Lunera introduces direct LED replacement for MH bulbs

Lunera Lighting has introduced the Susan Lamp family, part of its BallastLED lamp product portfolio. These products can operate directly from existing ballasts, allowing plug-and-play LED adoption in high- and low-bay industrial applications. The Ballast LED Susan lamps specifically target the replacement of 400W, 250W, and 175W metal halide (MH) bulbs. Two versions are offered: The Susan Pro is designed to meet higher lumen output needs and reduces energy usage by over 60% relative to MH. The Susan Junior targets lower lumen output requirements and saves 70-90% relative to MH. For 400W replacements, the 167W Pro model delivers 15,000 lm and the 102W Junior model delivers 10,000 lm. The MH replacements are 4000K CCT lamps with a 70 CRI. Both have screw bases and are rated for 50,000 hours.

Researchers Develop Tiny, Efficient LEDs

From computer monitors and digital display boards to smartphones and wearable technologies, many modern electronics utilize LEDs. As these devices get smaller and faster, there is more demand for LEDs that are smaller, stronger, and more energy efficient. To accommodate this trend, University of Washington (UW) scientists have built the thinnest known LED that can be used as a source of light energy in electronics. The LED is based off of flexible two-dimensional semiconductors, making it possible to stack or use in more diverse applications than current technology allows.

Light-scattering nanoparticles help LEDs mimic sunlight

Lighting has come a long way in the past few years, but even with all the technological advances that have been made, we still haven’t managed to mimic real daylight with much accuracy. We can cheat and use special lights to help plants grow, and we’ve got all sorts of lights that can change their color temperature to suit our moods, but no matter how we tweak it, artificial light still just doesn’t feel quite the the same as real, natural light. Thanks to a recent breakthrough, however, this might not be the case in the future. Soon, you’ll be able to call up natural-looking daylight with the flip of a switch, thanks to a newly-developed lighting panel that uses nanoparticles to create something similar to actual daylight. In the future, this might make it possible to produce something close to natural light in even the most dank, windowless interiors.

Spreading the light through solar lamps to fight ‘energy poverty’

It's power to the people, via the common plastic bottle. As part of the annual Earth Day celebration, barangay officials and representatives from Metro Manila's 17 cities were, on Tuesday, taught how to assemble low-carbon solar street lamps using readily available materials, which is then connected to plastic pipes. All you need to make a solar light bulb is a used transparent plastic bottle filled with water, some bleach, and pieces of reflective material. A bulb bottle can emit up to 55 watts of illumination.

LED Light May Aid Skin

There was a time when no one thought about light bulbs — one blew, you screwed another one in. Nowadays, it’s more complicated, as energy efficiency concerns have given rise to a slew of options, including incandescent, compact fluorescent lights, and light emitting diodes. LEDs are the most expensive option, but they are also the most energy efficient, are getting more cost-efficient, and they are growing in popularity. With this increasing acceptance, concerns have arisen about long- or short-term direct skin exposure—especially since a 2012 SBU study found that contact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs can harm skin cells due to UV-light emittance.

Need a light? New bulb options in Oregon

With help from the Energy Trust of Oregon, you can find 40 watt and 60 watt equivalent bulbs for under $5 in Oregon. Not only do they use far less energy than their historical counterparts, new LEDs can mimic the soft and warm hues that we've come to expect (and that often can't be replicated with compact fluorescent lights). Which begs the question: When will we stop using watts to measure light bulbs? One step at a time

Minneapolis shining a light on streetlight repairs

Last August, Troy Kester reported four broken streetlights on W. Broadway to Minneapolis’ 311 hot line. The city didn’t fix them until spring.“The fact that there’s a whole string of messed-up lights doesn’t send a good message to the people driving through,” he said. Minneapolis is reviewing its streetlight system after noticing in municipal ­surveys that residents of north Minneapolis — where Kester reported the lights — and the Phillips community in south Minneapolis report dramatically lower rates of satisfaction with their lighting than anywhere else in the city. Those areas also have higher poverty and crime.

LED bulbs can make your white shirt ineffective!

If you bring your white shirts under an LED bulb to see how white they are, you may not be able make any distinction, a study suggests. Most LED bulbs produce no violet or ultraviolet light which help whites look “whiter than white”. While some LED bulbs will make colours pop, the vast majority do not showcase or differentiate the appearance of white products, because all white light is not the same. Whiteners that many companies use to make make whites look “whiter than white”, contain fluorescent materials that glow under violet and ultraviolet light.

The Best LED Light Bulbs for Vivid, Rich Colors

Finding a light bulb that casts a crisp, flattering glow can be complicated these days. The most advanced bulbs on the market—known as LED models—are kind of like the Tesla Roadster of the lighting world: eco-friendly, high-performance and loaded with dizzying options. While the light from early-gen LED bulbs could be pallid, the latest models from major manufacturers—like  Cree,  CREE +0.28%     GE, Lighting Science (often sold under Home Depot's EcoSmart brand), Philips and Sylvania—are indistinguishable from a standard incandescent. They've also gotten brighter: You can now find models comparable to 100-watt incandescent bulbs

New IC for Driverless LEDs

A new IC module lets LEDs operate flicker-free directly from 230 VAC line voltage, at power levels from 2 W to 70 W. The German company Eurolighting has launched the IC EL01 module, which, with the addition of a few components, allows direct operation at 230 V -- with no flickering visible to the human eye. LEDs from various manufacturers can be employed.

Tightly packed micro-footprint LEDs enable construction of high-power UV systems in multiple applications

RS Components, the trading brand of Electrocomponents plc has announced availability of high-power LUXEON ultraviolet (UV) LEDs from Philips Lumileds. Featuring the industry's smallest footprint of just 2.2 sq. mm, the high-power emitters are one-fifth the size of competing ultraviolet and violet LEDs currently on the market.
The LUXEON UV LEDs can be assembled in tightly packed arrays with spacing of only 0.2mm to enable the construction of high-power-density (W/ sq. cm) UV systems. Offering a maximum drive current of 1A -- for more flux per LED -- the high-efficiency devices cover the 385 to 410nm spectrum and are undomed for precise optical control. They are ideal for a wide range of applications including ultra-violet curing, counterfeit detection, spectroscopy, medical, security/forensic lighting and speciality lighting, such as aquarium lighting and blacklight for nightclubs.
The LEDs are based on the LUXEON Z surface-mount design, which implements flip-chip assembly and sets the UV die in direct contact with the thermally conductive Aluminium Nitride (AlN) substrate, thereby delivering superior thermal performance. Thermal resistance is as low as 3.5K per Watt.

Taking a closer look at color-changing LEDs

If you've been looking into smartening things up around the home, then you've probably at least considered color-changing LEDs. The most prominent option out there is the Philips Hue LED kit, though we've also had fun playing around with the Lumen LED Color Smart Bulb from Tabu. Both bulbs boast plenty of smart features. The Zigbee-powered Hue LEDs are compatible with IFTTT and SmartThings, while the Bluetooth-powered Lumen LED offers simple scheduling and fun features such as a native music-sync mode. But with all of the focus on smarts, it's easy to forget about the core functionality of these things. We wanted to know: are these color-changing bulbs actually good at changing colors?

Stockholm Concert Hall renovates with cool-running LED lighting

Global Design Solutions (GDS) has announced that the famed Stockholm Concert Hall (Konserthuset), home of the Nobel Prize awards, has been retrofitted with GDS ArcSystem LED-based lighting. The project includes multiple entertainment venues and audience areas in the facility; and above the main stage in the largest hall, 50 of the LED fixtures replaced 160 legacy lighting units, dropping power consumption from 68 kW to 7.5 kW. The Stockholm Concert Hall dates to 1926, is one of the few instances of neo-classical architecture in Sweden, and is the home of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra as well as the Nobel Prize ceremony.

LED headlamps eclipse halogens

If you were in trucking about 30 years ago, you might remember the switch from incandescent sealed-beam headlamps to halogens, which were so much better that some truck operators stopped using auxiliary fog and driving lights. A more recent step up was projector-beam lamps, whose optics better aim the lumens from halogen bulbs and even more effectively light the way for drivers. Now we have the light-emitting diode headlamp, which dramatically eclipses the halogen. Like now-common LED markers that Grote first marketed more than 20 years ago, LED headlamps cost considerably more than older designs but provide greater safety. They also offer much longer service life and lower maintenance costs.

Hybrid Material Enhances LEDs & Solar Cell Properties

Changes at the atom level in nanowires offer vast possibilities for improvement of solar cells and LED light. NTNU-researchers have discovered that by tuning a small strain on single nanowires they can become more effective in LEDs and solar cells. CrayoNano AS introduces a hybrid material with unique properties. This is obtained by growing semiconductor nanowires on graphene. NTNU researchers Dheeraj Dasa and Helge Weman have, in cooperation with IBM, discovered that gallium arsenide can be tuned with a small strain to function efficiently as a single light-emitting diode or a photodetector. This is facilitated by the special hexagonal crystal structure, referred to as wurtzite, which the NTNU researchers have succeeded in growing in the MBE lab at NTNU. The results were published in Nature Communications this week.

Work light from Larson Electronics

Work safety equipment: Larson Electronics announces the release of a 150-watt Class 2 Division 1 explosion proof LED light mounted on a non-sparking aluminum base. The EPLC2-PM-150LED-100 explosion proof LED light can illuminate up to 10,000 square feet of work space and features a convenient pedestal mount base stand for easy handling and operation. The EPLC2-PM-150LED-100 explosion proof LED light from Larson Electronics provides 10,000 square feet of work area coverage with 12,500 lumens of light output.

Internet-Connected Light Bulbs Get Real

The humble light bulb: Screw it in, flip the switch, and light: boring, right? But the light bulb is changing. You should really start thinking of the light bulb as the newest connected device in your smart home. First the basics: Incandescent light bulbs are out; LED bulbs are in. They use one-tenth the energy (cost one-tenth to run) and last 50 times as long. If you tried a CFL and hated the blue light or the fact that they didn’t dim, it’s time to try the new LEDs. They’re dimmable (check your dimmer for compatibility), cost way less to run, and they’ve come down in price. The Cree LED bulbs are retailing for about $10 a bulb.

The Connected Home’s Battle Of The Bulbs

Lighting is a key ingredient in the connected home, and the benefits of smartening it up are obvious. Practically everyone has forgotten to turn off a light or fumbled around for the switch. And some find coming back to a dark house creepy. But with smart lights, you can use your smartphone to control or set automations for your lamps and bulbs, and a lot more. The leader in smart lights is Philips Hue Wi-Fi-enabled bulbs. But the competition just heated up last week, with both LG and Samsung unveiling new smart bulbs.

Kinetic Light Newton’s Cradle delivers some light up goodness to your desk

Isaac Newton is definitely one of the more notable thinkers in the history of mankind, where his Newtonian laws continue to be studied and applied even until this day. Well, I am quite sure that many of us, when we were younger, were fascinated by gizmos on certain mahogany desks that did play out Newtonian physics, such as the Newton Cradle. However, the folks over at Thinkgeek decided to bring things to the next level with the introduction of the $49.99 Kinetic Light Newton’s Cradle. The name of this particular accessory says it all – the Kinetic Light Newton’s Cradle is a futuristic take on this classic desk accessory, where each glass sphere would sport bright, multicolor LEDs.

Walmart and GE Transforming Retail Lighting with Energy-Efficient LEDs Globally

Walmart announced plans today to purchase energy-efficient LED ceiling lighting fixtures for new supercenters in the United States, stores in Asia and Latin America, and Asda locations in the United Kingdom. The new fixtures will use 40 percent less energy than lighting sources historically used in stores, and will help further the retailer’s goal to reduce the kilowatt hour (kWh) per square foot of energy required to power Walmart’s buildings globally 20 percent by 2020. This is Walmart’s largest purchase of GE LED lighting to date, and the most recent example of leadership from Walmart and GE to find and scale innovative, energy-efficient lighting solutions.
With the main sales floor lighting representing approximately 90 percent of the total lighting usage in each building, this implementation will reduce energy use per store by more than 5 percent in the U.S. alone. The lights have a longer life span than traditional lighting fixtures and also offer significant savings in maintenance costs.
Walmart and GE have a rich history of collaborating to develop lighting products to meet Walmart’s needs. Walmart pioneered the use of LED systems in the retail setting and was an early adopter of LED signage in 2003. In 2005, Walmart worked with GE to install what is believed to be the first major rollout of an LED freezer case. Additionally, Walmart’s store parking lots in the U.S. and abroad were among the first in the industry to switch to LED lighting fixtures.
The move to LED ceiling lighting in the U.S. is expected to produce an energy savings of 340,000 kilowatt hours per store – equating to more than $34,000 in savings per year in each store (figured at 10.13 cents per kWh1). With 200 new Walmart stores adopting the new GE LED ceiling lighting over the next two years, this amounts to a total energy savings of 620 million kWh over the next 10 years — savings Walmart expects to pass on to its customers through its everyday low prices.
This expected total energy savings over the next ten years is equal to eliminating 327,360 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions — or the annual greenhouse gas emissions from more than 68,000 passenger vehicles or the energy use of nearly 30,000 American homes for one year.2

Osram Sylvania in Hillsborough poised for LED revolution

Employees at the Osram Sylvania plant have been helping drivers see the light for decades, and with new technology moving in, they'll be a major force in automotive lighting for years to come. Folks in Hillsborough have been making light bulbs at the local factory since the 1950s, when the focus was on making tiny bulbs that lit up telephone switchboards, said Marketing Director David Hulick. In the 1970s, the plant started making the switch to automobile lighting, and when halogen lighting became the bright idea at the end of the decade, Osram Sylvania jumped on the new technology.

LEDs move beyond light bulbs, into carpets and ceilings

LEDs are no longer just light bulbs. They're now starting to appear as a built-in feature for ceilings — an advance predicted 50 years ago by science fiction writer Isaac Asimov. These tiny light emitting diodes, often touted as the ultra-efficient replacement for old-fashioned incandescents, are being integrated into clothes, carpets and ceilings the same way that some solar panels have been tucked into rooftop shingles.

LED and CFL lights offer years of low-cost illumination

In addition to improved farm safety, LEDs and CFLs also save lots of dollars in lighting costs. Over a 20-year timeframe, the farmer could install just one LED light bulb compared with three CFL bulbs or 22 incandescent bulbs. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) can grestly reduce the number of bulbs a livestock or grain farmer has to change. Switching to LEDs or CFLs means many less trips up a ladder and reaching at unusual angles to budge a bulb loose and put in a new one.

Malaysian Companies Makes Strong Pitch At Frankfurt's Prestigious Lighting Show

Two Malaysian companies, which made a strong pitch at the recent Light and Building Trade Fair here, are confident that light emitting diodes (LEDs) is the answer to the world's requirement for energy savings lighting products. The 100 per cent export-oriented Penang-based company believes the market has been revolutionised by the proliferating use of LEDs. The fair is the world's largest trade show for lighting and building technology, showcased products that include lighting, electrical engineering, house and building automation and software.

Building A High Power LED That Remains Efficient: Study

At low power, commonly used LEDs are very efficient. However, when these same LEDs receive enough power to light a room, they lose a significant amount of efficiency, a term referred to as the “green gap” because the efficiency loss is most pronounced with green LEDs. According to a new online report published in Nano Letters, two engineers from the University of Michigan have modeled nanostructures with less width than a DNA strand capable of improving the efficiency of LEDs.

Silicone Materials Expand LED Lighting Design

Dow Corning introduced four optical silicone materials for LED lighting applications this week at the Light+Building show in Frankfurt, Germany. As LEDs continue to replace conventional light sources, lighting makers want to expand the variety of LED lamp and luminaire designs and speed up manufacturing. They are especially concerned with designing and manufacturing more cost-effective, efficient, and reliable products. Another major concern is designing lighting that appeals to consumers, not industrial users. One way to help in those efforts is developing materials that can be used in a wider range of designs, such as Dow Corning's optical moldable materials.

Dakota Digital LEDs For Your Impala

As you know, LEDs on most cars are starting to come standard, so it was only a matter of time before someone stepped up and provided LEDs for older vehicles. Fortunately for us, Dakota Digital had the foresight to invest into the Impala market and produce an LED line for most of the classic Impalas. If you don't know who Dakota Digital is, they are known in the aftermarket world for custom digital gauges and retro kits. When people hear about LED lights they assume that they are replacing the whole housing but the reality is Dakota Digital's LED lighting systems are engineered to utilize your existing wiring harness, taillight lens and assembly. The LED modules are included for both left and right rear brake lights. Dakota Digital taillights include the LED brake/taillight modules, wiring and moisture-resistant crimp-on connectors.

Go slow on LEDs while astronomers study impacts, costs

LED (Light Emitting Diode) lighting has become more popular for its lower energy use and longevity — low-pressure sodium lights favored by astronomers last only four years vs. up to a decade for LEDs. And the city’s streetlight poles were not built to hold heavier low-pressure sodium and are starting to fail in high winds. But cost isn’t everything. Astronomers are worried that Flagstaff will see its low-glare lighting standards eroded by LEDs — the city even installed some LED streetlights on a test basis in 2012, to the surprise of local astronomers.

Spring Energy Fix: Lower Your Bills with LED Light Bulbs

Spring is here at last, bringing relief from a seemingly endless winter and the painfully high energy bills that went along with it. Not needing to turn on the heat due to warmer weather is a surefire way to bring down your energy costs. Another simple fix you might want to try this spring is upgrading your light bulbs. It’s probably one of the easiest things you can do to make your home more energy efficient, and reduce your utility bill each month for years to come. Your savings could add up to more than $100 a year—and really, it’s as easy as screwing in a light bulb.

Philips' New Clear LED Bulbs Look Just Like Incandescents

Despite being more energy-efficient and longer lasting, consumers keep finding excuses for wanting to stick with ancient incandescent lightbulbs. But with clear glass and a special LED lens that looks like a traditional filament, Philips' latest LED bulbs might finally convince those afraid of change. Not only do they look like incandescent bulbs before they're even turned on, the new clear LED bulbs also cast a warm 40-watt glow. So hidden behind a lampshade, since they're sized and shaped to be used anywhere, it's all but impossible to tell these use highly-efficient LEDs as their light source.

Soraa brings GaN-on-GaN LEDs to AR111 lamps

Soraa now offers an LED-based AR111 lamp family that delivers CRI Ra and R9 of 95 and has added MR16 lamps at 4000K and 5000K CCTs for applications such as jewelry retail lighting. Expanding beyond its MR16 base, Soraa has announced the LED AR111 retrofit lamp family based on the company's gallium-nitride-on-gallium-nitride (GaN-on-GaN) LEDs that deliver uniform energy across the human visual spectrum and a CRI of 95. The lamps debut at this week's EuroShop retail-oriented trade fair in Düsseldorf, Germany. Meanwhile, the company also added to its Vivid 2 MR16 lamp family with 4000K- and 5000K-CCT lamps intended to displace ceramic metal halide (CMH) and halogen lighting in gemstone and other high-end retail settings.

Samsung introduces flip-chip mid-and high-power LEDs and COB module

Delivering on a new LED architecture first disclosed at the February Strategies in Light (SIL) conference in Santa Clara, California, Samsung has announced the LM131A mid-power LED family and the LH141A high-power LED family based on a flip-chip device architecture. The company also announced a new flip chip on module (FCOM) product that utilizes the new LEDs and that is designed for use in downlight applications. Meanwhile, the company also recently announced a large solid-state lighting (SSL) module family designed for planar lighting applications.

LG bets on an OLED lamp

Several companies offer smartphone-controlled LED light bulbs these days, but LG Electronics is trying to advance the state of lighting with another approach, too: an OLED table lamp. The Korean company, which already has a strong home-appliances business, unveiled its OLED Table Lamp on Monday at the Light+Building 2014 trade show in Frankfurt. Instead of using conventional light-emitting diodes (LEDs), its light source is the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology that can be formed into a sheet. The table lamp, like the company's new LED bulb, the Smart Lamp, has an LG app for iOS and Android that lets you control the bulb over Bluetooth. The app can adjust the lights to set modes for movies or reading, or dim gradually at night and turn on with an alarm.

Kota Kinabalu installs LED lights and builds solar lit bus stops

The state capital is moving towards becoming more energy efficient by switching to light emitting diodes (LEDs) for its street lights. The city had so far installed 360 LED lights at the recently opened bicycle and pedestrian lane at the scenic Likas Bay area, said mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir. Another 76 street lights had also been installed at the city’s central business district and 30 more at other parts here, said Abidin at an Earth Hour gathering at the Tanjung Aru beach late Saturday.

Toshiba Launches Ultra-Small Chip Scale Package White LEDs for Lighting Applications

Toshiba Corporation announced the launch of ultra-small chip scale package white LEDs for lighting applications that can reduce the mounting area by 90% compared to conventional 3.0 x 1.4 mm package products. [1] The new TL1WK series will start sample shipment from April.
The new products utilize gallium nitride-on-silicon (GaN-on-Si) process technology and a new process technology that fabricates the elements of a packaged LED on an 8-inch silicon wafer. The LEDs are the industry’s smallest in sub-watt class (1/4-1/2W) white LEDs[2], with a package size of just 0.65 x 0.65mm, but they achieve a luminous efficacy of 130lm/W[3] and superior heat dissipation. Using the new white LEDs makes it possible to achieve a narrow beam in small-size lighting equipments and can contribute to innovation in lighting design.
The new white LEDs will be showcased at “Light+Building”, a trade fair for lighting and architecture in Frankfurt, Germany from March 30 to April 4.

Abu Dhabi to build facilities for safe electric lamp disposal

Abu Dhabi will soon build facilities to ensure the safe disposal and recycling of all types of electric lamps. It is an important move as some types of electric lamps contain mercury that pollutes groundwater after being dumped in landfills. Tadweer, the Centre of Waste Management - Abu Dhabi, is working on the development of storage units and recycling facilities for electric lamps as part of the master plan for waste management in the emirate, a senior official told Gulf News.

Energy-efficient lighting: navigating the choice of halogen, CFLs and LEDs

In stores all over New Jersey, and probably across America, there is confusion in the lighting aisle. Some are wondering what happened to the 100-watt bulbs, and those who know are faced with far too many choices. For anyone who missed the news, 100-watt bulbs were phased out a little more than two years ago, and 75-watt bulbs were finished last year. In January, production and import of all 40- and 60-watt bulbs was called to an end in this nation.

LEDs Will Get Even More Efficient: Cree Passes 300 Lumens Per Watt

LED maker Cree announced that it had achieved a new record in terms of lighting efficiency, harvesting 303 lumens per watt from a white high power LED at room temperature.  This represents a 10% increase over last year’s record of 276 lumens per watt, also held by Cree. For comparison’s sake (though admittedly not a pefect example), the traditional 60 watt incandescent bulb (now essentially outlawed as a consequence of new lighting standards that took effect in January, and which utilized 95% of its energy to produce heat), typically yielded 750-1150 lumens, or between 12.5 and just over 19 lumens per watt.