Welcome to the LEDs Magazine Connected SSL & Controls Newsletter for Sept. 20, 2021. A month ago in this column, I wrote a bit about the business outlook of connected lighting and the roadblocks that continue to impede what many had thought would have been a profitable technology for the solid-state lighting (SSL) industry.

I was excited to hear some of the Strategies in Light presentations on networked controls a few weeks back covering both the technology issues and the prospects for broad adoption. Jim Collin is among the most renowned lighting designers in the world, something of a visionary, and also a really smart person. He said in the Strategies in Light keynote address that digitalization is coming to lighting even if it is taking longer than some expected. He said the data that can be gathered in buildings is just too valuable to ignore and that the lighting infrastructure in buildings is uniquely perfect to serve as the digital backbone. By the way, for a limited time you can still catch Strategies in Light on demand if you missed it.

Before I get to news in connected solid-state lighting, I have a couple of other internal items to mention. First, we are doing some connected lighting and controls research in partnership with the LEDucation Trade Show and Conference. As I explained in our weekly News & Insights newsletter last week, we are surveying both product developers and designers/specifiers on the topic.

You may get an email solicitation to complete the survey. Please take a couple of minutes to do so. But you needn’t wait for the email. If you are a subscriber to this newsletter, clearly you have an interest in networked lighting controls so simply go directly to the survey link and create an entry. Two entrants selected at random will receive an RTIC cooler.

Also during Strategies in Light, we revealed the winners of our 2021 LEDs Magazine Sapphire Awards. I’ll briefly mention winners here that have a connection to networked controls. Dwight Stewart of Igor took Illumineer of the Year honors and Igor is a controls specialist. Xicato won an award for networked light engines and another for its networked lighting control system. And McWong won an award for a Bluetooth-connected sensor.

On to the news of the recent past, the folks who are owed money by former connected lighting startup Gooee will not take much solace in the fact that digitalization is still coming to lighting. Our Mark Halper dug through the legal details of Gooee’s undoing. The list of creditors is long, and the story remains that timing is always critical when dealing with new technology.

Also, you may have heard about the new rendition of the L-Prize development contest that the US Department of Energy (DOE) has launched relative to the SSL sector. The target this time around will be luminaires for commercial buildings. And integrated connectivity and controls features will be expected. There is more than $12 million in prize money on the line for competing teams to earn through three phases.

There is more interesting connected lighting content down below. Always feel free to contact me to discuss content that we post or to pitch a contributed article.

- Maury Wright, (858) 208-9442, mwright@endeavorb2b.com