74,000 new LEDs for Chennai streets

Buoyed by the success of installing solar panels with a capacity of 85-kilo watt and by reducing the electricity bills by Rs 1.5 crore per month, the Chennai corporation has now intensified its renewable energy campaign. “The corporation planned to install roof top solar panels in 77 buildings by 2016. Of this, power generation has started in 36 buildings and another 15 buildings are ready for installation and by next year the remaining buildings will get the solar panels making the total installed capacity to 168 KW,” a senior corporation official said.

LED Streetlights Are Giving Neighborhoods the Blues

You may have noticed them going up in your town’s streets and parking lots: a new generation of pole-mounted lights that pour down a cool torrent of lumens from an array of light-emitting diodes. For some, those first LED lights have been a fiasco. The harsh glare of certain blue-rich designs is now thought to disrupt people’s sleep patterns and harm nocturnal animals.

HP’s new photo printer is almost as good as owning an instant camera

You could go in for the full-throated nostalgia of an instant printer like the Fujifilm Instax or that new dealie from Leica, or you can pick up one of these things and let your smartphone do all of the heavy lifting. HP’s new Sprocket is a pint-sized affair, priced at $130 — $70 less than the long-awaited Fujifilm Instax Share SP-2 and about the same as the company’s Instax Mini 70 instant camera. The handheld peripheral is likely shorter that you smartphone, measuring in at 4.53 x 2.95 x 0.87 inches and weighing in at 0.38 pounds.

Cree Announces the Next Generation of High-Power XP-L LEDs

Cree, Inc. introduces the XLamp XP-L2 LED, delivering up to seven percent more lumens and 15 percent higher lumens-per-watt (LPW) than the industry-leading XP-L LED. Leveraging elements of Cree’s breakthrough SC5 Technology Platform, the high-power XP-L2 LED improves the lumen density, voltage characteristics and reliability of the XP-L LED in the proven XP package. The new XP-L2 LED provides an easy drop-in upgrade to achieve higher system LPW for lighting manufacturers with existing XP-L designs, eliminating redesign costs. It also enables reduced size and cost for new designs.

The XLamp XP-L2 LED raises efficacy of warm white (3000K, 80 CRI) at 85°C up to 171 LPW. In addition, the XP-L2 LED is now available in EasyWhite® 2-, 3- and 5-step color temperatures from 2700K to 6500K to enable luminaire color consistency. The XP-L2 LED has LM-80 data available immediately, enabling luminaires using XP-L2 to be qualified for ENERGY STAR and DesignLights Consortium

Lumileds Launches LED Chip for Horticultural Applications

Lumileds introduced the LUXEON SunPlus Series, the company’s first line of purpose-built LEDs that provide the exact wavelengths of light required for horticulture applications. Based on the rapidly expanding world population and the increasing population in city centers, the horticulture industry is responding by growing more food indoors using LEDs, allowing a greater amount of food to be grown in smaller spaces, using up to 90% less water than growing outdoors.

LED Streetlights Bring Cost Savings, And Headaches, To Colorado Cities

The city of Denver is in the midst of a nearly $2 million project to replace lighting poles, fixtures and bulbs on the 13-block 16th Street Mall. On their way out: High-pressure sodium lights that have an orange hue. On their way in: White LEDs. “These street lights are about 30 years old. It was time for an upgrade,” said Denver Public Works spokeswoman Heather Burke. “Technology changes. It was time to change with it.”

Town seeks options for new lighting at crosswalks

The town is looking at introducing new additions to crosswalks in Hinton. Transportation Alberta has approved the use of Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFBs), and flashing crosswalks could eventually become a thing in the past. The RRFBs are powered by solar panels and flash LED lighting on each sign indicates a pedestrian is crossing. Gordie Lee, Director of Infrastructure Services, says the panels are a cost-effective alternative to the current flashing lights at crosswalks. He added that Hinton could enter into a trial program to see how well the RRFBs work.