Craig DiLouie

GE’s new Visual Comfort Lens diffuses LED directional lamp so that the light “dots” or spots are eliminated. Used in conjunction with GE’s Energy Smart LED Retail PAR30 and PAR38 lights, the lens also contributes to a CRI rating of 92. Click here to learn more about GE’s LED product line.

H.R. 5325, the fiscal year 2013 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, which recently passed by the House of Representatives, includes a provision–the Burgess (R-TX) Amendment–which prohibits funding for enforcement of national energy efficiency standards for certain lamps created by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The inability of the Department of Energy to [...]

Fifteen award winners representing architectural lighting design projects from seven countries comprise the winners of the 29th Annual International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) International Lighting Design Awards, recognized at a presentation held May 10, 2012 at the Renaissance Hotel in Las Vegas during LIGHTFAIR. Of the 15 projects recognized, two entries earned Special Citations, [...]

Guest post by Ted Konnerth, President/CEO of Egret Consulting Group We spent two full days at LightFair; which was larger than in the past, very well-attended and brimming with energy. Several recurring issues really resonated with us as we compared notes on the flight back home. Here’s a summary of the state of the state [...]

The IALD is developing a new certification for lighting designers. By August, the credentialing task force will make a recommendation whether to proceed with a certification, which would then take an estimated 12-18 months to put into place. ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING recently published an excellent article on this topic, available here. Being Lighting Certified (LC), naturally [...]

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has announced that it will delay ballot on LEED 2012 until June 1, 2013 (or potentially earlier in 2013 if USGBC members and the market indicate readiness for ballot). Because of this date change, LEED 2012 is being renamed LEED v4. In addition to the ballot date change, other [...]

NEMA’s Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for current North American conditions slipped to 54.2 in May from 59.1 the previous month and has retreated by a cumulative 18.3 points since reaching a post-recession high in February. Despite its recent slide, the index continues to point to an economic environment conducive to industry growth, as it [...]

After five months of positive readings, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI), produced by the American Institute of Architects (AIA), has fallen into negative terrain. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate 9- to 12-month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. The AIA reported the April ABI score [...]

Universal Lighting Technologies’ new electronic HID ballasts, designed to operate both open- and enclosed-rated 150W metal halide lamps, can reduce energy costs by 10% compared to traditional magnetic HID ballasts, and they feature universal input voltage so 120V and 277V units can be replaced by a single product. Click here to learn more about ULT’s [...]