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Showing posts from September, 2016

Apple changes the way you light your home

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Researchers beam light particle across fibre network. PLUS: Apple’s new Home app to change the way you light your house. AND: Fluorescent light 'boosts male testosterone levels'. Lux Today September 27th 2016.

Ikea makes grab for affordable smart lighting market

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Innovative retailer Ikea is setting its sights on the smart lighting market. Ikea's plug and play solution features a tiny transmitter that has been installed within the luminaire, which can communicate with a remote control. Ikea, the flat-pack furniture giant, has announced that it is to release an affordable range of smart luminaires that can be controlled wirelessly using a remote control. Although the smart lighting market has been growing, it is still often confined only to expensive, high end, products. Ikea’s TRÅDFRI LED fixture is simpler than many of the already established smart lighting products on the market. 'The new luminaire has been developed after research showed that small changes in lighting can have a great impact on people's well-being and intellectual abilities,' a spokesperson for Ikea commented. Ikea’s smart luminaires are simple screw-in fixtures that are able to sit in pendant lights and lamps. The plug and play sol

Meet ‘Alexa’ Amazon’s new device that can control your home lighting

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The Echo is a smart-speaker that responds to the name ‘Alexa’. Philips Hue will also be compatible with the Echo, meaning you will be able to adjust the strength of your light fixtures using your own voice. The Amazon Echo will feature a voice control capability that will allow you to turn off your lights and adjust your central heating with the sound of your voice. The Echo is a smart-speaker that responds to the name ‘Alexa’. Amazon has announced a partnership with Hive, the smart-home platform developed by British Gas. The Echo will be compatible with Hive Lights and and Hive Active Heating. Philips Hue will also be compatible with the Echo, meaning you will be able to adjust the strength of your light fixtures using your own voice. As well as the Echo, Amazon are also launching the cheaper second generation Echo Dot mini-speaker, which features an even more nimble ‘Alexa’, which can trigger pre-set home lighting scenes. This means that you will also be able to voi

Fluorescent light ‘improves male performance in bed’

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Bright light can restore the sinking sexual desires of men during the cold winter months. Fluorescent light boxes can be used to treat Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) A new study has found that exposure to bright light can restore the sinking sexual desires of men during the cold winter months. Scientists from the University of Siena in Italy have discovered that sitting in front of a light box can increase testosterone levels, boosting sexual satisfaction in the process. The study was comprised of 38 men who had complained of spiraling sexual desire. Half of the group were treated with a light box, while a secondary group were exposed to an adapted light box that was wired to produce significantly less light. The participants received doses of light for an hour, during the early morning, for two weeks straight. The scientists discovered when the study was complete that the men exposed to the bright, unregulated light, recorded a tripling in sexual satisfaction,

Can light end a heart attack?

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Scientists use pulses of light to end heart attacks. PLUS: Verizon eyes city revolution with LED purchase. AND: Meet ‘Alexa’….Amazon’s new device that can control your home lighting. Lux Today September 20th 2016.

The week the lighting industry changed forever

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George Washington crossing the Delaware River during the American Revolution. Don't be lulled into inaction like the British in Boston Harbour in 1773....IoT will be the next revolution in the lighting industry and you need to be prepared. Gordon Routledge of Revo reports: The next revolution in lighting has arrived in the form of IoT (Internet of Things) and it's going to change everything. I’ve been talking about the technological leap forward that IoT represents with a lot of people in the lighting industry, but mostly I am met with blank looks whenever I raise the topic. IoT is even dismissed by some as something that won’t be coming to fruition any time soon. Ironically, I used to get exactly the same response when I spoke about LEDs some 15 years ago. Change takes time as Bill Gates once said: I tend to be an early adopter of technology but sometimes I fail to spot the trend. I could not, at first, for example, understand YouTube. Why would you