David Shiller

The Global Lighting Association (GLA) has published a white paper, Implementing Internationally Harmonised Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) & Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) For Lighting Products. The international drive for product sustainability has created LCAs and EPDs as tools for quantifying and communicating the environmental impacts of many types of products. LCAs and EPDs are now [...]

  LumiAdd is a UK-based manufacturer of 3D-printed luminaires. The company has recently pioneered the use of discarded coffee grounds as a raw material for making spotlights and downlights. The waste coffee grounds are combined with polylactic acid (PLA). The company uses plant-based polymers, primarily PLA, to print all of its luminaires. 3D printing on [...]

  A former SpaceX executive plans to keep solar farms running at night, using sunlight from space, reflected off an array of orbiting satellites. The startup is aptly named Reflect Orbital, and the company would provide short periods of “Sunlight-as-a-service from space.” Ben Nowack is the CEO of Reflect Orbital, a former propulsion engineering intern [...]

  Sustainability in lighting requires more than just LED light sources. It requires that luminaires be durable, repairable, and upgradable. Zhaga standards have been developed to standardize interface specifications for components of serviceable luminaires. Zhaga calls this framework “Circularity Lighting.” While quality luminaires are designed for lifetimes of 50,000 to 100,000 hours, many connectivity platforms [...]

Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) experienced some high-profile bankruptcies and closures and a deep decline in VC funding in 2022 and 2023. However, there are now signs that the CEA market is improving. Investment Trends VC investments in indoor farms declined 90% year-over-year. Several high-profile vertical farm companies went bankrupt and ceased operations. By contrast, 2024 [...]

  Earlier this year, the U.S. General Service Administration (GSA) published LED Lighting and Controls Guidance for Federal Buildings. The guide was authored by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The document provides guidance for Federal agencies to select the most cost-effective and energy-efficient lighting systems available. It [...]

Quantas Airlines is receiving its first delivery of ultra long-haul aircrafts from Airbus in mid-2026, the Airbus A350-1000. The new planes, dubbed Project Sunrise, will enable flights from Sydney to London and New York. Among many new features on the Quantas A350s will be a new circadian lighting system with claims that helps passengers arrive [...]

  The other day, I heard a repeat of an old Planet Money radio show episode on NPR about the history of light. Rather than just focus on the changes in technology over thousands of years, it really focused on the economic history of light. The story interviews a Yale economics professor who studied how [...]

Since early May, global ocean freight container rates have been increasing steeply. The Drewry World Container Index (shown above) has increased nearly 400% since mid-December. The rapid increases exist from Shanghai to Los Angeles, Rotterdam, Genoa, and New York (see graph below). The causes for the current spike are numerous: Troubles in the Middle East, [...]