DOE awards Koerner Design for sustainable LED luminaires design competition

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced the winner of its Manufacturing Innovator Challenge for Sustainable Manufacturing of Luminaires. Brad Koerner of Koerner Design won the award in the program hosted by the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). Koerner’s winning design is a bamboo pendant that relies on recycled materials, a minimal bill of materials, and delivers excellent energy efficiency. The DOE launched the challenge back in October, saying that most solid-state lighting (SSL) products rely on materials such as aluminum and other dense materials. The announcement noted that LED sources should be amenable to lighter-weight designs and materials that could be easily recycled at the end of life. Meanwhile, the program sought concepts that delivered excellent efficiency and light quality at the system level.