Inside my brain and motorway lighting

I normally like to start off saturday morning with this blog, but with other commitments, I am writing this tonight.  I have been busy with University City London in being a test subject in their ongoing research into understanding the relationship between light, the eye and the brain. I am excited that this research will continue to add to the scientific knowledge behind the way lighting professionals light. The better our understanding, the better the way we can design lighting schemes. So back to the research. I have been down to The Royal Hollaway  University of London at Egham to spend quality time inside a Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) Scanner. It is an amazing experience as the scanner clanks away looking at my brain working while I am carrying out a series of visual tasks. The photograph is not one I took, but is a cross section of my brain. I wish the team well in all the calculations and interpreation that has to be done to understand what is going on, especially in my brain!!

I was also a guest of the Highway Electrical association (HEA) at their conference and awards dinner. A well organised event and superb dinner in the spectacular setting of the Celtic Manor Hotel. After the afternoon technical papers, (two presented by ILP past presidents) I took the opportunity to enjoy the view from one of the hotel balcony's. Looking across the river Severn estuary is stunning. Well done to the HEA . Later that night I drove home across the newer of the two Severn crossings, and was inpressed by the quality of lighting and the fantasic engineering of the bridge.

 

Just a quick hobby horse on motorway lighting. I drove the long stretch up the M5 from the M4 towards Birmingham with no lighting, just headlights and being blinded by overbright xenon headlights as other car overtook me. What a joy when I got near to the M42 and some motorway lighting. It is a personal view, but I find driving on lit motorways so much easier and less tiring. Enough said.

 

Next week, the Executive Board will be meeting to discuss a range of issues. This will be the first full meeting for Kevin Grigg - our  New Assistant Honorary Treasurer. He has survived council and an executive board meeting with the Vice Presidents, so we have eased him into the role gently!!

Have a good week

regards

Pete

ps Don't foget Luxlive.

 



Rainbow, VP Highways & Infrastructure and the HEA

It's Saturday morning, and it's  cool and misty with no sign of the sun! It is on these  damp autumnal mornings that I remember warm sunny days. What a difference a bit of sunshine makes. Sadly for some the lack of sunlight can bring on a form of depression. It even has a name - Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).There are two people in my office that use the "bright white" lamps to help alleviate this condition. I really appreciate the sunshine, not just for warmth,but becuase it does affect our moods. Taking photos on a drab overcast day leaves the captured image flat and dull. Add a little sunlight and you get depth, contrast and vivid colours. We certainly try our best to emmulate sunshine with lamps, but we come a poor second. I promised a photo per blog. This is one that I took in New Zealand, on a wild windswept beach near Wellington. It is a rainbow, and it was caused partly by the spray and partly by the weather that was being blown through. Rainbows only happen when you have some sunshine. I guess when Noah saw the rainbow, he was so glad to see the sun again as it shone through the clouds.

Earlier this week, Council met and it is good see the way the VPs and Councillors are working together. It has taken a while, but I do believe that our strategy and vision for the Institution and especially the members is coming together. Just to remind you that there is a new post of VP Highways and Infrastructure and if you want a job description and think you might be interested, then contact Richard@theilp.org.uk   for a job description. I think this final VP role will give the balance we want within the Institution. We have some interseting ideas that I am sure the new VP (when appointed) will be able to progress and develop.

Next week I am going to the HEA Conference and Dinner at Celtic Manor, so I might see some of you there. Interestingly on the way to Wales, I will going to Egham for a MRI brain scan. This is the final peice of volounteer work I am doing with UCL on understanding how our eyes and brain works at low light levels.
Have a good week
Pete

sunrise and council

I have been thinking a bit about how to use this blog and have decided it will work at two levels. I think blogs should be informal and personal, so there will be two parts to each of my blogs. part one will be personal and the other about the ILP and my weekly role within it.

One thing I love to do is take photographs. I guess a picture is really all about light and the surfaces it reflects off before reaching my eye as I look through the camera's viewfinder. (I use a Nikon D90 with a range of lenses) I see things in terms of images and so each blog will have one picture that I have taken. Through the year it will built up into a diverse range of things I photograph. This  morning, Saturday 13th October, I took this sunrise from my bedroom window. I live in the country and am amazingly privileged to see some stunning and spectacular sunrises. Those of you that were at the Celebration dinner will remember Debra Searle speaking about watching sunrises and sunsets and how it touched her in relation to her faith in a creator God. A bit the same with me. I hope you like it.

The coming week has Council. This is when the Vice Presidents,Councillors and Executive Board come together to discuss strategy and progress. Out of the meeting will come new areas of strategy that will be considered and worked into the various VPs areas of responsibility. I stressed how important people are within the ILP and this is a key meeting. As members your regional Councillor will be feeding into the various strands of strategy, that will become policy and vision for the Institution. Spare a thought for the people that commit time and energy to your institution.
Have a good week
Pete

What a fanatstic ILP Summit at Brighton

First day back in the office. Still have not come down from a fantastic summit. I am overwhelmed by the encouragement and support from so many of my peers. I just want to take the opportunity via this blog to say THANK YOU to you all. I am still walking about with a big smile on my face. I have so many happy memories.

A huge thank you to Richard Frost our CEO and Jess, Jo and Anita who all worked so hard at Brighton to make it the success it was.

To the Thistle Hotel staff - fantastic venue, can't get over the quality of light in the atrium

To the Exhibiters - I am so glad I had time with Jess to see you all and say thankyou. I am delighted that you felt it was worthwhile and useful. Your support is so very much appreciated

To the speakers - wow, what a privelge to listen to you all. I know how long it takes to put a paper together, so a big thank you. To Peter Raynham and Wandering Steve Fotios and h Ed - keep up the good work

The celebration dinner - wow. food and company sooo good. 

Debra Seale MBE - You have inspired us. We re-lived that journey with you and I felt very humbled as you gave so much of yourself to us. I struggled to say thank you, as I confess I was quite emotional. Just remembering your talk now still moves me. So a huge thank you - so many people spoke about with awe and wonder.

I hope all who attended enjoyed it as much as I did.

Have a great weekend

Pete

Some final words

My year as President of the ILP draws to a close and I will hand over the baton to Pete at tomorrow’s AGM in Brighton, so just my closing thoughts on what has been an excellent year that has passed very quickly.

It has been a great honour and pleasure for me to undertake the role of President of the Institution of Lighting Professionals over the past year and to know that my fellow lighting professionals considered me worthy of the role.

During my year I have looked to the theme of sustainability in lighting and used the opportunities given to me to promoted good light practice and sustainable lighting solutions. Within this I have stressed that the task to be lit must firstly be considered before looking to the use of the right technology. Sustainability has to be balanced; looking at the task, considering social and economic as well as environmental aspects, looking to optimise existing assets whilst making selective investment in new ones.

We have a wonderfully and ever increasing pallet of light sources, luminaires and control systems to choose from but too often we see the technology being chosen before the task is assessed and then, perhaps, the wrong technology applied to the job. The industry does tend to embrace the latest technologies and forget what others exist that may well light the task more efficiently.

With some of my fellow lighters I have become infamous for regularly talking about Ultra-Efficient lighting (UEL) and competent designers. Ultra Efficient Lighting is defined as the right light, in the right place, at the right time, controlled by the right system, designed by competent designers taking a whole life costing approach. It is not related to any one technology or light source but the right ones for the task.

I am therefore very pleased to see that this is all being reflected with the latest EU Green Public Procurement (GPP) criteria for both Indoor and Street lighting. The details are discussed with the ILP’s ‘Guidance on current and forth coming legislation with the lighting sector document’ which has recently been updated and is available as a free down load from the resources section of the web site.

I would encourage you all to read this important ILP guidance document and look to your requirements under GPP.

The above is just one aspect of how the ILP is developing to encompass, advise and represent all those involved within lighting. I personally feel this is to the good of the industry and for those within it to learn more skills and improve their competencies and look to an understand technologies and approaches to lighting in other sectors and how they may be best applied within their own.

This can only be to the benefit of the ILP and members in the long term and bring all those involved in lighting further together to exchange and share knowledge and good practice which is one of the ILP’s key aims.

We still have many challenges ahead looking to how we work with our Industry Partners, kindred Associations and Professional Bodies as well as how we look to the provision of technical information to our members and I am sure that these are topics that Peter will develop late this morning.

I must thank my own employer, WSP, for their support and encouragement in taking on this role and thank the members of the lighting team for their support whilst I undertook the role. I must of course not forget the most important person, my wife Caroline who has supported me over all of the years leading up to president and over the last year coming with me to attend various Regional and National Events.

Before handing over to Pete I thank the Regions for their excellent hospitality over the year, the Exec Board: Alistair, Mark, Colin, Pete, Richard and the team at Rugby for all their support and the team’s work in progressing and developing the ILP. In my year as immediate past President I will look to support Pete to the best of my abilities.