirty-three were chosen as "Recognized" winners and four as "Best in Class" winners.
In 2012, the Next Generation Luminaires competition was expanded to include separate indoor and outdoor competitions. This division enabled greater refinement of the performance criteria and the composition of the judging panels, enhancing the competition's value to lighting designers and specifiers. The 2012 Indoor Competition received a total of 187 submittals. Because of the stringent documentation requirements, only 114 products were approved for the judging phase. Out of these entries, 49 products were deemed "Recognized" winners and an additional four were chosen as "Best in Class."