Driving Safely On Our Streets
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that for the first time ever, the use of drugs contributed to a larger percentage of the 40,000+ fatalities that occur annually on our roads compared to alcohol. This has led to concerns that, as more states continue to legalize recreational marijuana, we will see more drivers driving under the influence of the drug, and most likely causing more accidents. And that's not all we have to worry about. The same NHTSA goes on to report that outside of drugs and alcohol, driver distraction was the other leading cause of road accidents [...]
The Drawbacks to Daylight
The energy-saving goals that we have achieved so far using LEDs for interior lighting are very impressive and commendable. Our lighting loads have now been reduced to 0.5w per square ft, which means there isn’t much light left to be saved. Nevertheless, the daylight and lighting expert James Benya of Benya Burnett Consultancy has just completed a building that consumes less than 0.4w per sq ft for lighting by the ingenious application of daylight. According to Benya, there are several downsides to using daylight. For instance, allowing some of the sun’s infrared rays in through your window might lead to [...]
Quantity over Quality of Illumination
In recent years, we have become so focused on reducing our lighting load with the help of the highly effective LEDs, such that quantity has taken center stage over quality. When it comes to street lighting, for instance, the IES recommends five different types of lighting distribution which are designed for different applications. A “Type 1” light distribution is meant for center mounting on long and narrow streets. “Type 2” is designed for slightly wider streets when mounting units on sidewalk poles. Both of these aforementioned types have a long spacing-to-mounting height ratio. “Type 3” is typically used for wider [...]
How Much Screen Time is Too Much?
While most of the discussion on the dangers of technology on children is centered on personal security risks, there have been, for quite a long time, concerns about the health risks posed by screen time. In particular, parents are mostly concerned about their kids potentially messing their sleeping patterns from watching too much TV, or endlessly playing video games. These fears have fortunately been allayed courtesy of a recent study by Oxford University's Internet Institute. According to the study, screen time does indeed affect children's sleep time but not to a considerable extent. In context, the average sleep time for [...]
Improving Visual Comfort
The amount of light provided by the sun meets the minimum requirements for illuminance, as set by the IES. Besides, it renders daylight harvesting uneconomical, at least quantitatively. This means that measures need to be put in to improve visual comfort. Most people use daylight to illuminate spaces. However, they still install diffusers, louvers, and prismatic lenses to reduce the glare produced by the sun's rays. If you have ever driven at night, you probably know that the glare from an oncoming car’s headlights can be blinding. Surprisingly, this doesn't occur during daytime when your eyes are light-adapted. However, in [...]