Selecting the right lighting for your kids’ bedroom might seem like a straightforward task. However, different kinds of lighting can affect our moods and behaviors in different ways. If you’re struggling to find the perfect lighting combination for your children, consider the environment you want to create and start from there. Here’s a list of several types of lighting, from practical and functional to whimsical and fun, that will leave both you and your kids satisfied. More...

EnergyStar – the US Department of Energy’s green-product certification program – is undergoing some major guideline updates in the next six months, and it could have a big impact on any pending or ongoing lighting projects.

Beginning January 2^nd, 2017, Energy Star Lamps V2.0 will replace V1.1 as the qualifying directive for all light bulbs sold in the United States. The aim of the new certification standards is multi-pronged: To increase overall efficacy levels (light output per watt consumed), to include some increasingly popular new product types, and to improve harmonization between EnergyStar lighting specifications. Essentially, the new certifications aim to encompass more bulbs and drive even greater energy savings in the lighting world.

In fact, according to EnergyStar, if all light bulbs sold in the US next year meet the V2.0 requirements, electricity savings will amount to over $4 billion per year and reduce more than 54 billion pounds of annual greenhouse gas emissions – The equivalent output of more than 5 million vehicles. More...

It is an unchallenged belief that humans have certain basic needs for survival—food, water, and sleep, for example. However, while these things may account for an individual’s biological and physiological needs, there are many other things we humans need to thrive as opposed to purely survive. One of those things is a gift that millions of people take for granted each and every day: light. For many of us, light is simply a way of life; and, as a result, we are becoming exceedingly reliant on its steadfast presence.

Every night, millions of people around the world struggle to overcome darkness. While some sleep, others attempt to work and study deep into the night. According to the International Energy Agency, 1.2 billion people—17% of the world’s population—–did not have access to electricity in 2013. These individuals, therefore, are forced to turn to non-renewable light fuel oils such as kerosene for light. This dependence on kerosene lamps then leaves behind a large ecological and economical concern to be addressed. More...

The Gigafactory is Tesla Motor’s massive lithium ion battery manufacturing plant. The name derives from the term Gigawatt-hours (GWh’s), a measure of electricity storage or usage, which represents one billion kilowatt-hours. The facility is designed to produce 35 GWh’s of energy storage every year in the form of 60 to 90 kWh batteries. Advanced assembly techniques and economies of scale will lower the cost of the batteries and increase their availability. Tesla hopes to generate 500,000 electric vehicles (EV’s) using the Gigafactory every year by 2020. EV's have a stop and start history due to lack of demand, technology, and pressures from the fossil fuel industry, but Tesla has brought them to the forefront in an effort to make them a more permanent fixture in society. Batteries, the most important and expensive component of an electric vehicle, will no longer limit the fabrication of sustainable vehicles.More...