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Category: News
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Stay connected with live, personalized training sessions
In an effort to stay connected while practicing social distancing, DMF will now host customizable webinars. We invite you to schedule your webinar – you choose the product, date, duration, and we deliver.
If you would like to get something on the books, please email training@dmflighting.com.
Or visit the Training section on our Resources Page to schedule a custom webinar and we’ll do the rest.
We look forward to connecting with you!
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Thank you to Power Design for letting DMF Lighting be a partner at Super Summit, a 3-day event full of engaging workshops, leadership development, food, and action!
DMF even got in on some of the games with our own unique twist on cornhole. Instead of traditional bean bags, we played with DRD2s to demonstrate its incredible impact resistance. The module survived over 100 tosses and still worked!
PDI Super Summit
We look forward to future events and partnerships! Congratulations again to Power Design on a successful first event!
Learn more about Power Designs Here
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DMF’s OneFrame System continues to rack up accolades, this time from outside the lighting community.
The HTSA (Home Technology Specialists of America) recently recognized the OneFrame with its Innovation Award for its amazingly small footprint and game changing versatility.
As a lighting company, we’re proud to have one of our products recognized by the AV industry as it truly showcases how simple our products are to use. The award also illustrates just how critical lighting has become to your home technology systems.
Perfect Balance
Of course, displays and speakers still stand as the two most critical items in an audio visual system (it’s in the name after all!), but lighting should not be overlooked. From 1% dimming levels to system integration, lighting plays a major role in AV.
The perfect balance of functionality and ambiance is critical for home theater lighting. Over lit spaces and unwanted ambient light can ruin the viewing experience, while poor lighting layouts can have you tripping in the dark. Whether it’s light fixtures or natural lighting, the ability to manage all light sources is critical in AV.
A system of fixtures, controls and window treatments that manages light while communicating with each other.
In order to manage light, you need a complete lighting solution. Window treatments to eliminate unwanted lighting. Controls to communicate with devices. And of course, high-performance LED fixtures that enhance the appearance of the room.
Quality of Light
Controlling light goes far beyond turning it on and off. Directional lighting and beam control work together to place light exactly where you want it. In addition, CRI, color temperature and dimming performance play critical roles in light quality. DMF recognizes these factors and is committed to engineering LED downlights that incorporate all of them into simple, highly compatible downlights.
Learn More About: HTSA
Learn More About: OneFrame System
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Honoring the most innovative LED and solid-state luminaires and fixtures on the market, the Product Innovation Awards (PIA) is an annual accolade presented by Architectural SSL. And for the second consecutive year, two different DMF products were awarded, this year being the SquareFrame System LED Downlight and DRD5S Surface Mount LED Area Light.
Product Innovation Awards
The Architectural SSL Product Innovation Awards reveal the criteria and characteristics of the technology that matters. One of the barriers hindering adoption of LED products is an uncertainty about the quality of products. Ultimately, the award winners represent a peer-recognized selection of quality products that the architectural and lighting design community can feel comfortable specifying.
SquareFrame System
The SquareFrame is a breakthrough addition to the DMF downlighting family. It takes the OneFrame’s exceptional flexibility, simplicity and performance and reimagines it in a square format that delivers perfect alignment.
DRD5S Surface Mount LED Area Light
With its ultra-thin profile and minimalist design, the original DRD5S redefined what’s possible for a surface mount downlight. The two new DRD5S Area Lights builds on that, incorporating all of the technical breakthroughs of the originals into a larger 8″ Round or 18″ Linear format.
Past DMF PIA Awards
2018 PIA Award
– OneFrame System
– DRD5S Surface Mount LED Downlight
2016 PIA Award
– OneFrame Housing
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enLIGHTenment Magazine is the content leader for news, trends, and important information affecting the residential lighting community. Their award-winning editorial team works diligently to curate content with a product-driven approach.
At LFI2019, they interviewed a select group of industry leaders and manufacturers to discuss how options and controls are revolutionizing downlights.
Recessed downlight are going through some dramatic changes.
BY DAVID SHILLER
Before we jump into all the latest trends in recessed lighting, let’s remember why downlights are so important. In short, they’re the best-selling luminaire type by units sold. According to market research by IMARC, the global LED downlight market reached $17.3 billion in 2018, and is projected to reach $29 billion by 2024. That’s a healthy compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.4 percent. Downlights have helped lead LED adoption due to being directional and their very high volume. Downlights have become increasingly popular in both new construction and retrofit applications, both for general and accent lighting and in all market categories: residential, hospitality, retail, corporate, municipal, and healthcare.
All the various trends in downlight can be summed up in two words, “options” and “control”. Here are some of the trends occurring lately in downlights.
Mechanical Trends
- Greater range of aperture sizes. While downlight used to be primarily 5 and 6 inches, they are now also offered in 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8 inches.
- Easier installation methods
- Slim profiles are now offered by many manufacturers, some as thin as 0.5″-thick flush mounts that don’t require any recessed housing. This can significantly reduce labor without a recessed can to install.
- Mudded-in/trimless installation for the ultimate clean ceiling look
- New linear format downlights
- More and more trim options
Photometric Trends
- Increased lumen outputs. You can now find 4-inch downlights up to 8,000 lumens and 8-inch downlights up to 20,000 lumens
- More adjustable beam pattern options
- Lower glare / more diffuse reflectors
- Higher CRI LEDs (90+) due to CA Title 24 requirements, and to better compete with halogen sources
- Increased use of chip on board (COB) sources, as a single point source with greater optical control
Control Trends
- More wireless beam shaping, whether using motors (i.e. Forma Lighting) or LCD lenses (i.e. LensVector)
- Increased aiming through gimbals and motors
- 0-10V, phase control, and wireless mobile app dimming
- CCT switchable, dim-to-warm, color tuning, and color changing
- Connected capabilities are now going beyond IoT wireless app control to Juno’s integration of Alexa into the Juno AI, as well as downlights streaming LiFi (i.e.Lucibel)
- Integration of other devices & functionalities, such as music speakers, security features, etc.
At Lightfair, DMF Lighting was a great example of a downlight manufacturer offering a wide variety of options along with very high performance. When asked about the most important trends, Susie Minton, Director/Marketing & Business Development for DMF Lighting said “A smaller footprint and modular systems…such an approach adds significant flexibility in the design, installation, and maintenance of the fixtures. The installation and updating of downlights used to be a construction project. Today’s compact and modular designs ensure the downlight meets the needs of the space today and into the future.”
Jeff Spencer, Acuity Brands Lighting VP & General Manager/Residential shared, “The use of downlights in a space is growing in popularity, particularly for new homes as they make spaces look larger and more modern, and designers believe they can decrease the time it takes to sell a home while increasing its perceived value. Current downlighting product trends take advantage of the new properties of LED technology relative to traditional sources with features such as switchable lumens, switchable color temperatures, can-less downlights, and shallow plenum…while maintaining the desired performance of the traditional sources with features like warm dim and 90 CRI.”
Looking to the future, Acuity’s Spencer added, “Much like smart phones are used for so much more than making phone calls, downlights will be used for so much more than lighting a room. In addition to coming with sophisticated lighting controls built in, they will stream music, provide home security, provide health and wellness benefits, control all of the other connected devices in the space….and light the room.”
“For the future, I think we will continue to see smaller-scale fixtures that can still emit light in a similar way as today’s downlights.”
– Susie Minton
DMF Lighting Director of Marketing & Business Development
DMF’s Minton remarked, “For the future, I think we will continue to see smaller-scale fixtures that can still emit light in a similar way as today’s downlights. This will require continued mechanical and optical technology advances to achieve. Color will also continue to be a trend, not just light color, but the color of the trims as well. With modular systems, it will be easy to change trims to accent a space’s decor and not just blend into the ceiling.”
Advice for showrooms
Both executives had advice for showrooms trying to display and sell recessed downlights. DMF’s Minton commented, “It is important to give customers choices — not just budget options, but high-quality options. It is difficult to assess downlighting in a ‘display format and is much easier to experience in a realistic application space.’ This means using areas of the showroom to exemplify different lighting options or using a dimming system to turn on/off groups of lights for a more realistic experience. Not all downlights are created equal. Depending on optics, lighting can feel really different. Color temperature and color quality can vary as well. In general, I have noticed a decrease in downlighting quality, as carried and shown by lighting showrooms. At the same time — especially in the higher-end residential market — we are seeing increased demand by customers for higher-quality downlighting, even when they are more expensive. Downlighting often costs as much to install as the product itself. Thus, unlike a sconce or chandelier, designers and consumers want to choose quality product that will last.”
Acuity’s Spencer advised showrooms to “display lighting with unique features in a way to maximize the impact of the demo, and therefore your success. For example, if you’re displaying downlights with a sound system or built-in voice assistant, be sure to find a space that stimulates the final application. This will give the customer a better feel for the quality of the sound system, changing color temperatures, the microphones, etc..,” he said. “Basically, it’s the same as retailers have been doing for years when selling speakers. I’d also recommend making sure the customer fully understands the entire value proposition. Because there’s so much more to downlights now than before, telling only half the story will not justify the adoption. People pay $1000 for a smart phone, because they understand why it’s worth so much more than a telephone.”
View the entire article at enLIGHTenment.
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Sharefest aims to build strong communities by fostering volunteerism and preparing youth to lead positive change. The non-profit organization recently celebrated the grand opening of an all-new youth center.
Youth Development Center
Built in an abandoned jail in the San Pedro Municipal Building, the space has been completely transformed into a safe place for youth. There, they can meet with mentors, gain leadership skills, find their voice, and prepare for college and careers. Thousands of youth will enter the doors in the coming years.
“With the grand opening, we can fulfill our mission of helping youth break the cycle of poverty.”
DMF Lighting is proud to work with PLP SoCal to help contribute to this worthy cause with a donation of LED lighting products for the Center. We hope that this small contribution can help create a warm, inviting place for Los Angeles youth.
Learn more about Sharefest here.
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PRODUCTS is a news site and quarterly magazine that brings the latest in building product and material news to residential builders, architects, and remodelers.
Recently, the site featured a two-part series on the industry labor shortage. The second part of the series features 19 products, including the DRD5S, that can reduce installation times. Below is an excerpt from the article:
19 EFFICIENT PRODUCTS TO EASE THE SKILLED LABOR SHORTAGE
By Amanda Hermans
The U.S. construction industry is undeniably experiencing an acute shortage of skilled labor, but manufacturers are developing products to help professionals maximize the time and workers they have.
Home Innovations Research Labs recently outlined ways in which building product manufacturers can help ease the labor stress on residential construction professionals through smart product design. The suggestions include reducing the skill needed to install products, combining complementary products into a single unit, and creating products that can be installed by less people.
From factory-produced prefab building components to tools that work faster for longer, there are already solutions in a number of product categories that can help builders and contractors cut down on the hours needed to complete a project. Many product manufacturers are looking for ways to make processes more efficient, by packaging products in ready-to-install kits or rethinking product design specifically for retrofits.
One thing is certain, manufacturers will have to find ways to solve the labor shortage on their own. Whether by proactive choice or as a survival necessity, residential construction professionals across the country will have to adapt to do more with less. Incorporating a few of the efficient products below (or the countless time-saving solutions that are not listed) just might be the place to start.
18. DRD5S
The DRD5S is a new take on recessed lighting, installing with just two inches of plenum space when paired with the company’s SurfaceFrame junction box. It is also compatible with most metallic octagonal and non-metallic round junction boxes. The light requires a mounting bracket and two screws, and then easily snaps into place, the company says. The 90+ CRI LED comes in round or square units and extends just 0.6 inches beyond the ceiling.
Learn more about the DRD5S.
View the entire article at Products.
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In July of 2018, the Office of the United States Trade Representative imposed a 25% Section 301 tariff on certain goods imported into the U.S. from China.
Now, the White House has announced a tariff will be imposed on goods from Mexico. Effective June 10, 2019, the tariff will start at 5% and can increase to as much as 25% in the coming months. While it is common for companies in our industry to use these tariffs as a justification to raise prices, DMF is committed to delivering the same excellent products and value that you have come to expect.
“ Our intention is to keep our prices at the same levels despite tariffs. We understand how important it is for our customers to move forward without interrupting ongoing projects or disrupting future plans.”
Ian Ibbitson, CTO/CFO
By making this promise to you, we seek to give you the confidence to continue working with our company. DMF’s greatest asset is the trust our customers place in us, and we hope to continue our successful relationships far into the future.
If you have any questions regarding this or any other DMF policies, please contact us at info@dmflighting.com.
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That’s all folks! The 30th Annual LIGHTFAIR International officially wrapped up last week. We’d like to thank everyone who made it possible, from our helpful vendors to our dedicated sales team. Additionally, thank you to everyone who visited our booth, we hope you had a great time exploring our latest lighting innovations.
Check out some of our favorite moments from the show below.
LIGHTFAIR International 2019 – Philadelphia, PA
We’ll see you next year in Las Vegas!
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