Craig DiLouie

The U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce has announced that construction spending during December 2008 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,053.7 billion, 1.4% below the revised November estimate of $1,068.8 billion. The December figure is 3.6% below the December 2007 estimate of $1,093.5 billion. The value of construction in [...]

Incandescent general-service and reflector lamps, and fluorescent magnetic, mercury vapor and probe-start metal halide ballasts, are being targeted by efficiency legislation. As a result, some of lighting’s most venerable workhorses are being retired. Their new competitors are simply too efficient and better performing. The electronic ballast’s rapid rise to dominance of the fluorescent ballast market, [...]

One possible future wireless technology is interesting not because of its potential for lighting control, but its potential to use visible white light as a communication medium for control of computers, phones and appliances. In October 2008, Boston University’s College of Engineering announced that it had received a National Science Foundation grant to develop wireless [...]

Recently, I conducted a survey of about 600 lighting designers, mostly IALD members, asking them questions about their specifications of nonresidential spec-grade downlights and also their perceptions of popular brands in the market. To qualify to take the survey, the designer had to confirm that they have specified commercial downlights over the past three years. [...]

Okay, maybe not. But the technology available for LED building illumination has come a long way in a surprisingly short amount of time. According to the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, LED technology is moving so quickly that next-generation products are entering the market every six months, feeding a global illumination market that approached $2 billion [...]

The International Code Council’s (ICC) 2009 version of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), a model energy code adopted by many states, contains a number of lighting-related provisions that lighting designers are likely to find objectionable. One area of concern is that the 2009 IECC eliminates mixing methodologies from ASHRAE 90.1 as an alternative standard. [...]

A recent article I wrote for Electrical Contractor talks about the push to replace linear fluorescent lamps with linear LED replacement lamps. In a nutshell, linear LED replacement lamps are now being offered as direct drop-in replacements of 4-ft. T8 and T12 lamps. Even with the possibility of delamping due to higher fixture efficiency and [...]

And that will probably include lighting, too. Calling energy efficiency America’s “cheapest, cleanest, fastest energy source,” President Obama’s energy plan targets a reduction in electricity demand of 15% from projected levels by 2020, including efforts to make all new buildings 50% more efficient and all existing buildings 25% more efficient. With a clear mandate and [...]

Serbian designer Damjan Stankovic has introduced a practical idea for traffic lights: EKO, an integral visual countdown letting waiting drivers know when the signal will change from red to green. Check it out here.