January 2016

NEMA’s Lighting Systems Shipments Index, a measure of demand for lighting equipment, increased by 4.8% year-over-year and by 4.4% quarter-to-quarter during 2015Q3. The increase was driven by the fixtures component of the index, which gained ground on a year-over-year basis, while the emergency lighting, ballast and lamp – large and miniature – components recorded offsetting [...]

The Illuminating Engineering Society New York City Section (IESNYC) recently announced the 2016 Lumen Awards are open for submissions now through February 8, 2015. A signature program of the IESNYC, the Lumen Awards celebrate excellence in lighting design. Note that starting this year, the IESNYC Lumen Awards and the IES Illumination Awards are now two [...]

The 2016 Next Generation Luminaires™ Outdoor Competition has officially launched. Online Intents to Submit are due on January 18, 2016, and the judging event will take place in March. The 2016 Outdoor Competition application categories include: Luminaires for Pedestrian Scale Focused Evaluation • Pole-mounted Pedestrian Scale (12′) • Pole-mounted Decorative Streetscape (20′) • Bollards • [...]

U.S. Architectural Lighting has expanded its Razar LED Generation family with three new low-profile, wall-mounted luminaires that extend only 12 in. and vary from 9 to 23 in. in width. These 23-198W wall-mount luminaires are designed to replace 35-400W HID luminaires. They’re available in five asymmetric distribution patterns that are field-rotatable in 90-degree increments; 3000K, [...]

The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (“PATH” or “Act”), which was signed into law by President Obama on December 18, 2015, featured a number of tax provisions, including an extension of the Commercial Energy-Efficient Buildings Tax Deduction (Section 179D) by two years from December 31, 2014 to December 31, 2016. The text [...]

As has been the case a few times already this year, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) dipped in November. 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 American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the November ABI score was [...]

This interview is my contribution to the December 2015 issue of tED Magazine, published by the National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED). Reprinted with permission. Last month, we talked with Christopher Brown, CEO of national lighting distributor Wiedenbach-Brown, about the risks solid-state lighting pose for electrical distribution. Brown believes the longevity of LED sources, coupled [...]

My lighting column published in the November 2015 issue of ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR explores LED solutions designed to optimize plant growth in horticultural applications. Check it out here.

Eaton’s Lumark Prevail LED Luminaire is designed to offer an economical and versatile solution for area, site and roadway applications. Featuring a patent-pending architectural design, the Prevail luminaire combines easy installation features with multiple controls options, resulting in significant installation, energy and maintenance savings for both retrofit and new applications. Featuring Eaton’s patented LED optical [...]