Show Me the Light

May 1, 2006
When we first started to pull this month's issue together I felt like I had a pretty good idea about the hot topics in the world of lighting. But after reviewing the articles submitted by our outside contributors and helping the editorial team pull together staff-written stories, I must admit I was somewhat humbled by all of the recent developments taking place in this exciting field developments

When we first started to pull this month's issue together I felt like I had a pretty good idea about the hot topics in the world of lighting. But after reviewing the articles submitted by our outside contributors and helping the editorial team pull together staff-written stories, I must admit I was somewhat humbled by all of the recent developments taking place in this exciting field — developments I really wasn't as up-to-date on as I should be.

Driving much of this activity is the international, federal, and state energy codes and standards being adopted by local governments. If you're not aware of Title III of the Energy Conservation and Production Act, ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1, California's Title 24, or the International Energy Conservation Code, you're in the same boat I am — the slow boat to obsolescence. As outlined in the cover story on page 50, these are the codes and standards driving the latest lighting designs. If you don't keep up with them, get ready to watch your competitors take work away from you.

Speaking of lighting designs, are you up to speed on why some daylight-harvesting projects succeed and others fail? Do you know how to properly design systems to either manually or automatically integrate daylight in to a lighting control system? If not, I suggest you turn to page 60 and read what The Weidt Group, a Minnetonka, Minn.-based firm, discovered during a recent study of dozens of commercial projects.

Installed any control systems in commercial buildings lately? If not, make sure you read Craig DiLouie's article on emerging trends in building lighting control systems, starting on page 22. He points out the merits of occupancy sensors, building automation systems, and lighting control panels and discusses the differences between traditional centralized control systems and distributed control systems.

I hope you take the time to stay on top of the latest trends in lighting now and in the future — and find this month's editorial lineup as enlightening as I did.

About the Author

Michael Eby

Mike received a B.S. degree in electrical engineering in 1986 and an M.S. degree in engineering management in 1994 from the University of South Florida. He is currently a member of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), and American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).

Prior to joining EC&M as Editor-in-Chief in September 1999, Mike served as the Executive Editor of Transmission & Distribution World magazine for five years. He currently serves as the Senior Director of Content - Buildings Group in the Infrastructure & Intelligence Division at Informa. Before joining Informa, Mike held various engineering titles within the Substation and Transmission Engineering Groups at Florida Power & Light Co., Juno Beach, FL.

Mike was awarded the Southeastern Electric Exchange (SEE) Excellence in Engineering Award in 1993 and has received numerous regional and national editorial awards for his reporting and writing work in the electrical market.

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