What is Instabase®?
The modern Instabase® is a Cloud-based, search-centered database of lighting manufacturers’ product photometry. The concept is based on the idea that customers (software users) need a fast and efficient way to locate manufacturer’s product data that meet specific criteria. Browsing manufacturer’s websites can be interesting, but it is often extremely time consuming. Then even if you think you have what you want, it is still often necessary to employ software to determine if the specific product actually meets your performance specifications (BUG rating for example).
Instabase® on the other hand, allows the user to search for not only basic information such as source type and wattage, but for calculated metrics such as BUG, IES Class, UWLR, LER and even luminaire lumens. The results are available in seconds and you can search across the entire Instabase, or only selected manufacturers. Savvy manufacturers are also adding Custom Search Keywords to their photometric files to enable searching by Application, Mounting Type and Classification. This reduces the number of false positives to near zero.
For end users, Instabase® is an entirely new way to locate products quickly and precisely. For manufacturers (suppliers of data), it is a free venue to place product data in front of the most powerful specifiers in the industry, at the exact moment they are most actively looking. It is a win-win for all parties.