WAGO

Following our event-filled visit to LuxLive 2017, we here at Sparks are thrilled to see LuxLive 2018 on the horizon, coming up this November (we registered to go, by the way). One of Europe’s grandest annual lighting events, exhibiting companies will include some of the biggest names in the lighting industry, including a Sparks favourite and mainstay - Astro Lighting. Sparks of course has a vested interest in visiting this event; it is the prime location to discover new innovations and to see how leading companies are driving changes in the industry. We can save an invaluable amount of time by visiting: all of the best lighting suppliers and manufacturers will be under the same roof for two days - prime time for a bit of networking! There are too many interesting events going on for us to take all in one go, as demonstrated by our 2017 visit. There will be speeches, conferences, exhibitions and the grand Lux Awards (won of course by Astro in 2017).Exhibits at LuxLive 2018 we are most excited to visit While Astro is a firm favourite of Sparks, they won’t be the only exhibitors we deal with professionally. There is the Gooee’s award-winning Aurora as well, an IoT Enterprise Ecosystem, who sells fantastic products such as the Aluminium IP68 Fixed Halogen Walkover Light, as well as a host of inspiring garden lights.Yet another Sparks favourite will be making an appearance: Lutron, a Silver sponsor of Property Technology Live. Lutron has long been a leading provider of wireless lighting solutions that tackle large-scale problems. This includes the pioneering Lutron Grafik Eye QS 3-Zone, an ingenious energy-saving solution for construction and renovation projects.We sincerely hope there will be time to visit all of our friends, including Rako Controls, who will be unveiling their new RAK8, a product we are extremely excited about. The same size as the standard RAK4, the RAK8 has 8 outputs and can be fitted with any combination of different plug-in modules to suit a variety of loads. Also exhibiting their wares is the esteemed Italian company Fabbian who are internationally known for their vogue lamp designs, such as the Fabbian Bijou Chrome Flexible Tube If we’re talking about innovators, then Fabbian are one of the many companies we'll be keen to get the latest on. Another exhibitor on our list to visit is Wago, an essential, if less glamorous name in the lighting world. They have provided us with such wonderful necessities such as the Wagobox 51257303, an unsung hero in the electrical installation world. Turning our attention to our eco-friendly responsibilities, Teucer will also be in town. Teucer has long offered one of the most comprehensive ranges of LED strips, drivers, profiles and accessories. They are also introducing the new 'SkyLux', which offers smart artificial daylight for areas lacking in natural light, and we'll be chomping at the bit to check that out. Buy Lutron Wireless Dimmers at SparksTaking in all LuxLive 2018 has to offer LuxLive 2018 is the place to go if you wish to discover all the new breakthroughs in design and lighting: the best place to contemplate the future of illumination. Although Sparks has a vested interest in home lighting, there will be a slew of conferences regarding lighting in other areas: talks on lighting for museums and galleries, transport and infrastructure and lighting for safer city streets. With over 50% more senior decision makers already registered to attend, this will be one of the most educational experiences about the lighting industry. We are looking forward, for instance, to hear from the 'Escape Zone' conference, about the importance of emergency lighting and carrying out risk assessments. Who knows if we at Sparks will be able to see everything we wish to at LuxLive 2018 (probably not, going on last years evidence). However, one thing is for sure: we will be delighted to participate in one of the largest and most prestigious lighting conferences in the world!LuxLive 2018 will take place at the ExCel, London from the 14th-15th November. You can register here.

Last week we went to the annual Lux Live, Lux Live 2017, one of the greatest lighting shows in Europe. We only had a few hours on the first day to check it out, so we didn't attend seminars and speeches, but the place was pretty packed and there was a lot of good vibe all around. We saw some really interesting LED lights and LED lighting technologies, and we also saw quite a few Chinese manufacturers bringing their LED lights to the European market. As they say on their website, lighting is changing, and there are smarter and better luminaires. What seemed to be a "fad" a few years ago with LEDs, now it has developed to become one of the biggest lighting revolutions ever. From the Gooee IoT arena to the LIA live and the escape zone, from exhibitors to hundreds of free talks (when you're tired of walking and talking), from the lightspace arena to the LIA lighting academy, and from Li-fi experience to the smart spaces conference, we loved this years Lux Live! We didn't take too many pictures, and we can't talk about every company we met, so here we'll list some of our friends and suppliers that we got to talk to and see their newest stuff. Astro Lighting - LED lights and even some Track LightsThey came out with their new catalogue fresh off the press at this lighting show, and they displayed their lights in a very simple design. It was an honor to meet James Bassant, the design director and one of the founders of Astro Lighting, and have a chat concerning some of their newest additions (like the new track lights and spotlights). Loved the simple and not-so-packed arrangement of their LED wall lights, ceiling lights, and exterior lamps; they really give you an impression of their excellent design.Buy Astro Tracks and Spots Rako Controls - All NEW Wireless ModulesIf you're looking for mood lighting and ambience lighting and you're not ready to break the bank with more expensive solutions like Lutron, Rako Controls is what you need. At LuxLive they brought in their all new wireless modules, and they had a great display of the DMX, constant current LED modules, silent transistor dimmers, curtain and blinds, constant voltage LEDs, inductive dimmers, DALI control, 1-10V and DSI, and switched loads modules. Also, they have a new NFC product range, with the wired functionality from a wireless keypad, and they connect to any conventional switch. B.E.G. - the Lighting Control ProfessionalsWe visited BEG only in passing, and we admired their PIR detectors and their new PureColour detector for wellbeing with color control (controlling the light color in a LED bulkhead). German quality! Horton LightingMany of our ballasts and fluorescent trays are from Horton Lighting, and they continue to bring in some of the best and most popular such items in the market, be it from Tridonic, LEDVANCE, Philips, VS Lighting solutions, or LitePlan. V-TAC - Innovative LED LightingGood quality LED light bulbs and LED fittings at a cost that's lower than most others, the V-TAC innovative LED lighting have both LED lamps and incorporated LED fittings. They now came out with some IP65 rated exterior and interior LED wall lights, and soon they will bring out the V-TAC pro 180lm/W super efficient LED lights and LED fittings. Hamilton Litestat - Switching and Dimming LED lightsIf you want more complex systems for both lighting and smart home control, you have to see what Hamilton has to offer. We distribute some of their more popular switches, sockets, dimmers, and other wiring accessories in finishes such as white plastic and transparent. It was great to see them and to realize how many more ranges they have and are considering to bring in. Integral LED - LED Lamps and LED FittingsDefinitely a great chat with the good people at Integral LED, where we saw some really interesting developments in the fire rated IP65 rated downlights (their Lux fire range). Dimmable, fire rated, and IP65 rated - what else do you need? Plus, they came out with a LED panel - back-lit technology with market leading efficiency, up to 90% more efficient than popular edge-lit panels (in their own words). And their EvoFire range simply blew our mind away: reducing a downlight to a simple structure where you put the LED lamp: a canless design with a low profile body that is lightweight.Integral LED Lights at Sparks ALL LED - LED Marker Lights and LED StripsLocated next to their friends at Aurora, ALL LED displayed some really neat paintable LED marker lights (you can design them with your own design or colour, as needed), which are also dimmable. Their 1W range of micro-marker and mini-markers are like no other, and they come in warm white, cool white, or blue. Plus, there's quite a few inground - driveover LED marker lights, and some low level LED accent lighting. And the LED strip lights with different wattage per meter, plus RGB, RGBW, and wi-fi controls. Aurora Lighting - Smart, Fire Rated, and LED LightsThey are well-established in the lighting market, and their ranges are both popular and recognizable. Aurora Lighting provides a wide range of residential and commercial LED lights and LED lighting systems, including solutions for smart lighting spaces and smart home devices. They do both indoor and outdoor LED lights, with different IP rating. Crompton Lamps with Phoebe LED and FireSafeHere's an example of a company who knows what to do when LEDs are everywhere: Crompton Lamps, who via their Phoebe LED (Phoebe, the goddess of light) division, provide a wide range of LED downlights that are both dimmable and fire rated, offering a tri-colour select of 3000K, 4000K, or 6500K. And with their Spectrum range they have a 10W color-changing downlight tunable white, with a RGB colour changin rim, controllable via a Bluetooth app. Gimmicky? Probably, but there's a chance that some office buildings or conference rooms may opt for different light settings as different occasions and meetings come up. Illuma Lighting - LED Track SpotlightsGoing bigger and more professional with great performance, Illuma Lighting are definitely one of the leaders in the UK lighting industry in terms of LED track lighting - both 1-circuit and 3-circuit. And every year they bring in not only a new catalog with more wall LED lights, ceiling LED lamps and track spotlights, but different and better LED track spot lights to meet both the residential and commercial lighting needs. And they have some really lovely wall washers which can be re-oriented as needed - for indoor wall lighting.Buy Illuma Lighting at Sparks Wago - Connectors and ConnectionsEverybody knows and loves the WAGO solutions, and on our website we have a dedicated section to their versatile and popular products. Block systems, connectors, PCB terminal blocks, rail mounted terminal blocks, and many other connectors - the electricians love them, and we as wholesalers love to provide them. Great to see them at Lux Live 2017! As we were saying at the beginning of this article, there were many more other exhibitors and cool products, innovations, talks, and seminars, and we only had a few hours to quickly visit some of them. Loved the show this year, looking forward to the Lux Live 2018! PS. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter to see more pictures and updates on LuxLive and other events.

At Sparks Electrical we bring in and distribute many innovative electrical items, lights, and accessories. One of them is the Wagobox Light - a junction box innovation! Did you try it yet? It's quick, easy to fit, compact, and completely configurable!Note: This item may not be available on our website, but here is the Wagobox item we still do. Wagobox - Multipurpose Electrical Junction BoxThe Wagobox is a multipurpose electrical junction enclosure designed for use with the Wago 224 series terminal blocks. Coming in a rectangular shape, this junction box is easy to use and quick to fit! Here are some of its foremost features Fast Installation - Installing it can take as little as 25% of the time it takes you to install a screw terminal-style junction box! There are no awkward connections in a small space; rather, the cables are cut to size and connected outside the box. Easy to use - The Wagobox is easy to use - no screws, no fiddly clamp bars - the cables slot into position and are secured within seconds! It uses simple to fit Wago 224 terminals. Compact Junction Box - The dimensions of the Wagobox are 39mm x 29mm x 95mm, and it supports up to 3 cables. The box fits through a 49mm diameter spotlight hole - very compact! Configurable Box - Wagobox can be configured as desired: the integrated cable clamp can secure flex and 6242Y and 6243Y twin and earth cables. It comes with robust cable grippers that can be configured in seconds to grip the cables (up to 8mm in diameter). You can use the Wagobox together with Wago 224-101 and 224-112 terminal blocks to suit the job. Professional - The Wagobox junction box complies with BS EN60670-22, and it meets all the requirements of the 17th Edition of BS7671. Incredibly Simple to Install! The Wagobox comes with complete instructions and diagrams on how to install it, being incredibly simple to use and fast to fit! If you are unsure in any way about the steps detailed in the instructions or how to connect the circuit, it is advised to consult a qualified electrician. Example of using a Wagobox maintenance-free junction box with both push fit type and cage clamp type connectors (via DIY Fix It).In Conclusion - Wagobox Light is indeed a junction box innovation! It is quick, easy to fit, compact, and fully configurable!Buy Wagobox Junction Boxes