Specialty and Architectural Lighting

As we age, our visual acuity naturally deteriorates. This process starts around age 40. After that, normal changes to the aging eye become increasingly noticeable and potentially life changing. By the time people reach their sixties, seventies, eighties or older, their vision challenges may cause both difficulty in performing basic...

It's that time of year for hanging lights around the house to celebrate the season. Whether you regard this ritual as a chore or a challenge to create an show stopping display, the lighting industry now gives you a multitude of new lighting options and control systems to tempt your...

Choosing a projector for houses of worship starts with two key factors, both focus on projector lumen output or brightness: (1) size of the space (eg. 100 person or 250+ person sanctuary) and (2) amount of ambient light present in the space during projector use. Most sanctuaries or worship gathering spaces...

When most people think of digital projectors, the images that come to mind are of substantial pieces of equipment with multiple input sources, brightness from 1000 to 4000 lumens and large projected image size that weigh-in at 5 to 10 pounds. Usually these projectors are permanently mounted on walls, ceilings...

Time switches, or timers, for lighting control allow for time of day ON and OFF scheduling for individual lights or lighting systems. Generally, time switches work best with outdoor lighting where the time of day, along with sunset and sunrise, determine when lighting is on or off. Indoor applications for...

The lights are low, the Epson fan hums, you are 15 minutes into a new product release PowerPoint presentation to a group of corporate managers and you realize two people at the end of the table are about to nod off. A sinking feeling. It could be these people would...

Many projector manufacturers tout a relatively new specification, color brightness, as one of the prime selling features of their projectors. Why might this metric be important when look to purchase a projector? The viewer’s awareness of color has been raised significantly by improvements in digital technology. The images seen today...

In a previous article, we looked at retfofits for general lighting situations. Many buildings, regardless of the main purpose they are used for, will have T12 fluorescent tubes, magnetic ballasts and a ton of incandescent and halogen bulbs and HID lamps that may present retrofit opportunities. In this article, we'll...

All projector manufacturers work with a select group of lamp manufacturers (Philips, Osram, Ushio, Panasonic, Phoenix) who build the lamps installed in new projectors. Each lamp comes from the manufacturer with a “rated lamp life”, usually between 1500 and 3000 hours. While far from the most important factor in selecting...

A study by Rutgers University indicates that cheaper, more efficient lighting may lead to more lighting being used by consumers and institutions. One likely result -- people will use more lights if they are cheaper to operate, which won't reduce the overall energy usage. According to an article from InsideClimateNews...

Performing a lighting retrofit is big decision and an even bigger task. Even with direct utility rebates and energy savings, replacing every light bulb (and many fixtures) in a facility is a huge undertaking. Just consider the labor that will be required to complete the job. That begs the question:...

When replacing a projector lamp, we've recommended for years that you don't touch the bulb with your fingers. This is because the oil from your skin can alter the light output or compromise the life of the bulb inside the cage. But let's take a closer look at that recommendation....

The mantra for the last few years in the projector replacement lamp business has been anxious concern over the prospect that LED or laser driven projectors would eventually doom a robust replacement lamp market. Both LED and laser light sources can boast of life expectancies in the 20,000 to 30,000...