Spanish soccer team turns to LED lighting for better broadcast quality

Another major sports team is making the switch to LED stadium lighting, as Spanish soccer team Sevilla FC (Seville Football Club) will open its season under new field illumination from Philips. Both Philips and Sevilla heralded the lights more for supporting quality TV broadcasts than for energy savings.

Seville's 42,500-seat, 59-year-old Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium is installing 360 Philips ArenaVision LED fixtures for the playing area, and 8 network-controlled Philips Vari-Lite VL6000 movable color spots for entertainment lighting, including the Philips NEO lighting console. The lights are expected to be ready when the season opens, which is in August; Sevilla and the other major league Spanish teams have not yet released their schedules.

Hawko releases Gen2 LEDs for Pixielite lighting system

Hawko Australia has launched the latest GEN2 LEDs for their Pixielite lighting system. The new Pixielite LEDs deliver the same bright output as GEN1 but with a current draw of only 0.15w each.

The only string lighting system that is 100% Australian made, Hawko Pixielite features high quality components for complete UV stabilisation. The fittings are ultrasonically welded onto the cable, preventing them from coming off the cables in the heat, which also checks any moisture ingress.

The single lamp failure technology in the Pixielite system ensures no other lamps in the system are affected in the event of the failure of a single lamp.

Seoul Semi Says New 'Sun-Like' LEDs Could Generate $400 Million in Sales by 2021

Leading LED maker Seoul Semiconductor announced a new technology which it says minimizes the blue-light spike emitted by regular LEDs that is commonly blamed for sleep disturbances and other health problems. The South Korean company said on Monday that the technology, developed in partnership with Toshiba Materials, would produce light more similar to the Sun's rays, capturing customers put off by the current quality of light-emitting diode (LED) lighting. LED makers, having cut costs to the bone, are now racing to improve the quality of the energy-efficient lighting as many consumers and organizations still favor the warmer quality of incandescent lightbulbs in regions where they are not banned.

Samsung announces mid-power 3030 packaged LED

Samsung Electronics has announced a new version of the 3.0×3.0-mm LM301 packaged LED family that now delivers 220-lm/W efficacy at a drive current of 65 mA. Lumileds is moving to add features to its Level 2 Matrix light engines to further simplify the task of luminaire makers bringing new products to market. Everlight Electronics has filed a suit in United States District Court against Bridgelux, and now Bridgelux has said the Everlight claims are without merit. Over the course of the past couple of years, Samsung seems to have focused more on the performance of its 5630 (3.6×3.0 mm) LM561 packaged LED family than on the LM301 family in its mid-power portfolio. Last year, the company pushed efficacy in the performance-oriented LM561C to the 200-lm/W level.

Amerlux upgrades popular Avista LED Light Engine retrofit

Amerlux has upgraded the performance level of its very popular Avista LED retrofit light engine to meet new 4.0 standards of the DesignLights Consortium (DLC). The new Avista (AV12) model is engineered with Next Generation LEDs, advanced optics, a new driver, and an updated LED board to achieve the required efficacy.
 
Amerlux upgrades popular Avista LED Light Engine retrofit with Next Generation LEDs, Optics and Driver to meet new DLC Performance Standards
Amerlux upgrades popular Avista LED Light Engine retrofit with Next Generation LEDs, Optics and Driver to meet new DLC Performance Standards

The upgraded Avista is offered with wattages up to 68 and a lumen output up to 7500. With a diameter of just Ø6.85 inches, the new LED engine is available in standard CCTs of 2700K, 3000K and 4000K, plus custom color temperatures, in one of three horizontal distributions (Symmetric, Asymmetric or Street Optic).

The LED engine is designed to maximize light output on the ground or other surfaces with exact center beam candle power (CBCP), providing the precise number of foot-candles for exterior lighting applications. Additional features include automatic AC incoming voltage sensing and protection from over voltage, short circuits and surges.

Constructed with an anodized aluminum heat sink and an elongated form factor, Avista is engineered with exceptional thermal management and stringent efficacy levels. The height can be adjusted in the field to accommodate a variety of fixtures while delivering optimal performance.

SF replacing streetlights with brighter, energy-efficient LEDs

Large strips of San Francisco streets will soon be bathed in the warm, white light produced by 12,500 new streetlights that the city’s Public Utilities Commission is planning to install by the end of this year. As part of a concerted push by San Francisco to refurbish and modernize the city’s infrastructure, the PUC is replacing outdated street lamp heads with brighter, more energy-efficient light-emitting diode fixtures.

The Right Way to Switch to LED Lights

When trying to make a building more energy-efficient, it’s tempting to go after the so-called “low-hanging fruit.” For instance, get the super to remove the outdated incandescent light bulbs in all common areas and replace them with state-of-the-art light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs and – voilà! – watch your electricity bill go down. Dumb move.

The board at a 35-unit co-op on the Upper East Side resisted this temptation and instead followed the Con Edison playbook for a building-wide lighting upgrade. By taking a more holistic approach, the board was able to take full advantage of Con Ed’s numerous incentives and rebates, not only on LED bulbs but also on buying new fixtures and retrofitting existing ones. As a result, the co-op is likely to see a far richer payout than it would have realized by simply plucking the low-hanging fruit. Smart move.

Horticultural LED system brings vertical farming to biomass crops

Smart Grow Systems has announced the Goldeni LED horticultural lighting system that is intended for optimizing propagation and flower cycles in vertical-farming installation for crops such as cannabis, orchids, hops, and berries. In such crops, increased biomass is the typical goal of growers and Smart Grow Systems claims that Goldeni will produce more biomass, support faster cycles, and more effectively use space.

In crops such as tomatoes or cannabis where biomass is the goal and crops generally grow tall, LED or legacy lights are installed well above the plant canopy and serve as the primary radiometric energy source indoors or as a supplemental source in greenhouses. In crops such as leafy greens and herbs, the latest movement is to vertical farms where many racks of plants are stacked and in which the LED lighting is placed very near the plant canopy.

Aleddra Announces the First Omni-Directional LED PL Lamp

Aleddra LED Lighting announces today that the much anticipated CFL PL replacement bulb, CF-LED lamp is now available for sale in the US market. Unlike existing LED PL lamps, which are restricted to either horizontal or vertical mount, Aleddra's CF-LED can be used for either horizontal or vertical application thus reducing down time and labor costs involved with counting how many lamps of each application are required.

The CF-LED lamp is available in four different bases: GX23-2 (2-pin), G24Q (4-pin), E26, and GU24. The 2-pin and 4-pin models are a dual-mode lamp; that is, they can operate with an existing PL lamp ballast or line voltage. The end user can install the CF-LED PL lamp and postpone the labor involved in ballast bypass until the ballast meets end of life. Or in the event of an incompatible ballast, the CF-LED lamp can be wired straight to line voltage and function as if it would with a ballast.

L.A.'s new tallest building is to become a lightsaber with massive LED displays

Nearly a fifth of a mile up in the sky atop Los Angeles’ tallest building, two massive LED displays — each 42 by 60 feet — sit dormant, ready to beam messages out across the city. The screens consist of 250 million pixels, each no bigger than a pea, ready to explode with vibrant oranges, blues and greens once the sun sets and the building begins to glow. Skyscrapers have been called the “sword of cities.” But the Wilshire Grand is more of a lightsaber. In addition to the lighted top, the building itself is covered in roughly 2.5 miles of LEDs running up and down the building’s spine.

Orange to upgrade 2,500 street lights to LEDs

The city of Orange is upgrading 2,500 Orange street lights to energy efficient LED fixtures that will save energy, last longer and better illuminate local neighborhoods. City Engineer Frank Sun said the light-emitting diode fixtures are a big upgrade over the city’s current sodium-vapor lamps. Replacing the 2,500 lamps, a majority of the city’s street lights, will cost nearly $1 milliond. The city will receive a $395,000 rebate from Edison for the upgrade, and the rest will be made up by more than $110,000 per year in energy savings from the more efficient lights, officials said.

Zephyr Introduces Dimmable, Energy Efficient LED Range Hood Lighting

Zephyr introduced its BriteStrip and Bloom GU10 LED lights that are energy efficient, have a longer life, and contribute to the overall aesthetic of a well-designed kitchen.

While practical lighting is necessary for all homes, when lighting is elevated to the next level it can truly transform a space. LED lighting is the way of the future with the ability to enhance a room from both a design and functionality standpoint. From cabinet and showcase lighting to under-cabinet and backlit lighting, designers are pushing boundaries with LED options to provide the best possible design solutions.

BriteStrip LED lighting is now available in select Essentials Collection hoods, including Anzio Wall/Island, Breeze 2 Under Cabinet, Lucé Wall/Island, Ravenna Wall, Roma Wall/Island, Savona Wall, Siena Wall, and Siena Pro Wall/Island. Zephyr will soon offer LED lighting options in almost all of its hoods by the end of 2017.

GE Relax, Refresh, and Reveal LED light bulbs: Two of these dumb bulbs are terrific

GE has appropriated the phrase 'high definition' from the TV industry and applied it to a new line of dumb LED bulbs. The word 'dumb' isn’t meant to be derogatory here, it’s just that these bulbs don’t have the electronic components that would enable them to be directly controlled by a smart home hub or a smart phone. Pair them with a smart switch and you’ll be in business.

So how can high definition be applied to light? GE explains that its Relax, Refresh, and Reveal bulbs “have a higher CRI, or Color Rendering Index, than standard LED bulbs. Which means they deliver greater color contrast and boldness than an average light bulb.

Ross Gardam's Polar wall lamp pivots to create rings of light

Australian designer Ross Gardam has added to his Polar series of lighting with a wall lamp that can be rotated to create eclipse-like effects. Its hinged disc-shaped shade is lit from behind, creating circles of light that resemble the phases of the moon. The forms vary with the positioning of the shade, which is easily adjustable. The circular Polar shade was first used by Gardam for a series of desk lamps, which featured a pivoting arm and reflective material that could be used to control light and shadow.

Giant Russian Greenhouse Shows LEDs Swaying Light Bulb Die-Hards

About 350 kilometers west of Moscow, in a farming region too cold to grow produce for more than a few months a year, greenhouses stretching into the horizon are being equipped with something of a revolution. The 122,000 light-emitting diodes to be supplied by Philips Lighting NV are the latest sign that a trend, which has already swept through markets ranging from homes to cars and street lamps, is now winning over the pickiest of lighting connoisseurs: farmers.

Are variable frequency drives the new LEDs?

Variable frequency drives, or VFDs, are a technology that seemingly fit a similar profile to LEDs. Like LEDs, VFDs have prescriptive incentives in virtually every C&I energy efficiency program in the U.S. Like LEDs, their energy-saving ability is unquestioned, easily achieving between 30 percent and 55 percent kWh savings, depending on the application. And, like LEDs, the VFD market potential is huge. The U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) reports that about half of all U.S. commercial buildings were constructed before 1980, making it likely there are VFDs installed on the HVAC motors in those buildings.

19th century oil lamp fetches 15,000 pounds

A 19th century miner's oil lamp has been sold for a staggering 15,000 pounds at an auction in the UK. The Newcastle-type Davy lamp - designed for use in flammable atmospheres made - was estimated to sell for just 100 to 150 pounds. Auctioneer Philip Allwood, from Moore Allen and Innocent, said he was "staggered" by the amount and believed it could be a world record high price for such an object.

Hopkinton council to insist on dimming of gas stations’ red LEDs

Members of the Hopkinton Town Council held a public hearing Monday to discuss modifications of the town’s sign ordinance to allow the color red to continue to be used to display prices at the town’s three gas stations. Those businesses will still have to comply with a provision of the ordinance that requires them to dim their red LED signs in the evenings. “The dimming of the LEDs is still in the ordinance and still needs to be followed, even if you kept the red,” councilor Barbara Capalbo said.

Why you should switch your headlight bulbs to LEDs

We’ve all been there at night when we can’t see a thing because our headlights aren’t bright enough. A new report out states that’s the case for a majority of vehicles. Mechanics are now suggesting replacing your old halogen bulbs with LED lights. On average, halogen lights only allow the driver to see about 50 yards in front of them, but with LED lights, a driver can see twice as far. The lights are also said to last longer. LED lights cost anywhere from $70 dollars to $150 dollars. Mechanic Dave Guthrie says, they don’t even take that long to install.

Osram’s next-generation of LEDs set new standards in miniaturization

Osram Opto Semiconductors presented the latest generation of surface-mountable LED, the Topled E1608, with a package smaller than its predecessor models by a factor of 20. Despite this considerable miniaturization, the low-power LED is bright, reliable and robust, offering greater options and design flexibility, particularly for car interior applications. ThinGaN, thin film and Sapphire – the new Topled E1608 LEDs from Osram Opto Semiconductors are based on the latest chip technologies. In combination with the latest high-efficiency converters, the low-power LEDs produce outstanding performance values. At a normal operating current of 20 mA, the new Topleds are 3.6 times brighter than preceding models.

Egg-shaped lamps: The lighting you didn't know you needed

My highly-suggestible shopping persona fixated on incorporating the humble egg—arguably the Platonic ideal of a life form—into my home decor. That’s when I noticed the ovoid shape cropping up in minimalist jewelry aimed at the fashion set. Thankfully, the internet is a literal treasure trove (or junk yard, depending on your perspective). Googling “egg lamp” led me to the world of Newark, New Jersey-based Laurel Lamp Company, a popular 1970s manufacturer of midcentury modern lighting. Although information on the company was scarce, its glass lamps, available in a range of organic, globular shapes, were prevalent on sites like 1st Dibs—but for a hefty price tag.

LED Bulbs Save Bigly

New independent consumer research shows a household using at least 20 light bulbs can save $1,000 or more in a decade by using new LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs rather than traditional incandescent or halogen bulbs. A recent Consumer Federation of America (CFA) survey of 60-watt equivalent, non-dimmable, soft white light bulbs found, for example, that each of 17 LED bulbs had a total 10-year cost of no more than $15.40 while each of 15 incandescent or halogen bulbs had a total cost of at least $61. The average 10-year cost of the LEDs was $13.70, while the average 10-year cost of the incandescents and halogens was $69.49.  Since homes use an average of more than 20 light bulbs, consumers now relying on incandescents and halogens can save in the neighborhood of $1,000 over this period by switching to LEDs.

This MIT Professor Created A DIY Disco Lamp To Inspire Girls To Study STEM

The Jubilite is an engineering kit that masquerades as a craft project. Developed by MIT professor Maria Yang, it’s a sneaky way to get girls excited about STEM fields—or help them realize that science, tech, and engineering are everywhere—under the guise of making a sweet party lamp. Most electronic maker kits on the market are aimed at boys, and while girls can certainly enjoy a good drone or robot, a DIY disco lamp is basically a dance party waiting to happen.

Joliet eyes new rules for LED signs, rope lights and bounce houses

The city of Joliet is considering a ban on decorative window lighting for most of the year and a moratorium on new LED signs. And inflatable bounce houses would be banished to backyards if new regulations recommended by the City Council Land Use and Legislative Committee are approved. The full council eventually must approve the regulations for them to go into effect. The ban on window lighting is mainly aimed at LED rope lights typically used be stores to draw attention to their businesses.

GE wants to unload its iconic light bulb business

Thomas Edison may not think this is a bright idea: General Electric is trying to rid itself of the light bulb business that has symbolized the company for 125 years. GE, a conglomerate cofounded by Edison, told employees on Thursday it has put the iconic lighting business up for sale. The storied company cited a desire to "focus on its core digital industrial assets" and streamline a portfolio that today is centered on things like jet engines and health care equipment.

Office tower integrates 1,500 linear feet of LEDs

An active light display animates the facade of a new office building in Warsaw, Poland, highlighting the Wola neighborhood’s transition from industrial manufacturing to a new residential and office district. The Prime Corporate Center was designed by Chicago-based architectural firm Solomon Cordwell Buenz in conjunction with the Warsaw office of Epstein.

Plant Saves Money and Energy on Lighting Bill by Switching to LED Lights

An aluminum parts plant in Schuylkill County teamed up with PPL to save hundreds of thousands of dollars on its lighting bill. It's a rebate deal that other businesses and people can get in on, too. They might just look like LED lights, but for 1,100 employees at the Sapa Extrusions facility in Cressona, these new lights are brightening both the room and employee morale.

Telford Borough considers converting streelights to LEDs

At a borough council meeting, Borough Manager Mark Fournier told council members he is considering having PPL convert Telford’s streetlights from traditional lights to LED lights. Fournier said PPL owns, operates and maintains all of the streetlights in the borough. Telford is responsible for paying the electric bill. Fournier said the electric bill for the lights is about $57,000 annually. The LEDs would cost about $500 annually. The borough would pay for the installation through payments tacked onto their electric bill. He said looking at how long the payback would be key in deciding whether to install them. He will continue to research the topic.

Malware Uses Router LEDs to Steal Data From Secure Networks

Specially-designed malware installed on a router or a switch can take control over the device’s LEDs and use them to transmit data in a binary format to a nearby attacker, who can capture it using simple video recording equipment. This attack scenario is the creation of a talented team of researchers from the Cyber Security Research Center at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, who previously researched other types of data exfiltration scenarios relying on hard drive LEDs, coil whine, headphones, and others.

Osram buys LED Engin

Osram has announced an agreement to acquire LED Engin, a manufacturer of packaged LEDs that typically integrate multiple emitters including products with as many as seven color channels. Nitride Semiconductor has filed a patent infringement suit against RayVio in the US District Court, Northern District of California with the target being ultraviolet (UV) LEDs manufactured and sold by RayVio. In the driver sector, Future Lighting Solutions announced that it will distribute products from ERP Power for solid-state lighting (SSL) applications on a global basis.

What type of light bulb saves money in the long run?

Confused about which type of light bulb to buy? The Consumer Federation of America recommends purchasing LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs rather than traditional incandescent or halogen bulbs, and says you’ll save money in the long run. A household using a least 20 light bulbs can save $1,000 or more over  a decade by using LED bulbs, CFA officials said in a Monday conference call. “We are in the midst of a light bulb revolution that offers considerable savings to consumers, mainly through lower electricity costs,” said CFA executive director Stephen Brobeck.

Outdoor LED Lighting Market Worth 21.95 Billion USD by 2023

The report"Outdoor LED Lighting Marketby Installation Type (New, Retrofit), End Use Application (Highways & Roadways, Architectural, Public Places), Offering (Hardware, Software & Services), Wattage Type, Region - Global Forecast to 2023", published by MarketsandMarkets, the outdoor LED lighting market is projected to reach USD 21.95 Billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 13.7% during the forecast period, 2017 to 2023.


The growth of the outdoor LED lighting market can be attributed to the increasing need for improving visibility and ensuring the safety of drivers, riders, and pedestrians as well as ongoing modernization and infrastructure development projects. Moreover, less energy consumption and cost-effectiveness of LED lighting are also contributing towards the growth of the outdoor LED lighting market across the globe.

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The new installation type segment is projected to lead the outdoor LED lighting market from 2017 to 2023 due to the installation of new-generation LED lamps and luminaires across the globe. Consumers prefer outdoor LED lighting for new installations, owing to various advantages offered by it, which include a long lifespan and reduced consumption of electricity. Although the cost of the outdoor LED lighting technology is high, its installation and maintenance costs are low.
The between 50W and 150W wattage type segment is projected to lead theoutdoor LED lightingmarket during the forecast period, 2017 to 2023.

The between 50W to 150W wattage type segment is projected to lead the outdoor LED lighting market during the forecast period. The growth of this segment of the market can be attributed to increased adoption of outdoor LED lighting across the globe due to its energy efficiency and low maintenance costs. LED lights and luminaires with a wattage range between 50W and 150W are widely used across highways & roadways.

Boulder-based lighting startup raises $200,000

A commercial lightning company looking to create more aesthetically pleasing lighting solutions for architects and designers recently raised $200,000 in capital. Although still in pre-patent development stages, Boulder-based SoftForm Lighting LLC is raising the funds to design and create a prototype product, CEO Mark Ricketson told BizWest. Eventually, the small startup plans to raise $500,000, which will go to production. “Our target market is the design side of the business, primarily architects, interior designers and lighting designers,” Ricketson said.

Go Fan Yourself – Keep Your Cool with LED Lighting

You wouldn’t buy a water faucet without both hot and cold water, right? Well, now you’re not going to want an LED light without a fan. ReCircuLite combines two products, recirculation fans and an LED light fixture, to make otherwise stuffy rooms, comfortable. This product is a combination LED light fixture and recirculation fan all in one. It helps to alleviate stuffy rooms so working/living conditions aren’t unbearable. In addition, ReCircuLite’s objective is to provide reliable, quality light source while not needing a separate fan.

LEDs to illuminate Outer Ring Road of Hyderabad

Motorists passing through Outer Ring Road (ORR) from Gachibowli to Shamshabad during the night would be treated with the visual delight of the entire stretch being illuminated with modern LED street lights since Sunday. The light-emitting diode (LED) system will be provided with GSM-based automation system, web-based management, programming and reporting system. The status of lighting can be controlled and monitored through web from anywhere.

Mobilized LED lighting system grows grass on Bundesliga soccer pitch

Horticultural LED-based lighting is a hot topic for applications ranging from herbs to tomatoes to legalized and medicinal cannabis, but solid-state lighting (SSL) can also be used to grow lawn-style grass on athletic fields. The FC Köln (FC Cologne) football club of the German Bundesliga (top German pro soccer league) is using a mobilized LED light structure that can move around the team’s training and match pitches (fields), ensuring that the grass is in top shape despite the stress caused by regular usage. Hennef, Germany-based Rhenac GreenTec AG developed the LED lighting system that further uses Tina2 optics from Finland-based LEDiL Oy to deliver the required beam pattern for the unique application.

Industry launches assault on Obama's lightbulb rules

Just ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration, the Obama administration published rules that would hurry the phaseout of incandescent lightbulbs and save more energy than any efficiency standard in Department of Energy history. Environmentalists and energy efficiency advocates cheered, calling the requirements critical for moving the U.S. energy sector into the 21st century. But critics jeered "midnight regulations" that they say impose illegal limits on consumer choice. One group filed a lawsuit and called on DOE to redo the rules.

LED on a Drone Lights Crazy Night Time Mountain Bike Shoot

Finnish 5G IoT lighting trial aims at property management

A trial installation of Internet connected indoor lighting in Finland hopes to establish how combining intelligent LEDs with next-generation 5G mobile networks can help facility managers better operate their buildings. It also aims to develop new service-oriented business models centered around property management.

The lighting system, provided by Finnish company Helvar, is part of a broader Internet of Things (IoT) experiment across 1000 m2 (10,764 ft2) at the University of Oulu, on Finland's west coast. Helvar is one of 15 companies and 5 research groups participating in what's called the VIRPA C project, funded with an undisclosed amount from the central government's TEKES technology funding agency.

Sidelooking IR LEDs targets eye-tracking systems

Osram Opto Semiconductors has launche its smallest sidelooking infrared LED to date, the SFH 4055 based on the proven Firefly platform. Emitting at 850nm, the new LED is primarily targeted at eye-tracking systems in augmented and virtual reality headsets where multiple infrared LEDs illuminate users’ eyes and capture the light reflected

World’s Most Efficient Light Bulb on Sale in UAE

Dutch-based Philips Lighting has announced that Dubai Lamp, the world’s most energy efficient light bulb, was widely available across the UAE from Saturday. The result of a research partnership between Philips Lighting and Dubai Municipality, the Dubai Lamp, which was unveiled last October as part of Dubai’s sustainability agenda, aims to reduce energy levels for lighting by as much as 90%, Arabian Business reported. By replacing conventional lamps at home with the Dubai Lamp, consumers could save up to $544 yearly on their electricity bills, a statement said.

OLEDs too costly, micro-LEDs to steal the show promises Canadian startup

Coming out of stealth, year-old Canadian startup VueReal announced the development of a 4K micro-LED array boasting a 6000ppi resolution, a world's first for an emissive display according to the company. The announcement made mentions of a so-called Continuous Pixelation technology, eeNews Europe got in touch with Reza Chaji, VueReal's founder and CEO to get a few more details.

Chaji received his PhD in Electrical & Computer Engineering in 2008 from the University of Waterloo (Canada) where he developed a novel AMOLED pixel driver architecture to dramatically reduce settling times and parasitic capacitance while boosting circuit gains. But although he spent many years working with OLEDs, Chaji and his team are now fully focused on micro-LEDs.

Google Assistant now controls Geeni smart light bulbs

Merkury Innovations’s Geeni Lex and Prisma smart light bulbs and other products can now be controlled by voice through Google Assistant, Merkury Innovations announced this week in a press release. The company's Geeni Energi Series smart plug, energy meter and its just-unveiled Geeni SURGE smart surge protector products are also compatible with Google Assistant, which can individually turn on or off devices plugged into it, according to the company.

Best smart lighting 2017

All smart lights use LEDs. Some key benefits to using LED rather than incandescent bulbs are that they use less energy, produce less heat, and last much longer. Of course, smart lighting is also pretty cool. Some of the bulbs we've listed below can set mood lighting for the different rooms in your house, be controlled from afar or scheduled to turn on and off at preset times from your phone or tablet, and even to function as an alarm, gently waking you in the morning. Some of the smart bulbs can even blast out tunes from your ceiling as they have built-in speakers.