March 2011

Part of the backlash against compact fluorescent lamps has been that they contain mercury. The argument doesn’t hold up on one level, which is that incandescent lamps require more power, which means power plants must burn more fossil fuels to satisfy that requirement, and thereby emit more mercury into the environment than CFLs. This type [...]

“Glitzy, groovy and fun” is how Manning describes its new Discoh family of products. The matching pendant, sconce and surface ceiling mount fixtures are clad in one of three textured aluminum or stainless steel metal trims for a variety of flashy looks. Energy efficient lamp packages and a flat disk or shallow bowl bottom diffuser [...]

Denny’s Corporation has chosen energy-efficient LED lights from Cree, Inc. as the preferred lighting standard for all its new and remodeled stores across the United States. Cree’s award-winning LR6 six-inch downlights are being specified in various applications, including dining areas and restrooms in all newly constructed and converted facilities. “We evaluated numerous LED light fixtures [...]

A big milestone for me occurred this month. Ten years ago, I left the New York publishing world, where I was publisher of Architectural Lighting and group publisher of the Design Group, to start ZING Communications, Inc. Ten years later, I’m happy to say I’m still loving it!

OSRAM Opto Semiconductors is providing powerful new tools, downloads, and technical information for solution providers and engineers via its LEDlight website. The new online tools section provides access to a number of LED lighting tools for lighting engineers and designers. Public files include video slidecasts of recent reference designs, LED product highlights and SSL technical [...]

Litecontrol recently announced that their Classroom Lighting Calculations app is available for free download in the Apple itunes store. Developed initially for the iPhone and iPad, the app will help lighting designers and specifiers calculate energy efficiency and cost for lighting in standard classroom settings. With the Classroom Lighting Calculations app, choose a room layout, [...]

For the past two years, Howard Wolfman of LumiSpec Consulting have presented the “What’s New in Lamps and Ballasts” seminar at LIGHTFAIR to audiences as large as 500 show attendees. Howard had done the presentation for a number of years previous to my getting involved, and helped make it the must-see LIGHTFAIR event it is [...]

Lime Energy has joined GE Lighting’s Energy Services Program, which involves a consortium of energy services consulting firms who work closely with GE to help commercial and industrial firms formulate strategies to optimize the financial and environmental returns available from improvements in building energy efficiency. Through its affiliation with GE, Lime Energy will also help [...]

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has published ANSI C136.26-2010 American National Standard for Roadway and Area Lighting Equipment—Troubleshooting Guide for High-Intensity Discharge (HID) Luminaires. This standard, produced by the ANSI Committee 136 for Roadway and Area Lighting, was last revised in 2003. It offers step-by-step guidance for use in troubleshooting HID lighting fixtures by [...]