California Energy Commissioner Julia Levin kicked off the 2009 Lighting for Tomorrow awards presentation with a timely question: “How many lighting designers does it take to change the world?”

Winners of this year’s competition were announced at a Sept. 15 breakfast session during the annual American Lighting Assn. (ALA) Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA.

“You embody the spirit of energy in a green economy,” Levin said of the winners and contenders in her introduction. “All of you represent where the economy will grow and blossom.”

ALA Director of Technology and Engineering Terry McGowan, FIES, LS, presented the awards, which encompassed fluorescent and solid-state/LED categories. Since dimming capabilities for fluorescent lighting has been such a barrier to entry into the residential market historically, this year’s fluorescent entries were required to be dimmable to 20 percent. A sign of the times indicating growing interest in LED technology, there were 31 total fluorescent entries this year and 43 solid-state entries.

American Fluorescent took three of the 14 honors, including the Grand Prize for fluorescent fixtures. Pictured here, from left, are Mark Kaffee, Bill Solomon and Tim Tevyaw with their company’s awards.

Cree LED Lighting also received three awards in the solid-state categories, including a top honor for a high-output downlight.

The Lighting for Tomorrow competition is sponsored by the ALA, the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE) and the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) A complete list of winners follows.

Fluorescent Dimming

Grand Prize Winner, Moderate Price Category: Genesis Sconce, American Fluorescent

Grand Prize Winner, High-End Price Category: Aliante 21-Inch Interior Demi-Sconce, Ivalo Lighting Co. Inc.

Winning Fixture: Versa LUX Pendant, Designers Fountain

Winning Fixture: Portman Linear Flush Mount, American Fluorescent

Winning Lamps: Energy Saver Reflector Flood 16W Dimmable and Energy Saver Twister 20W Dimmable, Philips Lighting

Honorable Mention: Madison Pendant, American Fluorescent

Honorable Mention: Cirrus Light Bar, Cherry Tree Design

Solid-State

Grand Prize Winner: eW Cove QLX Powercore, Philips Color Kinetics

Grand Prize Winner: LRG-DR1000 Downlight, Cree LED Lighting

Special Focus Award for Light Distribution: Architect LED Flat Panel, MaxLite

Special Focus Award for Ease of Installation: Eco-Counter 120V LED Under-Cabinet Task Light, Creative Systems Lighting (CSL)

Special Focus Award for Versatility: Calculite Solid-State Downlight, Philips Lightolier

Special Focus Award for High Efficacy: LR6-HE Downlight, Cree LED Lighting

Special Focus Award for Technical Innovation: LRP-38 PAR38 Track Fixture, Cree LED Lighting