Project Overview

The D900+ LED downlight is a versatile low-energy recessed interior downlight that evolves with needs and tastes throughout its 30-year, 70,000-hour lifetime. The D900+ incorporates:

• A simple twist-on, twist-off interchangeable fascia system with a range of colours, forms and beam-angling fascias; property owners, architects and interior designers have the freedom to experiment and push the boundaries of current interior lighting trends, and the core lighting unit is prevented from being replaced if styles and tastes change.

• A trimless design, providing the option for trimless installation; ideal for minimal projects.

• Universal gimballing with a unique reduced-airflow design; allows for tilting 30° in any direction without compromising insulation.

• Market-leading brightness and light quality using as little energy as possible; Tru-
Colour technology (95+CRI light quality) for vibrant colours, defined details and flattering skin tones, and an efficacy of 61 lumens per Watt.

• Exceptional product lifetime and warranty; premium componentry that guarantees light quality and brightness over the product’s lifetime.

Organisation

Brightgreen Pty. Ltd.

Team

Building on the design and engineering of the award-winning D900 Classic LED downlight, the Brightgreen team developed the D900+ downlight under the guidance of CEO and Head of Design, David O’Driscoll. This team consists of several industrial designers, electrical engineers and an in-house lab technician.

As with all Brightgreen products, collaborative problem-solving provided the backbone for the design and development of the D900+, which went through many design iterations and prototypes before reaching the most versatile, sustainable and durable solution possible.

The group’s close relationships with stakeholders within the design and architecture sectors proved vital. Feedback regarding current lights on the market as well as analysis of prototypes informed the team’s work throughout the product’s design journey.

Project Brief

A key problem with long-life LED lighting is the lack of versatility offered to lighting designers, architects and property owners. LED lights provide superior efficiency, safety and light quality but unfortunately the majority of products that are currently on the market are limited with regards to creative applications and adaptability.

Designers often feel that they cannot achieve the desired effect for a project using LED and so have to resort to less efficient, redundant lighting technologies. Similarly property owners who choose LED lights from an economic and environmental standpoint are often stuck with the same lighting style for the entire duration of the product’s lifetime – for Brightgreen products, this is 30 years.

The Brightgreen team was challenged to design a high-quality, low-energy LED downlight that was easy to use, enduring and offered more options for personalization and creative expression throughout the product’s exceptional lifetime. The team was also required to improve upon the insulation properties of our flagship downlight, the D900 Classic, without compromising functionality.

Project Innovation/Need

The D900+ combines 30+ years of high-quality, low-energy illumination with the versatility to change with the times, providing exceptional illumination, adaptability, energy efficiency and longevity from a single downlight. Everything from fascia colour and shape, to light colour temperature, to beam angle can be altered at any stage in the downlight’s lifetime.

Primarily, the D900+ functions as a base unit for creative lighting. We tapped into our own affinity for hacking existing objects and stipulated that the customization system for the D900+ would need no prior knowledge or specialist skills.

The resulting twist-on, twist-off mechanism fulfils this, and we intend to make the thread specification publicly available enabling people to design and produce their own fascias so that the D900+ is never stylistically outdated.

Brightgreen’s Chameleon LED chip provides variable correlated colour temperature, meaning that the light’s colour can be changed from warm 2700K to cool 5000K and everything in between depending on the use of a space and desired atmosphere.

Newly designed ball-and-socket gimballing allows adjustments without compromising insulation. With the help of stakeholders, we also examined the installation process, designing rubber-tipped spring clips to ensure that installation does not damage ceiling materials.

Design Challenge

Close examination of the market’s needs – including electricians, property owners, retailers/wholesalers, lighting designers and architects – informed the design of the D900+:

Designers and architects’ key interests in eco-values of properties and the aesthetics of the interior space informed insulation and versatility needs, resulting in 360? restricted airflow gimballing, the trimless design of the core unit, the interchangeable fascia system and its accompanying range of fasica shapes and colours.

Electricians and installers’ needs for products that are quick and easy to install informed the design of the rubber-tipped spring clips, preventing ceiling damage, and the seamless fit of the trimless core unit into a standard 90mm circular cut-out.

End users’ needs (including home owners and property managers) for high-quality lighting that can be adapted as they redecorate or repurpose spaces informed the light’s Tru-Colour (high-CRI) luminaire and the variety of interchangeable fascias. Longevity provided by the product’s lifetime and adaptability tapped into the need for good-value lighting.

General market trends for products outside of the lighting sector that offer consumers personalization without the need to learn complex skills informed the twist-on, twist-off fascia mechanism.

Sustainability

The D900+ rethinks interior lighting as a life-long investment, opposing existing views of lighting as a throw-away component of interiors; something that stems from the planned obsolescence that is the foundation of the incandescent bulb industry.

The direct environmental impact of the D900+ is fourfold:

• Its low-energy LED luminaire and custom-designed electronic system ensures that it uses as little power as possible, saving energy and money.

• Insulated gimballing restricts air flow for improved property insulation.

• Its 70,000-hour lifetime and interchangeable fascia system guarantees the longest possible product usage time before expiration.

• 98% of materials that make up the D900+ can be recycled or reformed ensures that the product does not end up in landfill at the end of its life.

Overall, the D900+ allows designers and property owners to realise high-quality, creative lighting solutions without sacrificing environmental viability. This gives them the freedom to experiment and push the boundaries of current interior lighting trends in a sustainable way.