Craig DiLouie

Acuity Brands, Inc. has announced that it has acquired for an undisclosed amount of cash the remaining outstanding capital stock of Herndon, VA-based Renaissance Lighting, Inc., a privately held manufacturer of architectural LED downlights. Previously, Acuity Brands had entered into a strategic partnership with Renaissance which included a $9.1 million investment in minority ownership in [...]

The Department of Energy today announced plans for a new consumer education initiative that will be timed to the upcoming changes in lamp regulations. The initiative will provide greater awareness of the overall benefits of the legislative changes and new, “greener” technologies such as LEDs and CFLs. Joining DOE at the Solid-State Lighting (SSL) Market [...]

GE Global Research, the technology development arm for the General Electric Company, GE Lighting and Konica Minolta have achieved a significant advance that brings the companies closer to making high-efficiency organic light-emitting diode (OLED) lighting devices a reality. GE and KM scientists have demonstrated illumination-quality white OLEDs using “solution-coatable” materials that are essential for producing [...]

Guest Post by Jim Brodrick, Department of Energy [Recently], the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its new consumer labeling requirements for medium screw-based light bulbs. The bottom line is that manufacturers of incandescent, compact fluorescent, and LED light bulbs will have to begin employing a new “Lighting Facts” label that’s similar to DOE’s Lighting FactsCM [...]

See all the winners here.

Peerless has introduced naro, a luminaire that delivers high efficiency with an artistic minimalistic flair. With over 90% efficiency, 14-ft. on-center spacing, 4- and 8-ft. sections and slim 4 1/2″ x 2 1/4″ profile, this luminaire can be suspended or wall mounted for a variety of design options in a wide range of spaces. Keep [...]

The Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) recently unveiled the winners of the 2010 International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA®) competition—a celebration of the year’s most inventive and creative product and product concept designs. At least 10 lighting products were recognized. This year’s awards were chosen from the following categories: commercial and industrial products; communication tools; [...]

And more … my favorite bit was the people coming up with song titles with the word “light” in it. Welcome to the 2010 Lumen Awards! http://www.youtube.com/v/iBbwln_DHmw&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1

As the use of energy-saving LEDs becomes more widespread in both commercial and residential applications, it is clear that there are many questions about which LED products are compatible with which lighting controls. For instance “dimmable” has not been clearly defined for LEDs. Despite manufacturers’ claims for dimmable LEDs, many do not perform well with [...]