Craig DiLouie

IndustryWeek.com has reported that Baotou, the world’s largest rare earth producer in China, said it has halted shipping for a month from October 20 as China seeks to boost prices, which have been stabilizing. What this means: an increase in prices of rare earths used in lamps and LEDs. Get the story here.

NEMA’s sodium vapor high intensity discharge (HID) lamps shipment index declined for the fourth consecutive quarter on a year-over-year basis, retreating 15.8% during Q2 2011. The index value of 77.7 is the lowest reading on record for the series. Mercury vapor and metal halide HID lamp indexes performed better during the quarter, increasing 2.5% and [...]

The Wall/Slot 2100 from Litecontrol offers a small-scale alternative for perimeter lighting. With this system, the lamps are completely hidden from view and the 6-in. height of the luminaire works well in spaces with restricted plenum depths.

Lighting Analysts, Inc. recently announced ElumTools add-in software for Autodesk Revit 2012. This product was recognized in the IES 2011 Progress Report and won best of category for Research, Publications and Software at the LIGHTFAIR 2011 Innovation Awards. ElumTools is the first fully integrated Revit add-in for calculation and visualization of electric lighting results directly [...]

IMS Research has extended its global lighting (lamps and luminaires) market and installed based forecasts through 2020. This new release of The World Market for Lamps & Luminaires in General & Exterior Lighting is now available to both new and existing customers. In lighting, LEDs are continually improving in efficiency and with the quantity and [...]

To support America’s transition to more-efficient residential lamps, NEMA is producing a six-part podcast series focused on the 5LS of Lighting: Location, Lumens, Lightbulbs, Label and Law. As utilities, contractors, and consumers attempt to both understand and explain the new lighting world, they can quickly learn the basics. The most recent releases are included below. [...]

More than 500 new products and a powerful new search engine are featured on the completely redesigned Nora Lighting website. The new Nora site makes it even easier to review the company’s entire lighting line or to pinpoint products of specific interest. The website can also be discovered through social networks, including Face Book, You [...]

The Luminous recessed ambient luminaire from Neo-Ray features a high efficiency of 80% and a refreshing aesthetic using frosted acrylic diffusers. The luminaires are offered in 1×4, 2×2 and 2×4 sizes in one-, two- and three-lamp T5 and T8 configurations. The center section is defined with an extruded frame and is available with various lens [...]

NEMA’s shipment indexes for T5 and T8 linear fluorescent lamps increased 30.2% and 12.5%, respectively, during the first half of 2011 compared to the same period last year. Moreover, the Q2 2011 index values for both T5 and T8 lamps were at record highs. Meanwhile, first half shipments of T12 lamps declined 11.1% on a [...]