The other day, I heard a repeat of an old Planet Money radio show episode on NPR about the history of light. Rather than just focus on the changes in technology over thousands of years, it really focused on the economic history of light. The story interviews a Yale economics professor who studied how [...]

Since early May, global ocean freight container rates have been increasing steeply. The Drewry World Container Index (shown above) has increased nearly 400% since mid-December. The rapid increases exist from Shanghai to Los Angeles, Rotterdam, Genoa, and New York (see graph below). The causes for the current spike are numerous: Troubles in the Middle East, [...]

  From 2009 to 2019, controlled environment agriculture (CEA), that includes greenhouses, vertical agriculture, hydroponics, aquaponics, and other controlled production methods, saw significant growth in both the number of operations and production of fresh produce in the United States. Indoor farming can control factors such as temperature, wind, lighting, and precipitation. These systems help to [...]

In May, UL published the Sixth Edition of ANSI/UL 1993, dated May 17, 2024. UL 1993 is the most important safety standard for lamps / light bulbs. The standard covers both self-ballasted lamps and self-ballasted lamp adapters rated 120-347VAC nominal for connection to screw-base, pin-base, or recessed single contact (RSC or R7) lampholders. These devices [...]

  In May, LightArt launched the industry’s first optically clear, 3D-printed pendants, the Clear Coil Collection. The collection upcycles discarded materials like clothing, carpet fibers, dense plastic containers, and packaging into beautifully designed, long-lasting, clear light fixtures. The collection comprises six new pendant shapes, expanding the multi-award-winning Coil family. The company also offers a Coil [...]

  One of the latest crazes in sleep gadgets is red light sleep devices. The trend was inspired by NASA red light sleep devices for astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS system turns on blue lights to simulate morning and help astronauts wake up, white light to create daytime, and red light [...]

LightNOW has published a good deal about AI, Electrification, and Reshoring, but all three are now major drivers of electricity inflation. The Bank of America Institute published a report on July 2nd, 2024, titled Powering the Revolution, that looks at how these economic forces are impacting electricity rates. Some key takeaways follow. The year-over-year U.S. [...]

  A group of German researchers have created a new metamaterial that is more transparent than glass, diffuses sunlight, adds privacy, is anti-reflective, self-cleaning, reduces glare, and increases radiative cooling. The new thin film is a polymer-based micro-photonic multi-functional metamaterial or PMMM, that can be applied onto a pane of glass. The impressive collection of [...]

Aqua Creations has unveiled its Iris Pendant Light. Inspired by the human eye, the Iris Pendant Light creates diffuse lighting for the home. The Iris Pendant is only 15mm thick and produces significant up light and down light from the double-sided silk panels. The Iris Pendants are available in 3 sizes: Petite 24”, Medium 35”, [...]