Specialty and Architectural Lighting

For you and me, the number of hours during summer, winter, autumn and spring might not make any difference at all. Daylight hours can be much longer than night hours, as happens during certain times of the year. But believe it or not, some people actually suffer because of the lesser daylight hours. Fewer daylight hours gives them something called seasonal affective disorder or SAD for short. It is a type of depression. SAD affects...

Background Building: 3-story - 1st story retail, 2nd & 3rd story offices Building Completed: 2021 Windows: Sealed, Inoperable HVAC: Rooftop units - provide both heating and cooling with economizer control Indoor Air Quality Monitor: Kaiterra Sensedge Mini The focus of this case study is one 24 hour period for a 100 sq ft office equipped with an air quality monitor. The office is conditioned with supply air from the HVAC system. For this 24 hour...

Managing indoor air quality in the workplace is an important tool for business owners and office managers to improve employee productivity, reduce sick leave and boost employee attitudes about coming to work every day. A Forbes study showed that over 65% of employees said they were more productive in office environments that promote a healthy environment. In this same study, air quality was reported by employees as the most positive influence on wellness in the...

The importance of indoor air quality for work and classroom environments has become, with a strong push from the COVID virus, a top-of-the-list priority for building owners and managers as workers and students return to offices and schools. The strategies for cleaning indoor air of pollutants that adversely affect occupants differs depending on the contaminant. For protecting occupants from a virus or bacterial infection, a common approach is to use ultraviolet germicidal (UV-C) equipment to...

Interest in indoor air quality in public buildings such as offices, schools and other institutions has increased as the demand for lower energy consuming buildings has resulted in tighter building envelopes that reduce uncontrolled leakage of heated or cooled air. Tight buildings place a premium on the importance of ventilation. When air change rates and air filters are not adequate, the chance of health impacts on occupants increases. Indoor Pollutants Tight buildings can save energy....

One of the main benefits of replacing incandescent and halogen lighting with CFL or LED is the lower energy usage and bills that result. Even these types of bulbs burn out, making all types of light bulbs prime candidates for recycling. Incandescent & Halogen Bulbs The bad news is that incandescent and halogen light bulbs are not recyclable. True, the outer bulb is made of glass, but the lamps also contain metals, including the tungsten...

When making any decent-sized purchase as a consumer, it is smart to do some basic product research and to stretch your dollars and resources to get the most "bang for your buck." There is no exception when it comes to buying lighting products, especially if you are taking on a big project such as entirely revamping your old lighting system. However, the following top nine tips will save you money no matter how small or...

As more and more people now work from home, especially since the COVID era, one of my challenges when starting out is keeping awake and focused during the day. One way to address this issue is by changing the lighting in the home office to increase energy during the day while reducing glare on computer screens. Replaces Bulbs With a Higher Color Temperature If your home is filled with common incandescent and CFL light bulbs,...

Owners and facility managers looking for a way to disinfect the indoor air in offices, medical centers, retail stores, schools and residential care facilities will find that their HVAC system may provide the safest and most cost-effective approach. Buildings equipped with a ducted heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) system are prime candidates for in-duct ultraviolet (UV-C) units that can provide whole-building air sanitizing. UV-C germicidal lamps emit 253.7 nanometer wavelength irradiation that, in sufficient doses,...

Before the passage of the 2007 Energy Bill, it was easy to replace a general service household light bulb. All you had to do was read the number on the top of the bulb and find the exact replacement: 60 watts was always 60 watts. But now, with common 40, 60, 75 and 100 watt incandescent bulbs no longer being manufactured for general purposes, consumers are being forced to change their thinking on lighting. This...