LEX News

Street and exterior lighting engineers face myriad challenges this year, not least heightened concerns about light quality such as glare and possibly harmful blue light from LED luminaires.

When cold, winter weather creeps in and the days grow shorter, up to 20 percent of the U.S. population suffers from seasonal affective disorder, or SAD. Humans thrive in sunlight, meaning we’re more likely to have struggles related to behavior, mood and even circadian rhythm as the sun sets earlier, temperatures drop and plants wither. SAD is a potentially serious condition that requires treatment, like light therapy, to help regulate melatonin production and relieve symptoms.

The Internet of Things (IoT) calls for systems thinking. This kind of thinking is second nature for people who work in IT disciplines such as networking and software. For lighting professionals who have no background in IT, however, thinking about lighting from a systems point of may seem as daunting as learning a foreign language.It’s best to start simple, with a working definition of the word “system.” This word is basic, but because it can be confusing, as it’s often used to refer to a number of different things.

A team of scientists has cut the growing time of wheat by 50% by using LED lighting.  It’s the latest breakthrough in the LED revolution sweeping the horticultural industry.  Researchers from Australia and the UK grew wheat from seed to maturity in just eight weeks instead of the standard 16-week growing time for the cereal grown in spring.

The Philips Hue smart lighting range has been growing rapidly over the last few years, with different types of lamps and bulbs being added to the basic starter kits that originally launched.  One area it needed to expand into though has always been outdoors. There isn't currently a range of outdoor specific Philips Hue lights to make your porch, garden or driveway as colorful or secure as your home.