Incandescent light bulb phaseout begins

The nation's light bulbs begin facing new efficiency and labeling standards starting Jan. 1, but don't expect old-fashioned incandescents to suddenly disappear from store shelves. The congressionally mandated efficiency standards gradually phase out Thomas Edison's 131-year-old creation in favor of other light bulbs that use at least 25% less energy. The first to go, beginning Sunday, is the traditional 100-watt, followed in January 2013 with the 75-watt version and in January 2014 with the 40-watt and 60-watt bulbs.

LEDs to replace Kanpur streetlights by 2020

By 2020, conventional streetlights in Kanpur (India) would be replaced by LEDs. The LEDs consume one-third of the power consumed by the conventional streetlights and also illuminate a larger area. The LED bulbs and tubelights would become a part of every household due to less power consumption, said Amrit Manwani, an alumnus of IIT-Kanpur. Manwani, a co-ordinator of 1972 batch, said LED tubelights and bulbs consume only 1/10 of the power consumed by tubelights and bulbs. He said that by 2020 only tubelight made of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) would be used in the country.

Epistar to introduce retrofit 60W-100W LED light bulbs

Taiwan-based LED chipmaker Epistar announced the development for high-pressure warm white LEDs with efficiency of 150lm/W. This means the warm white LED lighting products that can replace the traditional 60W, 70W, even 100W can be introduced to the market in 2012. In parrticular the Europe and US markets tend to favor warm color lighting designs.

LEDs light up Leica microscopes

The LED illumination series LED5000 and LED3000 have been designed for high-end stereo microscopes and routine stereo microscope systems, respectively. Both series have spotlight, ringlight, and multicontrast illumination modules available. Lifetimes up to 50,000 hours nearly eliminate downtime. The LEDs save up to 90% of the power required by a 150-W halogen lamp. The LED5000 series can communicate with Leica Application Suite (LAS) software to save illumination settings with captured images and performing recall when needed.

Christmas house with 32,000 LEDs

I've seen people go over the top decorating their houses with Christmas lights and ornaments, but having 32,000 LED lights synchronized to dubstep is just too much. Santa and Rudolph would have a seizure from a mile away figuring out how to land on this tricked out roof. Compared to the playable Angry Birds light show we saw yesterday, this house uses 12,000 more LED lights and 54 more Light-O-Rama 16 channel controllers. I think we have our champion!

2012 Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball Dazzles with Philips LED Lights

The annual New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square will once again showcase the dropping of a dazzling green ball, as the iconic sphere will be illuminated by energy efficient Philips LEDs! The LED ball will also welcome the new U.S. energy and lighting standards that go into effect on January 1st, under the Energy Independence and Security Act. In addition, Philips’ new LED light bulbs will be available for home use. For years, Philips Lighting has been providing the bright lights that entice thousands to Times Square each year to watch the ball drop and bring in the new year. This year, 32,256  LUXEON LEDs will glitter in a range of colors as the Times Square Ball descends to partiers’ delight. The LEDs stay lit year round, with low energy usage.

The Stage expects savings after replacing 300 light bulbs

Warsaw venue The Stage has replaced nearly 300 incandescent bulbs on its marquee with more efficient LED bulbs using a grant worth about $2,200 from NYSEG. The project, completed last week, is expected to see significant savings in utility costs for the non-profit performing arts center, according to Paul Penner, the center's director. The LEDs are expected to use about one-tenth of the power that the incandescent bulbs used. "This will save us a huge amount on our electric bill," Penner said, noting the cost of lighting the marquee used to account for half of the total electric bill for the 23 South Main Street venue

Just think of the electric bill!

If you’re the sort of homeowner who needs to have the best Christmas lights in the neighbourhood, don’t move to Riverside, California. Because it won’t be easy to outdo Kevin Judd, who has created a dazzling display – timed perfectly to LMFAO’s hit song Sexy and I Know it. The father-of-two used thousands of LEDs to create a multicoloured sequence that flashes in time with the American hip hop band's track.

Bridgelux Poised for Rapid Growth

Bridgelux, a leading developer and manufacturer of LED lighting technologies and solutions, reported today that market conditions and its recent achievements ideally position it for additional growth and leadership in 2012. The company's revenue grew an extraordinary 792% from FY 2006 to 2010, and Bridgelux expects to see an additional 100% year over year growth by the end of 2011. During the past year, the company raised $76M in additional funding, added several noteworthy customers, introduced innovative products and technology and received numerous industry awards.
The LED luminaire market is poised for dramatic expansion, with analysts predicting growth of 40% (CAGR) through 2015.(1) Recognizing its potential, prominent financial and strategic investors cast their vote of confidence in the market overall, and Bridgelux in particular by investing a total of $76M in the company this past year.
"We're seeing significant increases in adoption and demand for LED lighting in many sectors and regions. In fact, we've experienced a 300% unit volume growth in LED array sales in the past year alone, dramatically increasing our market share while also delivering well over 100M high power LED chips to enable new and innovative product designs," said Bill Watkins, Bridgelux's Chief Executive Officer. "Going forward, Bridgelux is extremely well positioned to meet rising demand: we're well funded, have some of the industry's most innovative technologies and product designs, and have established strong strategic partnerships."

LED Luminaires promote safety in parking garages.

Operating with self-contained 120-277 V LED driver, LED Parking Garage Luminaires include 40 W model that replaces 175 W metal halide fixtures while delivering 2,640 lumens at 5,000 K color temperature. Series' 70 W model replaces 250 W metal halide fixtures while producing 4,200 lumens at 5,000 K. Maintenance-free units, available with occupancy sensors, have polyester-coated, cast aluminum one-piece housing with shatter- and UV-resistant polycarbonate lens

Cree Licenses Pioneering Remote Phosphor Patents

Cree, Inc has granted five LED lighting manufacturers licenses to select Cree patents through its recently launched remote phosphor licensing program. By making fundamental remote phosphor patents available through license, Cree is further enabling LED lighting adoption, as Cree innovations facilitate the development of LED lights combining remote phosphor optical elements with blue LEDs.
"Cree is committed to the development of innovative, energy-efficient LED lighting technology and this program provides access to important technology developed by Cree," said George Brandes, Cree director of intellectual property licensing. "The remote phosphor licensing program is designed to provide rights under the relevant Cree patents that our LED customers need to develop and commercialize leading-edge LED luminaires and bulbs, accelerating the LED lighting revolution."
Initial licensees to Cree's remote phosphor patents include lighting innovators Aurora Energie Corp., Horner APG, Ledzworld Technology, Vexica Technology, and Wyndsor Lighting, LLC. Cree is currently in discussions with other companies to license the remote phosphor patents and aims to sign additional licensing agreements in the coming months. Details of the royalty-bearing licenses were not disclosed

Sharp expands its portfolio with even brighter LED arrays

The new LED modules from the new Mega Zeni series from Sharp radiate with an efficiency of up to 100 lm/W, a luminous flux of up to 4770 lm and are available with a (typical) CRI value of up to 93. They are thus one of the first industrial LED solutions to replace traditional 50W HID lamps.
The 50W Mega Zeni models from Sharp maintain the same compact dimensions and high CRI values, yet with considerably greater luminous fluxes. These have a luminous efficiency of between 3590 and 4770 lm, a light output of up to 100 lm/W in standard operating mode and a long service life of 40,000 hours at an operating temperature of up to 90°C. The new Mega Zeni modules are designed for a forward voltage of 50V and a forward current of 950 mA, but can also be operated with a standard power source of 1050mA. Other important features include: R9 values of over 85 with CRI values of over 90, MacAdam 3-step Ellipse binning, as well as good colour consistency and colour stability values over time under realistic operating conditions (hot lumen).

New Surface Mount LED Luminaire for Ambient Illumination

Acuity Brands has expanded its LED indoor ambient lighting portfolio with the launch of the Lithonia Lighting STLED luminaire. The STLED product features improved efficacy over previous generation surface mounted products. It joins the RTLED, ACLED, VTLED and TLED series as a part of the versatile Lithonia Lighting LED indoor ambient lighting product family.
The STLED luminaire delivers a high level of performance, design and user simplicity. The innovative design of the luminaire complements other LED volumetric architectural lighting products from Acuity Brands to achieve a coordinated visual appearance. The availability of Acuity Brands nLight® embedded controls in the luminaire allows for continuous system performance monitoring for purposes of providing constant lumen maintenance and facilitating simple "plug-and-play" network and control upgrading via Cat-5 cabling. Full-range (0-10V) dimming is also standard.
The STLED Series is available nationally through Acuity Brands' Lithonia Lighting sales representatives and authorized distributors. For more information about the Company's high-quality LED lighting and controls, please visit Acuity Brands and Lithonia Lighting online at www.acuitybrands.com and www.lithonia.com.
 

LEDs offer a brighter future

A field trial of LED light fittings in social housing says the new technology can deliver huge energy savings, reduce costs and makes residents feel safer. The study, carried out by the Energy Saving Trust (EST), measured the performance of more than 4,250 LED light fittings installed at 35 sites. The EST said it carried out the trial because an increasing number of LED lights were now commercially available.

Amerlux Launches Hornet LED Low Voltage Track Luminaires

Engineered to replace Halogen MR16 track heads with high performance levels, Amerlux launches the Hornet LED family of low voltage high performance track luminaires. The new 15-watt LED Hornet is a true replacement for a 50-watt MR16 halogen fixture in lumen output and center beam candlepower (CBCP), with the capability to replace track heads currently being used on existing low voltage track systems. Amerlux, a leader of task-specific, energy-efficient lighting solutions, is raising the bar again as an innovator of low-wattage LED solutions for retail, supermarket, commercial and hospitality markets. Designed with an inconspicuous, miniature size that fits into the palm of your hand, the Hornet LED luminaires are precision engineered for optimal thermal and optical performance. A state-of-the-art 15-watt LED (developed after one year of research by Philips Lumileds) provides light output equivalent to 50-watt halogen lamp while using one-third the power. Life at 70% of initial lumen output is rated at 50,000 hours, which is more than 10-15 times longer than halogen providing for lower operating and maintenance costs with a great energy savings.

"Hornet represents a significant step forward in energy efficient lighting solutions for the industry," explained Frank P. Diassi, Chairman and Founder of Amerlux. "Our latest LED offerings represent groundbreaking developments in engineering, design and technology that provide significant energy savings and a multitude of benefits."
With full range dimmability and specialized optics, Hornet was designed in a variety of beam-spread distributions that provide controlled accent lighting with excellent visual comfort. Designed with field replaceable, tool-free optics, the Hornet can be adapted to a 15-degree Spot, that delivers 800 lumens a 28-degree Flood with 785 lumens, or a 45-degree Wide Flood that delivers 775 lumens.
Amerlux uses microbinned LEDs to maintain color quality and consistency from fixture to fixture. Hornet deploys a crisp white light at a 3000K constant color temperature and a CRI of 82 that delivers clean consistent beams free of projected heat and UV/IR radiation, making it optimal for lighting color or heat sensitive merchandise.
Accessories include a Double Bezel, which accommodates up to two forms of media, and a one-inch Frontal Snoot with Cross Blade that receives up to two additional forms of media. Media cartridges include the Hexcel Louver, Spread Glass Lenses, Color Filters and Cross Blade for better glare control and cut-off for special effects. 

Vision Engineering Delivers Unparalleled Uniformity for LED Solutions

Vision Engineering announced that its patented Coining technology is available to lighting OEMs that endeavor to bring the most uniform lighting solutions to market at costs that make rapid adoption possible. Vision Engineering's technology can be implemented in lighting solutions for the commercial, industrial, residential, and entertainment segments.
Coining, or cold forming, is a well known process in the forging industry where 3 dimensional shapes can be formed to exacting tolerances. Vision Engineering has developed this technology and applied it to lighting. Using their technology, multiple geometric surfaces can be created to control the distribution of the light resulting in extremely uniform solutions.
"We're making is easier and more affordable for LED solution developers to get the light where they want it, need it, without trying to staff with optical engineers and designers," said Henry Avila, CEO of Vision Engineering. "We match our unique optical design capabilities with LUXEON LEDs to deliver the highest quality results."
Vision Engineering has implemented its technology in a line of Troffers for office lighting and its customers are delivering solutions for refrigeration, transparent LCD's displays, High bay lighting, and currently has a development agreement in aircraft interior lighting.
More information about Vision Engineering and its unique Coining technology can be found at www.visionengineering.com .

SavWatt to Launch P2i Treated LED Lights

SavWatt USA will soon launch a product line of LED Lights treated with the P2i process in which a patented Nano coating application is applied to the LED Light making them water, dirt, salt and fog resistant. Martin Gerber, SavWatt's CMO, commented, "Last week Motorola launched the new Verizon Droid Razr; this phone was treated with a Nano application and is fully water resistant. 1,000,000 phones were processed in a 2 week time period using the same technology which we have licensed. This commercial Nano application is proof of the value of our exclusive worldwide LED Light license. LEDs have a general life expectancy of 50,000 hrs. If you use your lights for 10 hours a day, this should be 13.7 yrs. If this is correct, then LEDs are definitely an investment, add that to the saving you would make on energy and you've got a very cost effective bulb! However, there are times when, even a high quality, LED Light life can be shortened by the Environment -- salt, fog, and humidity can cause corrosion and early failure, shortening their life time. P2i Nano application would protect our LED Lights from the environment and will definitely differentiate us from our competitors, Phillips, GE, and Sylvania, enabling us to offer a far superior product and warranty.

Larson Electronics Announces Release of High Intensity Colored LED Light Emitter

The Magnalight LEDP3W-12X2C High Intensity Colored LED Light Emitter from Larson Electronics’ is a powerful LED fixture that produces an intense colored light beam while offering rugged durability, versatile operation, and extreme efficiency. This LED light emitter produces 2,736 lumens in a choice of light colors including red, blue, green, and amber. As well as producing a powerful colored light beam, this LED emitter is designed with durability and versatile operation mind with an IP68 rated housing and Pulse Width Modulation technology that allows precise control of operating modes.

A LED that can match a 60W incandescent?

With incandescent bulbs disappearing entirely from shops from September next year, the race is on to find suitable replacements. Energy-saving bulbs – or compact fluorescents (CFLs) – already do that job, but remain unpopular in some quarters and are not the most efficient alternative technology. The real hopes lie with light-emitting diodes (LEDs), according to industry, environmentalists, and politicians. With the global lighting market predicted to be worth €110bn by 2020, companies such as Phillips, GE, and Osram are fighting to be first with the breakthrough in the LED field.

LEDs throw new light on energy saving at Air NZ

Air New Zealand has halved the amount of energy required to light key areas of its Auckland engineering base following installation of a new LED lighting product, Ecofluro. Ecofluro T8 LED tubes have been used to replace more than 2,100 fluorescent bulbs at the site, a move that has not only reduced Air New Zealand's energy usage, but also lowered its running costs. "Fluorescent bulbs, which are used by most New Zealand businesses, contribute to around 40% of the average office power bill so by replacing them with LED a business can literally halve this cost," says Paul Stoddart of Business Lighting Solutions, which manufactures Ecofluro.

Industry's First Integrated Solution for Component-to-System Thermal Characterization and Analysis

Mentor Graphics Corporation announced the electronic industry's first combined technology for thermal characterization and simulation with T3Ster hardware test products and its FloTHERM(R) software. The Mentor Graphics T3Ster product is the world's leading advanced thermal transient tester for semiconductor device packages and LEDs. Mentor's FloTHERM product is the de-facto standard for electronics thermal simulation and analysis to predict airflow, temperature and heat transfer throughout electronics equipment including components, boards, and entire systems. The unique interface between T3Ster and FloTHERM seamlessly creates accurate thermal simulation models. The thermal characterization offering is unique because it is the only JESD51-14 compliant solution available on the market today.
Increased design complexity and smaller form factors create heat management problems which represent one of the biggest challenges in electronics today. Temperature is understood to be the key accelerator in the majority of reliability failures and IEEE Standard 1413 recognizes the need for accurate thermal data at all levels of a system's implementation.
Designers working on subsystems and systems using information for LED, semiconductor, and package components use complex thermal analysis software to help accelerate the design of their products but the analysis, typically based on vendor datasheets, often provides insufficient results. Clear, accessible, and reliable data relating to thermal characteristics upstream and downstream is critical. Methods to achieve this have traditionally been awkward, manual and therefore error-prone -- until now with Mentor Graphics T3Ster thermal characterization and interface to the FloTHERM thermal simulation software product.
Now the integration of Mentor's T3Ster hardware measurement and FloTHERM software simulation provides a combined methodology of optimizing heat management in devices, sub-systems and full systems. Manufacturers are able to optimize their LED and IC package designs for effective heat dissipation. Once the device prototype is built, they can then characterize the device from a thermal perspective and build accurate models for use in FloTHERM thermal software simulations at both the sub-system and full system levels. Finally, systems integrators can further verify their heat management solutions with physical measurements using the T3Ster hardware.
"As LEDs become more powerful, more attention should be paid to thermal management, which is essential to ensure stable LED performance and long lifetime. This is why OSRAM is devoting considerable attention to thermal design. T3Ster's accuracy and repeatability enable us to verify our thermal designs and confirm the stability and reliability of our products," stated Dr. Thomas Zahner, quality manager, Osram Opto Semiconductors. "By testing in bulk we get increased statistical confidence in the measurement results. The structure functions built into the T3Ster software are extremely powerful for identifying different thermal attach issues during our extensive reliability testing." (from "When Designing with Power LEDs, Consider Their Real Time Thermal Resistance," by Andras Poppas, Mentor Graphics, Nov/Dec 2009 LED Professional Review.)
"To design our lighting systems, we needed reliable data regarding LED characteristics and simulation tools which deliver results quickly. We found that Mentor's T3Ster and FloTHERM products were the best such tools available to us and we could use them in our project to verify our PearLight street lighting luminaires for proper heat management. Accuracy and speed in achieving the results was critical for our business," said Andras Szalai, CFO, HungaroLux.

Woodburn celebrates with new LED lights

West Virginia University students and members of the Morgantown community came together Friday evening for a timeless Mountaineer tradition: the lighting of Woodburn Hall. But, this year was a little different from the rest – the iconic, 135-year-old building was adorned with LED lights as part of a new green initiative. A $3.9 million renovation project to the historic building began in 2010 and included a new roof, stonework, copper-lined gutters and safety features for employees working on the rooftop.

Bozeman to test out LED streetlights

The (US) city of Bozeman plans to make some streetlights brighter and greener by switching to LEDs. Light-emitting diodes are expected to be installed this winter. City staff members are still finalizing the specifics, but city engineer Dustin Johnson said LEDs could be installed in streetlights along Durston Road, from Seventh to 11th avenues, and/or along West Babcock Street, from Main to Ferguson streets.

LEDnovation Releases Efficient 60W Equivalent Omnidirectional Lamp

LEDnovation released the world's most efficient 60 watt-equivalent omnidirectional A19 lamp. This new lamp addresses a need in the marketplace for high-quality solid-state light bulbs with beam distribution comparable to traditional incandescent A-lamps. The first in the series of EnhanceLite Omnidirectional lamps, the LEDH-A19-60-1-27D-IO offers 810-lumen output at a warm 2700K color temperature, delivering energy-saving LED light ideally suited for applications such as table lamps, wall sconces, hanging pendants, ceiling lamps and other luminaires and fixtures.
Describing the new lamp, Israel J. Morejon, CEO of LEDnovation, stated, "From the company's inception, our mission has been to deliver the highest quality light possible over a full spectrum of products. Our new omnidirectional A19 lamp truly embodies that mission by bringing crisp design and brilliant performance to traditional lighting applications. The LEDnovation team has done a remarkable job of developing a product that we are confident will exceed expectations. These light bulbs deliver high-performance in a number of critical areas: total lumen output, lumen per watt efficacy, color rendering, high power factor, stable color temperature and a long operational life."
The EnhanceLite Omnidirectional A19 lamp greatly expands the potential for businesses and property operators to save on energy costs while serving as environmental stewards. Exacting care was given to keeping the design not only in the ANSI form factor, but as close as possible to a 60 watt incandescent lamp to ensure proper fit in any standard fixture. This lamp complements our directional EnhanceLite® A19 products currently available and shipping from the Tampa, Florida based company.

DIY Lamps Made From Glass Bottles

Instructables user bkhurt created his LED gel-filled bottle lamp out of an empty wine bottle, a cork, some wire, blue and red LEDs, 220 Ohm and 100 Ohm resistors, a small toggle switch, and gel candle wax. You can pick up the gel wax at most craft stores, and the rest from your preferred electronic supplier. The bottle, of course, can just be any glass bottle you have lying around.

Altatech Semiconductor Enters LED Inspection Market with AltaSight LEDMax

Altatech Semiconductor S.A. has entered the light-emitting diode (LED) inspection market by introducing its new AltaSight LEDMax system, the company's first product designed specifically for detecting, classifying and characterizing defects on wafers used in manufacturing LEDs.
AltaSight LEDMax improves production yields for LED devices by accurately detecting process-induced defects, including those that can result during metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) of epitaxial layers, subsequent patterning processes and final inspection. Using Altatech's patented sensor technology that filters out all background noise, the non-contact system generates images of surface imperfections with resolution down to 1 micron and a unique depth-of-focus capability approaching 500 microns.
An integrated review station performs real-time analysis of the gathered inspection data. It can stitch together images from different perspectives, generate 3D renderings and measure defect sizes. All defect-detection results are stored within the system, and can be output to an operator in standard file formats.
"With its multi-class defect reporting and high accuracy, our newest inspection system meets the unique needs of LED manufacturers," said Jean-Luc Delcarri, president of Altatech Semiconductor. "Altatech is entering this market by providing a defect-detection solution that traditional semiconductor-inspection tools cannot match in terms of reliability and cost-efficiency."
In addition to handling the full range of compound semiconductor wafers on which LEDs are produced today, AltaSight LEDMax has the versatility to meet other III-V inspection requirements. It can accommodate sapphire, silicon, silicon carbide and other transparent surface substrates. The system's high flexibility and reliability extends to its ability to inspect thin and thick wafers as well as significantly bowed substrates. AltaSight LEDMax can handle four- to eight-inch wafers without any hardware changes, and a field-upgradeable option for handling two-inch substrates will be available in the coming months.

Why LED does not mean a better picture

Don't listen to the hype. Ignore the commercials. Leer skeptically at the salesman. There is no such thing as anLED TV, and "LED" doesn't mean it's any better than other TVs.  LED is just a type of LCD, with strengths and weaknesses that make it better in some ways, worse in others, and rarely worth its price premium over other technologies.

Rubicon Technology Marks First Anniversary of Batavia Sapphire Growth Facility

Rubicon Technology marks the first anniversary of the company's next-generation sapphire crystal growth facility, located in Batavia, IL. The 135,000 sq. ft. facility is used for the production of sapphire crystals which are further processed into sapphire ingots and large diameter sapphire wafers used in products such as LED-based lighting, HDTVs, laptops, netbooks, smart phones and tablets, and automotive lighting.
As a vertically integrated supplier, Rubicon grows large sapphire crystals at the Batavia facility from raw materials in custom-built, proprietary furnaces replicating the organic sapphire creation process found in nature. The company completes the process to make large diameter wafers in their Penang, Malaysia cutting and polishing facility.
"Rubicon's proprietary crystal growth technology, as exemplified by our Batavia plant, has been refined over the past 11 years to provide consistently high yield and the highest quality sapphire for our customers," said Raja Parvez, Rubicon President and CEO. "Rubicon's Batavia plant is the cornerstone of our market leadership in providing large-diameter sapphire wafers to the LED industry. Rubicon offers LED manufacturers the most reliable supply of high quality, high yield, large diameter sapphire wafers which is important to supporting the adoption of LED-based general lighting worldwide."
To date, Rubicon has shipped more than 200,000 six-inch sapphire wafers to the LED manufacturing and RFIC industries. The transition to larger diameter wafers in LED production has started at the LED manufacturing level. Several key LED chip manufacturers have announced plans to migrate to and/or test large diameter wafers in 2011/2012. The process and cost efficiencies brought by large diameter sapphire wafers are instrumental to driving prices down in the LED industry.
Bringing down the overall price of LEDs is a key element in supporting the worldwide commercial adoption of solid state lighting based on LEDs as a light source. According to market research firm DisplaySearch, the total average LED penetration in lighting was 1.4% in 2010 and is forecast to reach 9.3% in 2014. Government entities around the world including China, European Union, Australia, Canada and the United States have introduced legislation to require energy efficient lighting.

Toshiba LED to light up the Louvre

The Louvre Museum in Paris is now lit by Toshiba’s LED products, following a lighting ceremony on 6 December. Louvre Director Henri Loyrette and Toshiba's President Norio Sasaki illuminated the Pyramid, the Pyramidion and Pavilion Colbert during the ceremony after a count-down

Korean LED lamps to be installed in Vancouver

Korean-made light-emitting diode lamps will illuminate Vancouver next year, as the Canadian city seeks street lights that are brighter and more durable, as well as energy-efficient, officials said Monday. Yuyang DNU, a Korean LED producer, will supply 20 units of 50-watt and 80-watt lights without charge to Vancouver and nearby Langley in southwestern Canada for a test operation, according to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency. The deal is to be signed Wednesday.

Xicato Introduces 3000lm and 4000lm XLM LED Modules

Recognized by the IESNA's recent 2011 Progress Report, Xicato's new 3000lm and 4000lm XLM LED modules provide light levels that replace inefficient high wattage halogen and metal halide lamps which have color stability and controllability issues.
At up to 80 lumens per watt, the XLM family provides a completely controllable source which can easily integrate into daylight harvesting, dimming and demand response building automation schemes. Offered in 3000K, 3500K and 4000K, the Xicato XLM is a high light quality, energy efficient and low maintenance solution for wall washing, high ceiling accents, indirect up lighting and architectural flood lighting. As with all Xicato LED modules, the XLM range has a rugged glass and aluminum architecture, 1x2 SDCM color consistency and industry leading lumen and color maintenance.

Good Return on Investment: LED Holiday Lights

Conventional holiday lights have become disposable goods. They're so cheap that we expect to get about two seasons out of a string before cursing it and replacing it with another $3 set. And if you pay that little, you know you're getting the kind that are wired to go out entirely if just one tiny bulb has a problem. LED lighting should change all that. A good set of LED lights features "stay-on" wiring, plastic (not glass) bulbs, a three-year warrantee (see Don't Cheap Out, below) and an estimated 20,000 hours of bulb life. Compare that last number to Consumer Reports' finding incandescent holiday lights that started burning out before 2,000 hours. LEDs also use 70% to 90% less energy to run, and therein lies your best bet for a favorable ROI (that's short for return on investment, for any financial Luddites out there).

The nature of fluorescence

Many seemingly mundane objects can emit visible light if exposed to the right conditions. Tonic water, $20 bills, jellyfish, teeth whiteners, laundry detergents — all of these items can manifest the power of fluorescence. All light consists of photons, which are constantly moving and thus have varying amounts of energy. The undergraduate introductory physics textbook used by Carnegie Mellon, Matter & Interactions, states that only photons within a certain range of energy can be seen by the human eye and are therefore called visible light. Photons with energy levels outside of this range, such as infrared or ultraviolet light, are invisible to the human eye.

Larson Introduces New LED

Larson Electronics’ Magnalight.com has announced the addition of the EXP-LED-RL-FX5R explosion proof rechargeable LED handheld light to its extensive line of portable explosion proof lighting solutions.
This explosion proof LED lantern produces 135 lumens of bright light and offers 5 different operating modes as well as U.L. and ATEX explosion proof compliance for hazardous locations. The EXP-LED-RL-FX5R is Class 1 Division 1 certified and an ideal portable work or inspection light for operators in hazardous locations where flammable gases, vapors and chemicals are present.
The EXP-LED-RL-FX5R explosion proof LED lantern is a durable and powerful rechargeable lighting solution for operators in hazardous locations who require a Class1 Division 1 compliant lighting solution. Constructed of a lightweight and impact resistant ABS plastic housing with shatterproof Lexan lens, this rechargeable LED handheld light incorporates a set of forward facing LEDs for powerful illumination and a set of three rear mounted LEDs for signal capable operation. The main light head on this explosion proof lantern is adjustable, allowing the operator to set the light down and adjust the head as needed for close work or inspection activities. All functions are controlled by a single trigger style switch, allowing the operator to cycle through 5 different operating modes simply by repeatedly activating the trigger. This rechargeable explosion proof handheld light has a12 hour runtime on a single charge of its integral 6 VDC Nickel Metal Hydride batteries and will accept up to 500 charge cycles before battery performance degrades. The entire unit is impact and vibration resistant, water resistant and has no exposed metal or contacts, making it ideal for heavy duty use in industrial work environments. In addition to its UL Class 1 Division 1 rating, this LED lantern is also intrinsically safe certified and MSHA, CE, and ATEX compliant as well.

Austin City decreases environmental impact by reducing energy consumption

The parking garage at the City Hall in Austin, Texas, houses 750 parking spaces and must leave its lights on 24 hours a day, making for high energy usage and big electrical bills. After evaluating several manufacturers' LED products, city officials chose LED luminaires from Cooper Lighting, an industry leader committed to delivering innovative products and driving transformational technology in the lighting industry. By replacing approximately 425 175-watt metal halide fixtures with McGraw-Edison Concise™ LED Luminaires, the city will reduce the wattage in the parking garage by 74 percent and save $46,000 annually in electricity costs.

Philips announces the largest energy saving LED lighting deal in Africa to date

Philips and Eskom (The South African state-owned utility company) announced the largest energy saving LED lighting deal in Africa to date. Under the agreement, 200,000 Philips MasterLED lamps are being distributed through Karebo Systems at discounted prices throughout South Africa to professional users of lighting such as hotels, banks, offices and retail outlets. These businesses and their staff will benefit from maintenance savings, great quality light and an enhanced sense of well-being.
The deal is aimed at replacing 50W Halogen bulbs with 7W & 10W LED lamps, which provide the same amount of light, and last significantly longer. The collective electricity savings potential of this deal is estimated to be 58GWh per year equal to ZAR 41 million and would save up to 60,000 tons of CO2. Based on calculations of 40-43W less power consumption, each lamp has the potential to annually save 280KWh of electricity equal to ZAR 200. In fact every four lamps installed will save the equivalent of three trees in terms of CO2 absorption. And the changeover just involves a simple switch of a bulb.
The distribution of the LED lamps is being handled by Karebo Systems whose task is to organize distribution throughout South Africa and ensure that the envisaged savings are achieved. “The key is to ensure that these energy saving lamps end up in the intended sockets” says Ravi Govender, Director, Karebo Systems. “LED technology is a relatively new technology and Eskom must be applauded for supporting this initiative. The rollout of these lamps is a wonderful job creation opportunity in South Africa. It is a definite win-win for all parties involved – especially the end user.”

Smart LED streetlights dim on command

New Jersey lighting technology company Amerlux is shining the light on its SmartSite intelligent LED street-lighting system. The lights are targeted at municipalities or commercial sites that are seeking to improve their energy-efficiency. What makes them worth attention are a number of factors, including the fact that they can be remote-controlled via a systems management console and that they can be programmed to dim over the course of an evening. The luminaires used in the system are LEDS, which means they can last a long time while using less energy than traditional metal halide or high-pressure sodium fixtures.

LEDs Produced on Patterned Sapphire Substrates

MicroTech has developed a wet process station for the etching of PSS (Patterned Sapphire Substrate) wafers used to increase light extraction and efficiency in high brightness LEDs. The wet station can improve manufacturing throughput, a major stumbling block to making LEDs price competitive with fluorescent lighting.
As LED manufacturers look to decrease costs, the use of PSS becomes more important. The average light output power is reported to be up to 37% larger on a PSS than a standard sapphire wafer. The use of patterned sapphire substrates reduces the dislocation density in the GaN (gallium nitride) layer and enhances the LEE (light extraction efficiency) from the LED chip.
Traditional dry etching on PSS produces highly efficient, very bright light but throughput is slow and scalability is impacted as wafer sizes increase. Typically, more dry etch tools are needed to keep throughput up as wafer size increases.
In the wet etch process in the MicroTech system, GaN or InGaN (indium gallium nitride) coated wafers are submerged in the etch tank with a mixture of etching and buffering agents. Prior to submersion, a silicon dioxide mask is patterned using PECVD (plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition). A lithography step exposes the desired pattern to etch. The sapphire etch process takes place between 260 degreesC and 300 degreesC. This ultra high temperature etches the wafers exponentially more quickly than the standard 150-180 degreesC process and therefore, speeds throughput.
Independent customer evaluations show a significant improvement in light extraction and efficiency in the substrates and a considerable cost savings, even if polishing work is performed on the wafers after etch to increase efficiencies. Development work is also being done to improve the dome shapes created on the wafers with a CMP (chemical mechanical polishing) process. New non-cone shapes are also under development.
Recently MicroTech announced the delivery of a similar concept process station to the solar industry that delivers high throughput and lower cost-of-ownership benefits by moving from a dry CVD process to an efficient, production-proven, environmentally friendly wet process.
About MicroTech Systems With over 25 years' experience in high technology equipment manufacturing, MicroTech Systems provides engineering, manufacturing and applications support for wet process and chemical distribution tools. Their innovative "intelligent process station" to monitor, measure and control the process makes their tools more efficient with a lower cost-of-ownership. They supply the semiconductor, solar, MEMS, LED, Biotech and FPD industries from their Silicon Valley headquarters, which includes a state-of-the-art cleanroom and process development lab. See www.microtechprocess.com .

New LED Driver Design from Power Integrations

Power Integrations, maker of the world's most efficient, longest-lasting off-line LED driver ICs, published a reference design (DER-297) describing a high-efficiency, ultra-compact driver for a B10-style LED light bulb. Based on Power Integrations' LinkSwitch-PL non-isolated, single-stage LED driver IC, the power supply is specifically tailored for use with high-voltage LEDs such as the recently announced XLamp XM-L and XLamp XT-E ranges from Cree. DER-297 provides the high-voltage output required by the LEDs, optimizing overall system efficiency by reducing power lost due to current flow in the driver inductor and output diode.
The DER-297 power supply design is very small and cost-effective with a BOM of only 20 components. The high level of integration in the LinkSwitch-PL device combines PFC and constant-current functions into a single buck-boost stage requiring only a tiny inductor. The design reaches 87% efficiency at 115 VAC for a 4.3 W LED driver (86% for 2.9 W output) while achieving a power factor greater than 0.9, easily meeting EN61000-3-2 Class C limits, and creating less than 20% Total Harmonic Distortion (THD).
Commented Andrew Smith, product marketing manager for LED applications at Power Integrations: "The tiny B10 and similarly compact form factors are very challenging for LED lamps. The LinkSwitch-PL device used in DER-297 permits the driver to be both small and highly efficient, which allows us to pack the design into a B10 base without using potting compound or compromising performance. The simple BOM also means that the converter has a very low cost, making DER-297 ideal for this increasingly price-competitive market."