Was this really such a bright idea?

It seems that the decision makers think that everyone knows about the so called benefits of compact fluorescent light bulbs. Most people are only aware of the danger of mercury. To say that a wristwatch battery contains more mercury may or may not be correct, but we don't open up our batteries to be exposed and we've been recycling all batteries for a number of years.

New technique that makes LEDs more efficient developed

Researchers have now developed a new technique that reduces defects in light-emitting diodes (LEDs), thus making it more efficient. LED lighting relies on the gallium nitride (GaN) thin films to create the diode structure that produces light. The new technique now reduces the number of defects in those films by two to three orders of magnitude. "This improves the quality of the material that emits light," said Salah Bedair at the North Carolina State University.

GaN depo process said to make brighter LEDs

A new gallium nitride (GaN) process purifies that high-energy material by eliminating up to 1,000 times as many defects as are typically present, according to its inventors at North Carolina State University (NCSU). The NCSU researchers predict that light-emitting diodes (LEDs), power transistors and other devices cast in GaN will be able to double their outputs by switching to the new process.

Consumers not yet warming to new light bulbs

Americans are about to suffer a cruel breakup: Their 130-year love affair with the incandescent light bulb is coming to an end.  Home décor retailer IKEA sent a reminder of the bulb’s dwindling shelf life this month, announcing it would halt the sale of traditional venerable bulbs at all of its U.S. stores. But while Thomas Edison’s invention is slowly being dimmed into retail oblivion, consumers have been slow to accept the two emerging alternative technologies, known as CFLs and LEDs. The main complaints: CFLs, or compact fluorescent lights, cast a harsh, greenish beam, unlike the warm, amber glow of incandescents

How LED Players Can Participate In Govt Projects

The tiny, bright lights that you may have seen hold immense business potential in India. Although liquid emitting diode (LED) market is still in its nascent stage in India, it will soon be the next big thing in the lighting industry. Driven partly by the move towards energy efficient lighting solutions, which have been gaining importance, LEDs are poised to replace conventional lighting in many key applications like street lighting, indoor and outdoor lighting, apart from other industrial applications.

Intematix phosphor opens doors for LED lighting

Intematix today announced an component designed to improve LED lighting efficiency and give light fixture manufacturers more flexibility in adjusting light qualities. The Fremont, Calif.-based company announced its ChromaLit product line, which offers a separate phosphor component that converts the blue light of LED light sources into pleasing white light.

New Contact Lenses With LED Displays

The real future will be in Augmented Vision—a virtual layer on reality, no smart phone necessary. And "AV" may have just taken one giant step closer to feasibility. A research team at the University of Washington has designed a contact lens that has the ability to project LED displays directly into the irises.

Architainment to distribute EcoSense LEDs

EcoSense Lighting announced at the ARC Show that it has signed Architainment Lighting as an authorised distributor of its line of specifier-grade LED lighting solutions for commercial and residential applications. The agreement with Architainment will extend the availability of EcoSense products across architectural, retail and entertainment market segments throughout England and Wales.

To assure uniform colour temperature across fixtures, EcoSense has developed a highly stringent LED binning criteria resulting in a yield that exceeds the ANSI standards requirement by 400%, says the company. This ensures that project standards need not be compromised by inconsistent colour output from unit to unit.

Old Glory Basks in Solar-Powered LED

Flying above Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor, the replica of the giant flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write our national anthem still looks great by the dawns early light. But now Old Glory also looks pretty terrific at night, thanks to an ultra-high efficiency bank of LED lights powered entirely by the sun. According to the National Park system, which maintains the historic site, the LED system “produces a brighter light that enhances the color of the Star Spangled Banner.”

Council continues to struggle with LED decision

Nanaimo councillors continue to struggle with how light emitting diode business signage fits into the city’s landscape, caught between Ministry of Transportation safety concerns and business desires to approve the signs. After more than three years of research and public discussion, council had three options to consider Monday, with the intention of presenting the winning option to staff for an amendment to the city’s sign bylaw permitting LEDs under various regulations.

LEDs Are Getting Ready for the Spotlight

In October, the Chili's restaurant chain announced plans to outfit 827 restaurants with 125,000 LED lamps—an installation that the company claims will save up to $3.7 million per year and mark the largest LED rollout in the United States to date. Best Buy, meanwhile, has pledged to install 35,000 LED lamps in place of halogen bulbs for digital-camera displays and high-end audio and video showrooms.

LED Driver ICs Deliver Flicker-Free Dimming

iWatt, Inc., a developer of energy-efficient digital power supply control integrated circuits (ICs) used in leading-edge power supplies, today announced two primary-side-regulated, leading- and trailing-edge-dimmable, AC/DC Digital PWM Controllers targeting 100V/230VAC offline LED lighting applications. Designed for isolated or non-isolated LED drivers used in incandescent replacement lamps including both space-constrained (GU10, MR16) and larger (A, PAR) types, the iW3612 (3W to 25W) and low-power iW3602 (3W to 10W) incorporate features to ensure long life, power efficiency, reduced size and component costs, and flicker-free compatibility with existing wall dimmers worldwide. Both LED driver ICs are pin compatible with the previous-generation iW3610, but offer wider dimmer compatibility and introduce new hot-plug support, where the user can swap the LED engine without recycling the input power for the LED driver.
Worldwide conservation initiatives to replace existing incandescent bulbs with energy-efficient LEDs force those LEDs to address the installed base of dimmable-lighting switches. In iWatt’s LED driver ICs, intelligent digital algorithms automatically detect all types of dimmers or a lack thereof for seamless operation, including both leading-edge (TRIAC style) and trailing-edge dimmers. In the rare case of an unsupported dimmer, safe mode shuts it down. The devices allow smooth, flicker-free dimming from 1% to 100% with tight ±5% LED current regulation which prevents flicker from noisy line voltage.
iWatt’s AC/DC power conversion ICs are unique in that they feature a digital feedback and control loop versus analog. This adaptive digital control technology – which is transparent to designers and requires no programming or GUI development – optimizes efficiency, simplifies printed circuit board (PCB) design, and eliminates components to reduce driver size and bill of materials (BOM). Precision primary-side-control technology eliminates the opto-coupler and secondary-side control circuit used in traditional isolated flyback designs. Built-in frequency jitter and quasi-resonant (or valley-mode) switching reduces EMI with over 6dB margin and over 85% efficiency, improving thermal management and reducing the EMI filter components necessary. Proprietary digital spread spectrum technology also makes for easy EMI design by automatically adjusting the device’s switching frequency in real-time response to varying line voltage.
The high switching frequency up to 200kHz enables designers to use smaller capacitors and transformers to optimize space. Additionally, designers may use a smaller heat sink because the high efficiency (85% or better) reduces thermal loss.

Dutch Company Integrates LED Wayfinding Into Its Carpets

Normally, we don't see loads of innovation in the carpet industry -- how much can you really do with a bunch of thread that exists only to be stepped on? -- but Holland's Lama Concept has managed to produce something pretty fresh: Cell+LED, a carpet that doubles as a customizable wayfinding system.

RONA Electricals steps in to reduce electricity bills

A new optoelectronic components manufacturer, RONA Electricals (Pvt) Ltd, will set up a factory to manufacture solid-state lighting or light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs in the Gampaha district in Sri Lanka with the aim of introducing more energy saving lighting among Sri Lankan consumers and thereby reducing their electricity bill, an official of the company said. It will also provide direct employment to many and also outsourcing opportunities to local component manufacturers.