April 12, 2025
5 Things to Know: April 12
Downtown L.A. lit up for the IES Product Fair. Plus, the tariff war didn't escalate again...it just got clarified.
Here's a roundup of some of the week's happenings curated to help lighting people stay informed.
1. IESLA Product Fair
Few lighting communities are as tight-knit — or as theatrically inclined — as Los Angeles. That was on display again Thursday at the IESLA Product Fair in Downtown LA, a long-running gathering that remains as much about relationships as it is about products.
This year’s show brought together over 150 exhibitors and close to 500 attendees, with support from all the major local lighting agents. Around 330 exhibitor personnel staffed the booths. The event’s revised hours — 10am to 6pm — didn’t stop people from grabbing a drink afterward, but it did cut short the old happy hour rush that once gave the show a late-day energy boost.
Above (L to R): Al Uszynski, Inside Lighting; Scott Anderson, SCI Lighting & Controls; Keith Rowan, Signify; Steve Leszuk, SCI Lighting & Controls.
Exhibitors shared mixed feedback. Traffic ebbed and flowed throughout the day, with some long slow stretches that felt familiar to anyone who’s worked a post-COVID trade show floor. Many manufacturers noted that while attendance wasn’t what it once was, the people who did show up were high caliber lighting people. Still, like most industry gatherings, the show is what you make of it. Attendees pointed to a strong mix of lighting and controls technologies on display, along with four well-received CEU seminars for those looking to earn credits or learn something new.
We caught up with Chip Israel, CEO & Founder of Lighting Design Alliance, at the show, where he shared, "I'm trying to make it an educational experience for our employees," noting that newer staff benefit from seeing how experienced designers evaluate products and engage exhibitors. He added, "I think it's really important for sales reps to be able to walk around to the manufacturers and show that we have great relationships with all of them," highlighting his frequent message about the value of strong rep-designer collaboration.
Proceeds from the fair support the IES Los Angeles Section Student Education Fund.
2 . The tariff war didn’t escalate again. It just got clarified.
On Wednesday, the U.S. tariff rate on Chinese goods was widely reported as 125%, including by Inside Lighting. But on Thursday, the White House corrected the record: the rate is 145%. The adjustment, officials said, wasn’t a new escalation — just a clarification of details that weren’t clearly communicated earlier.
Meanwhile, China struck back with its own retaliatory tariffs, raising rates on U.S. goods to 125%. But, as numerous outlets reported – including Barron’s, Beijing signaled it doesn’t plan to go higher, with China’s finance ministry saying further increases would leave U.S. products with “no market acceptance.”
That doesn’t mean tensions are easing. China hinted that other forms of retaliation — beyond tariffs — remain on the table. Currency moves and non-tariff barriers are now emerging as the next front in an increasingly unpredictable trade standoff.
3. LED-to-LED Rebates
According to BriteSwitch, a quiet shift is underway in lighting rebate programs — and early LED adopters may finally catch a break.
For years, utilities resisted offering rebates for LED-to-LED upgrades, viewing them as unnecessary. But with first-generation LEDs aging out and newer models delivering 20-50% better efficacy, that stance is changing.
Today’s LED fixtures can deliver the same light output with far fewer watts. A decade-old high bay using 130W might now need just 90W — and in some markets, that 30% energy savings qualifies for rebates up to $75 per fixture.
Programs in Minnesota, Idaho, and Washington are leading the way, offering rebates even for modest wattage reductions. Not every utility has caught up — many still require custom applications for LED-to-LED swaps — but the trend is clear.
As BriteSwitch notes, with LED saturation climbing and fewer fluorescent or HID systems left to replace, rebate programs are increasingly betting on high-efficiency LEDs — and controls — as the next frontier for savings. For facility owners facing aging fixtures, that means an upgrade might pencil out sooner than expected.
4. Say Chardon-Nay to Mildew: UV-C Light & Vineyards
According to WineBusiness Monthly, Washington State University researchers are taking aim at powdery mildew with an unconventional weapon: ultraviolet-C light. Led by Dr. Michelle Moyer and former Ph.D. student Dr. Alexa McDaniel, the WSU trials tested nighttime UV-C treatments in vineyards as a non-chemical alternative to traditional fungicides.
The results? Promising — but nuanced. Early-season applications, when vines had sparse foliage, suppressed mildew nearly as well as fungicides. Season-long UV-C use showed potential but required frequent passes and careful canopy management to overcome the technology’s greatest limitation: UV-C only kills what it touches.
Unlike sprays, UV-C leaves no residue — a growing appeal for vineyards looking to reduce chemical inputs and fight fungicide resistance. But the approach is far from plug-and-play. “It’s not a silver bullet,” Moyer told WineBusiness Monthly. “But then again, even the fungicide products we thought were silver bullets 10 years ago aren’t silver bullets anymore.”
The research, backed by WSU’s viticulture program and detailed in the American Journal of Enology & Viticulture, offers growers another tool — not a replacement, but a possible rethink of disease management in the vineyard.
5. IALD Elections: Call for Nominations
The IALD is now seeking nominations for its 2026 Board of Directors and Membership Committee — a routine call, but one that shapes the future of the organization’s leadership. Three Director at Large seats are open on the Board, which guides the association’s strategy and represents its international membership. These are two-year terms, available to both voting and non-voting members.
The Membership Committee, the group responsible for reviewing new member applications and advising on membership standards, has two open seats and one opening for Committee Chair, a role reserved for Professional or Fellow members.
Nominations are open through May 30, 2025. Self-nominations are welcome. Being nominated simply enters a candidate into consideration; final ballot selections are made by the IALD Nominations + Elections Committee.
Further details, including eligibility requirements, are available on the IALD Elections webpage.
