LED bulbs are the best lighting choice

Pop Quiz: Watts, lumens, luminous efficacy and Kelvin temperature. Can anyone in the audience define each lighting term and how they relate to each other? Is a 1200-lumen bulb brighter or dimmer than a 100-watt incandescent? Will a 2780 K "warm" light accentuate my hazel eyes or make my skin look pallid and blotchy? And, are these snazzy new $40 LED bulbs efficient enough to justify the upfront cost?

LEDs to become the norm in mood lighting

LEDs will find growing uses in mood lighting for the home and could become the norm in the next decade, according to one expert. Eva Hammerson, head of design at lighting designer Kandabi, said LEDs will eventually replace "every existing lighting technology in the market today". She claimed this will include halogen lights, compact fluorescent lamps and traditional incandescent bulbs.

New Directions in the Art of the Moving Image

For fans of video art, Christmas came early this year. Just last week, the Smithsonian American Art Museum joined a growing list of institutions that have opened dedicated long-term galleries exclusively for media art. The inaugural installation of "Watch This! New Directions in the Art of the Moving Image" features nine artworks, spanning 40 years of history and spotlighting technology as disparate as a digital animation in 3-D projection - the kind you look at through cheesy paper glasses with red and blue lenses - to an array of 1,782 twinkling LEDs controlled by customized electronic circuitry.

Pasadena Library to Save City Thousands

LEDtronics, a leading designer and manufacturer of energy-saving LED lighting products, has completed a significant eco-friendly pendant lighting project at the Pasadena Central Library that will save the City of Pasadena thousands of dollars, according to city officials. 'Every light at the library that we replaced was using 900 watts of ballasted power consumption and we helped reduce that by nearly 90 percent,' says Pervaiz Lodhie, CEO of LEDtronics. “Not only does the LED lighting in the pendant fixtures save greatly on power but because of the low heat they generate, the room temperature is dramatically reduced so as to save on the air-conditioning cost.'

Acuity Brands’ Lithonia Lighting Expands Volumetric LED Luminaire Product Line

Acuity Brands has again strengthened its portfolio of  LED ambient lighting fixtures with the introduction of the Lithonia  Lighting RTLED™ 2’x4’ and 1’x4’ luminaire models. The RTLED family  of volumetric recessed luminaires, which are factory-enabled with Acuity  Brands’ nLight™ intelligent controls interface, deliver high-quality  ambient white light for general illumination applications throughout an  entire space while reducing energy consumption, maintenance costs and a  building’s environmental footprint.
“The RTLED product family includes a powerful combination of advanced technology, energy-efficiency and high quality of light. These superior  LED lighting solutions represent an innovative breakthrough for use in  interior spaces, which many leading customers across North America have  already deployed, including educational applications at San Diego State  University and the University of Akron as well as franchise retailer  SuperValu,” said Dave Ranieri, Vice President and General Manager,  Lithonia Lighting Commercial Indoor Products. “Adding the RTLED 2’x4’  and 1’x4’ options to the 2’x2’ luminaire provides our customers with a  complete and diverse LED lighting solution set for any ceiling  configuration. The built-in interface to the Acuity Brands’ nLight  intelligent control system enables plug-and-play connectivity to  occupancy sensors, photocells, and manual wall controls. Network  connectivity to an nLight system provides a complete solution by  cost-effectively integrating time-based, sensor-based, and manual  lighting controls. This maximizes the luminaires’ energy-efficiency  while significantly reducing the ROI payback period,” added Ranieri.
Powered by an advanced LED light engine, the RTLED luminaire delivers a superior lighting environment: high color rendering (80+ CRI), 3500K  color temperature, and full range dimming through the nLight 0-10V DC embedded control device. The RTLED also reduces maintenance costs by  delivering up to 50,000 hours of light, reducing downtime and increasing overall productivity by not having to replace lamps or ballasts. With built-in nLight controls, the RTLED can be configured to perform  intelligent tasks—including dimming themselves by Lumen Maintenance, a  means of eliminating the waste associated with over-lighting early in  its life cycle. This maximizes luminaire life while minimizing energy  consumption.
Additionally, the RTLED luminaires feature a small, compact design (only  3-1/8” deep) and allow building owners to meet “green” and sustainability goals in numerous ways. The products contain no mercury  or lead and are made with recycled steel and other components and materials, which minimize waste in the manufacturing and distribution  process.

How to dim the costs of holiday lights

Holiday lights don't have to short circuit the seasonal budget, according to regional and national energy experts. As a low-energy showcase, representatives from Florida Power & Light, a regional utility company, once decorated a small South Florida home for an additional cost of just $1 for the holiday season running from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day. Money-saving solutions included the use of solar, battery-operated or LED holiday lights. Alternative or energy-saving sources enable you to reduce your carbon footprint and holiday budget.

Are LED Christmas Lights Cost Effective?

Decorating with LED lights has become pretty popular this holiday season, but just how much energy and money are we saving with this new technology?

Some El Pasoans are getting rid of their old incandescent Christmas lights in favor of the new LEDs for their holiday decorations this year.

LG Display, QD team up on quantum-dot LED displays

Display and QD Vision on Tuesday said they will join forces to develop active-matrix displays that use quantum dot LED (QLED) nanotechnology. This kind of display is capable of brighter, more vibrant colors than existing screens while requiring less energy. QD Vision will provide its quantum dots, while LG will manufacture the actual products.

HB LED factory in St.Petersburg

Optogan, a supplier of high brightness LEDs, has opened a new manufacturing plant in St. Petersburg, Russia with a production line capable of an annual capacity of 360 million LEDs. It is touted as the largest LED component and module factory in Eastern Europe and the the former Soviet Union.

Seoul Semiconductor partners with Vertex to invest in LED technology firms

As a subsidiary of Vertex Venture Holdings (owned by Temasek Holdings), Vertex Venture Management is engaged in company investments and fund commitments throughout Asia and the USA. Seoul Semiconductor aims to leverage its expertise in LED technologies to seek out high-potential companies and combine them with the capabilities of Vertex in sourcing and administering investment capital to achieve synergies for effective investment and returns. In addition, with subsequent expansion of investment opportunities, both firms may establish a dedicated fund to nurture the R&D efforts of technology companies that can drive future innovation in LEDs and related industries

Glowing Trees to Replace Glowing Lamps

Scientists from the Academia Sinica and the National Cheng Kung University in Taipei and Tainan have implanted glowing, sea urchin shaped gold nanoparticles, known as bio light emitting diodes, or bio LEDs, inside the leaves of a plant. The new nanoparticles could replace the electricity powered street light with biologically powered light that removes CO2 from the atmosphere 24 hours a days.

Semtech Delivers Industry's First Smart Current Sink LED Backlighting Platform

Semtech Corp announced the industry's first smart current sink LED backlighting platform with on-chip digital lighting effects for high-end handheld displays. This new platform incorporates Semtech's patent-pending, smart Automatic Dropout Prevention (ADP) technology to enable a new-generation of high-quality current sink drivers that can replace boost converters and charge pumps in high-end handhelds, while providing high-quality display backlighting. The new SC667 and SC668 current sinks with ADP technology reduce the total parts count and extend battery life compared to boost converters or charge pumps, and offer far superior illumination quality compared to conventional current sink drivers. Additionally, on-chip digital lighting effects provide the flexibility to incorporate fade, breathe and blink effects without changing the firmware.

White LEDs used in backlighting applications typically have a forward voltage up to 3.6V. When the battery voltage declines in portable devices, the supply voltage must be boosted to ensure the white LEDs have sufficient voltage to illuminate the display. Charge pump or inductive boost converter devices have typically been used to provide this voltage boost function. In an effort to maintain constant output power, these circuits increase current draw as the battery voltage declines, shortening battery life. Improvements in white LEDs have resulted in forward voltages as low as 3.0V, reducing the threshold at which conventional LED drivers need to boost the battery voltage. Because of this, LED backlight drivers increasingly are operating in a non-boost mode, making current sink drivers an attractive alternative. Current sink drivers eliminate the capacitors and inductor associated with the boost circuitry, reducing component count, board size and system cost, with the added benefits of eliminating any switching noise and extending operating time.
"With current sink topologies, the supply voltage available to the white LEDs is reduced toward the end of the battery discharge cycle," said Athar Zaidi, Director of Marketing in Semtech's Power Management Group. "Semtech's ADP technology ensures that the LEDs dim in uniform and imperceptible steps as the battery voltage declines. The current sink approach also extends battery life, because there are no boost converters to draw higher current as in conventional implementations."

Prior to the ADP approach, current sinks were not optimal for high-end handheld devices. This was because line transients caused by the heavy system loads (for example:RF transmission)(for example:camera)(for example:camera flash)(for example:Internet access) produced display flicker when these loads were enabled and disabled. Semtech's smart ADP topology eliminates this problem via automatic and simultaneous monitoring of each current sink to avoid dropout as the system loads turn on and off. Each time a current sink with ADP approaches dropout, the digital logic reduces the current setting for all of the backlight LEDs in small increments that are imperceptible to the human eye. This process continues until all current sinks have sufficient headroom to regulate their current at the reduced setting. When this point is reached, the ADP circuitry locks the current setting, thereby eliminating any display flicker.

The SC667 and SC668 are the first current sinks to incorporate ADP technology. These devices also integrate a number of functions to enable high-end features on portables, including an ambient light sensing/control circuit that sets backlight brightness based on surrounding lighting conditions. A PWM dimming interface that incorporates a digital low-pass filter is also included, providing the capability to perform content-adaptive brightness control (versus "always-on" illumination).
The SC668 provides eight current sinks, while the SC667 features seven current sinks plus an interrupt request indicator signal to tell the host processor when an ambient light threshold has been crossed. Both devices include an on-chip digital lighting-effects engine to control LED fade-in/fade-out, breathe, blink, auto-dim full, and auto-dim partial; an I(2)C interface to program and control the LEDs; and four programmable, 200mA low-noise LDO regulators to manage the power for multiple embedded peripherals.

LED pushbuttons come in vibrant color combinations

NKK Switches KP Series of illuminated miniature pushbutton switches provides design engineers with an array of options that enhance and complete front panels needing an innovative and modern look and feel. Product Series devices are available with built-in RGB LED illumination.

Fred Upton to revisit light bulb ban

Hoping to counter attacks from his right, Rep. Fred Upton is promising to reexamine a controversial ban on incandescent light bulbs if he becomes chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The Michigan Republican told POLITICO on Thursday that he's not afraid to go back after an issue he once supported but that has come under withering assault on the conservative airwaves, including on Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck's talk shows.

Colorful leds controlled by your iPhone or iPad

As we all know the saying “there’s an app for that“, here’s yet another new use for your iOS devices – remote-controlled LED lights. The iGloLEDset is a special color-changing LED light set which can be remotely operated using your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. The kit includes a 16.4 foot-long strip with 120 colorful LEDs, along with a Wi-fi controller unit. Once you install the iGloLED app on your Apple gadget, you’ll be able to choose from hundreds of color pattern sequences, or create your own.

PhlatLight LEDs Light Stage for Arcade Fire’s Madison Square Garden Concert

Luminus Devices, developer and manufacturer of ‘big-chip’ PhlatLightLEDs, announced that its CBM-380-RGBW PhlatLight LEDs were used inside Vari*Lite’s VLX Wash Luminaires lighting the stage for Arcade Fire’s recent live HD webcast concert from Madison Square Garden (MSG) in New York City. “Simply, the VLX was my big wash light during the concert. VLX Wash Luminaires have no match today and their brightness and intense range of color are incredible.”
The Canadian indie rock band enlisted assistance of lighting designer Susanne Sasic who used 40 VLX Wash Luminaries to light the band at MSG. Sasic overcome many lighting challenges during the band’s tour but during the live streaming show from MSG she had to not only ensure the lighting was great for concert-goers but also for fans tuning into the webcast.
“During the concert, the VLX’s were my main lights on the band. The true white from the Luminus LEDs inside the VLX Wash Luminaires were extremely successful for the band member skin tones. I was amazed at how great the band looked under this light,” said Sasic. “Simply, the VLX was my big wash light during the concert. VLX Wash Luminaires have no match today and their brightness and intense range of color are incredible.”
The heart of the Vari*Lite VLX Wash Luminaire is seven, replaceable custom PhlatLight CBM-380-RGBW LEDs. The system has been optimized to deliver a total light output of 14,000 white lumens with an LED lifetime of at least 10,000 hours at maximum output.
“The Luminus ‘big-chip’ LED and the VLX architecture were made for each other, and the resulting Wash Luminaires popularity with lighting designers is a testament to punch and color uniformity previously available only from discharge lamp fixtures,” said Don McDaniel, director, global entertainment, Luminus.
Sasic added, “I love using new technologies and I had seen the VLX Wash during a private demo so I knew that it would be a perfect fit for this tour because of its power, deep range of color, and the true white from the Luminus LEDs. I have used automated LED lighting previously as decorative elements, but never as a main lighting source. Because of its brightness I knew the VLX could easily be my main wash light for the tour.”
Big-chip Luminus LEDs enable new general illumination applications in lighting markets such as architectural, entertainment, retail, residential, roadways, industrial high-bay lighting, digital displays and signage and UV for industrial processing.

Lighting Companies Still Perfecting That 'Warm Glow'

A major complaint about strings of light-emitting diode bulbs (LEDs) is they don't have that warm glow of incandescent bulbs. The white and colored strings were can have a blue cast. Many companies are now selling warm and cool strings of LED holiday lights. 'They (light companies) are trying to perfect LEDs so it looks more like incandescent," said landscaping expert Phil Steinhauer.

Cree launches XLamp XM-L LEDs

Cree, a US-based LED lighting specialist, has launched Cree XLamp XM-L LEDs, which are said to be the brightest, highest-performance lighting-class LEDs that are commercially available. The new commercially available single-die XLamp XM-L LEDs claims to deliver 1000 lumens at 100 lumens per Watt. With breakthrough light output and efficacy, the new LEDs are designed for very-high-lumen applications, such as high-bay or roadway lighting.

Definitely a brighter christmas with LED

LEDs have been around for a long time, but only caught on for use as Christmas lights in recent years. One reason is that older LEDs originally came only in red. Incandescent bulbs, on the other hand, emit only yellow light but are encased in colored glass. Another problem was a lack of brightness of LEDs. The potential was there, however, and advanced LEDs solved these problems. Today one can find LED Christmas lights in all kinds of shapes and sizes and in a wide range of colors.

Mitsubishi Electric Unveils 638 nm Red Laser Diode for Pico Projectors

Mitsubishi Electric has introduced a new 638 nm red laser diode (LD) that is ideal for portable display systems and pico projectors requiring bright red light sources. The ML501P73 diode offers 1W output power, which is the highest among the 638 nm LDs.

Luminus Devices Awarded 50th U.S. Patent For ‘Big-Chip’ LEDs

Luminus Devices, developer and manufacturer of ‘big-chip’ PhlatLightLEDs, announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently awarded the company its 50th patent. Having pioneered big-chip LED technology, Luminus has aggressively filed intellectual property (IP) for protection of big chip LED devices, packages and systems. In addition, the company has also been granted 13 non-U.S. issued patents in China, Korea and Taiwan that extend big-chip LED protection into those countries.
In addition to filing for new patents, Luminus has a track record of granting licenses to other LED companies, including: Forepi, Epistar and Nichia. Designed to provide an ultra-bright, reliable light source, PhlatLight big-chip LEDs are used in display applications by some of the world’s largest electronics and lighting companies such as Acer, Guth, LG, Philips Lighting and Samsung. They enable new general illumination applications in lighting markets such as architectural, entertainment, retail, residential, roadways, industrial high-bay lighting, digital displays and signage and UV for industrial processing.

LED driver IC supports automotive head, tail lights

NXP Semiconductors N.V. has just announced the availability of fully integrated, highly flexible driver IC solutions designed for vehicle LED headlights and tail lights, based on automotive-qualified technology. The ASL1010NTK and ASL1010PHN are automotive LED driver ICs which incorporate critical functionality such as direct LED temperature feedback, LED fault detection, internal PWM control for dimming and short circuit protection.

Grand Central Stars Shine Once Again

After nearly a year of renovation, the lights in the ceiling constellation inside Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan are back on. The 59 lights, representing stars in the galaxy, were first installed in 1913. That system has now been replaced with LEDs, which the Metropolitan Transportation Authority says uses 60 percent less electricity and will save $8,000 a year.

Eco-Friendly LED Solar Lamps

Gama Sonic USA, solar lighting manufacturer, has rolled out a new lighting system called the Royal Lamp Post. The lamp relies on solar light and is suitable for outdoor lighting applications. The Royal Lamp Post follows the company’s Imperial Solar Lanterns and is available in six diverse models. The new solar lamp designs incorporate the cone reflector technology and features bright white LEDs, which provide illumination in the required place

'FLAT' LED Lighting from Altatensione

Altatensione, in conjunction with FW Lighting launch their latest range of high Power LED Eco friendly light fixtures FLAT, that are aimed squarely at architects and lighting designers. Aesthetics, Performance, Technology and Reliability are the primary design criteria for the Flat range which is manufactured from die cast aluminium.

Rensselaer Smart Lighting research center deploys first LED bulbs on its campus

The new Smart Lighting Engineering Research Center (ERC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) of Troy, NY, USA has transformed a key building on RPI's campus into a test bed for high-efficiency lighting. Led by director Robert Karlicek, the Smart Lighting ERC worked with campus officials to replace some of the conventional incandescent bulbs in overhead lights with LED bulbs in the nine-story George M. Low Center for Industrial Innovation (CII). The initial batch of 119 replaced bulbs is expected to pay for itself via energy and labor cost savings within 12–16 months. Following the payback period, the bulbs are forecast to result in annual savings of $5608.

LED lighting at the crossroads: country road or expressway?

The advantages of the new LED lighting technology are well attested and beyond doubt. Nevertheless, LED lamps have achieved little market penetration so far and are predicted to make far slower market progress than comparable disruptive technologies. McKinsey research conducted by the firm’s LED Competence Center has revealed the underlying reasons behind the slow uptake, and this article presents the means to address them and so accelerate LED penetration. If manufacturers, retailers and regulators collaborate to overcome the five major barriers to adoption that the research has identified, LEDs could dominate the lighting marketplace by 2015

Arrow Electronics and Cree Plan Upcoming Lighting Fair

Arrow Electronics, Inc. and Cree, Inc. said they have teamed with manufacturers of complementary components to host a lighting design seminar and solutions fair Dec. 1-2 at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach, Calif.
According to a release, the free, two-day event is ideal for West Coast lighting engineers, specifiers and designers, and professionals looking to accelerate the conversion to solid-state lighting.
Chuck Swoboda, chairman and chief executive officer for Cree, will kick off the event with the keynote address on the current state of the solid-state lighting market and accelerating the transition from tradition lighting to LED lighting.
Guest speakers include local energy and municipal specialists such as Michael Seaman, with UC Davis' California Lighting Technology Center, Aaron Klemm, energy project manager with the City of Huntington Beach, and Teren Abear with Southern California Edison Design and Engineering Services.
Seminars and technical training will be provided by Arrow, Cree and related manufacturers on topics such as LED design, the latest in LED drivers and controls, optics and thermal considerations, converting municipalities to LEDs and more.
"Arrow works with partners like Cree to offer customers a complete lighting solution from concept development to production," said Gary Zullo, director of Arrow's lighting segment. "As LEDs become more widely accepted, we'll continue to identify new ways to support our customers with the knowledge, training and tools they need to move ahead with their solid-state lighting projects."
Manufacturers participating in the seminar and solutions fair include Analog Devices, Inc., Autec Power Systems, California Eastern Labs, Cypress Semiconductor, Diodes, Inc., Emerson Network Power, Fraen Corp., Infineon Technologies, Linear Technology, Micrel, Molex, National Semiconductor, NXP Semiconductors, ON Semiconductor, RECOM Power, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments, and Tyco Electronics.

Exposure Six Pack

This monster light takes Exposure’s self-contained Cable Free Design range to the maximum output. Six XPG LEDs packed intothe front give it the most powerful lux punch of any of the lights we’ve tested this autumn.

As you’d expect, that means long range illumination is outstanding,with dramatic blue-white clarity even at a distance for fast, confident riding. Bounce-back glare and the sharp edged, relatively narrow beam can be tiring on the eyes though.

Momentive to Extend Service Life of LEDs

Momentive Performance Materials, Inc., a provider of specialty chemicals and materials that offers solutions and products that help industrial and consumer companies, will launch a new series of thermally conductive silicones to be considered for use in light emitting diodes (LED) manufacturing and assembly.

ATMI Invests in Lake LED Materials

ATMI, Inc announced it has purchased a minority interest in Lake LED Materials of Daejeon, South Korea, a materials technology start-up focused on providing metal organic precursors to the LED (light-emitting diode) market. Under the agreement, ATMI will help accelerate commercial LED materials introductions, with select marketing and technology rights. The collaboration highlights ATMI's technical expertise in process materials for LED applications with its global infrastructure in conjunction with Lake LED Materials' technology. This collaboration represents ATMI's first step in a multi-faceted strategy for addressing process efficiency opportunities in the LED market.
"Light-emitting diodes are the wave of the future for lighting -- for TVs, personal electronics, and business and home lighting," said Dan Sharkey, ATMI Executive Vice President, Business Development. "LEDs are a type of semiconductor, and while the basic technology has been around for decades, moving it into cost-effective mass production requires developing the enabling materials that can be readily incorporated into high volume production. Just as ATMI has created a pre-eminent position in materials with traditional semiconductor manufacturers, we believe that, working jointly with Lake LED Materials, we can establish a similar enabling materials position with leading global LED manufacturers."

Rapid City to test LED street lights

A Rapid City traffic engineer says the city has positive results since changing over to LED traffic lights three years ago, so it's going to try out LED street lights. John Less says light emitting diodes are guaranteed for five years while a regular bulb could last as short as a year.

Acuity Brands Helps Begin Revitalization of City of Rock Falls

Acuity Brands announced its participation in a pilot outdoor LED lighting and revitalization project in Rock Falls, Illinois using its Holophane brand of luminaires and innovative SiteLink pole system. The Holophane brand has been a recognized leader in high-quality and lowest total cost of ownership lighting solutions for commercial, industrial, and outdoor applications for more than 110 years.
Working with Paul A. Jakubczak, PE, Electric Director of the City of Rock Falls Electric Utility, Acuity Brands' Holophane unit will bring the lighting of the Rock Falls City Hall area into the 21st century. The chosen state-of-the-art LED lighting and innovative Holophane branded SiteLink pole system has many unique features and functions beyond simply suspending a streetlight in the air.
Focusing on the City Hall parking lot for now, the City of Rock Falls' overall objective is to eventually revitalize the entire downtown area. The revitalization project will be highlighted by new LED lighting, which will increase energy efficiency, improve overall quality of light and reduce overall maintenance costs.
The main goals of the lighting component of the revitalization efforts are to obtain high vertical illumination with no less than .5 footcandles of horizontal illuminance and cutoff optics, while utilizing "green technology." The City selected Holophane Esplanade 150-watt Utility Tear Drop LED luminaires mounted on SiteLink SL5 poles and North Yorkshire style decorative pole bases to satisfy its lighting and aesthetics criteria. As part of a comprehensive lighting solution, the City also will be using photocontrols from Acuity Brands' DTL controls brand. DTL photocontrols save energy and reduce utility replacement costs, offering an integrated intelligent outdoor lighting and controls solution that saves energy by providing both excellent reliability and accurate light sensing.

Pumpkin Illumination 101

The traditional method of pumpkin illumination is the tiny tea light candle. While there's nothing wrong with tea lights for brief and temporary illumination, they have their limitations. Read over the following list for some ideas on how you can illuminate your pumpkins.

LED Modules for Entertainment, Architainment and Special Effects

Until recently, professionals tended to use halogen lights for lighting production of spectacular stage shows or buildings; now, though, OSRAM Zelion H offers a particularly energy-efficient, durable and robust alternative. Compact, available in light colours white, red, blue and green and with two different reflectors (6° and 10°), this module with its flexi ble applications impresses with its very high axial luminous intensity, achieved with the aid of four highly efficient light diodes in combination with an optimised reflector design. These LED modules are suitable for a wide range of different applications and are easy to integrate into different luminaires. Extensive optical and thermal simulations and tests throughout the development process, including some in the airfield sector, have made OSRAM Zelion H an adaptable light source suitable for a wide range of applications. It will continue to perform even when conditions turn somewhat rougher, for example as the result of vibrations during a concert. Energy-efficiency and reduced maintenance requirements Energy efficiency is a particular hallmark of Zelion H LED systems. With a light intensity of 2000cd per Watt, which equals a 75 per cent energy reduction in comparison to a halogen solution (500 cd/W). Additionally one 48W halogen lamp (24 kcd) can be replaced by only four LEDs with a total of 19W (38 kcd) which results in further saving potentials.

LED Installation Makes Walking Fun Again

If you’re someone who walks a lot, then you know that, for the most part, it’s not all that fun. After all, the only interaction you get is from other people. But, what if the ground you were walking on actually interacted with you, with each step you take? Phase 7, a performance art group, has just debuted their brand new interactive LED installation in Berlin, which brings LED lighting effects to the ground itself, which will interact with those who step on it.

Reclaimed Wood To Eco-friendly Mushroom Light

Do you love mushrooms? Do you like how they look as they sprout? Well, you will love them even more because you can now have this wonderful creature of nature into your room in the form of a cute and playful yet eco-friendly lighting system.

Made from reclaimed wood, this one of a kind lighting system mimics the look of a mushroom and uses LED technology for its illumination need.

Brighter LED units top upcoming lineups

LEDs with a power rating of 1W and above are expected to become the mainstream light source in mainland China-made outdoor wall lamps within five years. Advancements in related technologies and lower costs are projected to fuel adoption of the diodes, which are already incorporated in 50 percent of output in the LED-fitted category. Greater economies of scale are also anticipated, with the environmental movement fueling demand for solid-state lighting.

New Control IC for Automotive LED Headlights

Renesas Electronics Corporation , a premier provider of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced the availability of its new control IC (part number PD168891) for automotive light-emitting diode (LED) headlights. The main features of the PD168891 IC are an integrated current-control function for constant-current drive of LEDs and a pre-driver function for driving external metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs); integrated protection functions essential for automotive applications, including LED current and external MOSFET overcurrent protection; and a newly developed compact package with low thermal resistance. The new device can be combined with other devices, such as MOSFETs, Schottky diodes, and choke coils to build electronic-control units for LED headlights in automobiles.

Restaurant chains leading with LED lights

Apparently, the parent company of the Chil’s and Maggiano’s restaurant chain is going LED. Brinker International is in the process of installing more than 125,000 exterior and interior LED lamps from Eco-story at all 827 of its corporate-owned restaurants. Those lights are, in turn, based on technology from Cree, a publicly traded LED company that has been posting admirable growth.

Toshiba puts OLED displays on hold

Toshiba is saying toodle pip to OLED display production and will concentrate on turning out LCD screens instead. Toshiba and Panasonic had both worked on building an OLED production factory in Japan. According to Reuters though, Toshiba has put its interest in OLED technology on hold for now.

OLED ceiling lamp shows commercial potential

Organic LED specialist Universal Display Corporation (UDC) and lighting system partner Armstrong World Industries have demonstrated a high-efficacy panel that meets the requirements for niche lighting applications.

The ceiling-mounted system, where each luminaire consists of four 15 cm x 15 cm white OLED lamps that snap into Armstrong’s modular structure, has been developed under a $1.9 million US Department of Energy (DOE) program, and could become a commercial product within two years.

Scientists create 'nano LEDs'

Chemists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have stumbled upon a way of producing light from nanowires. While they were refining a method for producing horizontally-grown wires across a substrate, Babak Nikoobakht and Andrew Herzing electrically charged an array of junctions between two materials and caused illumination to occur. The pair hope to further refine the technique so that these nano LEDs can be applied in the development of light sources and detectors useful in photonic devices or lab-on-a-chip platforms.

Lighting market to push HB-LEDs into next manufacturing phase

The LED industry is already seeing higher volumes than ever, primarily from backlighting applications for LCD notebooks and TVs. But taking full advantage of an even bigger solid-state lighting market may require a move to more standardized and automated processes to increase yields and lower costs.

More choices for energy-saving lighting

Philips, which is based in the Netherlands, has produced a strip of lighting made from OLEDs that can be powered directly from a mains electricity supply. That may not seem to be a brilliant invention, but in the lighting business it is a breakthrough. Although still at the laboratory stage, it will eventually mean that bulky power electronics and transformers will no longer have to be used with OLED lights, which brings down costs, simplifies design and allows them to be fitted into more products.

Diodes Incorporated's LED Driver Simplifies Low-Voltage Low-Cost Lighting Design

Diodes Incorporated announced an LED driver tailored to fit low voltage illumination products operating at between 6V and 30V. The AL8805, a 1A rated buck mode constant current switching converter, will support up to ten 3W LEDs connected in series, suiting a range of low cost 'safe electrical' designs including the ubiquitous MR16 lamp. The driver's typical constant current output accuracy of 5%, irrespective of source voltage and LED chain length, is more than sufficient to meet the needs of low cost lighting products, ensuring uniform LED brightness and good inter-lamp matching without the need for ballast resistors.
With nominal output current determined by external resistor setting, LED dimming is simply achieved by either a DC voltage or PWM signal on the AL8805's control input. A DC voltage between 0.5V and 2.5V yields an output current between 25% and 100% of nominal, while a PWM signal between normal CMOS or TTL levels offers a highly flexible 1000:1 dynamic dimming range. On/off control is provided via a <0.4V signal applied to the same control input. The LED driver's enhanced switching speed and low on-resistance provide 1MHz switching frequency capability which reduces the size of the external components required in thermally demanding environments. The AL8805 is provided in the SOT23-5 package.

The benefits of using LED light bulbs

LEDs, or to give them their full name, light-emitting diodes, are the most recent innovation in energy-efficient lighting but they cost significantly more than other light bulbs, so is the expense worthwhile?

LED to the rescue

The Jamaican Government says it will be saving up to 87 per cent on the monthly electricity bill for traffic signals by replacing all incandescent bulbs with Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamps islandwide over the next 12 months. With some 40 per cent of the LED lamps already installed, a $14-million contract was signed last Friday for work to begin by month-end to replace the remaining 1,990 lamps.

Virginia street lights to get whiter

The golden glow of street lights in some communities of Arlington, Virginia will soon be changing. Federal stimulus money is helping to swap out some of the lights in favor of new, energy efficient L.E.D. bulbs. The bulbs can cut costs and greenhouse gasses, and while Arlington installs them, frame changes will lower light pollution.

LED Lights Coming To Montana

More efficient LED or light emitting diode lights are coming to an intersection near you. It's part of a Montana Department of Transportation project replacing old incandescent street lights. Any intersection on a state or federal roadway will get the upgrade. Missoula City workers say the new lights will cut down significantly on the power needed to run the streetlights

Redbird LED Completes Parking Garage LED Lighting Retrofit at Buckhead Marketplace

Redbird LED, an Atlanta, GA. firm that specializes in the design, manufacturing and distribution of energy efficient LED linear lighting for parking garages and commercial buildings, has completed a parking garage LED lighting retrofit project for Buckhead Marketplace. Buckhead Marketplace shopping center is located near the center of the prestigious Buckhead residential and commercial district and is anchored by Whole Foods. Buckhead Marketplace underground parking garage provides direct, secure and weather free access to the Whole Foods store.
The perimeter of Buckhead Marketplace parking garage is now brilliantly illuminated with the Redbird LED Vapor Tight Luminaries (40 watt). Redbird LED selected this product to enhance the lighting of parking spaces and walls along the periphery of the parking garage. The field adjustable illumination pattern allows the walls to be washed with light without any glare to pedestrians. The Vapor Tight Luminaries have a 50,000 hour lifetime, which reduces maintenance and energy costs for the shopping center owner. The Redbird LED parking garage LED lighting uses high efficacy linear light modules with controlled directional intensity which can be adjusted as needed on installation. The directionality of the Vapor Tight Luminaries was a key feature to provide the right lighting for the parking garage walls.
In addition to energy savings, LED lighting provides many advantages for parking garage owners. LED lights contain no harmful mercury so they do not need to be recycled; they operate much better in cold weather than fluorescent lamps and are more resistant to damage. “LED linear lights were a great solution for the Buckhead Marketplace project. The quality of the lighting has been enhanced and they will realize energy savings for many years” said Jonathan Eppstein, President of Redbird LED.

Vishay's New White, Non-Diffused 3-mm LED

Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. announced a new white, non-diffused 3-mm LED optimized for high-end applications with extreme luminous intensity requirements. Utilizing ultrabright InGaN technology, the VLHW4100 features a high luminous intensity from 4,500 mcd to 11,250 mcd at 20 mA.
The LED released today features a clear, untinted plastic case with a lens and viewing angle of 22.5 deg., and high light output and visibility performance. With its luminous intensity, the VLHW4100 provides an alternative to incandescent lamps and is intended for a wide range of general and consumer applications, including interior and exterior lighting, outdoor LED panels, light guides, and instrumentation and front panel indicators. The VLHW4100 offers low thermal resistance down to 400 K/W and power dissipation up to 95 mW. Featuring a 22.5 deg. angle of half intensity, the device is luminous categorized, per packaging unit, for luminous intensity and color. ESD-withstand voltage for the LED is up to 2 kV, in accordance with JESD22-A114-B. The device is compliant to RoHS directive 2002/95/EC.
Samples and production quantities of the new VLHW4100 LED are available now with lead times of eight weeks for larger orders. Follow Vishay LEDs at http://twitter.com/vishaylighting.