David Shiller

  The commercial real estate market is adopting smart building technologies and in many cases, wants third-party certifications to prove that they have done it well. Below are short summaries of seven smart building certification programs that are gaining traction. Certification name:               Living Building Challenge (LBC) Run by:                                  International Living Future Institute Description:  All [...]

What happens when the impacts of electrification collide with the obsolescence of telecommunications infrastructure? We’re all going to find out. Last week, I learned of two seemingly unrelated things: Undergrounding Powerlines Electrification of buildings and transportation raise the stakes for grid reliability / resiliency. Historically, power outages take out lighting, appliances, and HVAC systems. We’re [...]

Both Forbes and the E-commerce site Houzz have recently published about the growing adoption of residential smart lighting. According to Houzz smart lighting grew from 14% of Houzz lighting purchases in 2021 to 17% in 2022. The March 31, 2023 Forbes article interviewed designers and found ever greater adoption rates. Designers around the country shared [...]

In February, I published a story about whether a new trend in toroidal propellers could lead to toroidal ceiling fan blades, here. This article became one of the most viewed LightNOW posts of the past year, garnering 10 times the views of a typical post. As a follow up, let’s explore the trend of bladeless ceiling [...]

Here is a quick summary of seven acquisitions, two divestments, and one closure announced in the first quarter of 2023: Saylite acquired Vantage Lighting. Details here. Prosperity Group acquired Traxon Technologies. Details here. Synapse Wireless acquired by EdgePower. Details here. ABB divesting its emergency lighting business. Details here. Igor acquired by four investors. Details here. [...]

LightFair is happening next month, May 21-25, at the Javits Center in New York City. Here is a quick update on the conference and Expo, as well as a discount code: 314 exhibitors listed on the LightFair website, as of April 1, 2023. I’ll be presenting two conference sessions: Electrification Impacts On The Lighting Industry, [...]

  Effective January 1, 2023, lamp/bulb manufacturers have new “extended producer responsibility” requirements in Ontario, Canada, for end-of-life management of “lighting” under Ontario Regulation 522/20: Electrical and Electronic Equipment (the “EEE Regulation”). This includes both residential and commercial lamps sold in Ontario. Product Care Recycling is a not-for-profit organization registered as a “Producer Responsibility Organization” [...]

Researchers at the University of Buffalo have published a study demonstrating that light therapy reduces heart disease in mice. If these results hold true in human trials, this could be an extremely important finding. Heart disease is the #1 cause of death in the U.S. One in five Americans dies of heart disease. A simple, [...]

Researchers at the University of Toronto demonstrated a window technology that utilizes multiple layers of plastic sheets that can be filled with different pigments to selectively filter infrared (IR) heat and/or visible light. This approach has the potential to dramatically reduce HVAC energy requirements for buildings. Different layers within the prototype window filter out infrared [...]