TI introduces the first wide-input voltage, high-power LED driver

Texas Instruments Incorporated introduced a six-channel LED driver with dynamic headroom control for high-power applications, which accurately and efficiently drives up to six strings of LEDs. The LM3463 is the industry's first wide-input voltage LED driver with multiple dimming control modes that maximizes system efficiency and reduces complexity in LED area lighting applications, such as street, high-bay and ceiling lights. For more information and samples, visit www.ti.com/lm3463-pr.
The LM3463 is a 12-V to 95-V wide input voltage, six-channel LED current controller. It drives up to 28 LEDs per string with dimming control that is easily managed by an external microcontroller via the dimming input pins. It works in conjunction with external N-channel MOSFETs and sense resistors to accurately and individually regulate current to each LED string. Dynamic headroom control improves system efficiency by automatically adjusting the LED supply to the lowest level required for LED current conduction. This reduces component count and increases system efficiency while reducing system complexity and cost.

LEDs deliver up to 20% more lumens per watt

The XLamp XP-E2 LED by Cree delivers higher lumens per watt and lumens-per-dollar over the original XP-E LED. The XP-E2 LEDs increase the lumen output of XP-# designs for the same cost and power or lower system cost with fewer LEDs for improved lighting systems with little redesign. The same XP footprint (3.45mm x3.45mm) is used, ensuring compatibility with existing XP LED designs and the new brighter XLamp features 128 lumens power watt.

Global lighting partnership to lead transformation in corporate real estate

Philips Electronics have entered into a partnership agreement to deliver energy-efficient lighting and energy management solutions to all Jones Lang LaSalle clients. This is the first time two leaders in the corporate real estate and lighting industries are working together on this scale to change the way commercial and industrial interiors are illuminated with LED and energy-efficient solutions. The global agreement starts in Asia Pacific and will be scaled up to cover the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Michael Raphael, Head of Supply Chain Management and Procurement for Jones Lang LaSalle, said: “Jones Lang LaSalle is pleased to partner with Philips to present a global lighting solution to companies worldwide. This agreement has the potential to drive environmental change while meeting corporate aspirations to move to LED and other low energy options. Our partnership with Philips is an important step in helping our clients to identify opportunities to lower energy usage, deliver more productive workspaces and, in some cases, obtain carbon credits.”
Both companies will also provide consultancy on energy management with intelligent lighting solutions and controls with new and existing customers.

LEDs promise brighter future

Illumination never been more important in combatting global warming. According to a report prepared by independent non-governmental organisation Climate Group, lights around the world accounted for 19 per cent of grid-connection electricity generation and nine per cent of global energy use in 2006. The six per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions attributed to lighting is equivalent to 70 per cent of the emissions from the world's passenger vehicles, the report stated.

A Boom in Utility Rebates Drives LED Lighting

Four years ago, when Consolidated Edison was designing its commercial and industrial rebate programs, LEDs weren’t mature enough to make it into the prescriptive program. Instead, solid-state lighting was lumped in with the custom rebate program. When the programs are redesigned next year, some LEDs will probably move out of the custom category. “In the past few years, the LEDs have come on fast,” said David Pospisil, program manager of the Con Edison Commercial & Industrial Energy Efficiency Programs.

The Giant Junk Yard Fish Lamp

Well this thing is weird, but then again there is no shortage of strange on Etsy. If you have $8,000 burning a hole in your pocket, please consider the Deep Sea Angler Fish lamp. It's made from recycled materials like forks, knives, bike parts, and shovels, and it looks like it wants to eat you or at least chomp down on your leg and drag you to the bottom of the ocean.

Let there be fittings

Light fittings are defined by three categories: it starts with lamps that are designed to stand on the floor. The next steps up to table level to include desk lamps while the third category is made up of lamps that hang from the ceiling. Some designers produce versions of a single design in all three forms. It’s what Danish architect Arne Jacobsen did in 1960 when he created furniture, cutlery and lighting for the SAS hotel in Copenhagen. His elegant lamps, with their distinctive chamfered cones, come in different versions to sit on the floor, on a desk, or to project from the ceiling.

Nova Scotia mandates all LED street lights

Nova Scotia has passed a law that requires it convert all of its 120,000 roadway lights to LED lighting, which is expected to save $5 million a year upon completion. The Province of Nova Scotia, Canada has announced it is converting to all LED street lighting, a project which will be completed by 2023. This move has made it the first jurisdiction in North America to mandate the use of energy-efficient LED roadway lighting. Energy Minister Charlie Parker finalized amendments to the Energy-Efficient Appliances Regulations.

MagnaChip Introduces Hybrid LED Backlight Unit

MagnaChip Semiconductor Corporation, a Korea-based designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed signal semiconductor products, announced that it has introduced a new single channel LED backlight unit driver (BLU) combining an embedded high voltage FET with the IC. The hybrid BLU (MAP3301) is targeted for efficient TV and monitor applications.
The MAP3301 features an embedded dimming FET and components within the IC that can reduce the overall chip size by as much as 50%. This allows for design efficiency and ease of use by allowing the MAP3301 to meet the tighter space requirements of many newer and slimmer LED TV monitors.
The MAP3301 can also drive multiple LEDs utilizing high voltages by separating the IC input voltage from boost input voltage. This is done simultaneously with 250V and 400V MOSFETs with very low RDS(on). The MAP3301 also allows the user to check and verify the operational functionality of the BLU driver to the LED TV through its support of pulse width modulation (PWM) and analog dimming.

Study Reveals LED's Can Save Consumers Money

A recent study released by Consumer Reports, has revealed that of the 90 percent of Americans who have switched from incandescent light bulbs to energy efficient CFLs or LEDs, a majority of them have opted to purchase the former despite the fact that Consumer reports have recommended LED’s offering superior light quality and efficiency.

Access Fixtures Defines the Future of Green Lighting With LED Bollards

Access Fixtures is expanding their extensive bollard selection to include a new energy saving LED bollard light featuring a purpose built reflector to maximize LED performance and efficacy.
To date, bollard lights have been modified to accommodate LEDs, but few were purpose built for LEDs or designed to maximize optics.  Access Fixtures newest bollard light features a newly designed bollard head featuring a purpose built reflector to maximize LED performance and efficacy.  With an LG light engine mounted on the top of the bollard head the light from the LED light engine shines down and out bouncing off the cone reflector maximizing the output of the LG light engine and evenly dispersing the light.  Most bollards currently use fluorescent or high intensity discharge lamps.  Access Fixtures LED technology has superior efficacy and lasts as much as six times longer reducing energy use and maintenance.

Warm- to cool-white tunable LED package has high CRI, luminous efficacy

In the quest for ever-better performance of white LEDs for illumination, researchers at Kookmin University (Seoul, South Korea) and PSI Co. (Kyungki-Do, South Korea) have created a series of multipackage LEDs that have luminous efficacies of around 100 lm/W and, at the same time, high Ra color-rendering indices (CRIs) of around 95. What’s most remarkable about the new multipackage LEDs, though, is that these luminous efficacies and CRIs hold while the LEDs are tuned from a warm white (2700 K) color to a cool white (6500 K) color—the entire range of hues needed for most white-light illumination uses.

LED Cube Music Visualizer

Hayward asks residents to weigh in on new LED lights

The city of Hayward (USA) is replacing its old streetlights with energy-efficient LED ones, and city staff wants residents to weigh in on which style of fixture would be best. Staff members narrowed the choices to three styles, and workers installed some of the three types along C Street in downtown, from Watkins Street to Foothill Boulevard. The poles are marked A, B and C, and city staff is asking residents to say which style they prefer and why.

HiViz LED Puts Bright Light on Target with FireTech Work Light

HiViz LEDs is lighting the path as a very competitive, alternative supplier of lighting solutions to the fire and rescue market with its full line of FireTech lighting solutions. The “FireTech” branding means that the instrument has been proven on the fireground and used by experienced firefighters to ensure the function and performance exceeds that of the FireTech competition.
The 7 diode, 3500 lumen work light has the best cost per lumen available on the market today- coming it at under $0.07/lumen. The FT Work Light also comes with an industry leading lifetime warranty. “This light has a lot of punch in a small package.” Says James Christopher, of HiViz LEDs. “Customers like it because it is easy to have installed, looks great, and is extremely bright- all while at a competitive cost to alternatives lighting solutions”
From the wiring to the mount, the FireTech Work Light provides a simple and effective solution. The FireTech Work light comes with a cast aluminum perch mount for the work light and a single axis u-bracket trunnion mount. “We chose the cast aluminum shelf mount because the fit and finish blends in nicely with nearly every truck”, says Sam Massa. “We avoided the ball & socket, multi-axis mounts because, in the field, I have personally seen a lot of those style lights flopping around on the back of a rig due to the vibration of the truck or seized due to contamination and corrosion on the moving parts. Simple is better here. Our light covers the entire workspace without having to adjust it”
 

Lights out for more incandescent bulbs

As of this week, an EU directive aimed at reducing the energy use of lighting came into force, meaning that retailers will no longer be allowed to sell 40W and 25W incandescent bulbs. Similar bans have come into effect in respect of 60W and 100W incandescent bulbs over the past three years. The restrictions are predicted to save 39 terawatt-hours of electricity across the EU annually by 2020. According to experts, new technology light bulbs, such as compact florescent lights (CFL), can save up to 80 per cent of the energy consumed by incandescent bulbs. The move will also cut carbon dioxide emissions as part of the EU’s wider climate change package.

New ultra compact, low-watt Citizen LEDs

Marl International, the UK distributor for Citizen discrete LED components, has launched its new low wattage LED range which sets new benchmarks for ultra-compact size combined with high efficiency and exceptional uniformity for linear and other array applications. The new Citizen range available from Marl includes the 0.06W CLL801, the 0.1W CLL611 and the 0.2W CLL130 series LED die, offered for assembly as LED-on-Board devices. All three families are ideal for use in arrays where low heat output and exceptional uniformity of brightness are required. Marl is able to supply the die as discrete components, or offer them fully assembled on PCB’s or aluminium clad boards to meet individual electrical and environmental protection requirements.