GE Lighting and USG Corp have announced a collaboration targeted at ceiling lighting and even wall murals, hoping to ease the path for lighting designers and architects that want to combine GE LED-based fixtures with USG's ceiling systems. Meanwhile, GE also has developed some information resources that provide lighting design advice and urge that businesses have a professional lighting audit performed on existing lighting to understand the opportunity for better lighting quality and efficiency.
The new Designed to Work Together program from GE and USG specifically focuses on GE's Lumination BL Series of linear solid-state lighting (SSL) products and USG's Ceiling Brand Logix systems. The lighting is available in 2-, 4-, and 5-ft lengths and can be seamlessly recessed in continuous runs across an office space. The partners will also target restaurants, hotels, and retail stores with the integrated systems approach.
The Lumination BL fixtures are offered in 4- and 6-in. widths. When lighting designs cascade the fixtures, the look is continuous with no dark spots while also yielding the benefits of a t-grid ceiling such as access to HVAC systems.
"Commercial building designers and architects now have more flexibility and freedom to create imaginative environments while reducing energy and maintenance needs," said Eric Stevenson, general manager of indoor LED lighting fixtures for GE Lighting. "GE's Lumination LED Linear Recessed Luminaires can easily connect together for long, continuous runs, establishing an innovative ceiling solution with the Logix Integrated Ceiling System."
"Together, we offer a contemporary alternative to traditional t-grid systems. Architects and designers now can beautifully enhance commercial spaces with energy-efficient and functional design," said Scott Qualls, director of sales and marketing at USG. Indeed, the collaboration extends to helping architects and designers create custom murals for walls with elements such as branding and logos, and geometric shapes.
The Designed to Work Together program is not the first collaboration between the companies. The duo initially announced a partnership in October 2012 but have now formalized the program.
Optimal design and audits
GE lighting, meanwhile, is also proactively trying to help customers install better, more efficient lighting. The company has a new web resource called the Evolving Workspace that addresses lighting in commercial offices.
The web resource relies on research performed by the California Lighting Technology Center and the California Energy Commission that was focused on office lighting. Layered lighting with lower ambient levels combined with localized task lighting can deliver 50% savings and better lighting for employees.
"A layered design is optimizing ambient, perimeter, and task lighting to hit energy goals and save the most money with the best lifecycle cost, potentially earning LEED points, too," said Jason Brown, application solutions manager for GE Lighting. "Instead of giving everyone the same 30–50 foot-candles of illumination, light can be assigned to certain tasks."
GE Lighting also is suggesting that audits are needed for offices in many cases. Today many offices are overlit, according to GE, and an audit can quickly identify opportunities for savings. Moreover, the company has identified other reasons that an audit is a good idea. For example, an optimum lighting design simply makes a good first impression on visitors to a company.
