Guest Authors

  By Maggie Swift, CEO at Unframed Digital Lighting specifiers are no longer discovering products the way manufacturers expect them to. In 2026, architects, designers, and engineers are doing the majority of their product research independently – online, on demand, and often long before a trade show visit or a conversation with a sales representative [...]

By Adam Reeder, President at LightArt and Vice President at 3form For years, the lighting industry has pursued two parallel paths: advancing technical and wellness-focused performance and exploring expressive, sculptural forms. What was once treated as a choice between aesthetics and function has increasingly become an integrated conversation fueled by curiosity and experimentation. Now more [...]

By Brent Protzman, Ph.D., Director of Product Management at Lutron Electronics Design professionals in the commercial building landscape are fundamentally shifting their approach to occupant comfort and energy efficiency. While architects and designers have long recognized the importance of daylight control, their toolkit could only do so much. Now, the intelligent, automated shading systems that [...]

  By Valeria Palacios Klein CLD, Senior Lighting Designer at Coastal Source When people hear the phrase colored lighting in outdoor spaces, it’s likely they immediately think of bold, oversaturated hues that feel more theatrical, even gauche, than refined. But color-tunable lighting (often referred to in the industry as RGBW) has evolved dramatically. Today’s advanced [...]

By Dan Hollenkamp, COO at Toggled Dan Hollenkamp, COO of Toggled, shared the following seven trends that he believes will redefine buildings and energy management in 2026: 1) Smart Buildings Become True Energy Orchestrators: By 2026, smart buildings will function more like managed micro-grids as operators face rising energy demand, electrification pressures, and aging infrastructure. Even [...]

  By Eric Bretschneider, Ph.D. Abstract Wien’s Displacement Law is a simple equation that allows calculation of the peak wavelength for a black body light source as a function of temperature.  However, not all uses of light are based on radiant flux. In particular, photobiology is based on the quantum or photon flux.  In 1939, [...]

By Alexander Willemsen, MSE Based on a paper authored by Eric Bretschneider, Ph.D. The Circadian Stimulus (CS) model is one of the most well-known models for quantifying the circadian impact of lighting. One striking feature that separates the model from other contemporary circadian lighting models is its discontinuous action spectrum. As a consequence, the predicted [...]

  By Brent Protzman, Director of Product Management at Lutron Electronics The way we design and use commercial real estate has undergone a fundamental shift. Spaces that were once almost exclusively cubicles and private offices must now adapt to hybrid work models, evolving technology, sustainability mandates, and heightened occupant expectations. Looking forward, the buildings that [...]

  By Allana Wooley, User Experience Lead, Lutron When you think about lighting control, your first instinct may be to picture a physical interface – a wall switch or touchscreen – but today’s smart lighting solutions go well beyond traditional fixture and control aesthetics to holistically manage daylight, support occupant comfort, optimize energy use, and [...]