Last month, the National Electrical Manufacturers Representative Association (NEMRA) published their Manufacturer of the Future Report. Channel Marketing Group conducted research, interviewing over 30 manufacturers for their input into major trends impacting manufacturers. Four primary areas of inquiry were: Consolidation throughout the ED channel and its impacts (distributor, rep, & manufacturer M&A) Increasing operational efficiency [...]

  The Congressional Budget Office has issued a report that analyzed the condition of more than 100,000 military buildings, using 2020 data. The buildings are on Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and Navy bases in the US, including territories. The report finds that total deferred maintenance was $50 billion on the bases. 70% is needed [...]

  EmeryAllen is best known as a manufacturer of higher performing LED specialty lamps for the decorative lighting industry. Think JA8 lamps for CA Title 24, dim-to-warm lamps, multicolored MR16s, E12 base, E17 base, G9 base, GU10 base, etc. So it is notable that their latest two products are professional-grade landscape luminaires, the Ranger Pro [...]

  Most of the world’s electricity is still generated using fossil fuels, however, the new capacity being built globally was generated by more than 85% renewable sources. The data is from the International Renewable Energy Agency. 473 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy capacity was installed in 2023, primarily solar and wind power. In 2022, it was 308 [...]

A new law in Florida now prevents local governments from enacting or enforcing any ordinance or regulation involving EV charging stations. Senate Bill 1084 became effective July 1, 2024. Now, the authority to regulate EV chargers is exclusively held by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). Orlando had an existing ordinance requiring [...]

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has adopted a new version of the Bluetooth Core Specification (v6.0). The new v6.0 BT Core Spec includes a variety of new features and enhancements: Bluetooth® Channel Sounding: This feature enables distance awareness, for Find My solutions, making it easier and faster to locate lost items. Decision-Based Advertising Filtering: Decision-based advertising filtering [...]

CORRECTION: The study cited below focussed on trees that were all exposed to High Pressure Sodium (HPS) lamps. Therefore, the findings can not be generalized to LED streetlights. Special thanks to Jim Levecchi at AECOM for sharing this detail of the study. Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have published research showing exposure to [...]

  Streetleaf is a Tampa Bay, FL-based startup producing solar streetlights. Earlier this month, they formalized a nationwide partnership with the largest home builder in North America, D.R. Horton. The sustainability story for solar streetlights is pretty well known; like most solar streetlights, Streetleaf operates off the grid using solar power and a battery. Streetleaf [...]

When the glass lamp envelope of a Mercury Vapor (MV) or Metal Halide (MH) lamp is broken, but continues to operate, the quartz arc tube inside emits significant levels of UV radiation that are a danger when there is direct exposure to eyes or skin. Normally, the glass lamp envelope filters the UV radiation and [...]