Humans are terrible in the dark, truly awful actually. We bump into things, see coat racks as murderers, fear every squeak, and knock. The nocturnal animals must have thought us a good laugh, watching us stub our toes and crawl around on all fours with only the light of the moon to guide us. Without the aid of our artificial lights, we act like Velma from Scooby Do when she loses her glasses.
From the moment, our species took hold of fire we have been designing and refining ways to improve the power of our artificial light over the night. The desire and need to chase away the darkness is one that has affected everything from population growth, rise of the middle class to technological revolutions.
Even now, in the 21st century, we are still trying to cope with the influence our networks of artificial light have on every nuance of our lives, from how we work to how we spend our free time and the energy required to maintain it. The creation and harnessing of artificial light is a balance in control. Too little light and we are unproductive, stumbling around ala Velma, too much light and we lose sight, literally, of our world.
We have been passing around Jane Brox’s fantastic book ‘Brilliant: The Evolution of Artificial Light’ and discussing just what is too little or too much light. Do we really need so many streetlights, how long has it been since you were able to see the Milky Way? Just how do we get our kids to turn off the bathroom light when they are done?
What are your biggest questions or concerns with lighting control? Is it all about management and cost savings?
Have you considered just how much the way you interact with lighting and lighting control influences how and what you do?
And finally, what do you think of the German company selling incandescent bulbs as ‘Mini-Heaters’?
Monday, January 31, 2011 at 12:34 PM 
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