The fifth article in my series exploring the past, present, and future of lighting at home has just been published in Designing Lighting magazine. Too often, point-by-point lighting calculations, sometimes called heat maps, are used to justify a lighting proposal of recessed downlights. This is the same method used for gas station canopies, but homeowners […]
Category: Lighting Technology
The Dimmer is Dead…
My fourth article for DESIGNING LIGHTING magazine continues my exploration into the the future of lighting control, a future that must look beyond the venerable dimmer and finicky proprietary control systems. Getting the most out of light needs to be simple to install and even easier to use, compatible across platforms and long-lasting. You know, […]
EXPOSURE: The Future of Power
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
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
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
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
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
“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?
“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?
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 […]
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