Category: Lighting Commentary

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Lighting Commentary

ICFF & NY 2024 – The Lighting Report

The “infamous” NY Times Square Hot Dog art installation, moments prior to its noon daily explosion

Early in the development of LED I realized that light would no longer be in the sole possession of luminaire creators and lighting designers. LED made it easy for non-lighting entities to confiscate the responsibility. Cabinet manufacturers and cabinet accessory providers offered built-in lighting. Plug-molding concerns included light in their strips. Bathroom mirrors build light directly into the mirrors and supported cabinets. Bluetooth speakers included light and light became an accent on a variety of other products. LED meant light would be embraced and in some cases abused by other concerns trying to sell their consumer goods.

At the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) 2024 and in my visits to showrooms, galleries and storefronts across New York, this blurring of lines between lighting and “other” products was stronger than ever. Sustainability remains top of mind as well. No survey of new lighting would be complete without the recognition of exciting new designs. Following, those categories are explored and detailed.

Light + [fill-in the blank]

ICFF 2024 – Leon “Sound Sconce”

High quality musical sound continues to be an important aspect of homes. Many people are however, uncomfortable with the visual presentation of speakers. Speaker manufacturers have spent countless dollars improving the appearance of their product. Others have tried to find ways to hide the speaker in walls, ceilings, behind drywall and inside cabinetry. Leon builds speakers in the US and hides the functional tools behind custom screens that masquerade as artwork. They have also created a “Sound Sconce” that adds light to a wall mounted speaker. These were a nice combinations of dimmable light surrounding the linen needed to transmit sound built within a solid cast unit.

https://www.leonspeakers.com/

NY 2024 – Foscarini – Fleur
NY 2024 – Foscarini Intervallo

The new Foscarini lamp “Fleur” also wants to be a vase. The size makes it perfect for bedside, patio and restaurant use. The light plays against the tube of water and is directed downward to avoid glare.

FLEUR

“Intervallo,” also by Foscarini takes a fine porcelain bas relief sculpture of Madonna and Child and frames it with strips of light giving and depth to this familiar shape. In the past, light wanted to be art, now art want to be light.

https://www.foscarini.com/en/product-category/concetto-en/intervallo-concetto-en/

NY 2024 – Artemide Bonita

Similar to “Fleur” Artemide has developed “Bonita” as a collection of plates, bowls and bases that can also be illuminated as a lamp. The idea here is to keep a cohesive look at table settings with a mix and match approach.

https://www.artemide.com/en/subfamily/4746403/bonta

ICFF 2024 – Arca “Woowood” panels

This one is more complicated to explain. Arca has developed a flexible wood skin “Woowood” that “stretches” and allows light, positioned behind, to shine through. Woowood has been placed on the surface of cabinetry and walls, Slits in the material serve as pockets. The material, combined with the backlighting provides a look I’m not sure I’ve ever seen before. It was truly unique.

https://arcaebenisterie.com/en/

The line between art and lighting is increasingly being blurred, especially since the introduction of LED. LED can be hid in the smallest of spaces and used to supplement rather than undermine the work. Umbra & Lux allows light to play amongst the mobiles they designed. Who says a chandelier must be stationary? Why not a kinetic luminaire?

https://www.umbraluxstudio.com/

Sustainable Lighting

ICFF 2024 – Gantri pendants

Gantri showed a row of pendants fabricated from a plant-based polymer. What made them interesting were the designs. They were a cut above the typically offered “sustainable” products. In conversation with the staff, they told me they prided themselves on their relationship with their designers. The biodegradable product is 3-D printed in California and customization is available. There are lots of interesting things to see here. I encourage you to scan their website.

https://www.gantri.com/

ICFF 2024 – MushLume

Taking a similar plant-based approach, MushLume actually grows their shades with a combination of live mycelium and sustainable hemp. The shade grows within a mold and binds to the hemp to create a solid form. Once grown, shades are dried and heated into a fully biodegradable product. These are a good look that will fit nicely into the shift toward beige neutrals we are now experiencing.

https://mushlumelighting.com/

Simply Interesting Lighting

NY 2024 – New soft contemporary pendant
NY 2024 – Roll & Hill – Well formed metal accents

The new Roll & Hill items are neo-classic pendants that slip away, ever so slightly from their core soft contemporary design motifs. Round and Tulip shaped in smooth, ribbed and crosscut surfaces in White, Smoke or Champagne finished glass. What sets these apart are the subtle metal accents that nicely compliment the glassware.

https://www.rollandhill.com/

NY 2024 – The Original BTC Alma Collection

The window of The Original BTC featured the new Alma collection with a pin dot accented bone china shade. While it is a striking look, I wonder if it is a bit too dated retro feel. Much of this style has already passed us. I’ll be watching the closeout section to see if I’m right here.

https://www.originalbtc.com/?country=United%20States&cclcl=en_US
NY 2024 – Flos Gino Sarfatti all white chandelier

The front window of the Flos showroom is filled with an all-white, bare bones (light bulb + carrier) chandelier by Gino Safatti. When I saw it, I again wondered if this type of look had already run its course. As I checked the website to insert a URL, I found the group already discounted 20%. Not a good sign.

https://flos.com/en/us/

ICFF 2024 – Umage Asteria collection

I loved the proportions of the Umage Asteria collection. A large diameter, but thin depth balances on small center column that passes through to form a finial. There are many colors and many configurations all using the same basic profile.

Lighting
ICFF 2024 – Molo – honeycomb room dividers and cloud pendants

Molo has been at ICFF for many years showing their corrugated space partitions. These are beautiful honeycomb forms that sinuously wrap around and provide acoustical assistance to the created space. Using some of the same material, a collection of ethereal “cloud” pendants have been created. Like the walls, they are large, but appear surprisingly light and airy.

https://molodesign.com/collections/lighting/

ICFF 2024 – Juniper alternate “X” track connection with illumination on the underside of the track illuminating the second track
ICFF 2024 – Juniper illuminated track

Since first seeing Juniper, I have liked this brand of track lighting. The ribbon track is quite small, the magnetic element makes positioning easy and the design is top notch. This year, they have added a few additions that make employing their product much more creative. By adding light to the track, a whole new aspect of illumination is possible. Raised track sections can defy the typical “cross” installation and raised, illuminated ends allow for the addition of some whimsy. Yes, I’m a fan.

Home

New for Pablo this year is the Stella design whereby LED is backlit on a crosshatched shade members, much like the Skynest by Flos introduced last year. Playing with the placement of LED has allowed designers to create very interesting objects.

https://www.pablodesigns.com/

ICFF 2024 – Nightside – shade removed exposing the LED and magnifying elements hidden inside

Why not a better bedside lamp? So many lamps ignore the fact that a sleeping partner might not want the area illuminated. Many lighting designers forget that two people have two needs. The folks at Nightside have solved that problem, much like cross-lit recessed cans. The unassuming lamp features a “pop-up” reflector that allows for a pointed, unobtrusive beam of light aimed by the reader and unseen by the partner. These US made lamps consume a miniscule one-watt of energy with a clean, simple aesthetic.

https://nightside.com/

ICFF 2024 – Midgard Licht adjustable shade pendants

I loved the simple functionality of the swiveling lampshade on the Midgard Licht pendants and sconces. Light can be easily aimed in any direction with minimal effort, as the shade balances on a rounded carrier.

https://midgard.com/

ICFF 2024 – Bright Block Studio

I liked the assortment of shapes and textures on the diffusers of Bright Block Studio glass. By reprocessing glass blocks they create custom output that is beautiful and usable, rather than landfill.

https://brightblockstudio.com/

ICFF 2024 – d’Armes “cool blue” display

d’Armes a Quebec based manufacturer,must be given points for display creativity. Rather than trying to show all of everything they do, they elected to finish everything in their booth in the same lush blue glossy color. Because their work is available in multiple iterations, why not simply draw attention with an elegant presentation?

https://darmes.ca/

ICFF 2024 – Tibo chandelier

Like d’Armes, Tibo is also based in Quebec but their approach to lighting is slightly different. The light modules look like they could be OLED panel placed artistically across carriers and frames. This is a very “feminine” soft look that is much needed in many interiors.

https://tibolighting.com/

ICFF 2024 – Ariel Zuckerman – crocheted pendants

By combining macramé with lighting, Ariel Zuckerman has developed a softer, more approachable contemporary. The dropped lights reminded me of an overstuffed crocheted shopping bag used by the Eastern European bubbas of my youth. Admittedly, this is a niche product and I’m not so sure I like them, but they are different and they do speak to the softening of contemporary style.

https://www.ariel-design.com/

I like the blending of clean slats of aluminum, organic, geological décor and the raw glass diffusers used by Simon Johns. The glass is fired in a way to make it appear as still molten. The warmth against the polished metal is very appealing.

https://simonjohns.com/

NY 2024 – Visual Comfort showroom under construction on Wooster Street in SOHO

During my walk through SOHO, I noticed work continuing on the Visual Comfort showroom on Wooster. This appears to be a reversal of the trend toward more online, less brick & mortar in the lighting business. It also upsets the retail distributor model to fit more in line with what the European and boutique brands are doing. (Roll & Hill, Flos, Artemide, etc.) It will be interesting to see how this works out for a major US lighting distributor.

As you can see, lighting is alive and well. The availability of exciting ideas continues to flow from the minds of creative people and companies. In addition, aesthetic trends are coalescing around a softer, more approachable contemporary look. All of this is good news as lighting continues ever-changing and maturing.

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Lighting Commentary

Do We Really Need Light Switches?

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A friend sent me an article from the Wall Street Journal about confusing hotel light switches. (The Latest Traveler Kvetch: Hotel Lights Are Confusing by Dawn Glbertson 4-24-2024) A few sentences into the article and I knew exactly what the writer was discussing. I spent a fair amount of time traveling in China at the end of the 1990s and early 2000s. Hundreds of new hotels were being built to service the Americans who were arriving to facilitate Chinese production. Each new hotel came equipped with a newfangled feature, as yet unseen in the US. Keycard control of the suite’s AC and electricity, TV screens embed in the bathroom mirror and yes, a dashboard of light switches to control scores of luminaires were included. Each new hotel room meant an introductory ten to fifteen minutes spent trying to figure out how to shut off the alcove spot light and turn on the bathroom toekick lighting. It was always a joy walking into an old hotel with recognizable toggles. My daily tutorial could be avoided.

The article allowed me to reminisce about my days/weeks/months in China, but it also brought up the question I have asked before, multiple times, “Why do we even need light switches today?”

Whenever I ask this question, I am greeted with the same askew face and puzzled reaction. “Well, dumbbell, to turn the light in a room, on and off. Duh?”

Most people fail to get my point. We have an evolving tech industry that is intermingling with most building support equipment.  They are allowing Alexa and Google Home voice-activated systems to control those products. Light bulbs are now offered that can be controlled by voice and a number of luminaires are on the market that include the same feature. What is missing is control of the “average” luminaire.

By average, I do not mean substandard, I just mean the chandelier in virtually every dining room in North America, the flush mounted piece in hallways and bedrooms and the lights at every bathroom mirror in every house. These products are not “Smart.” Because they are so “normal” most consumers do not expect them to be voice-control compliant. They expect control to be handled by a separate switch, as they have since Thomas Edison.

The easier control would be a “node” wired between the luminaire and the house wires. It could be included with the luminaire or sold separate. Its job would be to communicate with the voice system.

“But Why Bother, Jeff?”

The WSJ article explains that many hotels do not always use a panel of controls because older hospitality rehabs would require too extensive a teardown to run wires from control panel to luminaire.

Think about the labor and cost required for a light switch. A switchbox must be assembled to a structural stud. Wire must be run from that box to the luminaire outlet box. If this is a three-way assembly, tracer wire must be run from switch number one to the second switch. More would be required if 4-way or 5-way configurations are planned. As the article intimated, lots of wires would need to converge at a bank of toggles, bedside.

A hole must be cut into the drywall to accommodate this box. When the walls are painted, trim painting around the box takes longer than simply rolling or spraying a flat, straight wall. The electrician must wire the control switch. A decorative plate must be screwed onto the switchbox. There are material costs, labor costs and time to facilitate lighting control. Multiply this by every room and the dollars add quickly. Frankly, I’m surprised production home builders haven’t pushed this in their constant effort to reduced costs. A home-wide voice system would be less expensive than the box, wire and switch material costs, plus the labor saved by electricians, drywall installers and painters (even further savings would be had if the wall were tiled or papered.)

So What is Stopping Jeffrey’s “Brave New World?”

Two major factors seem to be the stumbling block for a quicker adaptation of switch removal.

  1. Whenever I mention this to other lighting folks, I’m told the “node” exists, but I’ve not seen one, if it is, it is not widely distributed. Perhaps it is not small enough to fit in every luminaire canopy or outlet box. I’m waiting for the theoretical, “Apple iVoice” module to be mass-marketed. Then perhaps, we’ll start to cook.
  2. Including the voice-control with the luminaire might not yet be financially feasible, but manufacturers will need to watch and react quickly. Again, builders could drive this demand. There will be a tipping point, much like we experienced with LED, where the cost and availability of a connected luminaire will make far more sense than a luminaire and switch.

“But, But, What If…?”

Many people cannot envision a world where switches would disappear from their walls. Whenever I mention this, the “what-ifs” start pouring from people’s lips. “What if the internet goes down?” “What if the electric fails?” “What if the “node” dies?” and on and on.

Yes, things may happen. Everyone has a mobile phone, in some cases it is their ONLY phone. Sometimes the supporting cellular network fails. How often? Rarely, but it happens. How often does your home internet fail? Occasionally. That has not stopped most people from using home computers and even transitioning to “work from home” employment, totally reliant on technology at a much more substantive level than a light switch. There are countless other examples where we abandoned one old system and replaced it with a more technologically streamlined method. Who among us, of a certain age, did not initially serve as our parent’s personal television “remote control” before it was actually a stock feature of even the least expensive flat screen on the market. We only need to think in broader terms. How many people still have a telephone hanging from the wall in their kitchen? Fewer and fewer.

Challenges

Perhaps the biggest challenge with greater voice activation is naming. When we had a single luminaire in each room, the voice control naming would have been easy. “Turn on bedroom light.” “Turn on bathroom light.” With a wider variety of lighting options, more succinct naming will be required…and remembered. Expect to see hundreds of magazine and online articles with naming convention suggestions.

If we go back to the hotel analysis, hospitality suites might come equipped with a posted naming “cheat sheet” so each guest will understand the exact name for the lights under a vanity or the recessed can in the shower. Hospitality managers might also be well served in setting an assorted of typical scenes, such as “Nighttime” which might shut off all lights except the bathroom toekick lighting. As users, we will grow accustomed to the new concept, just as we acclimated to automobile seat belt warnings and legally turning right at an intersection, when the traffic light is red.

Sure, many will simply want to avoid all of this. That’s ok, it doesn’t make them Narendra Modi voters. Like the old electricians who didn’t want to bother with LED, they will disappear and be replaced with a larger population who currently interact with their automobile and most customer service bots via voice commands. Illuminating a room can be as easy as saying, “Dining room chandelier, on!”

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Lighting Commentary

Bugs and Outdoor Lighting

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I regularly read a newsletter about lighting, Light Now published by my friend David Shiller and his consulting organization, Lighting Solution Development. I urge you to do the same. (https://www.lightnowblog.com/ ) There is always great information and insight. Often times, it is research you didn’t know you need to know. In a recent post, Light Now pointed to new research on “why flying insects gather at artificial light.”

When LED was new I delivered hundreds of educational talks about this newfangled technology. As people learned more about it, better, more pointed questions would be posed. Through one of these queries, I was compelled to understand an insect’s attraction to light and laissez faire reaction to LED light. Why? I quickly learned that bugs are not actually attracted to light, but instead the infrared glow of a heated incandescent light bulb and the hot metal surroundings of the luminaire. LED do not emit any light in the infrared spectrum and the low heat produced by LED barely warms the surrounding lighting fixture. If you were the moth’s version of SNL’s Stefon, pointing out the “hottest new club” in the neighborhood, it would not be located at the newly installed LED outdoor wall bracket. All of the “cool moths” are of course, still hang around the IR rich, incandescent lamps.

That explained the attraction, but not the kinetic action of the flying insects. This new report finds that when the insect “sees” the artificial light, it assumes it to be natural light. In their world, light is overhead and dark is below. The movement is the insect’s natural reaction to place the light in the right relative location, at their backside. Flying bugs are actually backing into the vertically installed luminaire and erratically circling the light with rises and dips.

I’ve written a few posts about sustainability and our responsibility as lighting professionals to “do the right thing” with light. The way we add light to the human environment has a tremendous impact on the animal population. This scientific research points out that even an insect as simple as a moth understands the proper position of the moon and the darkened land at night. Their hysteric dystonia is an effort to correct something which in their mind must be of their doing, not the peculiar humans who cohabit their neighborhood.

Artificial light has been around for as long as humans have employed fire and will remain for as long as humans exist. We could simply ignore the problem, but the natural balance of life will be tipped. When adding light to the nighttime, think about neighboring wildlife, plant life and aquatic life as well as the human client. While small, we shouldn’t forget bugs, either. Mother Nature will thank you.

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Lighting Commentary

An Immense World

The Mantis Shrimp and their dozen photoreceptors
Photo by William Warby on Pexels.com

I recently finished reading An Immense World by Ed Yong. The book covers an overview of how animals use their senses in substantially different ways from humans. Some of the information is well known. Dogs have a sense of smell that is somewhere between 10,000 to 100,000 time better than humans. Bats use an echolocation “sense” to navigate at high speeds in the dark to locate miniscule flying game. Birds of prey (eagles, falcons, etc.) have superior eyesight that allows them to see forward and sideways to best home in on a meal. The book however goes deeper and helps the reader understand that most every “superiority” is balanced.

The dog has a remarkable sense of smell, but their eyes have only two color photoreceptors, so their world looks different than what humans see. Humans have three photoreceptors, a handful are tetrachromats with the benefit of four (I wrote about this phenomenon in a previous post: “Tetrachromatic Vision” https://lightingbyjeffrey.com/2022/05/09/tetrachromatic-vision/ ) but the mantis shrimp has TWELVE photoreceptors! Wow! You’d think their sight was miraculous, but alas, they have a tiny brain (brain size and functional capacity is a crucial piece of data in these analyses) so rather than witnessing colors beyond our imagination, they use the twelve photoreceptors as a type of binary coding system. If, for example photoreceptor one, three and eleven are triggered, they know prey is within reach. If photoreceptor two, eight and nine send feedback to the brain, it is time to move, an enemy is near. All benefits are balanced by Mother Nature.

Humans are sighted creatures and we regard the world based on sighted preferences. (I wrote about this in yet another post: “Eyes, Light and Sometimes, Brain” https://wordpress.com/post/lightingbyjeffrey.com/684 ) When we do that, we ignore the needs and demands of the other animals who occupy the planet. Even other animals who enjoy sight as their primary sense, do not use it in the same way as humans. Owls need dark nights to survive. The lack of light and their ability to see in it, sustains them. Bees have three photoreceptors, but because they can see UV light, the three receptors read different information and feed that back to the brain, so their color palette is radically different from ours.

Humans have risen to the top of the community of earth’s animals and our single-minded concern with human need is unfortunately harming the greater animal community. This summation ended the book. The human need to illuminate “everything” is doing irreparable harm to other animals. It is only getting worse, despite an avalanche of data on animals and their worlds. We read books like An Immense World and still increase street lighting, parking lot lights and high-rise building illumination. After becoming enamored with the content of the book, his plea to the reader is for some kind of action.

As a lighting community, we can do better. I’ve just looked at a wide variety of new luminaires released at the January Dallas Market and still we offer light aimed up into the sky where it does no good and only delivers harm to plants and animal. We use lumen levels way beyond what is necessary and that color of light is often blue, not only bad for humans, but many in the animal community are likewise impacted.

Can we help? We are in a unique situation to do just that. We can’t help much directly with pollution, micro-plastics in the oceans or noise levels that also impact, confuse and confound animals, but we can control light. That’s what we do as lighting professionals. Could we start to include concern outside of our genetic spectrum in addition to the color spectrum?

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Lighting Commentary

Integrated Home Competition

Lighting for Tomorrow was a new product competition that sought to highlight inventive uses of energy efficient lighting. When started, fluorescent lighting was considered pedestrian and good for only the most functional of lighting chores. America installed fluorescent lighting into garages, basement workshop areas and MAYBE the laundry room. Why not other areas? The competition encouraged manufacturers to reimagine fluorescent use in decorative products.

As a Product Manager of a luminaire manufacturer at the time, I readily accepted this opportunity. I asked the talented design staff to create products that would ameliorate the undesirable aspects of fluorescent light. While fluorescent lamping was the only energy efficient option, we received recognition for multiple products. Once LED entered the scene we again enjoyed awards in different categories. Our product was recognized and displayed at many trade shows, countless publications and industry events.

When the competition accomplished its goals, the adoption of energy efficient lighting across the luminaire spectrum, Lighting for Tomorrow was retired. A new goal was then established. Controls. Many consumption researchers found that the next “big” reduction in energy could be achieved through the use of intelligent controls. The most far reaching predictions were an additional 25% savings of electric consumption simply by better controlling light use.

At the same time, other areas outside lighting were going through their own efforts to reduce energy consumption. What if all of this were combined? When people leave their home they shut off lights, reduce the heat, turn on a security system, lock a door, close a garage and start a car. Electric power is plentiful throughout the night, why not run the dishwasher, clothes washer and dryer when demand is at its lowest? Lighting for Tomorrow was transitioned into the Integrated Home Competition.

The Integrated Home Competition seeks to find high efficiency products that easily integrate with home control systems and other like-minded products, are well built, easy to install and set up and provide the consumer with perceived value and security. Among the categories is lighting.

Manufacturers

Do you have a product that, in addition to saving money on energy, also easily links with home control systems (Alexa, Google Home, Apple Home) and perhaps, interacts with HVAC systems, security systems and/or utility data sharing apps? Is it a product that works beyond the simple wall switch control? If so, consider submitting it for consideration.

Sales Representatives and Design Practitioners

You see new products every day. Does something you’ve seen recently break new ground? Does it make installation and set-up easier? Does it facilitate easy transition between other consumers of energy in the home? Urge the manufacturer to submit the product for consideration.

Winners

I was honored to be asked to judge the submitted products entered into lighting and ceiling fan 2023 competition category. A group of us with decades of experience in lighting and controls installed, set-up, operated and tested each submitted item. We read the included instructions (I know that sounds unusual!) and watched online installation videos to determine if the product functioned as promised. We paired products with smart phones, Alexa and Google Home and tested functionality. Via conversation and a genial exchange of view, we unanimously agreed upon the products that deserved a year’s worth of recognition.

While testing and talking we wondered if there were other products that should have been submitted. We all agreed to do what we could to encourage additional submissions, hence my inclusion of this information in the blog. Every one of us will benefit from reduced energy consumption. Let’s work to recognize those who are creating products to meet that end.

For complete guidelines and information on how to enter, please visit https://www.integratedhome.org/enter-now Watch this short video on the submission process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkGmyndY4wk  or contact competition@cee1.org.

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Lighting Commentary

Holiday Lighting / Holiday Greetings!

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I remember this quote from about a decade back while attending a lecture. It is attributed to Chris Harrison – Future Interface Group.

If you showed Thomas Edison the Hue light bulb he’d say, “All you did in 120 years was make it change colors?”

For the next couple of weeks, we’ll see a lot of colored light. There will be trees decorated with light, homes decorated with light and even a few Santa caps will be illuminated. There is a good chance, every one of these applications will use LED. (Especially, the cap!) Unless you have one of those retro-holiday friends who scour flea markets for old school light bulbs, holidays are now made festive with LED light. We probably don’t think about it, but the energy savings is substantial. Your utility company has definitely thought about it. Power use always accelerates during our end-of-year celebrations. LED has helped to make that less daunting for the power producers.

Think about the changes in holiday light that are brought about by LED, then consider this is technology we had relegated to audio-video equipment on-off buttons and wristwatches until about fifteen years ago. Sure, it took 120 years to extract ourselves from the incandescent light bulb, but since that unhinging, I believe we’ve made up for a lot of lost time. More will occur and change will continue, but inventors and consumers deserve a pat on the back. Well done, all.

As you drive to visit family and friends this month, check out the now ubiquitous icicles hanging from gutters, the whole-home façade light displays and inflatable yard toys, all lit with LED. We all did this. Congratulations!

As for your ample-bellied Uncle wearing an oversized sweater emblazoned with a flashing red reindeer nose, I’m sorry. You know people will always find a way to mess with new technology.

Have a wonderful holiday and an even better 2024. I’ll have more to say about light in the New Year…as always, but you already know that!

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Lighting Commentary

Peak China

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I spent a considerable amount of time in China between 1995 and 2006. During that time I enjoyed friendships with a fairly large group of Chinese citizens, one gentleman in particular. During the Cultural Revolution his parents, both “Country Doctors” (his term) were victimized as intellectuals and he was subjected to levels of degradation that would belie his genial nature. (His story was not unique. Almost everyone of the same age had similar stories about that time period.)

After a day of LONG hours working to insure the product that reached the United States was in excellent shape, we talked about many things over dinner, personal, political and professional. These conversations were among the most rewarding in my life. I remember him telling me of the importance of Deng Xioping, former Chairman of the People’s Republic of China. Through his policies, Deng finally allowed my friend’s education to be of value and found to be unapologetically well-respected. His parents had suffered; he had suffered, but it would be a greater day for his son. Virtually every Chinese person I had the joy of knowing, expressed the optimism of the New Year greeting, “gong xi fa cai” or “great happiness and prosperity for the future.” A better life is around the corner.

It is an opinion now share by scores of people, that the current Chairman of China, Xi Jinping has effectively ended that optimism. I haven’t been to China in eighteen years, but the hope I encountered must be depleting. “Peak China” is over and Xi, like his communist partner Vladimir Putin of Russia, is attempting to reestablish an idyllic version of his country in a world that has experienced substantive change. In the process, he has alienated the bulk of the world and disenfranchised his own population.

The majority of lighting products and lighting components are made in China. Unfathomable just a decade ago, India is growing in importance to the lighting industry, almost exclusively at the expense of China. The importance of China to the lighting industry is shrinking each week. I suspect people in many other industry are saying something similar. That is going to have an impact on every Chinese citizen, including my old group of friends.

This is unfortunate. The move to Chinese manufacturing elevated lighting to new aesthetic, technological and mechanical heights. Advances were quickly made possible and fashion trends could be rapidly answered. Hundreds of talented young people were brought into companies across the country to learn from older industry experts and lend their skills in the English language to a parade of American, Australian and European customers. No doubt, much of that experience will now be employed servicing the growing domestic market, but “Peak China” has passed. Gone are the double-digit growth percentages and an era of mutual benefit. For their sake, I hope the new domestic market can support this mass of talent. I fear it cannot.

I’m glad I had an opportunity to learn from my involvement in this transformative era and hopefully, I left something in China with which they were able to grow their knowledge and businesses. It is unfortunate when politics and narrow minds ruin a good thing.

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Lighting Commentary

How Investor-Owned Homes Will Change Lighting Demand

While the number of homes purchased by investors has shrunk in the most recent quarters, the percentage of homes owned by investors remain high, at a national average of 18.4% (2022 – Redfin.) The percentage of homes also varies widely based on location, with highs of over 30% in Miami, FL and lows of 9% in Warren, MI. These are higher numbers than the real estate industry has seen in the past and this new type of ownership is going to change the way America spend money on durable aspects of the home, such as lighting.

I live in a historic part of suburban Cleveland, an “inner-ring” or very old suburb. Moneyed and “white-collar” Clevelanders in the early part of the1900s wanted to escape the industrial dirt and grim that made the city home of vast amounts of wealth. The solution was to “head for the Heights” literally located at a higher elevation than the steel mills, factories and foundries centered on the river lowlands. Homes in my portion of the city (a slightly newer area) are all architect designed and built between 1929 and the post-war late 1940s and 50s. They are graced with excellent quality materials including roofs primarily of slate, with some tile and shake.

Because of its proximity to the highly regarded cultural and healthcare industries in Cleveland, investors have started to buy homes in the area. Cleveland also enjoys some of the lowest home prices in the nation, primarily due to the outmigration of young people. Investors have determined they can easily buy low, sell (reasonably) high here with minimal amounts of money.

Slate roofs last a lifetime, but they do require regular “tune-ups” to avoid water ingression. Rather than replacing my roof every twenty or thirty years, I need to spend a few buck every other year. Investors view this differently. Rather than spend, say $6000 to bring a neglected slate or tile roof back to par, they are electing to tear off a lifetime roof and replacing it with a $4000, 10-year warranted asphalt shingle. From an investor’s perspective, he has saved $2000. From the point of view of the neighborhood, the investor has markedly altered the timbre of the community.

Now, take that logic and multiply it to all other aspects of the interior and exterior rehab. Good recessed lighting is not used. The cheap “10-pack” found at the big box stores are instead employed. A builder-grade chandelier is hung and ferrous exterior lanterns are slapped on the porches, sure to last long enough to see just one winter. The initial reaction to the completed home is a buyer who doesn’t have to change anything. They falsely believe, no money will be spent beyond the celebratory bottle of champagne.

When a downtrodden house is purchase by people who hope to live in the home “forever” they will be more inclined to choose products of higher quality. They may opt for the more impressive island pendants, a show stopping chandelier for the dining room and even a ceiling fan that is correctly sized to the room. They will enjoy the benefits of “better” rather than rolling it over to a new buyer in a few months.

This is a problem with no easy solution. Folks in my neighborhood were successful in getting the permit application for roof replacement changed to include a viability assessment of the existing historic roofs after dozens were removed for investors, by unreputable contractors working weekend hours. The illegal removals are now being forwarded to the city’s Law Department for prosecution. Lighting doesn’t have that quick fix. Mr. & Mrs. Buyer won’t know they have substandard recessed cans until they die an early death. At that point, it’s too late. No one will go to jail because they bought a cheap chandelier.

From the opinion of a lighting guy, perhaps the prospect of incarceration might get people to think more carefully about this very important aspect of a home interior. I do however live in the real world (at least some of the time!) People have been using bad lighting since Thomas Edison suggested an alternative to natural gas. Perhaps the emerging push for a more sustainable world will magically instill some sense of duty in investors. The more likely scenario is investor’s failure to find customers for poorly conceived rehabs. When money is the driver, only a lack of return will change their direction. As customers we should reject homes when historic roofs have been removed, cheap appliances have been installed and bad lighting has been used.

We can always dream, can’t we?

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Lighting Commentary

Luciano Pavarotti and Kendrick Lamar and Lighting

Photo by Mikhail Nilov on Pexels.com

I love the artwork of Thomas Hart Benton. My favorite artist is Edward Hopper. I remember when the Cleveland Museum of Art bought the Grant Wood’s painting, “Haystacks.” I rushed to the museum unveiling and immediately fell in love. George Bellows’, “Stag at Sharkey’s” is the best piece of art at the second best art museum in the country.

I really enjoy opera and can’t get enough Broadway musical show tunes. Peggy Lee can do no wrong and “Kind of Blue” is unlikely to be bettered in my lifetime. Thank you, Miles.

With this cadre of preferences, people might expect me to be a bit more conservative, but to the contrary, I am always looking for the “next big thing.”

My favorite movie is “Chinatown” but I recently saw “Beau is Afraid” and it completely blew me away. This director is performing a high wire act while most others are barely juggling two bowling pins. I almost never listen to “oldies” instead I spend most of my radio time tuned to the local college stations, where they play a mix of rap, jazz, Latin and progressive contemporary rock. There is a reason Kendrick Lamar is the first rap artist to receive a Pulitzer Prize. Got a few hours? Listen to Kamasi Washington’s “The Epic” and you will understand the emergence of jazz genius. (Perhaps it might entail a second listen, too!) I am constantly looking at new art, checking out what maturing artists are doing at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland and excited to see what is presented at the Cleveland Institute of Art graduate show each year. When I’m out of town and have an hour, I look for a gallery, museum or art show.

When I look at home furnishings, I also want to see the next new thing. When LED emerged, I was all-in. When home automation popped up, I immediately clung to its every possibility. I have spent a fair amount of time trying to understanding germicidal UV light and remain fascinated with the possibilities of circadian-effected light. Each and every day I wait for an inkling of proof that LED will be replaced with [fill-in the blank.] Somebody has to be working on something, right? Two lectures at the recently completed, LightFair talked about Laser Lighting and my mind has begun to resemble a top. Where could laser lighting head? What will it mean? Does it have any residential applications?

I do not want change, just for the sake of change. I do however know that as a society, we are constantly moving forward. As humans, we like to see alternatives. Technology cannot and should not be stopped, despite the Luddite tendencies we occasionally display. (Why do they keep changing my iPhone power cord, for example? I know, I know, there are very valid reasons.) Progress has lessened the drudgery of laundry cleaning and reduced the reams of paper required for long division. Movement forward means kids born in this decade will likely fail to understand what “changing a light bulb” means. They will not relate to a stack of light bulbs in a closet. Lighting that does not illuminate will mean a call to a professional, or replacement. It will be an anomaly rather than typical.

I read recently that young people are being educated in a slightly different way than I and perhaps most readers of this blog. Rather than repetition and memorization (When was the Magna Carta signed?) they are being taught critical thinking and more application of thought. To me, this makes much more sense, when combined with the tools you and I never had. Multiplication tables were crucial information in an era before calculators, but have become redundant when math solutions can now be resolved with a dollar store accessory purchase. Students can now spend less time on the mechanics of math and more on the reason and application of the calculations. That will be a far better use of a mind.

As I wrote this post, I could not recall the actual name of the George Bellows painting in the Cleveland Art Museum. I knew it included “Sharkey’s” and thought vaguely it might include the word, “Stag” but was uncertain how they were combined. “Stag Night at Sharkey’s?” “Sharkey’s Stag?” “Sharkey’s Night?” “Fight at Sharkey’s” Rather than fret over it, I simply did a quick internet search and immediately had the correct name, correct spelling and another look at this powerful piece of brutal, realistic art. My recollection of the name of a particular painting was substantially less important than the point I was/am attempting to make. Young people, guided under these alternate parameters of knowledge application will be far more valuable than a student who can recite from memory all the capitals of Europe. Knowing unaided and immediately that Vaduz is the capital of Liechtenstein is of value only when playing Trivial Pursuit. Understanding that Liechtenstein is a country and Vaduz is a city, located on the European continent does however constitute a baseline of knowledge that some students have overlooked. This realignment is important and valuable.

I like the combination of my life’s concentrations. I can be passionate about older art and new art ideas. I can find antiques as interesting as the new furnishings created by Zaha Hadid’s company. I can sing along with a show tune and remember my time in the theater seeing the performance while at the same time, marvel at the newness of “Chaise Lounge” by the (really young) women who headline Wet Legs. I’m an old lighting guy that can revel in the replacement of LED lighting. I think that’s a good thing. What about you?

PS: If you don’t understand some of the cultural references made here, you could ask your grandmother or daughter and they might be able to explain, but Google will most assuredly know and even provide some background.

PSS: June, 15, 1215. Thanks Google.

Categories
Lighting Commentary

LED – The Only Light Source Left in the Game

Photo by Medhat Ayad on Pexels.com

Much of the regular media has reported on the “death” of the incandescent light bulb over the last few weeks. As I poured over the information, the fact that 30% of light bulbs sold were STILL incandescent came as a pretty astounding fact. Digging deeper into the numbers, I found that high-efficacy adoption was substantially slower, the more economically challenged the consumer/geographic area. Higher “first-costs” continue to be a barrier, despite the long-term financial benefits. Hopefully, as we move farther into efficiency regulations, we will remember that a large percentage of the population will be equally challenged. We must find a way to balance that inequity.

Another aspect of America’s incandescent use has been cleared up as well. 40% of the light bulbs in use were initially excluded from the original Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007. Reflector lamps, candle, or flame-shaped lamps and spherical-shaped lamps did not need to comply with the same higher efficacy requirements as General Service Lamps (GSL.) I always found that a peculiar omission, but the overlook was remedied during the subsequent Obama administration. Unfortunately, those requirements were overturned during the Trump reign. With professionals back in charge of the Department on Energy, this large pool of inefficient lamping joins the GSL and must again comply with higher efficacy standards.

It is important to remember, EISA was written and signed into law as a bipartisan solution to an inability of utilities to provide long-term, adequate amounts of energy. As demand continued to rise, the cost of new energy creation grew prohibitively high. There was a real possibility that “brown-outs” would be as common as currently found in third-world areas of the planet. California actually experienced a summer of just such a reality before increasing their product efficiency standards. It is the reason why crackpot ideas like Michele Bachmann’s “Light Bulb Freedom Act” never went anywhere, even in a more conservative Congress. This was/is a solution that actually works and actually solved a problem. The energy saved here, combined with scores of policies covering appliances and other consumer goods has paved the way to facilitate automobile charging without throwing the country into darkness every time a load of laundry is started.

Concurrent with the higher efficacy demands has been the slow reduction and removal of fluorescent lighting technology. As America becomes more sensitive to leaving a cleaner planet for the next generations, hazardous chemicals are being reassessed. Mercury, a key component in the functionality of fluorescent lamping remains a dangerous element that has never been successfully recycled in large quantities. California and Vermont have already joined the European Union (EU) in outlawing their continued use. Canada is considering the same thing. Rhode Island, Colorado and Maine have expiration dates already defined in signed legislation, with Hawaii’s ban date imminent. Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey and Oregon are considering legislative bans. With such a large quantity of geography preventing their use, one must assume that manufacturers will be discontinuing these products, effectively removing them from the remaining states and some countries.

That leaves us with LED as the only remaining light source standing. For those of us who have been on this conversion ride for twenty years, it has been quite the journey. Some of us will say, “I told you so!” Others might ask, “What’s next?” I may have made both statements over the years. There were too many things fighting against the continuation of incandescent. This was an inevitable shift. RIP incandescent. You served us well.

Now, watch out for the explosion of sensors and controls and their integration into smart homes. Obituary for the single-pole, wall-mounted light switch coming soon!