LeGrand Undercabinet Lighting
LeGrand, a company known for its line of electrical and IT products, recently released a new line of products under the title Adorne. The line features a unique square form factor and extended functionality that hadn’t been seen in the lighting industry before.
While the new line pushed the concept of the switch quite far, LeGrand wanted to see what other innovative ideas our team could develop that pushed the envelope.
We decided to focus on updating their undercabinet lighting which seemed the least up-to-date and adding in new functionality.
Generation Lighting - $18 per
Generation Lighting - $18 per
Generation Lighting - $18 per
Looking At The Market
While their switches pushed conventional style, their undercabinet lighting looked like it was stuck in the early 90’s. And when considering the price point compared to other contemporary models, it hardly seemed worth it to upgrade.
Snow Inspiring
During this project an unexpectedly harsh snow storm took New Hampshire residents by surprise.
When everything settled, Public Service of New Hampshire reported about 140,000 homes without power. Unitil reported another 22,000 customers without power.
Restorations would take a week which provided plenty of time to wonder, could we make our task lighting useful during a power outage?
Mobility Overhaul
While we started looking at sleeker versions of the undercabinet lighting we also wanted to look ad additional functionality. One main point of research we found was the important of mobility in task lighting so we decided to focus our efforts in that direction.
Better Adornments
After a bit more development while trapped inside from the snowstorm we landed on our final design that combined task lighting with emergency lighting.
The puck would have a main housing that it would sit in for the majority of its usage, but if light was needed in a special spot, the puck could be removed and placed elsewhere.
This was doable thanks to a material called micro-suction tape which relies on small suction-cup-like air pockets to stick, rather than adhesives which degrade over time.
Illuminating In Emergencies
Where the lights really shine is during a power outage. Normally the pucks would remain charging while docked, but during a power outage, they would become their own mobile emergency flashlights.
Since undercabinet lighting like this is normally installed in home kitchens, a common gathering point for families, the lights would be in a useful and well-known spot and create a lighted room visible in the rest of the house like a beacon.
The lights could be gathered by the family and placed as needed so they could feel safe and wait out the storm with comforting and accessible light.
