With Selectable Lighting, One Size May Not Fit All
At ArchLIGHT Summit, Paula Ziegenbein, Michael Lunn and Shanna Snow Brown examined the growing use of selectable lighting—and why flexibility does not always equal better design.
Selectable lighting has become one of the fastest-growing trends in the LED market.
One luminaire can now offer multiple wattages, color temperatures and, increasingly, beam distributions. For manufacturers and distributors, that can mean fewer SKUs, simpler inventories and greater flexibility in the field.
But is selectable lighting always good for the designer?
That was the question at the heart of “Selectable Lighting: One Size May Not Fit All,” a panel at ArchLIGHT Summit featuring Paula Ziegenbein, Principal of Hartranft Lighting Studios; Shanna Snow Brown, Associate at Hartranft Lighting Studios; and Michael Lunn, HALO Product Marketing Manager at Cooper Lighting Solutions.
Paula led much of the discussion, and from the beginning she made it clear that this would not be an argument for or against selectable lighting. Instead, the panel examined where the technology works well, where designers should be cautious and what can happen when flexibility begins to compromise design intent.
What Is Selectable Lighting?
Paula began with the basics.
Selectable lighting refers to features built directly into the luminaire or lamp that allow certain characteristics to be adjusted in the field. That is different from connecting a fixture to a lighting control system.
The selectable function is typically located on the product itself. Early versions appeared primarily in LED retrofit lamps, where installers could select wattage and lumen output. From there, the concept expanded into selectable CCT, usually through a series of predefined color-temperature settings.
Now manufacturers are adding beam angle and distribution to the list.
The appeal is obvious. A distributor may be able to stock one product instead of several. A contractor has more flexibility in the field. A manufacturer can streamline production.
However, Paula quickly moved the discussion toward an equally important question: What does that flexibility mean for performance?
Selectable CCT Is Not Tunable White
One distinction Paula emphasized involved color temperature.
A selectable-CCT product may offer settings such as 2700K, 3000K, 3500K, 4000K and higher. But that should not be confused with tunable-white technology, which can provide a continuous range of white-light settings.
Selectable products offer stops. That matters because LED color mixing can create variations that designers may not anticipate.
She explained that when manufacturers mix between two LED color points, the resulting colors may not always track the blackbody curve in the same way incandescent or halogen sources did. Even fixtures labeled with the same CCT can exhibit visible differences depending on LED binning and color tolerances.
For the designer, the issue is straightforward: specifying “3000K” does not automatically guarantee that every selectable fixture will look exactly the same.
That may not matter in every application. In others, it matters enormously.
The Benefits Are Real
The panel was careful not to dismiss selectable lighting.
There are significant benefits.
Selectable products can reduce inventory, simplify stocking and give contractors flexibility when jobsite conditions change. They are widely available in commercial lighting and are increasingly moving into architectural product categories.
They can also solve real-world problems. Paula offered the example of a project where the finishes installed in the field turn out darker than what the design team expected. A selectable-wattage fixture can provide a practical way to increase output without replacing the entire luminaire.
For distributors, the economics are compelling. One SKU might cover a large number of applications that previously required several separate products.
That efficiency helps explain why the technology has spread so rapidly. But convenience does not eliminate tradeoffs.
Where Designers Need to Be Careful
One of the panel’s strongest points involved maintaining design intent. If a designer specifies 3000K, how does the designer know the installer actually selects 3000K? If the product ships from the factory at its highest wattage or highest color temperature, who verifies the final setting?
The same questions apply to selectable optics. A fixture may be capable of switching between several distributions, but those distributions may not match the photometric precision of a product designed around one dedicated optic.
Shanna encouraged designers to look carefully at IES files, photometric data and manufacturer documentation before assuming that a selectable product will perform identically to a fixed solution.
This becomes especially important in architectural applications, where beam control, cutoff, glare and visual consistency can be critical.
Using photometry, Shanna presented several comparative examples demonstrating the potential for compromised performance.
“Set It and Forget It”
Another important distinction is accessibility.
Many selectable products are adjusted with small switches located above the ceiling or inside the housing. Once installed, changing the setting may require removing the fixture.
That makes many selectable products less like dynamic lighting systems and more like “set it and forget it” products.
Paula also noted limitations in beam precision. A selectable product may offer several beam options but still not deliver the tight control of a dedicated 10-degree narrow spot, for example.
Dimming can present another difference. Some selectable commercial products may dim only to 10%, while specification-grade fixtures can offer much deeper dimming.
Again, none of those differences automatically makes the product wrong.
They simply make product evaluation more important.
Serviceability and Life Cycle Matter
Shanna added another layer to the discussion: serviceability.
Some architectural luminaires are designed so that drivers, LED boards, light engines or other components can be replaced during the product’s life.
Many lower-cost selectable products are not.
At end of life, the entire fixture may be removed and discarded.
The panel also raised concerns about potentially shorter life cycles, less precise photometric performance and the possibility that additional fixtures could be required to achieve the same design criteria.
Those issues may not show up in the initial fixture price.
They can become very important later.
Michael Lunn: Not All Selectable Products Are Equal
Michael brought the manufacturer’s perspective.
He described a market under significant price pressure, particularly in commodity lighting, where unfamiliar manufacturers continue to enter with extremely inexpensive products.
His larger point was important: not all selectable products are created equal.
There is increasingly a spectrum, from low-cost commodity products to much more sophisticated architectural-grade selectable luminaires.
Michael showed examples comparing selectable and fixed optics, aperture sizes, regressions, dimming performance and beam control. In some cases, the differences were smaller than designers might expect. In others, the dedicated product clearly provided greater precision. Shanna.docxDOCX
That means the decision cannot be based simply on whether a product has a dip switch.
Designers still have to evaluate what is behind it.
Flexibility Without Losing Design Intent
That was my main takeaway from the session.
Selectable lighting is not inherently good or bad.
It is a tool.
For distributors, contractors and manufacturers, the advantages can be substantial. Reduced SKUs, simpler stocking and field flexibility solve real business problems.
For lighting designers, however, the conversation has to go one step further.
What happens to color consistency? What happens to optical precision? How deeply does the fixture dim? Can it be serviced? Who verifies the field settings? And most importantly, does the product still deliver the design intent?
The title of the session said it well.
One size may not fit all.
And when it comes to selectable lighting, knowing when flexibility adds value—and when it introduces compromise—may be the most important selection of all.
Go Deeper: ArchLIGHT Summit Education: Beyond the Show Floor