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Lights that Made us Say WHAT? – Tooshlights

August 20, 2015August 20, 2015 Renee Carlson Leave a comment

Lights that made us say What? Tooshlights

Sometimes in my search for lighting news to share with my readers, I come across a new lighting product that stops me in my tracks, causes me to raise my brows and even makes me chuckle. Tooshlights® are definitely one of them.

The Los Angeles start-up recently brought to market an automated lighting system that uses glowing red and green LED lights to signal patrons when a bathroom stall is available. Quite literally in this case, “green means go.”

You can install Tooshlights in any size restroom, but the advantages really come into play in large venues like stadiums, airports, theme parks, and performing arts centers, etc. There are some nice benefits for the end-user (no pun intended) and for the venue: (more…)

LEDs Hit the Streets

July 30, 2015July 28, 2015 Renee Carlson Leave a comment

Cities everywhere are jumping on the LED street light bandwagon and trading in their outdated fixtures for new & improved models. We’ve known for years that LEDs have many advantages over their incandescent counterparts, so why the sudden push to make the switch?

LED street lights compared to conventional street lights in Sacramento County — This image from Sacramento County’s recent lighting upgrade reveals the vast difference in color temperatures between LED and Conventional street lights. (Photo credit: saccounty.net)

Why are Cities Getting Rid of Conventional Street Lights?

Take a look at some of the benefits LEDs offer over conventional High Pressure Sodium (HPS) street lights:

LEDs are 10x more energy-efficient
LEDs last 25x longer (less maintenance, reduced lamp toxins in landfills)
LEDs offer advanced lighting controls (dim or power off when not in use)
LEDs offer better visibility (less glare for drivers, better images for security cameras)
LEDs reduce light pollution by not diffusing light in all directions

(more…)

Human Centric Lighting Hits a Home Run with the Seattle Mariners

January 29, 2015January 5, 2017 Renee Carlson Leave a comment

The Seattle Mariners may have just upped their game when they retrofitted their clubhouse with an LED lighting strategy focused on intensifying the moods, energy levels and performance of their players.

The LED-based project, headed up by Planled CEO John Hwang, Lighting Wizards principal Stan Walerczyk, and Harvard professor Dr. Steven Lockley, aims to prepare the players for the game with one type of light, and then wind them down afterwards with another. The desired outcome is a baseball team that’s alert and awake before and during the game, and rested and relaxed after.

What is Human Centric Lighting?
Human centric lighting (HCL) is the study and application of light on the human body: mainly mood, energy & health. There’s no question that recent advances in LED lighting technology have helped our planet with its cost-savings and energy efficiency, but how might it benefit me, as a human being? Can a personal lighting strategy make me a better wife, mother, employee? Can it make a professional athlete perform better? (more…)

CES 2015: Smart Lighting ‘Shines’ in Home Automation

January 9, 2015March 23, 2017 Renee Carlson 1 Comment

Updated March 23, 2017

Trends in lighting technology keep getting smarter. In fact, if the LED Light Bulb were a soccer mom, she’d have a bumper sticker that read “My Light Bulb is Smarter than Your Light Bulb.” Smart lighting systems are hot at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show, an annual event that showcases the most innovative gizmos of the year. But for all the hype, what exactly do they do? Without a smart bulb, am I less intelligent?

What Makes a Light Bulb Smart?

Like every good parent, smart light bulb manufacturers have different ideas about what makes their product smart. As the trend starts to explode, new variations of the smart bulb are cropping up everywhere in an attempt to out-perform their predecessors. Though each smart bulb has its own set of features, I’ve put together a list of some popular characteristics that seem to make a smart bulb so much “brighter” than its peers (sorry, couldn’t resist): (more…)

Light News: The 2015 International Year of Light

December 30, 2014December 29, 2014 Renee Carlson Leave a comment

IYOL 2015 Logo 2015 is the International Year of Light, and while we openly admit to being obsessed with anything light-related, we also understand that the rest of the world may not share our level of amazement. (Okay, we really don’t understand it, but we’ve come to accept it.) So imagine our joy when the United Nations announced this global initiative to educate the world about “the importance of light and optical technologies in their lives, for their futures and for the development of society.”

They could have done an International Day of Light, or even a month dedicated to light, but a year, folks. One. Entire. Year. (more…)

Using Your Tablet or Smartphone in Bed May Be a Lousy Idea

November 5, 2014December 10, 2014 Renee Carlson 3 Comments

using your tablet in bed bad idea

The conclusion of Daylight Saving time this past weekend means the night comes a little earlier. Logic may tell you that the longer and darker evenings will make falling asleep easier. However, even though the nights are longer we are also using smartphones, tablets and HDTV’s more and more in the 21st Century, particularly at night. Some scientists believe that Mr. Sandman has a new nemesis – the little blue light in all of these new-fangled devices.

What It Is

Naturally occurring blue light, a short wavelength in the light spectrum, is abundant in sunshine and hugely beneficial during the day when the majority of people need to be awake and alert. It’s been said to boost mood and increase attention span by stimulating sensors in the eye that then send signals to our internal clock. It also suppresses melatonin — a hormone produced by humans that helps regulate sleep-wake cycles — more than any other light wave. In fact, blue light is so efficient at suppressing melatonin that it’s often used to treat seasonal sleep disorders by mimicking the naturally occurring light of the sun. Here is where the problem surfaces — modern devices like high definition televisions, smartphones and tablets are massive producers of blue light. This blue light wreaks havoc on our circadian rhythms — our internal “body clock” that regulates 24-hour cycles, approximately — by basically tricking our brains into thinking it’s still daytime. (more…)