David Shiller

  A group of researchers with leaders from the Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, solved the mystery of why flying insects collect around artificial lights, whether fires, candles, or various technology electric lamps. Old, unproven ideas include theories of “lunar navigation” and “escape to the light.” These researchers conducted high-resolution motion capture in the [...]

    A small town in the Netherlands, Zuidhoek-Nieuwkoop, has become the first town in the world to install red street lights. The primary motivation was to protect local, rare bat populations. The red light isn’t perceived by the bats but allows humans to see at night. The red street lights are manufactured by the [...]

  Simultaneous and separate crises are occurring at the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal simultaneously. These are the two most important global shipping canals. The Panama Canal is suffering from a drought in the lake that supplies its water. The drought is likely caused and made more severe by climate change. The Suez Canal [...]

    Last week, I attended the annual IPPE poultry show in Atlanta, GA. Poultry lighting is one of many interesting niches within the lighting industry. Most of the show is NOT lighting. In fact, the show is not for the faint of heart. The IIoT poultry processing machines were on display with grim signs [...]

On January 16, 2024, The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing to amend the content of the Energy Guide Label for ceiling fans. The proposal calls for updating the energy cost information and product comparability range. The proposal would also establish a five-year schedule for regularly updating the [...]

  Facility managers are increasingly seeking sustainability solutions for buildings, emphasizing energy efficiency to enhance value. Green financing programs, such as power purchasing agreements (PPA), efficiency service agreements (EaaS and ESA), and property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing, offer opportunities to integrate green technologies like efficient lighting retrofits, solar panels, co-generation, efficient HVAC systems, and [...]

  Square Roots, a controlled environment agriculture (CEA) startup, recently introduced a groundbreaking program supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The program aims to demonstrate the feasibility of removing light from commercial indoor vertical farming by utilizing gene-edited (CRISPR) plants that grow heterotrophically. These plants can add biomass through carbon uptake from acetate [...]

South Korean researchers have demonstrated a new approach to LiFi using a red, green, and blue (RGB) OLED array. The Pohang University of Science and Technology team utilized an organic photodiode (OPD) array as the receiver. Their study was published October 19, 2023, in the publication, Advanced Materials. The new approach to LiFi reduced interference [...]

  Nichia has announced the release of a new line of products designed to enable different light distribution than conventional LEDs. The product line is based on new LED emitters called Cube Direct Mountable Chip. See photo above. It is a chip scale packaging (CSP) LED, which in itself increases the amount of light emitted [...]