In what seems like a huge affirmation for the future of DC power for commercial construction projects, global behemoth Schneider Electric just purchased Dutch startup DC Systems. Check out my previous blog posts on the transformation to DC power plus … Continue reading schneider electric buys dc systems
Researchers Gabe Arnold and Grace Pennell from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory recently released a white paper titled DC Lighting and Building Microgrids: Opportunities and Recommendations. They conduct an excellent review of the advantages of DC-power (which closely mirrors my … Continue reading PNNL report on DC-powered lighting and microgrids
LumenCache Lighting is an another interesting entrant to the DC-power revolution, focusing on residential lighting applications. LumenCache has developed a solution with a patch-panel style configuration that can accept a variety of driver or control modules – at the panel … Continue reading lumencache lighting
Microsens is a German company that supplies industrial automation and smart building communications and control equipment. One piece of hardware especially caught my eye, and that is their Central Smart Lighting Controller. I actually think that is a bit of … Continue reading microsens
GVA Lighting recently launched their Infinity series, which capitalizes on the inherent system-level benefits of using 380V DC-power for long runs of LED fixtures. GVA claims they can achieve over 300m/1000ft long runs from a single power/data connection, which is … Continue reading GVA lighting embraces high voltage DC power
Australian lighting manufacturer LimeLite has been steadily rolling out a line of track spots and decorative pendants that use 3D-printed components for the key mechanical pieces. Over the years I’ve covered several other manufacturers launching 3D printing for commercial lighting, … Continue reading limelite – 3D printing and DC power
If you’re interested in net-zero energy solutions for commercial or retail facilities, you should consider DC power as the next step. Check out this nicely produced video of my conference presentation and Q&A session at the ISE Smart Building Conference, … Continue reading SBC 2020: The DC-Powered Building – conference video
Thanks to James McHale and the team at Memoori for hosting a great webinar! If you missed it live, listen to it now at your convenience at this link. Really, I should have picked a different title, because the 6 … Continue reading 6 disruptive lighting trends: recorded webinar
Let’s talk about a brighter future: Join my webinar on 18-June as I present my “luminous ’20’s” survey of innovative technology and experiential design trends in retail, hospitality and architectural lighting. Part of the Memoori video Smart Buildings Series. (18-June … Continue reading 6 disruptive lighting trends: memoori smart building webinar
Make sure to check out my new long-form report forecasting six disruptive trends in architectural lighting for the next decade. This is a draft of my forthcoming submission to The IES Visionary Challenge — Beyond 2030: What Do You See? … Continue reading welcome to the luminous ’20s
Taking a moment to reflect on this past year, let me review 3 major topics I put forth attempting to drive innovation in the architectural lighting industry. Ambient Communications At the start of the year I spoke at several conferences … Continue reading closing out a year of innovation
Acuity Lighting is launching Modulus, a centralized DC-power system option for their LED lighting fixture lines. The first offering is the Peerless Renna linear pendant line. Acuity stepping into the fray is a great sign for DC power in commercial … Continue reading acuity launches DC power options
Check out my new piece on the DC-power revolution in commercial buildings, including a quick summary of 4 companies with impressive pilot projects. I decided to try posting it on Medium.com to see if it might break through to new … Continue reading the DC powered building
I’ve been writing now for many years about the importance of adopting a DC infrastructure as a necessary foundation to drive further innovations in architectural lighting and media systems. DC power infrastructure efficiently ties together solar and battery storage in … Continue reading 48 vdc power components
This week the USGBC just added a major point opportunity for commercial buildings that integrate substantial native-DC power infrastructure. As I discussed just recently (and even included 5 years ago in my predictions for the future of lighting), it increasingly … Continue reading usgbc LEED program gives big boost to dc power in commercial buildings
We are at the inflection point of a new revolution: DC-power infrastructure is set to replace AC-infrastructure in many, if not most, commercial buildings. The case is simple: Almost every device in a modern building uses direct-current (DC), including LED … Continue reading the efficiency advantage of DC electrical infrastructure
Over the past few years, there has been a clear trend for track lighting and other innovative “system” style architectural lighting products to adopt 48VDC instead the usual mains voltage 120VAC or 220-240VAC. 48VDC delivers a host of benefits, most … Continue reading LED track lighting is rapidly adopting 48VDC as a new standard
Energie IP is a Paris-based startup that is developing a building management system (BMS) based on Power-over-Ethernet technology (PoE). PoE holds promise in architectural projects to accomplish three key objectives: Distribute DC power with inherent IP-connectivity to the thousands of … Continue reading energie IP
VANTOT is an Eindhoven-based design studio started by two recent Design Academy graduates. I saw one of their products, “Current Currents” at the Frozen Fountain, a perennially fabulous design shop in Amsterdam. I love the art deco/arts-and-crafts style of the product. … Continue reading vantot
LumaNext is a New Jersey-based seed-stage startup that is launching a “smart-power” system for managing a standalone DC-based power grid in applications such as retail shops. LumaNext is developing an intelligent “power router” that can manage DC input/output loads from … Continue reading lumanext
