David Shiller

The United States government and some allies are evolving and escalating the trade war with China. During the Trump administration, the trade war was characterized by increasing trade tariffs, most of which are still in place today, during the Biden administration. Now the trade war is escalating in new directions. FRIENDSHORING: In the past month, [...]

  Aquafire by Lumina Products gives a new meaning to “lighting a fire!” The company has perfected water vapor flames illuminated by colored LEDs. Aquafire generates a water vapor mist that is gently pushed with fans from the mist chamber to the top of the unit through a diffuser vent. The vapor is then backlit [...]

  Those of us with gray hair remember that luminaire housings were primarily made of steel until the LED revolution. Aluminum became the predominant luminaire housing material because of its superior thermal conductivity that keeps LED engines cooler. Today, there is enormous interest and pressure to make luminaires from more sustainable materials. More designers are [...]

  A lot of research and attention has been given to how light pollution negatively impacts birds, bats, other animals, and insects. Less well known are the negative impacts of light pollution on plants. Most people have seen now bright lights at night attract moths. This can significantly change moth behavior. Artificial light at night [...]

There are many Matter-compatible smart lighting products beginning to hit the market. Matter is a smart home standard developed by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (formerly the Zigbee Alliance) in collaboration with other leading companies in the smart home industry. Matter is designed to provide greater interoperability between smart home devices, allowing them to work seamlessly [...]

I had the pleasure of interviewing Steven Parker, Partner at Lighting Group Network, a new lighting company selling ten overseas decorative lighting brands, in North America. They’re not your typical lighting manufacturer. Shiller: How do you describe Lighting Group Network?  Parker: LGN is a very unique company starting with our team of highly experienced lighting professionals [...]

Two weeks ago, inside.lighting ran a one-paragraph mention about a new lighting controls trade show and conference being launched, called NYControLED. The preliminary date is November 14th, 2023, to be held at Metropolitan Pavillion, in Manhattan, NYC. The show is being launched by IESNYC and DLFNY, which manages LEDucation. As of 4/9/23, no website nor [...]

  The commercial real estate market is adopting smart building technologies and in many cases, wants third-party certifications to prove that they have done it well. Below are short summaries of seven smart building certification programs that are gaining traction. Certification name:               Living Building Challenge (LBC) Run by:                                  International Living Future Institute Description:  All [...]

What happens when the impacts of electrification collide with the obsolescence of telecommunications infrastructure? We’re all going to find out. Last week, I learned of two seemingly unrelated things: Undergrounding Powerlines Electrification of buildings and transportation raise the stakes for grid reliability / resiliency. Historically, power outages take out lighting, appliances, and HVAC systems. We’re [...]