there was a company showing light fixtures at the CEDIA Expo. Anyone recall who that was?
thanks

Capitol Sales had a beautiful display using clamp lights attached to a centralite panel. Achingly beautiful, these beautys resemble products

ah, hell, Julie. I can't fool you. I built that display.

My guess is you saw the Matthews Studio Equipment stuff distributed by St. John Group. Check them out here: [Link: stjohngroup.com]

It could have been the lighting over at the PSB booth. I beleive the lighting is called ImageCrafters. I'm pretty sure they fall in the Lenbrook umbrella.

Robbie S

Of all things, Fred, you have to humiliate me right here in the remotecentral forum?! Also..."Achingly beautiful"? What are you, a contributing writer for CE Pro?

WH and AVX, thanks. I'm looking into them. We're working on a story about profit opportunities in light fixtures. What the heck, you're already selling lighting controls, why not the fixtures, right?

I say let the electricians continue to sell the fixtures.
In most cases, we have already taken the dimmers and switches that they would have normally supplied out of the equation in lieu of dimming panels (which add a lot more work and headaches for those same electricians) Many times, the electricians are put off at ideas of automating lighting control, and who can blame them.
The biggest upside to them is that homeowners seeking out lighting control are probably not controlling a small amount of basic fixtures, they are controlling a LOT of high end fixtures, so the electrician can recoup the money lost on the dimmers and switches plus a significant amount more by supplying those fixtures. In certain cases, the homeowner may even hire a lighting designer to spec the fixtures and placement for the best effect. When this is the case, let them provide whatever fixtures they want, they will ALWAYS wind up increasing the scope of the lighting control for you.
High end integrators live and die by referrals, and the other trades are a significant part of that. The top builders all use the same handful of top tradesmen and they all talk. If we start reaching too deeply into another trade's till, it may end up costing you more than you will gain.

This isn't like retail, where the option is to allow a competitor to get the sale, the electricians and/or lighting design consultants in these projects are not competitors, they are allies.

We need to foster these strong relationships with these other trades to continue to get referred to the next big homes.

Light fixtures can be or are a pain in the butt unless you are selling mid to high end fixtures. Otherwise you're competing with the electricians (no offense Larry, but I think you know what I mean) and Home Depot with very small margins.

The next step after selling lighting fixtures or progression to selling lighting fixtures is lighting design. Lighting design is what will seperate you from the low cost product provider. It also is another differentiator when it comes time for the architect to recommend a home automation company. Lighting design is an iterative process that involves you (the lighting designer) the architect and client. If they like your work they're going to think twice about another home automation company or at least lighting control company.

It takes time to develop the skill and product knowledge of the various different lighting fixtures on the market. In addition, learning about light and light dispersion really helps does help. In addition, several lighting fixture companies do have modeling programs that will allow you to design effective lighting systems using their products, but you can only get the applications from a lighting rep/agent.

It is profitable, creative and very rewarding because you can get to paint with light (sounding very artsy), but it takes time and energy. There is a certification program by the National Council on Qualifications for the Lighting Professions (NCQLP) that takes several years to obtain if you're so inclined.

[Link: ncqlp.org]

There is another program sponsored by the American Lighting Association

[Link: americanlightingassoc.com]

This program is better geared for the lighting store sales person than a lighting designer.

And yes, I've sold a truck load of fixtures this year because of a lighting design and have developed a strong working relationship with a very talented architect because of it. She now only thinks of one person for home automation, lighting control, audio and lighting design.

Cheers

Yeah, Larry is a regular technology renaissance man.
I enjoy reading his posts.


Maybe it's different in other areas of the country, but here the lighting people do NOT want to get involved in the automation part of the job aside from specifying which fixtures are in the scenes and determining the light levels on each fixture for the desired effect for the scene.


It sounds like you are more involved than most, and if I didn't already have great people in my market to work with, I would also get more deeply involved with the design elements because I enjoy working with lighting.
In my market at least, it pays to maintain a symbiotic relationship with the lighting designers and the top electricians and be the guy that creates the interface for all of these subsystems and then makes it all work.

As always, no offense taken, and thanx for the compliment!

I, for one, love wiring with automation in mind, and I have no interest in selling fixtures. I ask customers to buy their own fixtures, fans, etc. and just leave them in the room they want them in. I'll advise if asked.

I'm wiring a house (about an hour away from me) for another home theater forum user, and we're trying to work automation into it, although he's leaning towards wiring "normally", and adding the 'fancy stuff' later.

I'm not sure if they were there this year, but they have been in years past, and they have some very cool lighting with high end applications.

http://luciferlighting.com/

If your involved in Lighting control, one would hope you have some knowledge about the fixtures you are about to control. Unless asked we generally do not get involved in selling the fixtures used throughout a house. For certain applications and theatre design we might spec. the fixtures and if they are very high end we often will sell them. Yes there can be money made here and I certainly don't feel guilty about selling a few items that the electricain could have made money on (just as many electricians don't feel bad about offering "smart home wire" ) As for the comment above about them losing the sale of dimmers and switches because we are putting a control system in, do you really think they are making a living with the profit from $3.00 dimmers? Control systems give the electrical contractor more money in labour (profit) Plus, typically, alot more fixtures to sell and install, thus working closely with an integration company is always a good move.