Move over, Thomas Edison. Scientists and engineers are holed up in their labs, working feverishly to find light beyond the incandescent bulb, and they say their quest is paying off. Coming soon – or already here – is lighting technology for the kitchen and bath that’s light years ahead of Mr. Edison’s invention.

Many of the new ideas are dazzling. Windows that make their own light after sundown, luminescent backsplashes and walls, structural columns that become cylindrical lights, interchangeable mood lighting and lit-up bathtubs and tiles are just a few examples of what’s available now or coming in the near future.

Energy savings are at the heart of much of the new technology, and while it’s hard to argue against anything that reduces electricity use, legislative efforts are leaving some kitchen and bath designers with a severe case of angst.

California designers are especially frustrated by new lighting codes that require 50 percent of the lighting in kitchens and baths to be fluorescent and ban incandescent lighting completely by 2012. But design professionals in other parts of the country are acutely aware that more stringent codes are coming their way, too.

So, technological advances are much more than just futuristic razzle-dazzle. They are vital to the success of the nation’s kitchen and bath industry.

As Dan Edenbaum of Drago Illuminations in Ardmore, PA, says: “Commercial building codes calling for energy-saving measures are now being reinforced in residential building in many states, and if they aren’t in your state yet, they will be sooner rather than later.

“We have to recognize this and be up on emerging technology that makes it easier to comply with stricter codes, yet provides the elegance and comfort our clients expect. After all, the old adage that lighting provides 50% of the ambience of a designed space is still true,” he adds.

Fluorescent Debate

San Diego designer Mike De Luca, CKD, ASID, NCIDQ, doesn’t try to hide his frustration with California’s new lighting code.

“Of course, I want to do my part to alleviate the energy crunch,” he says. “We all do. But you have to have decent light in a kitchen. You can’t cook by flashlight. California legislators have done us a disservice. I realize it’s a well-intentioned effort, but I wish they would consult with professionals before they rush headlong into situations they don’t understand. The fact is that, in the end, we wind up using more energy than before. I think I’ll move to Arizona.”

Alfredo Zaparelli of Techlinea, a San Francisco architectural firm, agrees that the California code is extremely rigid and difficult to work with, but he is encouraged by the new quality of fluorescent lighting and excited by new miniaturized fixtures on the market. “The color is no longer the ghastly green we remember from grandma’s kitchen,” he notes. “It has gotten a lot closer to the color temperature of incandescent and halogen lighting. I see clients’ faces fall when I inform them of the code requiring fluorescent lighting, but then I remind them that the lighting in supermarket display cases is fluorescent. If red meat can look appetizing in that lighting, you needn’t worry about looking like descendants of the Jolly Green Giant when you cook the pasta or check your lipstick in the bathroom mirror.”