Specialty and Architectural Lighting

One of the main benefits of replacing incandescent and halogen lighting with CFL or LED is the lower energy usage and bills that result. Even these types of bulbs burn out, making all types of light bulbs prime candidates for recycling. Incandescent & Halogen Bulbs The bad news is that...

When making any decent-sized purchase as a consumer, it is smart to do some basic product research and to stretch your dollars and resources to get the most "bang for your buck." There is no exception when it comes to buying lighting products, especially if you are taking on a...

As more and more people now work from home, especially since the COVID era, one of my challenges when starting out is keeping awake and focused during the day. One way to address this issue is by changing the lighting in the home office to increase energy during the day...

Owners and facility managers looking for a way to disinfect the indoor air in offices, medical centers, retail stores, schools and residential care facilities will find that their HVAC system may provide the safest and most cost-effective approach. Buildings equipped with a ducted heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) system are...

Before the passage of the 2007 Energy Bill, it was easy to replace a general service household light bulb. All you had to do was read the number on the top of the bulb and find the exact replacement: 60 watts was always 60 watts. But now, with common 40,...

In addition to the deadly and debilitating impacts of COVID-19, its spread within communities has also illuminated the inadequacies of basic prevention and control strategies in place at public facilities and institutions. One of the most glaring examples is residential care facilities. There are currently (2021) over 16,000 nursing homes...

Upper air ultraviolet germicidal equipment is designed to provide air disinfection within an occupied space. The louvered upper air units are wall or ceiling mounted above the "human zone" in the space, generally at 7 feet or higher. The usual UV-C 253.7 nanometer (nm) wavelength emitted by the germicidal light...

While sellers of LED lighting often promote the savings benefits of reduced maintenance because of the long life of LED light sources, this can obscure the fact that maintenance remains a key function for the successful operation of LED systems. Maintenance of all types of commercial lighting systems includes re-lamping,...

Dating back to the late 1960's and early 1970's, ultraviolet light was used to cure wood fillers and coatings on furniture. Since then, with the development of a wide range of UV curable materials and specialized equipment, UV curing has grown exponentially - widely adopted in manufacturing, graphic arts, and...

While projector lamp modules may fit only one or a limited number of projectors, the bulb inside of the cage may fit dozens or hundreds of projectors from a wide range of manufacturers. This makes bare projector bulbs a popular and versatile product. While it's far easier to replace the...

A 2018 study by the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensallear Polytechnic provides detailed guidelines for comparing LED and HID light sources for use in commercial greenhouse and other horticulture facilities. The report is also a cautionary advisory on transitioning to LED based only on the criteria of improved energy...

You may have noticed that the specifications for fluorescent tubes, compact fluorescent bulbs, and ultraviolet lamps provide watts, but almost never volts. Why not? Ballasts, invisible inside the fixture, are required for all fluorescent bulbs to operate. Ballasts modify the line voltage they are connected to (120V, 277V, etc.) so...

Blacklights are not merely for special effects and lighting up cool posters. They also have an important clinical use by veterinarians. These bulbs are very common for diagnosing ringworm in cats, dogs, and other animals. The most common tool veterinarians use to diagnose ringworm on pets is a Wood's Lamp,...

Reading fluorescent ballast and HID ballast specification sheets can make your head hurt. Case in point: ballast factor vs ballast power factor. Ballast Factor Affects Light Output Ballast factor is a number normally between 0.70 and 1.2. This number is a multiplier applied to the rated initial lumens of a fluorscent...

The performance of fluorescent tubes, compact fluorescent light bulbs, and low pressure mercury ultraviolet bulbs deteriorates in ambient temperatures that rise above certain design parameters. At high fixture and room temperatures, light output and color characteristics deteriorate. CFLs are particularly affected by this, as anyone who has had a CFL...