Products + Technology

“If someone really wanted to do a green household, they could use dimmers, they could use occupancy sensors to turn off the lights in case they forgot to. Control of the light is really the most energy efficient way to gain benefit.” –Howard Brandston LightNOW says: Amen, brother! Click here to read this interview with [...]

A new Freedonia Group study, Advanced Lighting, is forecasting that U.S. demand for advanced lighting products will grow nearly 11% per year to $6.8 billion in 2013. Gains will be spurred by legislation aimed at reducing the energy consumed by lighting. Imports are a significant source of advanced lighting products, and will account for almost [...]

Philips is currently working on transparent OLEDs, enabling OLED panels to function as ordinary windows during the day and become panels at night to imitate daylight or provide attractive indoor lighting. Even during the day, they could function as privacy shields. Transparent OLED panels will be commercialized within the next 3-5 years, according to the [...]

Wow! Yesterday, Royal Philips Electronics unveiled the first-ever OLED interactive lighting concepts–for both consumer and professional use–during Euroluce International Lighting Fair in Milan. The concepts offer a combination of intuitive interactivity, ultra flat shape, soft light-effect and new design possibilities. “Our concepts demonstrate a new light ambiance, novel design possibilities and unique interactivity of light [...]

Here’s an article I wrote for the October 2008 issue of Illuminate that talks about the C2C product certification program: In 2005, McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC), founded by architect William McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart, launched the Cradle to Cradle (C2C) product certification program. The program resulted from manufacturer requests for a label that [...]

Hat tip to Jim Hutchison for digging up this gem! For me it was love at first sight with this product… DEMO/Design Clinic of Israel has created a small line of hand-made light fixtures made from old reclaimed plumbing parts, including a spigot that turns the light on and off. These KOZO lamps are designed [...]

There are a number of interesting new wireless products coming out this year. Here’s one: Leviton’s partnership with EnOcean, a developer of wireless building automation technology, has resulted in a new line of self-powered, wireless occupancy sensors, remote switches, wall switches and integrated wireless receivers that automatically turn lights on and off based on occupancy. [...]

PureSpectrum, Inc. will be launching a new line of high-performance compact fluorescents at Lightfair. The company says its new products are fully dimmable, priced affordably, have high power factor, turn on instantly and work in place of any traditional incandescent lamp. One of my biggest complaints about household CFLs is dimming issues, so I’ll definitely [...]

This year, I have the pleasure of joining Howard Wolfman, recently retired from OSRAM SYLVANIA and now principal of Lumispec Consulting, in presenting the “What’s New in Lamps and Ballasts” seminar at Lightfair International in New York City. The seminar (course #L09S22) will be held 4:30-6:00 PM on Wednesday, May 6. This seminar is a [...]