Coastal Source Celebrates 15-Year Anniversary at the Kennedy Space Center with the Launch of New Products
March 1st, 2024
By Line Goyette
I had the chance to be invited by Coastal Source to see and hear the new products that will be on the market in 2024. As a music and hi-fi enthusiast, I wasn’t expecting to be immerse in both lighting and music in such an optimal way.
I’ve talked with Coastal Source Founder Franco D’Ascanio and Jeff Poggi, President prior to last week’s event at the Kennedy Space Center to get a closer look at the new audio and lighting product lines. But once again, the experience was a whole different thing. We have talked about product lasting a lifetime, easy to install, and best-in-class performance. We haven’t talked about art.
Coastal Source is an industry leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance outdoor audio and lighting that Defy the Elements™. The company has celebrated its 15th anniversary with a major partner event at Orlando’s Kennedy Space Center on February 24th and launched the company’s next generation of outdoor speakers and lighting solutions.
According to Coastal Source Co-founder and CEO Franco D’Ascanio, the success of the family-owned company stems directly from its commitment to develop outdoor speaker and lighting solutions that are truly transformational. We had a live demonstration of the versatility of the audio lighting components.
“Coastal Source was founded on the belief that outdoor spaces deserve the same attention, respect and design considerations as indoor spaces,” D’Ascanio said. “Our history is rooted in harsh outdoor environments, and our entire focus is on developing rugged, high-performance outdoor audio and lighting products that can take whatever Mother Nature throws at them. The company’s unique product lines deliver ‘coastal quality’ through the protection of 13 patents and three pending patents, highlighting the company’s continued efforts to improve user experiences – from installation to daily use.
Attendees had a glimpse at the next EVOlution in outdoor lighting, the modular Coastal Source EVO Lighting Series, which combines heightened design aesthetics and elegance with an extensive selection of forms and customization to optimally light any space. The EVO light engine will come in three configurations – STANDARD power, HIGH power, and TUNABLE. The HIGH power LED will deliver the light output of a MR16 bulb from a fixture that is 50% smaller enabling lighting designers to discretely place the fixtures so the light effect is seen but the fixture remains hidden. The TUNABLE module will provide landscaping professionals system design control of white color tuning and brightness control via an APP. The EVO Lighting Series offers partners more options to customize heights, optical lenses, and finishes on both directional and 360-degree fixtures.
Coastal Source will start shipping EVO in Q3 this year. Franco D’Ascanio insisted, “we are adding EVO to our portfolio asan additional lighting option. Lighting designers will be able to mix and match fixtures from any of our lighting lines to create the perfect lighting design for their clients. For phase 2, shipping should start early 2025, and as the other Coastal Source lighting fixtures, the brass fixtures bear a lifetime warranty. The LED module carries a 5-year limited warranty. And, all Coastal Source products are backed by our Lifetime Care Program.”
More on EVO- Lighting Series
During the interview prior to the launch of the new lighting series, Franco D’Ascanio presented the highlights of the new Coastal Source VO series.
Performance – Best Light Module we’ve ever designed
EVO is the best performing light module CS has ever developed. It has more output capability than an MR-16 (5W EVO 560 vs. 6W MR16 516 lumens) and it has the same, wide beam angle (up to 80 degrees). The compact, integrated design and availability of a wide selection of shrouds and lenses enables best-in-class glare control.
Design – Small & Elegant
EVO is beautifully designed. EVO is 50% smaller than MR16 bullet so the light effect is seen, but not the fixture. And, the smaller EVO module enables a wide range of elegantly designed fixtures when you want to see them – hanging lights, path lights, and sconces. The EVO line is designed with Coastal Source’s patented Plug-n-Play CMC connector system and can easily be integrated with any other Coastal Source fixtures in a lighting system design.
Reliability & Durability – Defy the Elements
The custom designed LED module integrates the CREE LED, all electronics, and cable harness into a watertight package. There is no chance – no exposed sockets, wires, or weak seals – for the elements to harm the LED. The solid brass fixtures are weather resistance mechanical houses for the EVO LED module providing it with an amazingly strong, protective package. The entire fixture becomes a heatsink for the EVO LED module enabling it to run at lower temperatures than competitive lights thus dramatically extending the usable life of the LED. EVO is tested to IP68 standards.
Modularity – Enables Lighting Designers to develop 100s of custom fixtures
The integrated EVO LED module is available in two (2) output levels (5W and 1W), two (2) designs dispersions (direct and 360+) with two (2) color temperatures (2700K and 3000K) to enable designers to control the light output as required. EVO is designed to be packaged in 100s of unique lighting fixtures for all design applications – bullets, hanging, path, sconces, marker, etc. Numerous accessories including risers, stakes, shrouds, hats, filters, and lenses enable each fixture to be custom designed to meet the needs of any lighting scene.
Control – Tunable white LED Module enables full control of the light output
As a second phase in the EVO launch, an available controllable EVO LED module enables designers to control brightness (0%-100%) and white color temperature (2200K-6500K). Control is enabled through localized BT connection to each fixture via a custom Coastal Source APP. With up to 280 lumens of output (at 3000k), this tunable white LED module will be a perfect tool to solve many design challenges.
Please visit www.coastalsource.com for more info.
Photos by RTW Photography
