Lighting Industry

States are increasing their spending on highways, streets, and bridge construction by 10% in fiscal year 2023. Four out of five states expect to increase this type of infrastructure spending in FY2023 over the previous year. Almost 75% of the increase is due to increased federal reimbursements to states. This includes early spending on IIJA [...]

The United States government and some allies are evolving and escalating the trade war with China. During the Trump administration, the trade war was characterized by increasing trade tariffs, most of which are still in place today, during the Biden administration. Now the trade war is escalating in new directions. FRIENDSHORING: In the past month, [...]

  Those of us with gray hair remember that luminaire housings were primarily made of steel until the LED revolution. Aluminum became the predominant luminaire housing material because of its superior thermal conductivity that keeps LED engines cooler. Today, there is enormous interest and pressure to make luminaires from more sustainable materials. More designers are [...]

There are many Matter-compatible smart lighting products beginning to hit the market. Matter is a smart home standard developed by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (formerly the Zigbee Alliance) in collaboration with other leading companies in the smart home industry. Matter is designed to provide greater interoperability between smart home devices, allowing them to work seamlessly [...]

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 [...]

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, [...]

By Clifton Stanley Lemon This is the second post in a four-part series on Lighting and Innovation. The first post can be read here. It’s supremely ironic that we are, ostensibly, in a state of stagnating innovation in lighting today, given that the universal symbol of innovation and inspiration is…the light bulb. Of course, the [...]