July 2023

  The Rhode Island fluorescent ban was signed by the Governor on June 22, 2023. After Jan. 1, 2024, it will be illegal to sell most compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) in Rhode Island. A year later, the sale of pin-based and linear fluorescent bulbs will become illegal. More information on Rhode Island’s ban is here. The [...]

  A new white paper by Parks Associates and Cox Communities sheds insights into the greater adoption and desire for smart home devices among apartment and condo residents (aka multi dwelling units or MDU). Their research found that 83% of MDU residents with smart home devices were satisfied or highly satisfied with their apartment or [...]

  In April, 2023, I wrote about the evolving and escalating trade war between the U.S. & China. One of the developments was the U.S. and some of its allies banning the sale of advanced AI computer chips to China. On July 3rd, China retaliated with an announcement that it would impose export restrictions on [...]

  Amazon dominates retail e-commerce but not B2B e-commerce. Here is a closer look: Amazon dominates retail e-commerce with $431 Billion in sales projected this year. Amazon’s retail Ecom market share is 37.6%. In second place is Walmart with $73.5 Billion in retail e-commerce sales, 1/6 that of Amazon. Amazon’s top retail e-comm categories are [...]

For an upcoming article for tED Magazine, I recently had the opportunity to interview Keith Eagle, Vice President & General Manager, US Professional Channel, Signify, on the topic of continuing opportunity with commercial lighting upgrades as the LED installed base grows. Transcript follows.

The Robert J. Besal Memorial Education fund, which provides scholarships to students in the illuminating engineering disciplines, is celebrating it’s 40th anniversary this year. The Fund has awarded nearly a million dollars in scholarships with the aspriration to encourage talented and committed students to excel in their studies and choose a career in the lighting [...]

There are two lighting control trade shows now scheduled for this Fall. The first will be DLC Controls Summit ’23, held September 26 & 27 in Detroit, MI. This year’s Summit theme is “Unlocking the Potential of Networked Lighting Controls.” More information is available here. Then on November 14th, 2023, NYControlled, a new trade show, will [...]

  Have you noticed a decline in fireflies this Summer? I have, but so have scientists. Nearly 1 in 3 firefly species in the United States and Canada may be threatened with extinction, firefly experts estimate in a recent comprehensive assessment. Surveys abroad show declines from mangroves in Malaysia to grasslands in England. New research [...]

    By Clifton Stanley Lemon We humans are both cursed and blessed with an obsession with the future. It’s constantly amazing to me how much we crave narratives that predict the future and proceed to stick to them even in the face of direct and persistent evidence of their utter failure to predict. We’re [...]