Howdy folks, welcome to the week in Playback. Lightapalooza 2026 is in the bag, and if you couldn’t make the show this year, we’ve got you covered with some follow-up next week.
On that note, however, power has become quite the player at the event, and behind that stands quite a few people, among whom is Joe Piccirilli of RoseWater Energy, who, in addition to helping lead some of the education at the show, has been quite vocal in advocating for integrators to take the reins on the power conversation in the home.
A big reason for this is because of an issue that falls entirely outside of the integrator’s control: the public grid.
Back when AI data centers were just starting to scale up and President Trump was aggressively pushing for more industrial onshoring, I had my suspicions that the grid pressures this would cause would ultimately cause headaches for homeowners.
While I was partially right there, Piccirilli has done a great job at contextualizing the issue for integrators in his recent writeup of the issue. It’s not just the break in continuity caused by an outage integrators should be concerned about: it’s the fluctuating quality of power coming in that’s going to bite.
Voltage sags, brownouts, spikes: it all spells disaster for the fancy little microprocessors that run everything an integrator (and their clients) hold dear. It’s not just integrators this affects though.
But the modern luxury appliance is no different nowadays. As cooktops, refrigerators and dishwashers breakdown, designers, too, are feeling the sting. Because when they specify an appliance that breaks down in a few months because of faulty grid power, who do you think their clients are going to blame? And who do you think they’re starting to turn to for help? Food for thought.
Now, let’s see what we have on the Playback.
1. Integrators Need to Leave the Jargon at the Door
Source: CE PRO
Executive Editor Zachary Comeau spoke with designers and architects who commonly worked with integrators on projects to ask leads to an integrator getting brought out of the subcontractor role and into being a critical member of the design/build team.
“Designers and architects value partners who can speak our language, not just tech jargon,” says Toni Sabatino, a well-known designer among CEDIA circles for her willingness to embrace the custom integration industry on her project.
“It should never be ‘my way’ or ‘their way.’ It should be how we work together to serve the client,” adds Nick Blavat a principal at Deep River Partners.
2. Public Backlash Over Surveillance Tech Rising
Source: AXIOS
AXIOS reported this week on the growing public outcry over the proliferation of surveillance technology being used in homes throughout the country.
According AXIOS, the once lauded video doorbell is now facing intense scrutiny, allegedly all because of a recent Super Bowl ad put out by Ring.
The ad showcased Ring devices being used as part of a broader surveillance network to track lost pets, but consumers quickly assumed the tool would just as easily be used to track and surveil people walking by cameras as well.
This represents a drastic shift in public sentiment as, up until very recently, homeowners largely accepted and even embraced having more surveillance tools in neighborhoods.
3. What it Takes to Stay One Step Ahead of the Electrical Grid
Source: CE PRO
The electrical grid is showing its limits, says Joe Piccirill of RoseWater Energy, and that spells trouble for integrators.
“At its core, the grid faces a fundamental limitation: It cannot deliver constant, perfectly regulated voltage,” explains Piccirilli.
“In today’s digital society, where microprocessors power nearly everything we rely on, that limitation is no longer theoretical. It is a growing, systemic problem that impacts our daily lives.”
Rather than focusing entirely on backup power to keep systems functioning during blackouts, however, Piccirilli states the real approach should be delivering clean, stable power, regardless of grid function.
4. How One Fateful Tradeshow Inspired a Company’s Approach to AI
Source: CE PRO
On the most recent episode of the CE Pro Podcast, Zachary Comeau sat down with the URC team to discuss the launch of its AI-driven automation module for Total Control.
According to URC, conversations with its dealers revealed a growing disconnect between system capacity and real-world deployment, with some hefty complaints being lobbied at the fragmented implementation of circadian capabilities across the various brands.
Looking around the show floor at the 2025 CEDIA Expo, however, the growing emphasis on sensor-based environmental automations the executive team saw while in Denver, flipped a switch in their heads.
5. Lights Keep Getting Smaller (But They Sure Still Pack a Punch)
Source: CE PRO
DMF Lighting released the Artafex 1 this week while at Lightapalooza, being the company’s first one-inch architectural downlight.
The unit is rated to deliver up to 1,000 lumens from little more than what seems like a pin prick in the ceiling while still being adjustable up to 35 degrees post-installation.
While at the show, DMF was using the fixture alongside its 2-inch downlight to light artwork in its booth, showcasing the comparable strength coming from such a small form factor.
