By Michael Weems, VP of Public Policy, American Lighting Association The Department of Labor: The Department of Labor (DOL) issued the long overdue rule on overtime pay, amending the Fair Labor Standards Act to provide protection to over 4 million American workers. Overtime pay protections are automatic for hourly employees, ensuring those that put in more [...]

By Clifton Stanley Lemon and David Shiller LightNOW published the story, Here Comes The Lighting-HVAC Integration Tsunami, on October 6th 2023. It generated a number of responses, including the beginning of a longer conversation with LightNOW contributor Clifton Stanley Lemon. The salient points of that conversation are below. Clifton What jumped out at me immediately [...]

By Michael Weems, VP of Public Policy, American Lighting Association (ALA) The following is reprinted with the permission of ALA. The concept of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws originated out of the European Union. Since then, EPR laws have flourished worldwide, including in the United States and Canada. The initial wave of EPR laws focused on electronics and battery [...]

By Scott Sherwood and David Shiller Power over Ethernet (PoE) lighting emerged from the IT industry, which built upon technology from the 48VDC telecom industry. More on PoE lighting origins can be found here. In 2023, PoE lighting had a rough year with significant players going out of business, diminishing in market presence, as well [...]

    By John Arthur Wilson and David Shiller This is the third of a four article series about important concepts in wireless networked lighting controls (NLC). This article is largely about mesh, so let’s start with a definition: A mesh network is a local area network, with a communications arrangement (aka topology) in which the infrastructure nodes (i.e. controllers, sensors, switches, [...]

By John Arthur Wilson and David Shiller This is the second of a four article series about important concepts in wireless networked lighting controls (NLC). What Is A Gateway? A gateway is a hardware device that connects two networks with different protocols. Two common examples that most people are familiar with are WiFi routers and [...]

By John Arthur Wilson and David Shiller This is the first of a four article series about important concepts in wireless networked lighting controls (NLC). John Arthur Wilson is an educator for wireless NLC systems. This first article is about wireless integration versus networking performance. Addressability Types To properly understand the variety of wireless NLC [...]

By Jason Lu, Founder, CECOCECO The lighting industry is witnessing a continuous evolution, driven by technological advancements and creative explorations. ArtMorph, introduced by CECOCECO, is a blend of lighting, display technology, and design. The Concept ArtMorph combines high-resolution LED displays with diverse natural textures like wood, stone, textile, and metal. This integration isn’t just about [...]

By Maria Bragina, General Manager, Sundrax Electronics In the rapidly evolving lighting industry, the demand for efficient and reliable connection options has led to the standardization of specialized connectors like NEMA and Zhaga. This article explores the evolution and significance of NEMA connectors, shedding light on their historical roots and modern adaptations. Origin of NEMA [...]