Vertical farming has been struggling, due to high capital costs and high energy costs. Some vertical farms are now setting their sights on the most valuable crops in the world to achieve profitability. A good example is Veles Farming, a start up in Slovakia since 2021, that specializes in growing Saffron, the most expensive [...]

  In January of this year, LightNOW wrote about the first UL 924 emergency TLED from NaturaLED. The NaturaLED TLED is 3-CCT selectable. This introduction was greatly welcomed as it reduces life safety risks (and liability!) from emergency TLEDs without UL 924 listing. Those early EM TLEDs took their power from the G13 tombstones, creating [...]

MHT Technologies, a leader in Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) lighting, has released Inspextor Smart Desk, a PoE connected, adjustable-height desk that monitors its surroundings, and communicates through the Inspextor cloud-based software / app. The desk can communicate with different building or workplace management systems. Office workers can select an available desk based on their preferences, whether location, [...]

  The 2023 National Electric Code (NEC) language initially banned battery-only wall light switches. However, the NFPA published a Temporary Interim Amendment to the 2023 NEC that now allows some battery-only wall light switches IF they incorporate a positive means of notification of impending battery depletion. LightNOW published a story on May 4, 2023: 2023 NEC [...]

  A street light has just set a new record for the highest TM66 product circularity score, in the UK. It is the Oaken street light, manufacturered by Thorlux Road and Tunnel (TRT) Lighting, in the UK, with a TM66 score of 3.1. The CISBE TM66 circularity standard is designed to measure the carbon footprint [...]

  The holiday light installation industry began with lawn care businesses and local electricians looking to make some extra money installing holiday lights, before the holidays. It’s now becoming a fast growing, mature industry. Existing service businesses that add holiday light services see profit margins from 25-45%, while primary lawn care service profit margin may [...]

    Two lighting control trade shows + conferences have emerged in the past couple years: 1. NYControlled produced by IESNYC & DLFNY, and 2. the DLC Controls Summit. Here is an update on each. Both are occurring in October, this year.  NYControlled  The 2024 show has been announced for October 29th, 2024, 11am – 7pm [...]

The lighting controls industry continues to take small steps toward lighting-HVAC controls integration. This post will dig into the new Light Solutions Application Guide from Autani-LiteTrace and give a quick overview of their system’s approach and capabilities. As context, Autani (BMS) and LiteTrace (Keilton Bluetooth lighting controls) merged last year. The merger’s original motivation had [...]

  MIT researchers have just demonstrated that temperature is not the only energy driving water evaporation. The team discovered that visible light can create water evaporation. This fact was not previously known. The discovery could solve unanswered atmospheric questions and lead to new technology advances. Although water is almost transparent to visible light, the team [...]