June 29, 2021

The Real Impact of Discontinued Lighting Products

2021 06 impact of discontinued products.jpg

Above: Stock photography sourced from Pixabay and other sources.
Controller is not manufactured by any company mentioned in this article.

Cree Lighting’s Planned Shutdown of Audacy Controls Shines a Light on the Impact of Unsupported Products

Product discontinuations are a normal part of brand and technology cycles. We frequently see launches of next generation light fixtures and control systems that eventually cause the phase-out of previous generations. Without much of a headache most lighting professionals can find downlights, flat panels, area lights, high bays and wall packs to replace mainstream discontinued products.

Simple: High-volume lamps, fixtures and controls are replaced by products with similar/improved specs, exact dimensions and almost-identical aesthetics.

Challenging: Customer settles for a solution that is close but not exact to the original solution. Differences are tolerated in light distribution, shielding, ceiling integration, dimensions, aesthetics and/or lumen output, etc. Distributors often expect credit for obsolete products on their shelves.

Complex: If discontinuation impacts marquis custom fixtures, niche fixtures or unique lighting controls platforms the project stakeholders are forced to engage in patchwork solutions, inferior workarounds, costly replacements or expensive upgrades. These situations can sometimes leave specifiers, distributors, contractors and end users extremely frustrated.

Cree Lighting to Shut Down Audacy Controls

Something is currently happening in the lighting controls landscape that seems to be causing a bit of a kerfuffle for some end users, distributors and agents. In February Cree Lighting, a company of Ideal Industries, announced the forthcoming end-of-life for its Audacy Wireless Lighting Controls product portfolio.

For most Audacy customers with completed projects, this likely won’t be an issue. But for customers who just completed Phase I of a multi-phase project, it’s a major disappointment and potential headache.

Below: Excerpt from Cree Lighting memo. Click image for full memo.

Case & Point: Sports Facility Now Forced to Patch Multiple Technologies Together

A multi-venue sports facility in Minnesota recently had two hockey rink arenas upgraded to the Audacy controls platform – with future plans to install Audacy in areas including a third hockey rink, track and other spaces.

Greg Ehrich, owner of lighting distributor Premier Lighting, explained on a recent tED Magazine Get a Grip on Lighting podcast that the decision process to select Audacy included trusting the perceived stability of the controls manufacturer. “Ideal is huge. Cree Lighting, big company... Audacy, they’re someone that you trust to be around.” Greg went on to explain the many disappointments that the situation has caused – and speculated that the large customer might not trust his company's recommendations in the future because of this unanticipated situation.

END OF LIFE CONTROLS SYSTEMS – CHALLENGES AND QUESTIONS:

Backwards Compatibility

Most controls companies build next-generation platforms that are designed to be backwards compatible with previous systems. Even platform-to-platform integration can occur with some creative (and sometimes complex) application of various interfaces that allow non-compatible systems to communicate. Wireless systems further enable retrofit solutions that are less of a headache compared to hard-wired digital systems. But often, if the end user wants to control each lighting scene, zone and component from one tablet, it takes major redesign effort and increased cost to cause old and new systems to work together.

Specifiers, Agents and Distributors

Sales cycles for controls systems can be very long. From the specifier’s design-development, to contractor bidding, to the day a PO is issued for the controls system it often takes 9-12 months or longer for larger commercial controls systems to flow through the various stages of design and construction. Is a 90-day window sufficient warning to shut down new sales of an existing controls platform? Given the complexity of some systems, how much of a headache does a forced change like this cause?

Warranty Claims

In our conversations with Cree Lighting management we received credible, earnest assurance that the company is going to do everything it can to support affected customers. The company is bolstering its parts inventory to address future service requests. The company will no longer be selling small add-on systems, but if warranty matters arise, they expect to have the product inventory to address future situations.

What happens to the Cree Lighting Audacy Cloud Server in 2026?

Cree confirmed that the cloud-enabled features will not be shut down in 2026. Audacy cloud will no longer be supported with additional bug fixes, feature enhancements, security patches, etc. So customers’ systems will continue to work beyond 2026, but will the lack of cloud support cause some cyber security minded customers to be skittish about using Audacy long term?

In the end, discontinuations are imperfect, but certain situations can be optimally handled to minimize stakeholder impact:

Anyone who has worked with universities knows that it’s common for multiple campus buildings to have multiple control systems.
Tall, one-owner buildings in New York City have state of the art wireless controls on the penthouse level while lower level back-of-house areas utilize still-functioning, 30+ year old slider-based analog dimming systems.
Years ago, Savant purchased residential controls manufacturer LiteTouch only to announce the platform discontinuation three years later. That created a stir in the Resi Systems world relating to incompatible hard-wired systems and availability of controllers, among other things. Contractors, integrators and dealers found a way to work around it.
Currently another lighting controls company is considering a business decision that is reportedly causing high-end residential lighting designers in NYC and Los Angeles to speculate if the company truly wants to support high-end residential projects.