First Light Blog
Check out our latest articles and success stories
Our passion is unleashing the potential of solar power in making better and more sustainable communities. We love talking about urban and pedestrian scale design trends, the latest technology and how communities are incorporating solar lighting to increase accessibility and usability of public spaces.
Stop Trenching & Wiring to Save Time and Money!
We've been talking to some contractors across the country. In most cases, they're seeing significant increases in the costs associated with trenching and wiring for AC lighting. Inflation, labor shortages, and supply chain issues all factor into these higher trenching...
The Lumen Illusion: How System Efficacy Helps Us Look Beyond Lumens When Choosing a Light
PLB & SCL2 Series - Port Lavaca, TXIf you've been shopping for lighting, it's a guarantee that you've come across marketing materials stating a light's lumen performance. Although this is one of the most popular industry-standard terms for highlighting a light's...
Responsible Outdoor Lighting: Five Principles From The IES & DarkSky
The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) have joined forces to address the global issue of light pollution. IDA and IES Board of Directors unanimously adopted Five Principles for Responsible Outdoor Lighting to guide...
Going Solar Solves Winter Challenges in Northern Canada
Situated along the world-famous Alaska Highway, the City of Fort St. John is home to more than 21,000 residents in Northern British Columbia, Canada. The wild and beautiful scenery of Fort St. John is paralleled by challenging winter conditions that only the North...
Lighting Fundamentals – BUG Ratings
A BUG Rating stands for backlight, uplight, and glare. Backlight (B) is the light directed behind the fixture, uplight (U) is any light directed upward above the horizontal plane of the luminaire, and glare (G) is the amount of light emitted from the luminaire at high...
Combating Light Pollution with Efficient Optics and Backlight Shields
Placing light where you need it - and only where you need it - is essential to ensure that you are not contributing to light pollution. One of the four components of light pollution defined by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) is light trespass – light...
Light Distribution: What type is best to illuminate my outdoor area?
What type of light distribution is best to illuminate my outdoor area? So you need to light your outdoor area? Easy right? Buy some lights, voila! Not quite. Did you know that outdoor lighting can have multiple types of distribution (the way the ground is lit up below...
The Best Solar Street Light
What makes the best solar street light? The key is in the details.
The Most Reliable Solar LED Street Light
First Light Technologies has launched a high-performing, high light output solar LED street light, the BFL-S Series.
How Solar Lighting is Making a City More Resilient in the Face of Climate Change
With climate change bringing more intense hurricanes to Florida’s shores, the City of Cape Canaveral is striving to be more sustainable and resilient.