FIRES | The Science of Near-Infrared Lighting: Fact or Fiction

03/29/18 • 16 min

There is a common-sense argument being presented in the popular media that since humans evolved under sunlight, our bodies must surely make use of all the solar energy available to us. Given that more than 50 percent of this energy is due to near-infrared radiation, we are clearly risking our health and well-being by using LED lighting that emits no near-infrared radiation whatsoever.

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Forces of Change | Lighting as a Service

Discussions about Lighting as a Service (LaaS) are no longer focused on whether it will evolve into an essential aspect of future lighting projects, but rather on how many billions of dollars will be involved and how soon it will become a common offering. Until recently “As a Service” companies did not focus on or understand the lighting community. This podcast demonstrates how this has changed. Virginia Hewitt, from Sparkfund, understands our lighting market and is a knowledgeable evangelist for LaaS. In this podcast, Hewitt identifies which lighting skill sets will benefit most from LaaS.

Virginia is responsible for the growth and performance of the many sales arms at SparkFund. Her expertise lies in training and developing partner companies to integrate Technology Subscriptions as a core of their businesses. Prior to SparkFund, Virginia was a researcher with ACEEE. Her authorship includes the City Scorecards, Cool Policies for Cool Cities, and Small Loans for Energy Efficiency. She is a graduate of Duke University’s School of the Environment with a degree in Environmental Policy.

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Forces of Change | 90.1 Modeling

This podcast features two key members of the ANSI/ASHRAE/IES 90.1 Lighting Subcommittee that establishes lighting power density levels for this foundational standard. The discussion reveals and explains to our lighting community a new project that is funded by ASHRAE, IALD, BC Hydro and the IES. Project tasks will support the work of the 90.1 standard by providing AGI32 modeling runs by application. These models will improve the accuracy of and strengthen the effectiveness of this and the other standards affected by 90.1. It is a concern especially because LED luminaires are now being used as the primary baseline to establish LPD’s instead of traditional sources. This has resulted in significant energy savings but there is an end game. The partners want to verify that the quality of lighting is not impacted in future versions of 90.1 and the other standards that reference it.

Michael Myer has been with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for 11 years. Prior to coming to PNNL Michael was a practicing lighting designer with Naomi Miller Lighting Design and before that Hayden McKay Lighting Design. Michael’s work at PNNL includes energy codes and appliance standards as well as market transformation related to parking and interior lighting. Michael has been an active member of the IES and is current co-chair working on the revised version of DG-18, a member of the Energy Management Committee, and has participated in a task group related to parking lighting.

Marty Salzberg worked as an architectural lighting consultant for more than thirty years. Her work was honored with multiple industry awards for design and energy efficiency. As a member of the Illuminating Engineering Society, Marty has been a member of the Library Lighting Committee since 2003 and is currently the committee Chair. Marty is a Professional Member of the IALD, where she contributes to the work of the Energy & Sustainability Committee by serving as the IALD representative to the ASHRAE/IES 90.1 energy standard development committee. She recently served on the IALD committee to edit the Guidelines for Specification Integrity, teaches about the NYC Energy Code at BEEx and is teaching lighting design at the New York School of Interior Design.

Kelly Seeger is Technical Policy Manager for Signify where she leads building codes and standards activities for North America, advising company business groups, market teams, and researchers on implications for products and systems from pre-development through installation. She serves as Lighting Subcommittee Chair of ASHRAE SSPC 90.1 and is also active in the development of CA T24 and IECC and is involved with key organizations relevant to building efficiency, green building standards & codes, energy rating and benchmarking, and smart buildings. Kelly has worked in lighting and energy efficiency in the U.S. for nearly twenty years; her experience includes lighting design and application, strategic planning, a voice of customer and market analysis, presentation and training, and energy efficiency & transformative market consulting. She holds M.S. Lighting and B.S. Building Sciences degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. She is Lighting Certified by the NCQLP, a LEED Accredited Professional, and is Past President of the New York City Section of the Illuminating Engineering Society.