David Shiller

  At LightFair, I was part of a panel presenting the impacts of electrification on the lighting industry. This article is Part 6 of the series. In Part 3 of this series, the drivers of deeper energy efficiency retrofits were discussed, including: Rapid rises in electric utility rates that will likely continue for some time. [...]

  The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a pre-publication Federal Register notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) and an announcement of a public meeting about DOE’s proposed new and amended standards for ceiling fans. Some important things to note: Standard and hugger ceiling fans with representative values of blade span >53” will likely have [...]

  SKYX Platform Corporation, the company producing SkyPlug, an alternative luminaire mounting system, has announced that Eric Jacobson has joined the company as Senior Product Standardization Advisor. Jacobson recently resigned as President and CEO of the American Lighting Association (ALA). Hiring Jacobson is the latest move by SKYX to achieve industry adoption of its alternative [...]

  At LightFair, I was part of a panel presenting the impacts of electrification on the lighting industry. This article is Part 5 of the series. Electrification of building heat, hot water, cooking, as well as the transportation sector will create tremendous stresses on the electrical grid and utilities. This is already beginning to happen [...]

At LightFair, I was part of a panel presenting the impacts of electrification on the lighting industry. This article is Part 4 of the series. Two of the biggest consequences of electrification will be the mass adoption of electric vehicles as well as the rapid increase in renewable energy generation. Both of these will create [...]

The ALA Engineering Committee recently released a guidance document designed to assist residential consumers in understanding the differences between socketed and integrated LED light fixtures. The document, created by members of the ALA Engineering Committee, is designed to assist consumers in navigating the purchase process, by explaining which factors are important to consider in socketed and integrated LED [...]

  MIT researchers have created a silicon-based LED that is less than one micron across. This is less than one thousandth of a millimeter (mm) across. Despite the tiny size, the new LED has a high intensity, which allowed the researchers to create a holographic microscope. This advance could allow a smartphone camera to become [...]

  At LightFair, I was part of a panel presenting the impacts of electrification on the lighting industry. This article is Part 3, about various factors that will all drive up energy costs for building owners and motivate much larger energy efficiency retrofits moving forward. Electric utility rates have historically increased an average of 2.5% [...]

  The only product at LightFair that caught my eye from over 30 yards away was a self-cleaning solar street light from a Chinese factory called Sresky. The product family is named Thermos, and it is available in a variety of sizes, wattages, and outputs (4,000 – 12,000 lumens). This product family is also part [...]