David Shiller

  Lego’s new Smart Play platform introduces a sensor‑equipped “Smart Brick” that adds lights, sound, and interactivity to traditional sets, exciting some adult fans while worrying others about higher prices and creeping “tech-ification” of play.Lego introduced the Smart Brick at CES, earlier this month. The Smart Brick is the size of a classic 2×4 Lego [...]

  Lightapalooza 2026 is coming up next month in the Austin metro area, and there’s an interesting session that will focus on residential specification standards and cross-discipline collaboration. Integrators & Specifiers: Bridging the Residential Lighting Gap (AIA/IDCEC CEU Available) This session examines how the residential market is evolving as spec-grade manufacturers, integrators, and lighting designers begin [...]

  Maine’s LD 1934 is new lighting legislation that is the strictest light pollution state requirements in the country. On January 7, 2026, Maine’s Governor Mills announced she would allow the vast majority of held bills from 2025 (52 out of 61) to become law without her signature. LD 1934 has officially become law. Effective Date [...]

  Argentina’s first solar highway, inaugurated in San Juan province, is a pilot infrastructure project that uses distributed photovoltaic generation to power all of the road’s nighttime lighting and showcases the region’s strong solar resource. Project overview The highway installation is located along National Route A014 (Circunvalación Avenue) in San Juan, making it the first [...]

  Total U.S. construction starts stumbled in November 2025, but both Dodge data and industry forecasts still point to modest overall growth in 2026, with a market increasingly dominated by data centers and large public and institutional projects. Conditions will remain highly uneven by sector and region, creating a “K-shaped” construction economy where some niches [...]

  Kyocera SLD Laser has announced a breakthrough Underwater Wireless Optical Communication (UWOC) technology that achieves short‑range data transmission at 5.2 Gbps, positioning it among the fastest fiberless UWOC systems demonstrated to date. Core innovation Kyocera’s UWOC system converts digital data streams into laser light using a proprietary physical (PHY) layer and custom optical front-end [...]

  Lighting Manufacturer M&A Transactions in the United States, Canada, and Europe Announcement Seller Country Description Buyer Details October X-Laser USA Laser Light Manufacturer Elation Lighting Press Article October Barn Light Electric USA Vintage-Inspired Architectural Lighting Illumus Press Article October Gavita Italy Horticultural Lighting Management Press Article October Cree Lighting USA Residential Lamp Portfolio Only [...]

  It’s that time of year to complete business planning for 2026. There are so many changes occurring in the lighting industry, how can you stay on top of them all? LightNOW is here to help. We’ve published our white paper, Lighting Industry Trends For 2026, sponsored by the good people at naturaLED. This white paper [...]

  One of the most critical technologies to enable widespread electrification of homes is battery energy storage systems (BESS). LightNOW frequently writes about how the lighting industry is adopting electrification products in the face of LED ubiquity, market contraction, and commoditization. Many lighting manufacturers now offer EV chargers, and some have moved on to offering [...]