Trends in custom commercial lighting: What’s going to be big this year?

Over recent years, the global lighting market has been rapidly evolving from traditional lighting technologies to LED, and we’ve seen trends for wireless solutions and sophisticated controls emerge.

What developments are coming our way this year and beyond?

We sat down with Kate Hall of Fagerhult UK to hear her thoughts. Kate is a Custom Application Manager, meaning she works with our customers who require a modified or fully bespoke lighting solution. She’s one of the first to hear about the changing wants and needs of our customers, and here shares some predictions about everything from styling to sustainability.

Trends in light mounting

“Globe luminaires are one popular option at the moment, and this will likely continue,” began Kate. “Traditionally as pendants, and perhaps on a chandelier, but a new requirement I’m being asked about is for them on a track mounting.”

Conventional commercial spaces often have a suspended, false ceiling - a grid of tiles, snug and flush, ideal for linear or pendant lights. Or, alternatively, each tile is replaceable with a panel luminaire. This has advantages, but does offer less flexibility. If you want to move lights, perhaps due to reconfiguring an office space, it’s much easier with an overhead track mount.

“How workplaces are being used has changed, and there are less people in the office less often now,” added Kate, reflecting on the post-pandemic reality of changing work patterns. “Companies across the world are increasingly focussed on sustainability and the need to reduce energy use. The combination of these points means those companies are increasingly likely to want to rearrange desks, and then position the spotlight or diffuse luminaire exactly where it is needed, rather than bathing the space uniformly in light, or entirely replacing existing lighting with new to accommodate changes to the layout.

“Track is a great way to achieve flexibility. Because of this, we’ve adapted many of our linear fittings to track, and we’re seeing more interest in those that we would have seen previously. There are other ways to address energy use and sustainability too, and I’m also seeing more and more queries about our wireless smart lighting system, Organic Response.”

The industrial look lives on

Industrial architecture originally referred to the design approach suited to buildings like factories and warehouses. These spaces often had to be converted to other use – such as offices – in our less manufacturing-focussed age, so we became accustomed to that aesthetic in other building types too.

“There’s been increasing demand for suspended ceilings that are open and exposed, and the acceptance of these industrial-look solutions has been identified as a clear trend,” continued Kate. “There’s a finish that always seems to be popular with the ateljé Lyktan fittings - a brass, industrial look. Our sister brand makes globes and tube fittings with beautiful brass ends, with a very 1920s industrial feel, and I don’t see this trend slowing any time soon.”

The increasing importance of sustainability

From style to sustainability, one thing that’s been really quite popular this year is our Re:Furbish initiative. “With this offering, Fagerhult can take what you have - such as an old fluorescent luminaire - and refurbish it into a new LED solution, often keeping the diffuser and body of the fitting and replacing the actual light source within,” describes Kate.

Fagerhult will accept any unit, not just ones we originally manufactured. One sample luminaire is sent for review, with engineers assessing what they can keep, and producing a detailed document laying out the sustainability gains achievable from refurbishment, so that the client can decide whether to proceed.

The documents offer hard specifics that can be factored into sustainability and carbon footprint commitments. Kate adds: “the EU’s RoHS Directive will very soon largely ban the purchase of fluorescent lighting. Because of this, customers needing to replace even one unit may have to consider either custom solutions where new LEDs match old fluorescents, or a general shift to LED. The UK will continue to follow this directive, as in fact will many non-EU states.”

Finding solutions within the Fagerhult family

One of the advantages enjoyed by Fagerhult is the breadth of the wider Fagerhult Group, which is comprised of a dozen manufacturers. “I work with all of our factories, and within each one is a department that deals with custom enquiries,” explained Kate. “Sometimes a customer specifically requests to work with one of our sister companies, but if not, we can look across the whole range and almost always find something that can be adapted to meet the need. I might know of something, or we might share it with all the factories and see who comes up with the best solution.”

Whether you need a bespoke solution or a standard one, Fagerhult would love to answer any brief you have. If you’re not sure whether customisation would be needed, or exactly what units would suit you best, our technically aware representatives will happily take whatever engineering, aesthetic or spatial requirements you have, and make recommendations drawn from the whole Fagerhult Group catalogue. We’re always happy to share our knowledge, so get in touch.