Starfire Lighting, Inc., a manufacturer of architectural and custom lighting products for commercial, institutional, hospitality and residential applications, has announced its new VersaLux Quick-Ship Program, which combines fast delivery and aggressive pricing. Customers receive products within two weeks, guaranteed. VersaLux Recessed Luminaires MR16 Series VA Accent Fixture- Open Aperture Series VS Downlight Fixture- Splay Trim [...]

Énergie Lighting brings the best of international luminaire design to the U.S. One of the company’s new introductions, Flying Surface designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, offers luminous rectilinear forms, which can be mounted in striking patterns on ceilings and walls, or suspended from adjustable cables. The luminaire emits soft, uniform illumination while inspiring creative [...]

“If someone really wanted to do a green household, they could use dimmers, they could use occupancy sensors to turn off the lights in case they forgot to. Control of the light is really the most energy efficient way to gain benefit.” –Howard Brandston LightNOW says: Amen, brother! Click here to read this interview with [...]

More evidence that the housing market may be bottoming out, although the continuing credit crunch and a decline in permits are worrisome for future growth. Characteristic volatility in the multifamily sector pushed nationwide housing starts down 10.8% in March as production of single-family homes remained unchanged, according to the Department of Commerce. Overall starts fell [...]

The number of newly built, single-family homes on the market declined for a 23rd consecutive month in March as builders focused on winnowing down their inventories of unsold units, according to the Department of Commerce. Inventory shrank to 311,000 units, which is a 10.7-month supply at the current sales pace. Further, new home sales in [...]

Is the market at or near bottom? Good news is always welcome these days. While still deep in negative territory, builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes rose five points in April to the highest level since October 2008, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index [...]

A new Freedonia Group study, Advanced Lighting, is forecasting that U.S. demand for advanced lighting products will grow nearly 11% per year to $6.8 billion in 2013. Gains will be spurred by legislation aimed at reducing the energy consumed by lighting. Imports are a significant source of advanced lighting products, and will account for almost [...]

Most lighting professionals are aware by now that the Commercial Buildings Deduction has been extended to 2013. Here is an article I wrote for Electrical Contractor Magazine, published in the March issue, that describes the Interim Lighting Rule, which in my opinion is the easiest and fastest path for an indoor lighting project to qualify [...]

Finally, some good news. After a series of historic lows, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) was up more than eight points in March. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate 9-12 month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. AIA reported the March ABI rating was 43.7, up [...]