Professional lighting design involves more than providing sufficient light in accordance with published tables; it requires an in-depth understanding of how we perceive visible light, and how plants respond to photobiologically active radiation (PBAR).

The problem for lighting designers is that the information is scattered across literally hundreds of academic journals ranging from Lighting Research & Technology to Fitoterapia (a peer-reviewed journal devoted to medicinal plant research).

SunTrackers’ Senior Scientist Ian Ashdown has been reading these journals and, for the past five years, writing articles on a wide variety of eclectic research topics, including astronomical and botanical light pollution, blue light hazards, circadian and near-infrared lighting, Internet-of-Things, mesopic photometry, photosynthetically active radiation, solar illumination, sports lighting, ultraviolet vision, and more.

These articles are written from the perspective of a science journalist, writing expressly for professional lighting designers. They are informative, technically accurate, and provide references for further reading.

The purpose of All Things Lighting is to track scientific research related to:

• Architectural and roadway lighting
• Horticultural lighting
• Circadian lighting
• Light pollution
• Climate-based daylighting

and more. Our blog articles explain this research as it relates to professional lighting design principles and practices, with detailed analyses and copious references to the scientific literature.