Spec Breakers Aren’t the Problem — The Spec Was Weak to Begin With!

Walking the halls of Salone del Mobile.Milano /EuroLuce yesterday, surrounded by some of the world's most innovative and beautifully engineered lighting products, I couldn’t help but think about how many of them will never make it past the spec sheet...

Not because they aren’t brilliant — quite the opposite. It’s because too often, specs get value-engineered to a product that "matches" the look and some numbers on a spreadsheet. The decisions are made in a back office, the substitutions begin, and the difference between “good enough” and “game-changing” gets lost somewhere along the way!

So, I wanted to discuss a dirty word in our industry: the “spec breaker.”

Lighting designers hate them for ruining their design. Manufacturers blame them for the lack of product sales. Distributors tiptoe around them to stay on a project. And contractors? … Well, they usually are them.

But after years of working across the entire chain — Lighting design, manufacturer, product management, distribution — and doing it across three continents, I’ve come to a hard truth:

So-called, ‘Spec breakers’ aren’t the real issue. Weak specs are!

*A Good Spec Shouldn’t Break So Easily:

We love to point fingers when a well-considered lighting package gets swapped out for something cheaper, dimmer, or downright non-compliant.

But here’s the hard truth: If your lighting spec could be broken by a phone call or from a spreadsheet line on a comparison sheet…Maybe it wasn’t that strong to begin with?

In my time managing lighting portfolios and overseeing product approvals, I saw it all:

• Specs with no photometric standards.
• That pandora’s box of a phrase, “or, equivalent”, with no actual enforcement mechanism(s).
• Missing warranty requirements.
• Vague descriptions like “LED downlight, white”, or "Gobo projector, template TBD".
• Or, the opposite-  Specs so so specific that even the specified manufacturer can’t do it!

I am sorry to say, my friends, but in the cases above, that’s not a specification — that’s a wish!

*Who’s Writing the Rules?

When we Lighting Designers are writing a spec, we’re setting the rules of the game. If the rules are vague, the lowest bidder will (I repeat, WILL!) find a way to win. It’s hard to backpedal after the fact- if you wrote, “Warm White, LED tape in profile”, and the contractor whips out 12 different products that somewhat fit that description from the lowest depths of the market, to then come back and say, no I meant ‘xyz criteria’ can be a blow to the client's trust in you at best, and that’s if you’re even sill in contract.  

And look, I get it — we lighting designers and consultants are under pressure. Deadlines are tight, fees are shrinking, and not every project gets the time it deserves.

But if you don’t control the spec… the contractor will.

*So, Sky, what Does a “Strong” Spec Look Like?

In my experience, here’s what makes a spec bulletproof:

·         Detailed product codes.

·         Required certifications (UL, RoHS, DLC, etc.)

·         Explicit performance values (UGR, CRI, efficacy, etc.)

·         Locked-in manufacturer names with no substitution clauses.

·         Clear language around warranty, serviceability, and controls integration

·         A cover letter or explanatory document — not just a fixture schedule!

When I worked on the distribution side, I loved seeing specs like this. They made it clear what the designer wanted and why. They also made substitutions a lot harder to justify.

*The Takeaway

Don’t blame the spec breaker, they are just doing their jobs! Let’s build specs that can’t be broken easily!

If you're serious about protecting your design intent, energy performance, and brand reputation — start writing specs like they’re contracts. Because in many ways, they are!

__________________________________________________________

Lighting Designers, Interior Designers, Architects — how do you protect your specs?

Do you have a go-to strategy or a clever clause that works?

Drop your tips and tactics in the comments — let’s build a smarter spec community together.