Celebrating its 13th year, the Lightfair International 2002 Trade Show and Conference, June 3-5, in San Francisco, was the stage for nearly 400 manufacturers to present a host of new lighting technologies.
Improvements in lumen output of T-8 lamps and increases in wattage sizes and performance of compact fluorescent sources were notable on the exhibit floor.
In addition tao workshops on fixture construction, color in light, and energy and environmental codes and strategies, attendees learned about Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI). DALI is an open protocol control scheme offering a number of features for creating and maintaining versatile control and dimming, even down to an individual fixture in a building.
A number of manufacturers showed wall box control devices and ballasts using this technology, which promises flexibility in design and ease of installation.
Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) were also a key attraction at the show. Speakers at a seminar on this subject urged lighting industry people to cooperate in getting standards adopted on these new light sources, as a way of energizing the market, in somewhat the same way as telecom standards have fostered the growth of (local area) networking.
Experts discussed the opportunities and obstacles in markets for efficient energy systems in illumination applications.