By Healthcare Facilities Today

BERKELEY, CA - Peerless - a leading designer and manufacturer of architectural luminaires and one of the innovative lighting brands under the Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI) umbrella - announces the release of Square, a complete suite of LED luminaires in linear suspended, wall-mount and surface-mount models ideal for us in in a wide variety of commercial office, hospitality, healthcare and retail applications

Square luminaires are engineered to solve the most complex lighting design challenges and enable architects, designers and other specifiers to create a cohesive aesthetic throughout projects using luminaires from one product family. The luminaires feature a 3.5-inch square form and provide flicker-free, glare-free and worry-free illumination from a Peerless 360° total system solution that integrates lighting, controls and technologies all manufactured, supported and warrantied by Acuity Brands.

Square luminaires are crafted with several carefully considered design elements including continuous glowing lenses that extend across the length of the housings, unique “L” pattern connectors that provide seamless corner illumination when two or more luminaires are joined together and a sculptured end cap option. Both the housing and the end caps are made from extruded aluminum.

To provide true architectural quality dimming and help save energy, Square luminaires feature a 0 to 10V, flicker-free eldoLED® driver that is fully dimmable to black (0.1%), and the option to include an embedded nLight® sensor for daylight dimming and occupancy detection control.

To boost efficiency further, Square luminaires can also be specified with nLight® digital controls to provide network controls connectivity, energy-saving digital lumen management or both. In the suspended models, an optional built-in nLight module allows for easy Cat-5 "plug-and-play" connectivity with nLight control and sensor systems. For wall and surface models, a standalone nLight module can be ordered from Sensor Switch®to install above ceilings or inside walls. The digital lumen management option provides constant lumen output, extends LED longevity and saves roughly 10 percent in energy use over the lifetime of the luminaire.

Designed to direct and diffuse light following the proprietary Softshine® engineering standards from Peerless, Square luminaires exemplify the Peerless mantra of Lighting for People® by emitting soft, uniform and glare-free illumination. Moreover, many of the optical packages meet the guidelines set forth in the Illuminating Engineering Society’s (IES) Recommend Practice for Office Lighting (RP-1).

"The Peerless Softshine process scientifically shapes the light output from our luminaires to provide best-in-class distribution and performance," says Peerless Value Stream Manager Jennifer Butler. "In the case of the Square luminaires, carefully designed injection-molded optics produce indirect illumination that is flat and broad across the ceiling in batwing distributions with no hot spots and direct illumination that cuts off high-angle glare."

Square luminaires are available with delivered-lumen packages ranging from 1200 to 6500, three LED color temperature options and with direct, indirect and a several indirect/direct distributions. The suite also offers several models with specialized optics.

Square Stairway luminaires feature an integrated nLight occupancy sensor pre-programmed to remain at either 10 percent or 50 percent illumination when stairways are unoccupied and brighten to 100 percent illumination when occupancy is detected. Square Aisle/Stack luminaires uniformly illuminate vertical surfaces, such as library stacks and grocery shelves, on both sides of an aisle. Square Wall-Wash luminaires illuminate a single vertical plane from a suspended form.

Square luminaires deliver an expected 50,000 hours (12 to 15 years) of illumination to L80. They are also IES LM-79 tested, CSA/CUS listed, FCC certified and feature a Lighting Facts® label issued by the U.S. Department of Energy.

All Peerless luminaires, including Square, are available nationally through Acuity Brands sales representatives and authorized distributors. For additional information, please visit the Acuity Brands and Peerless websites.

About Peerless

Peerless makes Lighting for People® and the places we all inhabit – offices, classrooms, libraries, retail centers, transportation terminals, convention halls and other public spaces. Since our founding in 1892, the Peerless name has been synonymous with extraordinary illumination. Peerless LED and fluorescent architectural luminaires are among the most advanced in the indoor commercial marketplace delivering leading-edge modern design, superior optical engineering and energy-efficient performance. Peerless is located in Berkeley, CA, and is a business unit of Acuity Brands, Inc.  

About Acuity Brands

Acuity Brands, Inc. is a North American market leader and one of the world's leading providers of lighting solutions for both indoor and outdoor applications. With fiscal year 2013 net sales of over $2 billion, Acuity Brands employs approximately 6,500 associates and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with operations throughout North America, and in Europe and Asia.  The Company's lighting solutions are sold under various brands, including Lithonia Lighting®, Holophane®, Peerless®, Gotham®, Mark Architectural Lighting™, Winona® Lighting, Healthcare Lighting®, Hydrel®, American Electric Lighting®, Carandini®, Antique Street Lamps™, Sunoptics®, Axion™ Controls, Sensor Switch®, Lighting Control & Design™, Synergy® Lighting Controls, Pathway Connectivity™, Dark to Light®, ROAM®, RELOC® Wiring Solutions, Acculamp® and eldoLED®.