Lighting Technology Archives - Light Can Help You

EXPOSURE: The Future of Power

A book/article cover for Return of the Standards War? by David K. Warfel

The third article in my series on Lighting Hope is out in Designing Lighting! I learned a few things writing this article about the future of power that surprised me, particularly that my focus on low voltage lighting may be suitable for the near future…but there could be something even more revolutionary ahead. Digital power […]

GEAR TALK: Optics…or lack thereof

An illustration with a row on top with a spray can on the left and an paintbrush on the right; the second row says "speed + cost" on the left, a double headed arrow in the middle pointing both to the left and right, and says "craft + precision" on the right; the bottom row has a flat, round light on the left and recessed lighting on the right

A year ago, when I was planning my 2022 blog writing, I imagined a series on gear where I could talk shop about different fixtures and technologies. I saw myself geeking out on light bulbs, recessed adjustable downlights, tape light, step lights, and any other piece of equipment we use in our work every day. […]

THINK LIGHT: 3 reasons to use controls

An illustration of a car with the headlight, computer, and blinker handle labelled.

Recently I had the joy of virtually visiting a university classroom to talk about lighting with students. Since I can talk about lighting for hours and hours and hours, I usually ask the professor if there is a particular aspect of lighting they would like me to cover. One of my lectures this fall was […]

EXPOSURE: Redesign the Downlight

Article cover for Please Redesign the Downlight by David K. Warfel

In the October issue of Designing Lighting, I appeal to the lighting industry to redesign the downlight. There are some amazing downlights made – and none of them are compatible with any other. We – the industry – are creating a potential mess for our consumers down the road, and this is especially true in […]

GEAR TALK: Why Smart Bulbs MATTER

An illustration of three light bulbs labelled "Pick Two..." The first has a price tag with one dollar sign. The second has a price tag with two dollar signs and a blue 1st place ribbon. The third has a price tag with three dollar signs on it and wi-fi signals coming from the top of the bulb.

A few years ago I spent a rather silly amount of time buying and testing light bulbs from local retailers in the hopes of finding something I liked. I failed. I tried again in 2020 and found a few I liked and our team built a buying guide around them. Now that buying guide is […]

GEAR TALK: The Full Lineup

An illustration of a light with elvish from the Lord of the Rings around the edge. One light to rule them all......and in the darkness bind them

“What is the lighting budget for our new home?” “We have 68 recessed cans at $150 each.” The Lord of the Rings books and films are staples in our household. The kids share LOTR memes, we have the extended-way-too-long movies, and there are copies of all the books strewn about the house. The beloved stories […]

GEAR TALK: Recessed Cans or Recessed Can’t?

An illustration of an upside down canned lighting with bulb with a spork sticking out of it, labelled "a can of spork'n'beans"

“We don’t want any recessed cans in our home.” Architects, interior designers, and homeowners occasionally tell us they do not like recessed can lights in their projects and homes. My habit is to get defensive, to fight back, to draw upon decades of lighting design experience to tell them why they do want recessed cans […]

THINK LIGHT: Has anyone seen my light meter?

An illustration of the head of a white man with brown hair. One of his eyes is replaced by a reader from a light reader, a cord connects to the meter. Script below the head reads "the lighting cyborg"

This post might make some of my lighting colleagues a little angry, because I’m going to claim that light meters are nearly useless tools. I’m going to claim that the numbers we produce, the foot-candle levels or lux we calculate and measure, the math behind lighting design is all rather pointless. (And before you write […]

GEAR TALK: Low Voltage Lighting

An illustration of an astronaut in a flying saucer with a glass dome. The top speech bubble reads "We come from the FUTURE..." and the bottom bubble reads "to bring you LOW VOLTAGE lighting." The words FUTURE and LOW VOLTAGE are bold and red. The astronaut looks very friendly.

My Gear Talk series is an excuse to geek out a bit while attempting to simplify some of the complex conversations we have about lighting. It is less about the theory, science, and application and more about the tools. And one of those tools has almost nothing to do with the photons themselves: voltage. We live in […]

GEAR TALK: COB Tape Light

An illustration of four different types of COB tape types and the wiring that goes inside them.

Just about two and a half years ago I saw my first sample of COB tape light and I bet my jaw literally dropped. Tape light- a generic name for flexible linear LED strips- is a key tool in our quest for good lighting. We use it just about everywhere, and that makes us a […]

Category: Lighting Technology