Practical advice on commercial lighting from LED retrofits to lighting design.

Schools in California were closed for nearly a year during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that they are beginning to reopen, the primary focus is on safety.

What should teachers, students, and janitorial staff do to reduce the spread of the coronavirus? How often do you need to clean or disinfect? How can we protect our children from future illnesses?

You've cleaned, sanitized, and disinfected your building. But how do you know your facility is actually clean?

You may think your surface is clean, but there could be an invisible group of pathogens lingering — a biofilm.

We are all looking for new ways to clean and disinfect our buildings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Protecting our customers, tenants, and employees is important now and will continue to be top of mind in the future.

But before you start using new products that claim to work, you should read the safety data sheet (SDS). The last thing you want to do is spray or fog a cleaning product that could be dangerous for your space.

Here's what we know: SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can be transmitted through the air.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says while most cases of SARS-CoV-2 are spread through close contact, droplets and particles can spread through the air under certain circumstances.

It may seem impossible to keep high-traffic areas free of germs. Areas like waiting rooms, lobbies, or retail stores are typically crowded and hard to disinfect because so many people are around.

This is where one type of ultraviolet lighting product really shines. It's called upper-air (or upper-room) germicidal UV and it's so effective because it works constantly, even while people are in the room.

You bought a new UV product or series of products and you're ready to disinfect your building. But how do you know if the products you spent thousands of dollars on really work?

Scientists have known about the disinfection capabilities of ultraviolet (UV) light for decades. Now, it's considered an important tool in the fight against COVID-19.

A scientist at Columbia University found UV-C is effective against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in laboratory settings.

A thorough cleaning routine consists of three parts: cleaning, disinfecting, and protecting.

But the science behind how each step works is very different.

Have you stared at cleaning product labels so long your eyes hurt? Sometimes, it's hard to understand what cleaning products actually do and if they are even effective against pathogens like viruses and bacteria.

There are best practices for keep your facility as safe as possible for employees, customers, and tenants during the coronavirus pandemic.