LightingServicesInc.com Blog

Our Lights Have Dimmed Today...

Tweet  

  

  

 delicious  

  

Architectural Lighting Magazine 25th Anniversary Celebration

Tweet  

  

  

 delicious  

  

On Dec. 8th, 2011, Architectural Lighting magazine celebrated it's 25th Anniversary with a special PechaKucha event.  Held at Jack's Studios in NYC, this event brought together a cross section of the lighting industry, including leading designers, manufacturers, researchers, educators and students, to celebrate innovations in lighting design and emerging lighting technologies.

Lighting Services Inc was a sponsor of the event and featured it's "Control Freak" exhibit. 

"Control Freak" is an artistic representation of the future of lighting.  We are all control freaks.  We love to watch videos on demand, listen to our music when we want. Have complete control.  What if we could control our emotion with lighting?  Imagine one source that with a push of the button can change your lighting from task lighting to a raging party, to a quiet spa atmosphere, to a beautiful sunshine filled day, to a moonlit dinner. 

We gratefully acknowledge Available Light for their collaboration on the exhibit.  Without their help, we could not have created such a successful, artistic representation of the future of light.

The future of lighting puts you in control.  Go ahead, be a control freak.

Light Sensitive Materials: LED Lighting vs. Traditional Sources

Tweet  

  

  

 delicious  

  

Can Museums Measure Up?

By James Brodrick, Ph.D., U.S. Department of Energy

Excerpts from LD+A Magazine, July 2011

Museums rank among the most demanding and exacting of all lighting applications. Visitors come from far and wide to see the exhibits, which must be displayed in the best possible light, literally as well as figuratively. This means they must not only be easy to see, inter­pret, understand and appreciate—all the way down to the smallest detail—but also look as attractive as their artists and creators intended. The long-term damage that light can inflict on artwork and artifacts complicates matters even further—as does the fact that these objects come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors and textures, all of which can impact the light­ing equation.

That said, LED lighting products that can’t pass muster on characteristics such as color rendering, color temperature, and appropriate beam intensity and spread won’t be considered for use in museum set­tings, regardless of how energy efficient they might be. And since solid-state lighting (SSL) is still an emerg­ing technology there’s no lack of LED products on the market that fall short of the mark on those parameters.

But even at this relatively early stage of the game, it would be a mistake to conclude that SSL is fit only for “plain-Jane” applications such as warehouses and parking lots, and that it will inevitably transform an art­ist’s carefully chosen palette into something drab or garish. Despite a wide range in the performance of the LED lighting products currently on the market, we’re beginning to see some that can be considered serious contenders for high-end applications and may even be preferred over their traditional counterparts.

Gateway demonstrations of replacement lamps at three different museums bear this out, while also em­phasizing the importance of patience, due diligence and tough-minded rigor in sifting through the vast ar­ray of LED lighting products out there. The payoff can be worth it, because in addition to the energy savings, many LED products have long lifetimes, which can be a big advantage in museums, where lighting mainte­nance may be especially costly and disruptive. There’s also the matter of HVAC load: Not only do LEDs gen­erate less ambient heat than incandescent lamps, but a rule of thumb is that every watt of lighting energy saved reduces the air-conditioning load by one-third of a watt, which in a museum’s carefully controlled ther­mal environment can make a big difference.

Preserving Color: GETTY CONSERVATION INSTITUTE                                          The main focus of a Gateway demonstration underway at the Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles is on how SSL compares with traditional lighting in terms of the damage it can inflict on artwork and artifacts. Senior scientist Jim Druzik is moni­toring an exhibition of Holy Land photographs at the J. Paul Getty Museum taken between the 1840s and the early 1900s. The photos— albumen prints with a very subtle pinkish tinge—are highly light sensitive, which makes them fitting subjects for a study of this kind. The halogen PAR38 lamps that are normally used in the museum’s high-ceilinged photo exhibition hall were replaced by Cree LRP-38 LED lamps, with Druzik monitoring the color changes of selected photographs every two weeks. 

In addition, Druzik is conducting standard radiometric accelerat­ed-aging tests comparing two different LED lamps with their halo­gen counterpart. The procedure involves exposing a number of high­ly sensitive colorants to light and removing samples on a periodic schedule for color measurement. In this manner it’s possible to begin realistically assessing the potential for LED light damage. 

Among the colorants are the three most sensitive International Organization for Standardization (ISO) “Blue Wools.” The ISO “Blue Wool tests” are used by conservators to determine the amount of light exposure at a given location and lighting scenario. They involve measuring the degree of fading in eight swatches of wool, each one colored with a different mixture of blue dyes that fade at a known rate when exposed to light. The light dose can be estimated by how much the wool samples fade over a given period of time, based on the known fading rate for light sources with and without an ultraviolet component to the spectrum. Including the three most sensitive ISO blue wools along with the other 16 colorants gives researchers the ability to calibrate these dosimeters in the future, if their responses are found to be different for LEDs than for standard halogen lighting. 

Since SSL is such a new technology and the spectral power dis­tribution of light sources varies, its fading risks have not yet been determined, so one of Druzik’s goals is to determine those risks for the most successful LED lamp options and recalibrate the Blue Wool test for LED lamps accordingly. The two LED products being evaluated are an MR16 retrofit manufactured by CRS Electronics, and a custom-designed source made by Xicato. 

The work is still preliminary, and measurements have only been conducted up to one million lux-hours’ exposure, but what Druzik has found to date is that most of the dyes fade at the same rate, re­gardless of which light source is being assessed, no doubt due to the similarity in the spectral power distribution of the sources. But in addition to the dyes used in the first three blue wool swatches, six of 16 dyes known to have been available and used by artists in the past actually faded somewhat more slowly under LEDs than under halogens (Table 2). While these tests haven’t yet been com­pleted, the results so far are encouraging and suggest that LEDs pose no more of a fading risk to artwork than do halogen sources. 

Druzik notes that of the various dyes he’s studying, none are fading faster under LEDs than under the halogen control. He has­tens to add that, compared to earlier LEDs, the reduced peak in the short-wavelength region from the blue LED chip in current warm-white products is probably a major contributing factor to the simi­larity in fading rates between LED and halogen. The weaker long-wavelength region may also be contributing to the few colorants that fade more slowly, including the three ISO blue wools. Druzik says this should sweep away the concerns that a lot of museums have had about using LED light sources, since up until now their effect on art objects was largely unknown. In the future, the Getty Conservation Institute will extend this work to colorants of a more intermediate light sensitivity.

As for the Holy Land photographs, Druzik says the results so far show no fading whatsoever and indicate that damage caused by the LED lamps will not be a factor for the life of the exhibit, which began in March of this year and ends in September. This makes LED lamps comparable to their halogen counterparts in that re­gard. Druzik notes that this kind of testing is not often carried out because it’s so labor-intensive, which means that the results should be of great interest to the field at large. 

Although art conservation is the main focus of this particular Gateway demonstration, Druzik emphasizes that the underlying mo­tivation is a desire to save energy and maintenance costs with SSL, while maintaining a lighting quality comparable to that of halogen sources. He reports that as far as lighting quality is concerned, no difference has been noticed so far between the two technologies, and the staff is quite happy with the performance of the LED lamps. Druzik notes, though, that assessing such things as color quality can be quite subjective, which is why he predicts that there won’t be one single LED product or brand that emerges as the “winner” that’s pre­ferred by all museums. Instead, museums will opt for products that suit their own particular tastes and requirements. 

Druzik is also impressed by the warranties offered by some SSL manufacturers, which extend to color temperature, and he adds that one warranty he saw guarantees the product to within plus or minus 100K—a very tight range that’s close to the limit of human color perception. If the preliminary results are borne out, Druzik believes that the staff of the J. Paul Getty Museum may eventually convert all the current halogen track lighting to LED lighting.

Click here for the full article “Can Museums Measure Up”

Click here for the U.S. Department of Energy Solid-State Lighting Gateway Demonstration results

LSI's LumeLEX 2044 LED Series on "You Tube"

Tweet  

  

  

 delicious  

  

We are pleased to announce that we have posted another video on the     Lighting Services Inc "You Tube" Channel.   

The new video demonstrates the features of the clean, elegant stem mounted LumeLEX 2044 Series LED fixture that blends harmoniously into any architectural setting. 

Click here for the video. (approx 3 minutes in duration)  

Utilizing the Xicato LED module, the LumeLEX 2044 produces the most consistent, highest quality white light and maintains extremely tight color control. 

The LumeLEX 2044 offers a variety of lumen packages from 600-1120, flexible beam control, and a full range of internal accessories for manipulating the distribution of light, much like you can do with any halogen source.  

Downloadable Information:

LumeLEX 2044 Catalog Sheet 

LumeLEX Reliability Datasheet 

LumeLEX Consistency Datasheet  

Please subscribe to Lighting Services Inc's You Tube Channel to see all the latest videos.  After subscribing, you will be alerted when a new video is posted.

LED Use in the Museum Environment

Tweet  

  

  

 delicious  

  

November 11, 2010 

Re: LED Use in the Museum Environment

By: Ken Kane, Lighting Services Inc

You are probably aware of certain claims being made about the use of LED lighting technology in the museum environment. This paper will try to address those claims in a manner consistent with current, high quality, white light LED sources.

Claims have run the gamut from: LEDs have no UV, and no IR, and therefore any LED is the best source for lighting in museum environments, and lighting sensitive artwork, at any light levels…. to: LEDs are the most dangerous source that can be introduced, because the CRI is lousy, the spectrum has significant spikes, and they will permanently damage your artwork in no time.

As with most statements, the actual facts are somewhere in between, and require an understanding of where those statements are coming from.

Let’s start with a qualification of museum lighting. The current “standard” for most museum and gallery lighting is to use a Tungsten Halogen source, of the appropriate output for the desired light levels. Therefore, I will focus my comparison of sources between a high quality, high CRI halogen source, and a high quality, high CRI white light LED.

Halogen sources are the most commonly used source in museum lighting environments for several reasons. Those reasons are: 

1. Spectral Distribution: Halogen light is full spectrum light. This means that if you analyze a spectral distribution chart (SPD), all colors from the violet end of the spectrum to the red end of the spectrum are present. Artwork that is illuminated by a full spectrum source will be rendered well. In addition, the energy output of the halogen spectrum is well documented, and well understood in terms of exposure to artwork. As a general statement, the most significant alteration of the halogen spectrum for museum lighting has been to filter out the ultra-violet component, and sometimes (although rarely in practice) filter out the IR component. In theory, you then have a source with full spectrum, visible light, insignificant amounts of UV, and insignificant amounts of IR.  An SPD of this type of source would look like this:

Click here for the complete paper

LumeLEX 2000 Series Reliability Datasheet

Tweet  

  

  

 delicious  

  

Lighting Services Inc has created a Reliability Datasheet document for the entire

LumeLEX 2000 Series . 

The data sheet explains definitions of LED terminology, construction of the fixtures, drive current, case temperatures, reliability testing (IESNA LM-80-08), product lifetime, production testing, conclusion and fixture warranty. 

LumeLEX™2000 Series

Reliability Datasheet IS-0112 A

Reliability Data

_____________________________________________________________________________

INTRODUCTION:

This datasheet summarizes the reliability performance of the specification grade LumeLEX™ 2000 series fixtures.

As with all Solid-State Lighting Fixtures, the overall product reliability is determined by the integration of packaging and assembly of LED components into a final product, ensuring that each of the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) guidelines on drive conditions and assembly practices are adhered to.  The LumeLEX™ 2000 series of products use a Xicato Spot Module (XSM) that can typically contain Philips Lumileds LUXEON Royal-Blue Rebel LEDs.

Therefore, to fully demonstrate the reliability of the fixture, the reliability of the LED and of the XSM Module must be detailed and tested within context to each other and to the fixture.

Most LEDs experience a gradual reduction in light output during operation, known as Lumen Depreciation. The reliability of the LED to maintain its light output during operation is known as Lumen Maintenance. As such, any degradation can be either from a reduction in the light-emitting efficiency of the LED chip or a reduction in the light transmission of the optical path within the LED package, module or fixture.

The Xicato XSM product uses remote-phosphor technology to keep the phosphor layer cold during operation, therefore retaining its light transmission and color properties throughout the life of the product. All LumeLEX™ 2000 fixtures use reflectors with a high quality Aluminum Coating that does not degrade over time, (as the heat of the fixture and the wavelength of light do not impact the Aluminum coating).

The most important drive conditions of the fixture are current applied and operating temperature, as these are the key factors on establishing performance and reliability. Therefore, Lumen Maintenance will be provided at specific current and temperature points for the LED, the Module and the Fixture. These three composite data points provide objective evidence to establish compliance with LM-80-08.

Click here for the complete LumeLEX™ 2000 datasheet

Lighting Services Inc's BP75 Image Projector on <br>"You Tube"

Tweet  

  

  

 delicious  

  

Lighting Services Inc's CX16 Series on "You Tube"

Tweet  

  

  

 delicious  

  

We are pleased to announce that we have posted another video on the

Lighting Services Inc "You Tube" Channel. 

 

The new video demonstrates the features of the CX16 Series with its removable housing design for easy lamp changing which also allows the fixture to be transformed from a spotlight to a wall wash in seconds.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w72ESyJegDQ

LED Usage in Museums and Art Galleries

Tweet  

  

  

 delicious  

  

Fundamental issues: suitability of LEDs for museum lighting in terms of color discrimination and impairment of light sensitive materials

LED sources have previously been evaluated for their suitability in museum lighting by Mie ISHII et al in 2007¹. Tests for effect on color degradation of different natural dyes and different blue scale standards (the index of light color fastness for dyed fabrics) were carried out with different LED technologies and an accumulated exposure time of 150000lx.hr (a CIE standard for light fugitive materials of medium responsivity³ ). The main findings were that particularly single phosphor LEDs of a high CCT (over 4000K), especially if there are abrupt peaks in the spectrum around 400 – 500nm, have a greater effect on the fading of yellow dyes or blue scale grade 1 and 2 standards than that of museum fluorescent lamps (NU).

Another issue highlighted by Kronkright¹ involves the effect of a non-continuous spectrum on an accurate perception of a work of art.

The above observations and cautions were relevant with the phosphor corrected LEDs of the time. Advances in the light quality of LEDs and LED modules, particularly LED modules with a separated and tuned phosphor, not only overcome these shortcomings but present a solution on a par with halogen lamps. Specification points to be certain of in this respect include: 

• Limited output between 400-500nm. From the color perspective, the blue portion of the spectrum (which is abundant in sun, moon and starlight) is needed for the proper functioning of human eye, so there should be some light in these wavelengths, but certainly no higher than halogen.  
• In general a SPD that follows as closely as possible the Black Body Locus ( BBL) with gradual changes and not spikes   

In figures 1 to 3 the Artist Series module from Xicato, which uses their patent pending “Corrected Cold Phosphor Technology”, is compared with traditional light sources in terms of CRI and halogen and standard phosphor corrected LEDs in terms of a SPD analysis, to demonstrate how the above weaknesses are solved. Figure 4 shows an application demonstration of the Artist Series module alongside tungsten halogen.  

 Figure 1

 Xicato’s Artist Series module Color Rendering properties compared with traditional lamp types. Test Color Samples 1 to 15 are detailed, from CIE 13.3-1995. Measurements by University College London 

Notes:

• High rendering properties across the visible spectrum allows fine color discernment of museum or gallery exhibits, bettering typical compact metal halide or compact fluorescent sources and on a par with halogen sources

  Figure 2

Comparison of SPD for Xicato’s Artist Series module (3000K) with halogen and Cool White pc LED. Outputs normalised to 700lm – the output of the Xicato’s Artist Series module at 700mA operation 

Notes:

• Below 400nm
  • Halogen has nearly 4 times more light than Xicato Artist module
• In 400-450nm region
  • Xicato’s Artist Series module has less light than Halogen (87mW compared to 110mW)
  • Cool white pc LED has twice the amount of light of Halogen (236mW)
• Change in intensity from the adjacent spectral band is
  • Gradual with the Halogen lamp
  • Abrupt with the Cool White pc LED
  • Gradual change close to Halogen lamp with the Xicato’s Artist Series module

Figure 3

Comparison of SPD for Xicato’s Artist Series module (3000K) with halogen and Warm White pc LED. Outputs normalised to 700lm – the output of the Xicato’s Artist Series module at 700mA operation 

Notes:

• Below 400nm
  • Halogen has nearly 4 times more light than Xicato Artist Series module
• In 400-450nm region
  • Xicato’s Artist Series module has less light than Halogen (87mW compared to 110mW)
  • Warm white pc LED has less light than Halogen but more than Xicato’s Artist Series module (91mW)
• Change in intensity from the adjacent spectral band is
  • Gradual with the Halogen lamp
  • Abrupt with the Warm White pc LED
  • Gradual change close to Halogen lamp with the Xicato’s Artist Series module 

Figure 4

An application demonstration of Xicato’s Artist Series module alongside tungsten halogen (thanks to Mike Stoane Lighting)

LED usage for museum and gallery lighting: the wider picture

Having dealt with the above fundamentals, there are a number of other reasons why LED solutions such as the Xicato’s Artist Series module are ideal for museum and gallery lighting. 

 Figure 5

The Kruithof curve 

• Stability of color point through life is essential for maintenance of a design. With Xicato’s Artist Series module this will not deviate beyond 2 Standard Deviation Colour Matching ellipses (SDCM) of the original color point. (When traditional lamp replacements are made, even with halogen if it involves a different manufacturer, there can be marked differences in color appearance).  
• As accent lighting is normally track mounted in this segment, miniaturisation can contribute towards overall aesthetics. Often the architecture itself is grand or dramatic and the less obstruction from building services hardware the better.  
• As with halogen lamps different beam angles are possible. Beam control for the Xicato Spot modules can be achieved by changing the reflectors, something which can be done on site. As the source is a uniform lambertian emitter it is possible to achieve a smooth beam with a sharp cut-off angle. Reflectors with 10,20,40 and 60 degree beam angles are commonly available. Because of the module’s light emitting area, achieving very narrow beam distributions has an implication on reflector size. Figure 6 shows the relation between the beam angle defined by its Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) and the approximate diameter of the reflector for the Xicato module. Efficiency of any reflector is normally associated with size; the larger the reflector the more light can be collected and delivered to the beam. However larger sizes will create problems associated with reflection losses in the coating (the reflection factor of the commonly used aluminium or silver in the visible region is a maximum of 92%, and losses caused by this multiply with each beam reflection).

 Figure 6

The relationship between beam angle and reflector diameter for a Xicato Spot module (with a 22mm diameter aperture) 

Until now halogen lamps have been used predominantly in this segment. Xicato’s Artist Series module provides an energy saving, long life alternative with no light quality compromises. 

Figures 7 to 9 show a number of recent museum and gallery installations using Xicato’s Artist Series modules. 

 Figure 7

The Sunderland Museum and Winter Garden.
Notes:

• Over 380 “Quartet” Uno track spots and “Quartet” RG recessed gimbal downlights from High Technology Lighting are installed, replacing the previously used AR111 and MR16 halogen.  

Figure 8

Brooker Gallery at the Chicago Field Museum  

Notes:

Here Lighting Services Inc’s LumeLEX™ 2040 luminaires using Xicato’s Artist Series modules are installed. 26 LumeLEX™ luminaires replaced 32 Halogen PAR38 lamps and reduced the wattage from 900W to 400W -a 500W energy savings. In addition, the luminaires were dimmed approximately 40% to achieve the same light levels required for the space by the museum.

 Figure 9

San Francisco MOMA (Museum Of Modern Art).  

Notes:

• Lighting Services Inc. replaced 25 Halogen PAR38 lamps with 17 LumeLEX™ 2040 luminaires using the 2700K Artist Series module in the The Djerassi Gallery. The energy savings amounted to 61%. 2700K Artist Series modules were used, creating a “human” environment according to their head curator for photography.

References

1. Open letter from Mr Dale Kronkright, Head of Conservation at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum to the Green Task Force of the American Institute for Conservation of Artistic and Historic Works, 30^th March 2010 (http://cool.conservation-us.org/byform/mailing-lists/cdl/2010/0361.html) 
2. “Colour Degradation of Textiles with Natural Dyes and of Blue Scale Standards Exposed to White LED Lamps: Evaluation of White LED Lamps for Effectiveness as Museum Lighting” by Mie ISHII et al, J. Light & Vis. Env. Vol 32, No 4, 2008 
3. CIE: Control of damage to museum objects by optical radiation (CIE 157:2004), CIE, (2004) – from which:

* No conservation limit but there may be adaptation, visibility or heat effects if high light levels are used on irresponsive items.

Acknowledgements

To Kevan Shaw of KSLD, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Heinrich Kramer, FPLDA of LICHTDESIGN-Ingenieurges.m.b.H. and Dale Kronkright of The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum and Research Centre for pre-publication reviews of this paper.

Afterword 1

Dale Kronkright, Head of Conservation at The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum and Research Centre

Having reviewed this article and seen Xicato’s Artist Series module I agree that in this instance the problems I highlighted in my letter (reference 1 above) have been well addressed. I would go so far as to say that this remarkable LED module holds a bright beacon of hope for the future of SS lighting. I must however lay down a warning that from my experience it is far from being the norm in the LED lighting field and vigilance in specification is called for to avoid great potential harm to light sensitive materials. Xicato’s Artist Series module does lead the way in our industry and I hope others will follow and museum and gallery lighting can enjoy the energy and maintenance savings of LEDs with no drop in viewing standards or worries about exhibit damage.

Afterword 2

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Heinrich Kramer, FPLDA, LICHTDESIGN-Ingenieurges.m.b.H.

My office having completed over 30 museums in different countries, I am very much convinced by the Xicato Artist Series module. 

Three points on the article:

1. There is much less belief nowadays in the Kruithof curve. The preferences for the Color Temperature of artificial light are influenced by our experience with daylight and artificial light sources. Thus museum directors all over the world prefer in art galleries with paintings of the old Dutch masters the PAR 38 lamp (Color Temperature of 2500K), because they know these paintings are painted under gas or candle light. So maybe Xicato should also develop a LED with a lower Color Temperature.                                                                              
2. The deep red parts of the spectrum effect also dark browns (you can see it also in the CRI of the Color sheet R9). Maybe you can add a bit more long wave red. The overall CRI is fantastic, but this is what museum directors require.
3. There is a trend away from scallops over exposed paintings and towards usage of projectors or wallwashers.

A Light in Stony Point, Family-Owned <br>Lighting Services Inc Adapts to the Times

Tweet  

  

  

 delicious  

  

Wall Street Journal, Published June 7, 2010, By Demetria Gallegos

In the early heyday of television, Marvin Gelman tried to take a leave of absence from his job as lighting director of "The Tonight Show" starring Steve Allen.

"NBC told him, 'Are you crazy?' So he left," said Mr. Gelman's son, Daniel. Marvin Gelman wanted to get out of the artificially lit studio and study daytime lighting conditions. He explored the use of theatrical techniques such as color, key and fill lighting in retail stores, founding Lighting Services Inc in 1958. There, he built a reputation on store window displays, designing installations, selling the company's products and installing them himself.

Today LSI, based in Stony Point, about an hour north of the city, turns $20 million in annual sales on its track, accent and display-lighting systems, said Daniel Gelman.

Their fixtures are installed all over the world and include the overhead lamps at the Empire State Building ticket area, illuminating weary tourists in line for the ride to the top. They're also lighting galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian; the Guggenheim Museums in New York, Las Vegas and Spain; the Disney theme parks in Asia; the William J. Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Ark.; the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tenn.; and the international terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport.

Mr. Gelman is proud that LSI's work is featured in so many museums, retail settings and houses of worship. "Those are the kind of things that burn our candle bright," he said.

"They're among the premier manufacturers of track in the world," said Larry French, a principal at Auerbach, Glasow, French, a San Francisco-based architectural lighting design firm that has partnered many times with LSI. "They make a very high-quality product."

He added that family-owned LSI is a "rare animal" in the lighting world today. "The relationship is personal. They do things because it's the right thing to do, not because it tallies out on a balance sheet."

Daniel Gelman, 49 years old, grew up working on the assembly line during summers. He studied some marketing and administration in college, yet had no plans to make a career with the company. But the "people side" of the business, including a chance to work with some of the talent in the lighting-design field, drew him in.

He took over as president and CEO in 2000. The company now has about 110 employees. Mr. Gelman's standard poodle, Hanna, roams the 50,000-square-foot manufacturing, shipping and warehouse facilities, and a three-foot gong rings at least a few times a week, he said-every time a $50,000 sale comes in. Although some components come from overseas, LSI's product line is manufactured and assembled domestically.

LSI's strength is designing customized solutions for architects, engineers and lighting designers. "We're not over the counter," Mr. Gelman said. "We are listeners, we understand the needs and what our customers want."

Steven Rosen, president and principal of Available Light in Boston, which worked with LSI on the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Va., among other projects, has seen that collaborative philosophy firsthand. "They talk personally to the people who are using the equipment and understand the needs of the specifier or designer," he said. "If I have an issue, whether it's positive or negative, I can pick up the phone and call Dan Gelman. I can't call the CEO of a conglomerate and say, 'I don't like that downlight you sent me.' "

LSI receives buyout offers "all the time," said Mr. Gelman, who used to entertain them to learn what he could. "I don't even talk about them any more because I have no inclination to sell. We have a lot of fun here. We love what we do."

Mr. Gelman welcomes the challenge of staying current in a changing field. Incandescent technology, long the foundation, is finally giving way to new sources with environmental benefits such as metal halide, compact fluorescent, and LED lighting, which until recently hasn't produced a satisfactory quality of light. Now LEDs are the best aesthetic solution in some cases, because the color temperature and intensity can be controlled, and they emit more useful amounts of "white" light, instead of the more familiar colored LEDs.

These maturing technologies make all the difference for clients, Mr. Gelman said, especially in a museum or retail setting. If the lighting isn't right, "it's going to look strange, so psychologically you may not reach in your pocket to spend money."

The firm's reputation for standing by its products was evident recently at the Oakland Museum of California, said Mr. French, when "the contractor made some field decisions that, shall we say, were improvised. It was a contractor problem, but LSI really came to the table with a fix."

For more information on Lighting Services Inc, please visit: www.LightingServicesInc.com.