LEDs Magazine announces categories for 2019 Sapphire Awards

June 26, 2018 — LEDs Magazine is pleased to announce the categories for the 2019 Sapphire Awards. The program will feature 15 solid-state lighting (SSL) product categories and the prestigious Illumineer of the Year category. Submissions are now open and can be entered at ledsmagazine.com/sapphireawards. The program will culminate at the Gala and awards ceremony in Las Vegas on February 28, 2019 during Strategies in Light.

Solid-state lighting product categories

Packaged LEDs and OLEDs
Modular LED Light Engines
LED Drivers
SSL Enabling Technologies (optics, interconnect, thermal, etc)
ICs and Electronic Components for SSL
Tools and Tests in SSL Design
SSL Lamp Design
Horticultural Lighting
Lighting for Health and Wellbeing
Indoor SSL luminaire Design
Outdoor SSL Luminaire Design
Industrial SSL Luminaire Design
Smart and Connected SSL Enabling Technologies
Smart and Connected SSL Systems
Specialty SSL Design

The Sapphire judging panel features LED and SSL experts from across the industry. The judges rely on their deep expertise to evaluate nominated products based on company essays that describe the innovation in products along with standard literature such as data sheets and photometric test reports. The judges assign each entry a score of 1–5 Sapphires.

Based on the judges’ scoring, LEDs Magazine selects finalists in each category. Moreover, the program also includes the Illumineer of the Year category where a person or small team of people is recognized for innovative work in the SSL field within the past year. Winners will be announced at the Sapphire Awards Gala on February 28, 2019 in Las Vegas, NV.

In addition to publishing details on the Sapphire finalists and winners, LEDs Magazine publishes the scores for every product entry receiving 3.5 Sapphires on average or higher. Moreover, every entrant receives a score for their product privately along with the judges’ comments.

LEDs Magazine goes to great lengths to make sure that the judging process is handled in a fair and equitable matter. Every entry is reviewed by a number of judges independently. The judges assigned to each product category are selected to specifically avoid any conflict of interest.

“Each year, we review the Sapphire Awards program to ensure coverage of all sectors of LED and solid-state lighting, from enabling technologies to test and measurement tools to lighting end products in both established and emerging applications,” said Editor-in-Chief Maury Wright. “Our team and our judges stay on top of product development in the industry as well as the trending topics. We expect that the fifth annual Sapphire Awards submissions, including the Illumineer nominations, will reflect the drive toward more feature-rich lighting technology that intersects with the Internet of Things across many application segments.”

LEDs Magazine invites vendors to submit written information, photos, and spec sheets about products that have been released or upgraded in the past year. This information will be used by the Sapphire Awards panel to rank products based on their unique technology or application thereof, innovation, ease of use, efficiency, reliability, and contribution to profitability. Illumineer of the Year submissions will be considered based upon the development of innovative technology that enables high-quality lighting products while lowering operational and/or product costs. The technology may not yet be evident in commercially available products but would need to demonstrate commercial viability and value under our judges’ criteria.

Learn more at ledsmagazine.com/sapphireawards

About LEDs Magazine

LEDs Magazine is the leading information resource for the global LED and lighting community, serving thousands of readers that specify, design, and manufacture LED-based products for a wide range of end-use applications. Its key value proposition is to offer well-written, unbiased, and informative editorial content to more than 63,000 subscribers. LEDs Magazine provides news and product information on a daily basis in combination with in-depth technical articles, analysis, and case studies. For additional information about LEDs Magazine, visit www.ledsmagazine.com

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