Energy + Environment

  At LightFair, I was part of a panel presenting the impacts of electrification on the lighting industry. This article is Part 3, about various factors that will all drive up energy costs for building owners and motivate much larger energy efficiency retrofits moving forward. Electric utility rates have historically increased an average of 2.5% [...]

  The only product at LightFair that caught my eye from over 30 yards away was a self-cleaning solar street light from a Chinese factory called Sresky. The product family is named Thermos, and it is available in a variety of sizes, wattages, and outputs (4,000 – 12,000 lumens). This product family is also part [...]

  At LightFair, last week, I was part of a panel presenting the impacts of electrification on the lighting industry. This article is Part 2 about EV chargers and other electrification products being sold by the lighting industry. One of the widely seen impacts of electrification on the lighting industry has been the selling of [...]

  An Italian manufacturer named Lorelux, has developed durable street and area lights with housings that are both recycled and recyclable. The housings are made of a polyethylene-based polymer that can be created: As virgin material from sugar cane, From recycled industrial waste, or From recycled bottle caps. The housings are again recyclable at the [...]

Two more states are joining Vermont and California in banning fluorescent lamps. Hawaii’s legislature passed HB 192 / SB 690, and sent it to the Governor’s desk for signing, which is expected. The bill, once signed, will phase out mercury-containing lamps, such as fluorescent lamps. Colorado’s House Bill 23-1161, called Environmental Standards For Appliances, passed [...]

  Researchers at Linköping University and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, have created the first functioning transistor made of wood. This represents an early step in the development of biodegradable electronics. The researchers started with balsa wood and removed the lignin that makes wood strong and rigid. This created cellulose fibers with [...]

Designing for disassembly (DfD) refers to the practice of designing products or systems in a way that makes it easy to take them apart at the end of their useful life or for maintenance purposes. DfD is an important aspect of sustainable lighting and circular design. This design approach aids the recovery and recycling of [...]

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 [...]

  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” [...]