November 2015

The Community Lighting for the Urban Environment (CLUE) competition, aimed at students and emerging professionals and sponsored by Philips Lighting, is now welcoming submissions of projects and innovative ideas. Winners receive one of three grants totaling $8,500 and secure an expense-paid trip to LIGHTFAIR. Click here to learn more.

The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) returned to positive territory in September after a slight dip in August, and has seen growth in six of the first nine months of 2015. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate 9- to 12-month lead time between architecture billings and construction spending. The [...]

The 2016 Next Generation Luminaires Indoor Competition has officially launched. Online Intents to Submit are due on November 30, 2015, and the judging event will take place February 10–12, 2016. What’s new for 2016–the Indoor competition will be divided into two separate evaluations: * Application Focused Luminaire Evaluations will focus on a more limited range [...]

Acuity Brands, Inc. recently announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Juno Lighting LLC (Juno Lighting Group), a manufacturer of track and downlighting for both the residential and commercial markets, in a cash deal worth $385 million. Juno Lighting Group, a unit of Schneider Electric, serves customers throughout North America. Juno operates [...]

LaMar Lighting’s Narrow Linear (NL) series of LED luminaires offers a choice of Narrow Linear Wall (NLW), Narrow Linear Surface (NLS) and Narrow Linear Recessed (NLR), all suitable for continuous row installations. At only 2.25 in. wide, these luminaires can fit discretely into a broad range of architectural applications, allowing seamless continuous runs up and [...]

The U.S. Department of Energy’s CALiPER program has released Report 22.1, which is part of a series of investigations on LED MR16 lamps. Report 22 investigated the photometric performance of 27 LED MR16 lamps compared to benchmark halogens. Report 22.1 examines the photoelectric performance of that same set of lamps, using commercially available transformers and [...]

THE NEW YORK TIMES recently published an interesting article about how innovative new lighting technologies, coupled with advances in understanding between light and health, are being applied in homes, schools and businesses in a targeted way to promote sleep, foster sleep and produce other positive outcomes. Check it out here.

As LED lighting integrates with building automation systems and provides a platform for Big Data, cyber security may become an important issue. Jerry Plank’s column in the September issue of LD+A discusses the issue. Interesting reading. Read it here.

ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING recently published a quickie guide to wall washing and grazing. Click here to read this quick application guide.