Energy + Environment

Industry discussions about sustainable lighting are increasing, but what would sustainable product regulations look like? The European Union (EU) is far ahead of North America on sustainable product regulations, and a look at what the EU is doing gives one vision of where sustainable product regulations could go in North America.

Disruptive lighting technology consultant Peter Brown, recently wrote an interesting article in US Lighting Trends, about the potential of EV chargers to change the energy efficient buildings industry.

Vermont is the first state in the U.S. to ban 4′ fluorescent linear lamps.

The National Association of Innovative Lighting Distributors (NAILD) and its sustainable lighting committee recently published an open letter, detailing a list of concerns with integrated LED luminaires and a set of recommendations for the industry.

Resilient lighting can survive and operate during and after natural and man-made disasters. Don’t confuse “resilient lighting” with 90-minute emergency lighting, which is designed to get people out of buildings. Resilient lighting is designed to operate for days – or even weeks – after disasters and is part of a larger Resilient Buildings trend.

The FLAP program in Toronto was the first to raise awareness of the problem lights pose for birds in an urban center, starting in 1993. In 1999, Audubon and its partners established the first Lights Out program in Chicago. Since then, groups in many other cities have organized programs to make a difference for birds

Many articles have written about the potential of using bioluminescence to light cities, but a French start-up, Glowee, is actually producing lights using bioluminescence and installing them.

There is growing scientific evidence that LED outdoor white light at night is devastating global insect and bird populations, in addition to potential negative human health impacts. A possible solution is to move back to non-white lighting, such as phosphor-converted amber and direct emission amber LED sources, outdoors.

The COVID-19 pandemic showed just how important focusing on health and wellness is (and will be) for facility managers and construction professionals. A new report from the Urban Land Institute titled “Greening Buildings for Healthier People” examines all the ways resilience, health and wellness, and sustainability match up.