This is part of a series of articles covering CE Pro’s Lighting Fixture Deep Dive. If you’re an integrator interested in learning more about this hot category of products and the opportunities it holds for your business, be sure to check out the full lighting fixture deep dive available here.

Though it is often overlooked, lighting is vital to everyday routines. Specifically, lighting is vital to residential homes because it’s all about experiences and how light impacts space. We have light all around us, but it is often poorly designed and misapplied. That’s why it’s vital for integrators looking to break into the lighting business that they not only understand the basics of lighting, but have the context to evolve with the category and the industry at large.

It Starts with Understanding the Technology Behind the Business

The modern evolution of lighting has been well documented. More than 100 years ago, Thomas Edison’s light bulb was an amazing innovation that moved the world ahead from candlelight. In the 1950s, the first electronic solid-state dimmer was invented, and the first dimmer was sold in 1961. Prior to that, controlling lights was either through a rheostat or an autotransformer.

In 1976, the lighting world regressed with the invention of the compact fluorescent bulb, which was touted that it would save the world, but the quality of light and the environmental issues didn’t stand the test of time. 

In the early 2000s, LEDs began gaining popularity in homes. It was a significant step forward because they offered very energy-efficient light; however, controlling the quality of the light — in terms of color temperature, color rendering, as well as dimming range — was a challenge for many years.

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Then we get to today. In the area of illumination, the technology and the innovation has transformed from a simple pieces-and-parts system that consisted of hot, neutral, and ground wires tied to electrical circuits with wire nuts tied back to a dimming panel to a very intelligent system that is digitally addressable via microprocessor-based wireless communication. 

Lighting today is more logical for integrators who design, install, program, and integrate technology. It has undergone a complete transformation, shifting naturally into the hands of integrators with the support of electricians who in many cases are doing the installation and the wiring.

Next Comes the Purpose of Lighting

Light is “belief.” It can set a mood, whether it is candlelight, natural light or artificial light in place in certain applications, such as in houses of worship or special events. The mood light puts a person in is undeniable and it is critical for humans to have proper light to enhance the quality of their lives. 

Light is “drama.” Theatrical light, for example, in entertainment applications is fundamental to maximizing the experience. Experiential illumination in homes is a huge opportunity for integrators. Light is another tool within the design palette that can transform a space throughout the course of the day. Light becomes the medium through which you make that happen.

Light is “void.” The ability to use light — or lack thereof — to create special effects or illusions can create amazing experiences. 

Light is “utility.” It is essential for applications such as manufacturing or surgery. 

There has been a “paradigm of paralysis” in the lighting business that has existed for quite a while in the traditional electrical channel—there are hundreds of thousands of options in lighting fixtures.

In a single family of downlights, there can be thousands of options that are very price driven. There is a lot of commoditization in the lighting business, but there’s not a lot of differentiation.

When integrators become familiar with the new highly flexible and powerful lighting fixture solutions and how to use them as part of their business, it is no longer a world based on price. As the cost of homes has gone up significantly in the past 10 years, the incremental cost of lighting technology has not. 

Last Comes the Business and Lighting Partnerships

Glenn Merlin Johnson, founder and principal at Park City, Utah-based lighting design firm Adaptive Design Group, has been preaching about what he calls the “modern tech design team” for years. 

“The architect, designer, integrator and lighting design/engineer are the modern design team,” says Johnson. “Obviously, it starts with an architect and an interior designer but it’s critical to round out a cohesive team with the technical team. That starts with lighting design, which means having an electrical engineering specialty firm and then bringing in the integrator to not only handle the lighting control but the rest of the audio, video, surveillance and home network.”

It is also crucial that this team gathers together early in the design-build process. Frequently both the integrator and/or the lighting designer are brought in way too late in the process, which is a disservice to the homeowner and wreaks havoc on the construction schedule. 

“Too often the integrator is coming in late in the game. The builder will contact him two weeks before inspection and say, ‘Hey, come prewire the house.’ When the integrator asks for the specifics on exactly what he should prewire, the builder will just say, ‘Just run the same wire as you did on the last 10 houses.’ And if the integrator asks to meet with the client, the builder will typically say, ‘Sorry, there’s no time for that.’” 

With an architectural design and tech team on a project early, the homeowner can be educated on the latest solutions before the plans are released. The three stages in the architectural planning process are:

• Schematic design
• Design development
• Construction documents

“The perfect time for the tech team to be brought in is at the end of schematic phase and the beginning of the design development phase,” Johnson says. “The problem is most architects are cranking away to try to get their drawings and documents out to the city for permits because the owners are excited to break ground. The problem with that timetable is that means the plans are generic and usually have minimal information in them because they want the building department to look at the plans and approve them quickly.”

By minimal information, Johnson means locations of the power outlets, smoke detectors, lights, and the electrical panel, and not much more. It’s rare to see plans with space dedicated for the technology equipment closet where lighting panels would be located. 

Those basic plans thus create a snowball effect, because the electrician is now bidding his package to the general contractor based on that set of documents. 

“The electrician looks at the plans and sees a bunch of circle symbols for standard switches and just counts how many he is going to need. There is nothing in the plans specifying the types and sizes of the downlights, for example,” Johnson explains. 

“He knows he is bidding against two other electricians for the job so he is going to spec the lowest cost on every product and bid a minimal amount of labor. The GC then puts it into his full package and tells the homeowner, ‘This is the price I can build your house for.’ Guaranteed there is no lighting control or quality recessed lighting in the proposal. And the homeowner is now going to the bank to get a loan based on that proposal. It becomes an upstream battle from there on out for the integrator and lighting designer.” 

Ideally, there is a kickoff meeting with the homeowner, builder, architect, interior designer, integrator, and lighting designer that takes place early in the construction process. There, a lighting designer like Adaptive Design Group and the integrator get a chance to discuss lighting control and the electrical needs. The trade partners should not feel threatened by the conversation, because the lighting engineer is not selling any product or taking away any decisions from the rest of the team, particularly the interior designer. 

This is part of a series of articles covering CE Pro’s Lighting Fixture Deep Dive. If you’re an integrator interested in learning more about this hot category of products and the opportunities it holds for your business, be sure to check out the full lighting fixture deep dive available here.

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