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.
US Energy Crisis: How Solar Can Help
In recent years, there has been a severe upswing in the amount of energy troubles within the United States. This is caused by a combination of factors, including extreme weather conditions, aging infrastructure, deregulation, and supply chain issues all leading to the...
The Environmental Benefits of Solar
You probably already know that solar is a renewable energy that’s growing in popularity. But did you know that solar lighting can offer advantages in addition to cost savings and ease of installation? If you need another reason to love solar, we’ve compiled a list of...
How Lighting Keeps Us Safe
Lighting is essential to security and safety measures, as it prevents crimes and accidents in public and private spaces. Proper lighting design and installation can improve the visibility of people and objects in spaces and enhance the effectiveness of security...
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...