Craig DiLouie

An article I wrote for TED Magazine recently describes the emergence of the NEMA Premium Ballast. Basically, this is a program, with a mark, that identifies the industry’s most efficient fluorescent electronic ballasts available for 4-ft. T8 lamps. It’s a great idea, even if simply to avoid confusion. Everybody calls their electronic ballasts “high efficiency” [...]

Several of New York City’s most recognizable buildings and landmarks have committed to turn off their lights for World Wildlife Fund’s Earth Hour. Beginning at 8:30 PM on March 28, individuals and organizations around New York City will turn off non-essential lighting on some of the most iconic structures that make up the Manhattan skyline. [...]

The International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) recently conducted an economic impact survey in an effort to determine how the current economic downturn is affecting its members and their businesses. IALD Executive VP Marsha Turner summed up the results: “Significantly, it’s not all doom and gloom. There is a lot of trepidation–understandably–but there is definite [...]

I think that notion is being put to rest. In fact, green construction is expected to be a bright spot in the overall construction market during the current downturn and beyond. Consider: * According to Turner Construction’s 2008 Green Building Market Barometer survey of 754 commercial real estate executives, significant percentages of respondents view green [...]

LEED 2009 (LEED 3.0) is coming April 27. The new version of the LEED rating system will incorporate all of the rating systems that address commercial buildings–New Construction, Commercial Interiors, Schools and Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance–into three LEED 2009 systems: * Green Building Design & Construction * Green Interior Design & Construction * Green [...]

Recently, I wrote a two-part series on LED lighting for Electrical Contractor that you might find interesting. The first article, titled “Lighting Up to the Legend: Will LEDs replace Traditional Sources of Light?”, acknowledges the importance of LEDs as an energy-saving light source with many other benefits, but notes that the technology is still rapidly [...]

NEMA’s Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for current conditions gained ground for a second month in a row in February, rising to 27.3 points from 20 in January. In spite of the recent rebound, the business environment remains bleak. February’s reading was far below the “breakeven” mark of 50 points and indicates a steep and [...]

WAC Lighting has contributed nearly 100 luminaires to Happy House, a New York City-based emergency shelter operated by the New York Asian Women’s Center (NYAWC). The NYAWC is the exclusive resource in New York with special Asian language, culture counseling and shelter capabilities to help Asian victims of violence and human trafficking. WAC Lighting donated [...]

Nationwide housing starts turned upward for the first time in eight months in February, rising to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 583,000 units in February, a gain of 22.2%. To put this in perspective, however, the gain was primarily due to a big bump in the often-volatile multifamily market–an 82.3% surge to a 226,000-unit [...]