Green App for Earth Day Saves Energy: Light Bulb Finder

Switching to energy-efficient light bulbs is one of the fastest and easiest ways to conserve energy and protect the environment this Earth Day. Developed by Eco Hatchery, the free Light Bulb Finder mobile app enables users to decide which energy-efficient bulbs are right for their own homes and budgets. The app shows how much energy can be saved by replacing one or multiple bulbs and what the total carbon footprint improvement will be.
Named “Best Overall App” by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in its Apps for the Environment Challenge, Light Bulb Finder is available as a free download on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Android mobile devices.
Walking through the home or store aisle, app users get instant recommendations for energy-saving bulbs with the light quality and fit that mimics their traditional incandescent bulbs. For each recommendation, the app displays financial payback and environmental impact information, enabling users to make informed decisions. Bulbs can be purchased through the app or at local stores.
A typical household can save over $110 in annual energy bills by making the switch. That’s money most homeowners would happily keep in the bank or spend on other things.
Changing just one more bulb, like a kitchen spot or porch light, will have a positive impact. If every U.S. household replaces one bulb, it would prevent 90 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, the equivalent of taking 7.5 million cars off the road, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Energy-efficient bulbs may cost more up-front, but the overall cost of buying and powering them is significantly less in the long run, plus they do not have to be changed as frequently. Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs, or CFLs, last on average eight times longer than incandescent bulbs, and Light Emitting Diodes, LEDs, last 25 or more times longer.

Porsche Showroom Complements Its High-End Automobiles with GlacialLight LED Lights

GlacialLight, a division of experienced technology manufacturer GlacialTech Inc., is pleased to announce that its environmentally-friendly LED lighting products are being used in many applications around the world and providing users with energy-saving light of the highest quality.
Porsche automobiles are synonymous with high performance and perfected engineering. Recently, a Porsche showroom in Florida, USA applied these principles to their lighting by installing highly efficient GlacialLight LED lights.
The Porsche showroom replaced their outdated recessed halogen bulbs with GlacialLight's GL-BR30 LED lights. Customers and staff have noticed improved visibility with the LEDs shining bright, natural-looking light with no perceptible flickering. The expert crafting of the Porsche automobiles seems to stand out more with the evenly distributed light.
Not only do GlacialLight LED lights produce higher quality light than halogen bulbs, but they also are much more efficient. The GL-BR30 LED lights consume only 11W respectively. With reduced power consumption the Porsche showroom has realized 83% savings in lighting related energy cost. These LEDs will continue to illuminate the showroom using very little electricity for a long time thanks to their long life spans of over 35,000 hours.
GlacialLight is excited to see its product lines being used to make businesses more successful and at the same time benefiting society by offering lighting products that have longer lifetimes and save more energy than traditional lighting, emit no harmful UV or IR radiation, and contain no hazardous materials such as mercury.

Larson Electronics Announces Release of Mil Spec 461 Compliant Low Profile LED Light Bar

The Magnalight LEDP3W-9 High Intensity LED Light Bar from Larson Electronics is a Mil Spec 461 compliant LED light emitter that produces intense illumination and high output in a compact and rugged package. Producing over 2,000 lumens of light and measuring only 2 inches high by 11 inches long, this LED emitter operates on standard 9-32 volt DC current and is an ideal lighting solution for mounting on vehicles and equipment where abusive conditions are encountered.

The LEDP3W-9 LED light bar produces 2,056 lumens of intense light output while consuming only 27 watts at 2.25 amps when connected to a 12 volt electrical system. Designed with power and durability in mind, this compact LED light emitter has an IP68 rated waterproof housing constructed of extruded aluminum for resistance to abusive conditions and exposure to moisture and harmful contaminants. An unbreakable polycarbonate lens resists damage from impacts and scratching and the CREE XLamp XR-E LEDs used in this unit provide excellent vibration tolerance.

This LED light is available in floodlight or spotlight configurations, and produces a light beam 575' long by 100' wide in spotlight configuration, making it well suited to military, law enforcement and hunting or boating applications where high power and concentrated output are desired. These LED light bars are built to exacting tolerances and specifications to provide exceptional performance in demanding applications and are Mil Spec 461 certified to military defense specifications. The 9 to 32 volt DC power compatibility and compact size of these LED light emitters allows them to be applied over a wide range of applications where traditional incandescent lights simply cannot fit or provide the necessary performance on low voltage power.

These light bars can be mounted to flat surfaces or rounded railings, connected to any source of DC power ranging from 9 to 32 volts, and will fit in recessed areas and tight locations where other lights cannot. The LEDP3W-9 also offers a host of additional features including pulse width modulation drive controllers which provide excellent active heat management and allow the connection of external dimmers and strobe controllers to allow versatile operational control. These units will not overheat and can be connected to external controllers to cause them to dim, flash or strobe as desired.

New light bulbs creating confusion for consumers

Shin-Etsu Chemical Develops New Generation of Low Refractive Index Silicone Encapsulating Material

Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. has developed a new silicone encapsulating material product for applications in packaging materials for HBLEDs (High Brightness Light-Emitting Diodes), the "KER-7000 Series," which is a low refractive index (RI)-type that greatly reduces gas permeability. The company is beginning sample shipments, mainly for applications in LED lighting.

Low gas permeability is one of the important characteristics sought in LED encapsulating material along with superb photo-thermal stability in withstanding high temperatures and excellent retention of its initial optical transparency throughout the lifetime of the device. With an encapsulating material that has high gas permeability, it is well known that such gases as oxygen can easily permeate and cause oxidation and sulfuration to occur, and that can lead to the possibility of degradation in light intensity.

Up to now, Shin-Etsu Chemical has been developing many silicone encapsulating materials that have various characteristics, such as methyl-group material that is superior in heat resistance and phenyl-group material that is characterized by low gas permeability. The newly developed silicone encapsulating material product succeeds in greatly reducing the level of gas permeability by 1/10 while maintaining heat resistance at the same level as that of the methyl-group. In addition, when compared with the phenyl group, this new product has the same level of gas permeability and much higher resistance to high temperatures. LED packaging materials that apply this product will achieve dramatically improved reliability of LED lighting because of its effectiveness in preventing the degradation of light intensify caused by the corrosion of the peripheral materials.

Because this new product has a refractive index of 1.38, which is lower than that of the methyl-group material, and is superior in transparency, it is a particularly attractive encapsulating material for flat-package HBLEDs. There are two types of products in this new series that are formulated based on different hardness properties: "KER-7080 A/B" has a hardness level of (Durometer A) 80, and "KER-7030 A/B" has a hardness level of (Durometer A) 30.

In addition to the new silicone encapsulating material product series that is being announced in this press release, Shin-Etsu Chemical has a group of other diverse silicone encapsulating materials for HBLED applications. Representative products in the "SCR Series" are increasingly being adopted for backlighting applications in mobile phones and notebook PCs, and products in the "ASP Series," which have superior characteristics with regard to long-term reliability and possess greatly reduced gas permeability, also are being increasingly adopted, mainly for applications in backlighting for LCDs.
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EcoSense Lighting announced plans to further grow its business in European markets

EcoSense Lighting announced plans to further grow its business in European markets, bringing on a new distributing partner in Scotland. Solus Solutions Ltd has been named an authorized distributor of EcoSense Lighting specifier-grade LED lighting solutions, extending the availability of EcoSense products across architectural, retail and commercial market segments throughout Scotland.
Developed by experienced lighting designers and fueled by innovative solid-state LED technologies, EcoSense Lighting interior and exterior products offer the architectural marketplace a beautiful and powerful line of sustainable LED lighting solutions. Notable eco-friendly benefits such as improved energy efficiencies and reduced heat, UV and carbon emissions, render EcoSense Lighting the best alternative to traditional lighting fixtures. 
In addition to its environmental benefits, EcoSense Lighting products deliver high performance metrics including very impressive lumens per watt and uniform color consistencies across fixtures.  EcoSense Lighting products undergo a rigid LED-binning test resulting in a yield that exceeds the ANSI standards requirement by 400%. 
“Lighting is a key component within the element of architecture and our commitment to achieving technical excellence and outstanding service reflects the importance we attach to our products,” says Ken Colvin, Managing Director of Solus Solutions Ltd.  “The EcoSense team is a strong group of credible LED experts who fully understand the marketplace and produce high quality products. We are extremely pleased to now offer a variety of high performance linear LED products allowing our clients to specify lighting in areas that a few years ago would be deemed impossible.” 

New JVC Bullet Security Camera with Built-in IR LED Technology

JVC Professional Products Company, a division of JVC Americas Corp., today introduced the TK-T8101WPRU, an outdoor analog bullet camera with 10-bit digital signal processing and integrated IR LED technology. Part of JVC’s innovative LoLux line of security cameras, it provides True Day/Night performance in challenging lighting environments, including complete darkness.
The TK-T8101WPRU features a 1/3-inch high resolution IT CCD paired with a 3.3-12mm variable focal lens to deliver 600 TV lines of resolution with 52 dB signal-to-noise ratio. In low light, sensitivity is 0.05 lux for color, 0.015 for black-and-white, and 0 lux with active IR LED. The camera also features automatic high light compensation (HLC) for extreme white light, as well as Easy Wide-D for backlight compensation.
Housed in a die-cast aluminum case with tempered glass and sun shield, the TK-T8101WPRU is dustproof and waterproof (IP66 rated), and can operate in extreme temperatures (14-122 degrees Fahrenheit). Other features include motion detection (up to four areas), privacy masking (up to eight zones), digital noise reduction, and on-screen menus for easy installation and setup.

Dialight Achieves 100 Lumens per Watt

Dialight , the innovative global leader in LED lighting technology, today announced the launch of its new 17,000-lumen, 170W DuroSite LED High Bay luminaire, designed to deliver superior lighting quality and clarity in a wide range of industrial lighting applications. The product is currently UL1598/A and CSA 22.2 certified and set to undergo CE compliance testing to broaden availability in the coming months.
The new 100 lumen per Watt fixture is the latest addition to Dialight's expanding High Bay product line that now offers lumen outputs ranging from 8,000 to 17,000, including several models certified for hazardous location use. LED low bay models are also available at 6,000 lumens for lower ceiling height applications, such as parking garages and cold storage facilities.
Instant-on capability allows the units to be paired with an occupancy sensor and/or dimmable components for enhanced energy efficiency. The units operate on an integrated universal power supply at 100-277VAC, and are well-suited for easy changeout from conventional HID light sources, such as metal halide and high pressure sodium. Each unit is backed by Dialight's 5-year full-performance warranty for exceptional long-life durability which encompasses the entire luminaire from fixture housing, lens and finish to LED light engines and integrated power supply.
"This new high-output High Bay is truly groundbreaking technology, combining the maximum light output available in an LED fixture with the superb energy efficiency our customers have come to expect from the Dialight brand," said Roy Burton, Dialight's Group Chief Executive. "For companies considering a move to LEDs, there's never been a better time to make the switch to save energy, and reduce electricity and maintenance costs, as well as take advantage of some valuable rebates that can further drive down total cost of ownership."
In addition to being UL1598/A and CSA listed, the 17,000 lumen product is also IP66 certified for use in outdoor and wash down locations, in addition to indoor use for warehouses, manufacturing facilities and cold storage applications. At just one-fourth the overall fixture height of conventional HID fixtures, the low-profile high bay reduces dust and dirt accumulation, as well as interference with air circulation or other structures

Marvell's Breakthrough Deep Dimming LED Driver IC Accelerates Mass Adoption of Energy Efficient LED Retrofit Bulbs

Marvell announced the Marvell 88EM8183 deep dimming single-stage AC/DC LED driver integrated circuit (IC). The 88EM8183 LED driver IC delivers the highest dimmer compatibility and lowest component count in the industry, while providing superior light quality and dimming performance comparable to incandescent bulbs.
To ensure the dimming compatibility of the 88EM8183 IC, Marvell engineering worked closely with Lutron, the industry leader in lighting controls, testing various dimmers from Lutron including the C-L series dimmer, which is rated for LED as well as traditional lamps.
Leveraging Marvell's unique mixed-signal architecture and advanced dimming control technology, the highly integrated 88EM8183 LED driver IC is designed to achieve smooth deep dimming as low as 1 percent LED current, a significant performance improvement compared to competitive LED driver solutions that typically achieve 10 to 20 percent dimming, which the human eye does not perceive as a significant drop in light level. The 88EM8183 IC is also designed to be compatible with more than 100 different types of (TRIAC) wall box dimmers from various manufacturers around the world, providing consumers an out-of-the-box dimming experience that exceeds that of previous solutions, and provides an exceptional LED dimming experience. Additionally, the 88EM8183 IC reduces the number of components needed for LED drivers by more than half, dramatically shrinking needed board space, allowing OEMs and ODMs to bring LED lighting to all kinds of lamp form-factors, including A19, PAR, BR, GU10 and Candle, without compromising dimming performance.
Moreover, the 88EM8183 IC supports universal AC input and a wide range of LED output wattages from a few watts up to 100 watts. This capability allows lighting OEMs and ODMs to dramatically reduce design efforts and improve operational efficiency by taking a product platform approach, which reduces the number of LED lamp SKUs and streamlines inventory management.

Pedestal Mount LED Light operates in hazardous locations

Larson Electronics' Magnalight.com announced the release of a pedestal mounted 150 watt LED hazardous location light designed for easy deployment and illumination of large areas. Constructed with an aluminum pedestal base and wet area suitable LED fixture, the HAL-PM-1X150LED-100 hazardous location light can illuminate up to 18,000 square feet of workspace. This portable LED pedestal light is an ideal solution for operators who desire an effective alternative to hotter running 400 watt metal halide work area lights.
The HAL-PM-1X150LED-100 Pedestal Mounted LED Light from Magnalight.com is designed to provide easy deployment and high power in a portable and hazardous location approved package. The 150 watt LED lamp assembly in this unit produces 14,790 lumens and is housed within an aluminum fixture equipped with a hinged and heat/impact-resistant tempered glass door for easy servicing and rugged reliability. This lamp will illuminate 18,000 square feet of workspace with bright white light and is an ideal alternative to less durable, less efficient, and hotter running metal halide work lights. The lamp assembly is mounted within an aluminum pedestal base that is designed to allow operators to easily carry the unit from one location to another and simply set it down and plug it in to begin operation. This unit is extremely easy to deploy and is very stable when placed on flat surfaces and the aluminum construction resists corrosion and will not rust. The cool operation of the LEDs in this unit means there is no worry of accidental burns, and with no glass bulb, durability and resistance to damage from impacts or dropping is greatly improved compared to HID work lights. Magnalight also includes 100 feet of SOOW cord equipped with an explosion proof plug with this unit, providing plenty of length for moving the light around the work area. Rated Class 1 Division 2 Groups C and D, and approved for wet areas and marine environments, this portable LED work light is an excellent addition to any industrial professionals lighting inventory and provides excellent protection against inadvertent ignition in atmosphere where explosive potential may exist.

Fixtures offer efficiency in new or installed applications

Architectural appearance combined with sustainability and a high level of performance characterize new GranVille II LED luminaires from Holophane. The fixtures offer the same timeless housing choices that made Holophane’s GranVille HID line popular and are offered with Classic or Premier prismatic borosilicate glass optics to facilitate use of new or installed pieces.
Holophane GranVille II LED luminaires feature a new optical design that provides HID light levels while creating a comfortable wholly luminous appearance with low glare, less uplight and less light trespass. Multiple lumen packages are available and fixtures may be ordered with asymmetric or symmetric distributions. The luminaires are optimized to meet existing light standards.
“GranVille II LED luminaires represent the latest generation in the Granville family, which has become the benchmark for decorative acorn-style lanterns,” said Ben Prichard, Holophane Senior Product Manager, Outdoor. “The period style fixtures are highly efficient and provide significantly greater lumens per watt. Depending on the application, they also use less energy than traditional lamp technologies.”
Like most LED sources, GranVille II LED luminaires offer long life with reduced maintenance. A dedicated thermal management system maximizes performance and reliability. The fixtures are also designed for easy access to the electronic driver to simplify maintenance.
GranVille II LED luminaires include cast aluminum housing available in multiple styles, including two utility series and four standard housings. The fixtures are offered with traditional GranVille trim options and mount to industry standard pole tenons and existing locations.
GranVille II LED luminaires are OEM certified for retrofit of existing models. The new product family is pending regulatory listing and will be suitable for up to 40ºC ambient temperature, depending on the selected wattage and options. 

Three Channel LED Driver From Supertex Delivers Sub-Microsecond PWM Dimming

Supertex, Inc. introduced HV9989, a three channel, boost LED driver integrated circuit (IC) designed to drive LEDs in LCD backlighting applications. It features Supertex's patented PWM dimming control algorithm that individually regulates each channel's output current down to sub-microsecond dimming pulses, which permits dimming at frequencies outside the audible range (> 20kHz) without any shift in the "white point" or the color-correlated temperature. It drives strings of either RGB LEDS or multiple strings of white LEDs.
HV9989 drives boost or SEPIC converters in either continuous-conduction mode (CCM) or discontinuous-conduction mode (DCM). It features independent short- and open-circuit protection for each channel and three 1MHz transconductance amplifiers with tri-state outputs to close feedback loops and accurately control the LED current. It is powered by a built-in 40V linear regulator.
"HV9989 can operate with very high dimming frequency and deliver an over 10,000:1 dimming ratio because of its patented PWM dimming method," states Stephen Lin, Vice President of Marketing at Supertex. "The IC combines excellent line and load regulation in a multi-channel driver IC to reduce board space and system cost in LCD backlighting applications like flat screen TVs and monitors."

LED Driver Controller from Diodes Incorporated Handles More Demanding Lighting Applications

Diodes Incorporated announced the ZXLD1371 LED driver controller. By extending input voltage operation from 60V down to as low as 5.0V, the ZXLD1371 has been designed to handle as broad a range of applications as possible, including those subject to the greatest variance in input voltage, such as automotive lighting and 12V AC powered systems. Its ability to control an external driver FET in buck, boost and buck-boost driver topologies makes it an all-in-one solution, capable of driving as many as 20 high-current LEDs in boost mode with a high level of accuracy.
Employing patent pending control loops and single resistor high-side current sensing, the ZXLD1371 will deliver a typical output current tolerance of 1%, helping to produce improvements in brightness control and lamp luminance matching. The LED driver controller offers users dimming over a wide dynamic range, through separate 20:1 DC dimming and 1000:1 PWM dimming options, resulting in higher accuracy light control particularly at lower brightness levels.
To further improve the reliability of LED lamp systems, the ZXLD1371 provides thermal management of LEDs via a dedicated external thermistor input, which combined with fault diagnostic outputs reporting LED load and driver status, helps to increase LED longevity. Switching at up to 1MHz, the TSSOP-16EP packaged LED driver controller will also help minimize circuit size by reducing the value of the external inductor. For further information, visit the Company's website at www.diodes.com .

Pittsburgh begins installing LED streetlights

Pittsburgh officials hope to have 3,000 LED — or light-emitting diode — street lamps installed by the end of the month in a move the city hopes will culminate with all 40,000 street lights in city business districts being replaced by the more efficient lights. City Councilman Bill Peduto has championed the change and claims the city will save $800,000 to $1 million annually in energy costs if all 40,000 lights are replaced with LEDs.

No color bins, no flux bins, no Vf bins

Philips Lumileds introduced LUXEON K this week, its illumination grade array that charts a new direction for downlights and retrofit bulbs so that solutions can come to market more quickly and at a price that drives market adoption. LUXEON K arrays provide thousands of lumens of light output and will be available in three different CCTs with a typical CRI of 85, and with five configurations of 4-24 emitters per array, in early Q2 of this year.
"LUXEON K extends our portfolio of illumination grade LEDs engineered to optimize end-user satisfaction of specific applications," said Rahul Bammi, VP Marketing at Philips Lumileds. "For downlights and retrofit bulbs, LUXEON K provides a unique approach that delivers the highest, most consistent quality of light in an easy-to-implement array. Our hot testing and specification at 85 deg C, and freedom from color, flux, and Vf binning, makes LUXEON K the simplest of LEDs to specify and use."

LEDs America to Award Viper Networks Exclusivity in India and Saudi Arabia

LEDs America has agreed to award the Company with complete sales and marketing export rights with 100% exclusivity for LEDs America's LED products for the entire country of India, as well as Saudi Arabia for the next 5 years.
To receive automatic exclusivity renewal for these two countries, final terms of the agreement will include modest annual sales and/or revenue growth benchmarks, since Viper Networks is currently in manufacturing supplier contract negotiations with LEDs America in North America.
The exclusivity agreement includes all products sold under the LED-O(R) registered brand name, along with complete rights for current products under development, and future products that may be developed and/or engineered during the Company's exclusivity period.