Products + Technology

I recently wrote an article for TED Magazine about load-shedding ballasts, available online here. A building’s demand for electric power is the sum of the power required to run its electrical equipment in operation at any given time. Demand rises and falls as equipment is turned on and off. Peak demand is the highest level [...]

One of my favorite bloggers, Jim Hutchison of Jim on Light (he’s chief design consultant for Alive Lighting, an entertainment lighting design firm), recently found this gem–“lighting bags” containing fluorescent materials, which react with chemicals in a cup. The result is illumination, seemingly from a “tea bag” (but unfortunately inedible), the product of South Korean [...]

Sky Factory Offers EcoSlim Luminous SkyCeilings, an edge-lit product that the company says provides authentic illusions of sky displayed in an ultra-thin, toxin-free system. The new version of the product (EcoSlim) offers a low-profile design that eliminates ceiling clearance limitations, paving the way for renovation and retrofit installations. The image tile is only a quarter-inch [...]

I decided to post a quick note and photo about this relatively new product from Hampstead Lighting, as it has an interesting aesthetic and caught my eye while browsing HomePortfolio.com. This contemporary luminaire is constructed of clear, frosted/etched or mirrored glass and stainless steel with a single 24-80W lamp. It can be pendant, ceiling or [...]

I recently wrote an article for TED Magazine about extended-life linear 4-ft. fluorescent T8 lamps. Industry averages: * 20,000 hours at 3 hours/start on instant-start ballast (the most commonly installed electronic ballast) * 24,000 hours at 12 hours/start on instant-start ballast * 24,000 hours at 3 hours/start on a programmed-start ballast * 30,000 hours at [...]

Furniture designer SAAZS has collaborated with Saint-Gobain Innovations to produce Planilum technology, which enables light to be incorporated as a material into stylish objects and furniture. Planilum, a complex multi-layered special glass containing a plasma gas excited through transparent conductive layers, can light up a 40-sq.m. room for 100 input watts. The result is incredible. [...]

Since the launch of the blog I’ve been having to weed out comments for some of the posts where manufacturers or manufacturer sales reps are trying to promote their new products. I’m not against people doing this, not at all. It’s just that those posts were not the right place for promotional messages. To provide [...]

Neo by Se’lux, designed by Jan Kleiheus and a winner of the Good Design Award from the Athenaeum Museum in Chicago, is a system of luminaires available in 3- and 4-ft. nominal lengths in surface- and pendant-mounted configurations, creating numerous design possibilities with an attractive aesthetic. It’s one of the most interesting architectural lighting products [...]

Royal Philips Electronics’ “Transitions” 2008 road show throughout Europe, featuring exhibits designed by eight leading European architects and lighting designers and installed in containers, was staged to showcase the exciting new possibilities offered by a new generation of lighting technology. Italy’s contribution, “Post Digital” by Fabio Novembre, consists of a cube of 30,000 LEDs that [...]