Products + Technology

The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies have announced the winning buildings and product designs from a special edition of the GOOD DESIGN Awards program for 2009. Founded in Chicago in 1950 by Eero Saarinen and Charles and Ray Eames, GOOD DESIGN remains [...]

GE Lighting has announced the availability of the 7W Energy Smart white LED PAR20 lamp and 10W Energy Smart white LED PAR30 lamp, targeted to restaurants, retailers and other commercial customers. Available as spots or floods, these products feature advanced optical control to concentrate the white LED light on the targeted area and effectively diminish [...]

BEGA/US has expanded its EXPRESS Program with additional products and availability of black and silver finishes. All products are shipped within five business days, according to the company. Click here to learn more.

The Department of Energy has released revised competition requirements for the L Prize–the DOE-sponsored technology competition aimed at producing solid-state lighting products that can replace the common light bulb. The revised competition requirements include updates in several key areas, including 1) a specification for chromaticity, which compliments the existing specification for correlated color temperature, and [...]

Recently, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), PG&E, BetaLED and Echelon Corp. came together to demonstrate how smart streetlight technologies and systems can reduce energy use and carbon emissions while increasing street safety. Streetlighting can consume up to 40% of a city’s electric bill. Echelon is promoting a concept [...]

BEGA-US has relaunched its website, saying it offers more information, easier navigation and expanded search tools. Check it out here.

Back in April, I posted about BUG (Backlight, Uplight, Glare), a new classification system for outdoor light fixtures currently being promoted by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA). Based on the TM-15–the upgrade of the roadway shielding classification system by the Illuminating Engineering Society and the Lighting Research Center–BUG addresses light emitted from the fixture in [...]

Check out this video from GE, which showcases a number of potential applications for OLEDs, including illuminated clothing (e.g., emergency services gear), decorative “wall peel” lighting, portable lighting, concealed lighting, signage and luminous stairs. Wow!

“Incandescents are better than CFLs because CFLs contain mercury.” There are many arguments against favoring CFLs over incandescents, and I agree with many of them, but this one doesn’t wash. Click here to read this article I wrote for Electrical Contractor that makes a clear case that incandescents are actually the true net emitters of [...]