Electrical Industry Articles and Stories

Look up in most U.S. kitchens and you’ll likely see recessed downlights shining back at you. These fixtures have been the go-to option for decades – not just in kitchens, but throughout the house – for providing area lighting that doesn’t interrupt a ceiling’s clean lines

Keeping hospital balance sheets profitable is a challenging proposition for healthcare organizations. That’s certainly one reason why so many have undertaken lighting upgrades over the last decade to move to more efficient LED lamps and fixtures.

Lighting the great outdoors requires a bit more thought now than it did a couple decades ago. The goal used to be simply packing as many lumens as possible into a landscape fixture. That was the entire point. Photocell sensors might have been used to ensure lights didn’t stay on during daylight hours, but keeping outdoor space fully illuminated – even when no humans were around – was seen as a key safety measure.

The concept of 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, initially surfaced in the 1980s, thanks largely to the innovative work of engineer Chuck Hull. Hull invented a process called 'stereolithography', or SLA, a method that allowed for the creation of 3D models layer by layer, literally bringing ideas to life. It was a revolutionary breakthrough that sparked the beginning of the 3D printing era.

Occupancy sensors are quickly becoming a regulatory requirement in many commercial spaces, thanks to evolving energy codes seeking to wring out kilowatt-hours of energy savings anywhere it’s possible.

The beauty of recessed can downlights is their seeming sleekness. They barely interrupt the ceiling plane, which can be an especially big bonus in homes with lower ceiling heights and in clean-lined contemporary room plans.