Skoda Karoq: LED lighting technology

What are the main benefits of LED lights in automotive? For starters, the light-emitting diodes are much smaller than traditional bulbs, meaning they can easily be arranged into intricate and attractive designs. The Karoq’s dipped and main beam alone are made up of 25 LEDs. Most importantly, the crisp white light they emit is brighter than halogen or even xenon systems, with a light intensity rating of 150 Lux compared with 100 Lux emitted by even the best halogen systems.

Powerful LED-based train headlight optimized for energy savings

Researchers have designed a new LED-based train headlight that uses a tenth of the energy required for headlights using conventional light sources. If operated 8 hours every day, the electricity savings of the new design would reduce emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide by about 152 kilograms per year. Train headlights not only illuminate the tracks ahead, they also play an important role in rail transportation. Because trains are difficult to stop, the headlights must be visible from a distance far enough away to give people or vehicles on the tracks ample time to move out of the way. Traditional train headlights, which use incandescent or halogen bulbs, are bright enough to meet safety regulations but are not very energy efficient because most of the energy powering the light is converted into heat rather than visible light.

Deep UV LEDs Have Highest Output Power

Dowa Electronics Materials has successfully developed a deep ultraviolet LED chip, which it says feature the world’s highest output power of 90mW, with a peak wavelength of 310 nm, and dimensions of 1 mm × 1 mm. Deep ultraviolet lights with a wavelength of 310 nm are used for curing and skin therapy. Replacing conventional mercury and excimer lamps with these LEDs enables equipment to be smaller and mercury-free. With the advantages of long life time and power saving, this product is expected to find new applications.

Biomedical Impacts of LEDs

Modern LED light sources enable surgeons to both view the visible area of interest and gather additional information through the excitation of biomarkers. This change, they say, opens the way for better diagnosis, greater surgical precision and faster recovery times. “LED Technology Advances Endoscopy”. LED light is also a feature in a microscopy platform that enables high-speed imaging of tissue samples, which is the subject of an article by Cody Daniel of 3Scan. The system integrates a high-speed camera with an automated microtome coupled to an LED light source that transmits light through the bevel of the blade. It can generate as many as 50,000 section images in a few hours and be rendered into 3D.

When stacking quantum wires yields polarized LEDs

In their quest for the manufacture of efficient polarized microLEDs, a team of researchers from the University College of Cork, Ireland, have turned their attention to highly anisotropic wire-like nanostructures, which could combine good carrier confinement with a highly anisotropic structure, yielding a strong light emission anisotropy. Their paper titled "Three-Dimensional Self-Assembled Columnar Arrays of AlInP Quantum Wires for Polarized Micrometer-Sized Amber Light Emitting Diodes" reviews prior art strategies in the optimization of carrier confinement.

KAIST Developed Vertical Micro LEDs Applicable to Brain Science

South Korean researchers developed vertical micro LEDs. Micro LEDs have a shorter current path than horizontal thin film LEDs and, as such, emit less heat, have a lower resistance, and can achieve a higher level of optical efficiency. The Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) announced that its research team led by professor Lee Kun-jae designed its own equipment for the vertical LEDs and developed the flexible vertical micro LEDs by simultaneously transferring 2,500 thin film LEDs with a thickness of five micrometers to 80 micrometers. The newly developed technology can triple the optical efficiency of LEDs,

Converting every Lincoln street light to LED is among the major city projects

Converting every Lincoln street light to LED is among the major city projects Mayor Chris Beutler wants to tackle using a new tool that would leverage energy savings for financing. Beutler is asking the Lincoln City Council to authorize using energy service companies, or ESCOs, to help the city find equipment that will reduce its energy costs and help guarantee energy savings on the projects. The city administration has already selected an ESCO, Schneider Electric, that it wants to look at the LED street light project, said Frank Uhlarik, the city's sustainability and compliance manager. (Photo: Daderot)

Computers aid discovery of new, inexpensive material to make LEDs with high color quality

A team led by engineers at the University of California San Diego has used data mining and computational tools to discover a new phosphor material for white LEDs that is inexpensive and easy to make. Researchers built prototype white LED light bulbs using the new phosphor. The prototypes exhibited better color quality than many commercial LEDs currently on the market. Phosphors, which are substances that emit light, are one of the key ingredients to make white LEDs. They are crystalline powders that absorb energy from blue or near-UV light and emit light in the visible spectrum. The combination of the different colored light creates white light.

TaoTronics TT-DL036 LED Desk

Modern technology can sometimes be frustratingly messy. The alluring promise that wireless charging might allow for a minimalist environment is somewhat spoiled by the necessity of wires. A small pad that needs its own outlet takes up valuable real estate. Surely there’s a more elegant solution? Enter the TaoTronics LED desk lamp, which cleverly folds speedy wireless charging technology into an angular, slightly futuristic-looking design with versatile touch controls. It’s everything you could want in a desk lamp, with wireless charging thrown in on top.

St. Anthony plans to install LED light bulbs in city street lights

Thanks to the installation of new LED 50 watt light bulbs, St. Anthony stands to save nearly $1,000 a month on street light power expenses. That savings translates into $11,178 a year in cost reductions for power generated via St. Anthony’s 160 street lights. The city council met recently with its public works director Scott Butigan who announced the future purchase of new street light bulbs. He reported that in a deal with Rocky Mountain Power, the city can buy LED light bulbs for $76 each rather than the $111 they normally cost. The lights will also come with “photo eyes” that generate light as the sun starts to set.

Reducing carbon emissions with energy-efficient lighting systems

Philips Lighting has selected SUSI Partners’ SUSI Energy Efficiency Fund (SEEF) as financing partner to implement Light as a Service (LaaS) projects to help European lighting customers upgrade their lighting to more energy-efficient systems and reduce carbon emissions.

The SEEF-financed LaaS projects are expected to achieve aggregated carbon emission savings of up to 90,000 tonnes of CO2 due to the upgrade to energy-efficient LEDs. LaaS includes the design, building, operation and maintenance of new lighting installations, with no upfront investments for the customer and costs of the lighting being spread over a predetermined period of time. The customer immediately realises savings on energy costs and repays the project from these savings. It also guarantees the outcome on light levels, energy and uptime.

Under the agreement, Philips Lighting can embed financing from SEEF into its customer proposition, on a flexible and repeatable basis. This innovative facility allows Philips Lighting to further expand its project pipeline and supports its LaaS business model throughout Europe. The initial agreement covers projects in Belgium, Germany, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Spain, with other countries soon to follow.

Philips Lighting aims to generate 80% of its total revenue from sustainable products, systems and services by 2020. In 2017, the company achieved 77.3% sustainable revenues.

GE Lighting finds buyer for EMEA operations

GE has taken a big step in unloading its lighting businesses, reaching an agreement to sell GE Lighting's Budapest-based European, Middle East, and Africa operations (GE calls it EMEAT for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Turkey), plus GE's Global Automotive Lighting group, to a company controlled by the former president of GE Hungary. The entire workforce of those units — over 4000 people in total — will transfer to the new entity, GE told LEDs Magazine, while the new owner posted a comment saying he will eventually drop the GE company name and replace it with Tungsram, which was the name of the former state-owned Hungarian lighting and electronics company that GE bought in 1990.

Durango will replace downtown lights with LEDs to save thousands

The city of Durango will soon look a little brighter as hundreds of new LED lights are being installed in the downtown area. According to the Durango Herald, the city and La Plata Electric Association will replace 135 lights, beginning in March. The city of Durango will spend $50,000 on the project.

Lawrence City Commission to decide whether to shift to warmer-colored LEDs

The debate about whether the city should follow health recommendations regarding the color of LED bulbs it uses for its streetlights will come to a head Tuesday. At its meeting, the Lawrence City Commission will consider a city staff recommendation to continue using a type of LEDs that emit a blue-rich white light. Some studies have shown that nighttime exposure to blue light is unhealthy, but city staff states that the issue is complex and unresolved, and it is recommending the city follow lighting industry standards said to be safest for traffic. The cost of shifting to warmer-colored LEDs will also be a key discussion topic.

General Electric strikes deal to sell portion of GE Lighting

General Electric has agreed to sell a portion of GE Lighting to a company led by a former GE Lighting executive. GE has agreed to sell GE Lighting's business in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Turkey, as well as its Global Automotive Lighting business. The company previously announced plans to sell both GE Lighting and Current, a unit that spun out from GE Lighting in 2015. The buyer is a company led by Joerg Bauer, who previously served as president of GE Hungary, which is where the business unit being sold is headquartered.

Team Uses Plasmonics to Improve QD LED Efficiency

Researchers have designed metallic nanostructure substrates that can lower production cost while improving the efficiency of quantum dot (QD) LEDs. For its design, the team exploited the phenomenon of so-called surface plasmonic resonances that can occur when nanoscale metallic structures are exposed to light. To enhance the fluorescence intensity of the QD LEDs, the team from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) used different metallic nanostructures for each QD LED. Silver nanodisks were used for red QDs and aluminum nanodisks for green QDs. The team used systematic finite-difference time domain simulations of excitation, spontaneous emission and quantum efficiency enhancement to design the nanodisk arrays.

Let there be light: Edmonton continues to switch street lamps to LEDs

The colour of Edmonton’s nighttime streetscapes is changing. The traditional yellowish-orange glow from street lights is gradually being replaced by the bluish-white light of LED fixtures. It’s a switch the city started in 2011, after a pilot project in 2010. To date, 44,800 of Edmonton’s 117,400 streetlights have been switched, Vlado Cicovski, Edmonton’s senior streetlight engineer,

The tiny LEDs that could stop vessel hull fouling in its tracks

Worldwide coatings giant AkzoNobel is to develop a revolutionary fouling prevention technology which uses ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UV-LED). The pioneering solution – which uses underlying technology developed by Royal Philips – will be applied to underwater surfaces to eliminate fouling growth. By teaming up AkzoNobel’s cutting-edge surface protection and adhesion know-how with Royal Philips’ unrivalled capabilities and intellectual property in UV-LED lighting and electronics, the two companies are aiming to develop an economically viable solution for underwater fouling prevention.

Saving energy one light bulb at a time

Energy availability impacts all Air Force missions, from installation infrastructure to aviation operations, at both enduring and non-enduring locations. In order to maintain the Air Force’s critical airpower contributions to national security, significant amounts of energy are required. “We’ve begun replacing every broken incandescent light bulb around the base with cheaper and more energy efficient light emitting diodes (LEDs) bulbs,” said Master Sgt. John Calton, 380th ECES, electrical section chief manager. “It only makes sense, why would we not want to save money and make it easier for the next rotations?”

Replacing LED light bulbs before they fail may be greener

Households can reduce their energy bills and cut their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions by switching to more efficient lighting, but what's the best strategy to maximize savings in cost, energy and emissions? Should we buy our new bulbs today or wait for further improvements to the technology?

Having considered the options in detail, researchers based at the University of Michigan, US, have drawn up a list of household lighting guidelines to help us make the right decision.

All incandescent and halogen light bulbs should be replaced immediately with compact fluorescent lamps or LED versions, they found, assuming an average use of 3 hours per day. But if you are already using compact fluorescent lamps then the next step depends on several factors.

Nanowire LEDs require combination modelling

LEDs based on nanowire structures could enable flexible devices, and displays covering a wider range of colours, as well as easing lattice mismatch strains when integrating with silicon. Despite the progress made from investigations of these devices over the past 15 years, further theoretical and computational studies are needed to understand how they can be optimized. Researchers in Finland and Sweden have now demonstrated that certain common assumptions when modelling planar LEDs are not valid for their nanowire counterparts and that sophisticated models are needed that integrate both electronic and wave optic effects.

5 Important Reasons You Should (Finally) Embrace LEDs

According to a recent US Department of Energy report, the number of LED installations has quadrupled from 215 million units in 2014 to 874 million units in 2016. Despite this staggering growth in the adaptation of LED lighting, LED market penetration is still at only 12.6%. The DOE’s goal scenario is 90% market penetration by 2035. In order to close the gap, LED providers are learning to sell to a broader customer base by adjusting the frame of LED retrofit proposals. Most building managers know about LEDs these days but will not make the change on their own. Here are 5 reasons late adopters should embrace LED retrofits:

l o n studio's lamps discover a new way to interact with lighting design objects

r l o n design studio from berlin creates objects and installations characterized by minimal aesthetics, playful interactions, and poetic motions. their L1 and L3 lamps discover a completely different approach to lighting design with their shapes and the new way of user’s interaction.

Get those #hygge vibes with this flickering light bulb

Instead of investing money in a candle that'll last you two weeks and make your house smell like old fruit, consider snagging an LED Flame Flicker Light Bulb instead. This awesome light bulb plugs into any light source and creates a majestic, lifelike flame. Now you can have that #hygge ambiance without the fire hazard.

SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch inspires 3D printed carbon fiber lamp

Even if you’re not a space aficionado you’ll likely have heard about SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket launch. The rocket is set to become the most powerful craft of its kind. Here on Earth, if you’re looking for a way to celebrate or commemorate the momentous occasion (or if you’re just a big fan of the space-chic aesthetic), Andrew McCalip, founder of Cosine Additive, has designed and 3D printed a chandelier inspired by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.

Front’s new light pendant, Hoop Front's Hoop lamp features glass pendant trapped inside wire cage

Stockholm studio Front has created a series of lights for design brand Zero, which feature brightly coloured metal strands that support a rounded diffuser. Unveiled at this year's Stockholm Design Week, Front's latest lighting design – named Hoop – has a globe-shaped diffuser that appears to rest at the bottom of a metal frame.

Prices of high-power ceramic-substrate and mid-power 3030 packaged LEDs in China down slightly in January

Some high-power ceramic-substrate LED and mid-power 3030 packaged LED products on the China market both saw a slight price drop in January as suppliers were trying to clear inventory at the year end, notes market research firm LEDinside (a division of TrendForce). In addition, under the increasingly fierce competition in the packaged LED market for lighting products, major international manufacturers are continuing their efforts in the automotive LED market.

Zumtobel parts ways with its CEO

The executive merry-go-round at Zumtobel Group has accelerated to full tilt, as the company announced the departures of both its CEO Ulrich Schumacher and its chief financial officer Karin Sonnenmoser. The €1.3 billion publicly-traded Dornbirn, Austria LED lighting and services vendor promoted chief operating officer Alfred Felder to “acting CEO,” which makes him interim chairman of the management board as well, which Zumtobel sometimes calls the executive board.

Southampton Town Expects To Begin LED Installation This Spring

Southampton Town officials are moving forward with replacing the municipality’s estimated 2,700 streetlights with light-emitting diode bulbs—commonly referred to as LEDs—this spring. Partnering with the New York Power Authority, or NYPA, the town will invest approximately $1.9 million into its streetlight replacement project, which would cover the cost of the bulbs and their actual installation, according to Town Councilwoman Julie Lofstad. The townwide conversion from 75-watt high-pressure sodium bulbs to 36-watt LEDs is expected to significantly cut the town’s electricity costs down the road and reduce its carbon footprint, according to Town Parks Director Kristen Doulos.

Could this space-age LED bulb light up your life?

Swedish design brand Flyte has sent its new LED light bulb to space as part of a crowdfunding campaign for ‘the ultimate minimal, dimmable LED bulb’. The Arc bulb has smashed its funding target of £17,000, with more than 900 backers signed up to receive one when it launches later this year. It’s due to go on sale in June, costing around £30.

Remember the 100-watt bulb ban?

In December 2007, President George W. Bush signed the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), a law that mandated about 25 percent greater efficiency for household light bulbs between 40 and 100 watts sold in the U.S. by 2014. (EISA also required a higher mileage standard for vehicles and some other energy-saving moves.) The EISA effectively killed most — but not all — incandescent bulbs, because they couldn’t be profitably made to meet the new standard. Exempted bulbs included specialty bulbs, three-way bulbs, chandelier bulbs, refrigerator bulbs, and plant grow lights.

Intel invests in next-gen 3D nanowire LEDs from Aledia

Next-generation 3D LED manufacturer Aledia (Grenoble, France) closed a Series C financing round with Intel Capital as a new investor. In addition to Intel Capital, the majority of existing Aledia investors participated in the $37.3 million dollar (30 million euro) round, including Braemar Energy Ventures, Demeter, the Ecotechnologies Fund of Bpifrance, (the French national industrial bank), IKEA Group, the venture capital arm of IKEA, Sofinnova Partners, and Supernova Invest.

Aledia's LED displays are based on WireLED (trademarked) 3D nanowire technology, which allows manufacturing of 3D LEDs on 8-inch (200 mm) or larger silicon wafers in existing microelectronics foundries and straightforward integration with electronics.

Nichia announces Optisolis packaged LEDs

Nichia has announced the Optisolis family of packaged LEDs that deliver what the company calls “Ultra-High CRI” across all 16 of the color samples that are used in characterizing a light source based on the color rendering index metric. The technology is based on blue pumps and proprietary Nichia phosphor technology and the company explicitly pointed out that there was no violet or ultraviolet (UV) spectral energy in the emission. Target applications start with museums and art galleries but could also include more mainstream solid-state lighting (SSL) applications such as retail, restaurant, and commercial spaces.

Somebody invented a ferrofluid lava lamp

Flexible vertical micro LED

A KAIST research team led by Professor Keon Jae Lee from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Professor Daesoo Kim from the Department of Biological Sciences has developed flexible vertical micro LEDs (f-VLEDs) using anisotropic conductive film (ACF)-based transfer and interconnection technology. The team also succeeded in controlling animal behavior via optogenetic stimulation of the f-VLEDs. Flexible micro LEDs have become a strong candidate for the next-generation display due to their ultra-low power consumption, fast response speed, and excellent flexibility.

Materials research team lights the way for more efficient LEDs

Researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Center for Computational Materials Science, working with an international team of physicists, have revealed that nanocrystals made of cesium lead halide perovskites (CsPbX3), is the first discovered material which the ground exciton state is "bright," making it an attractive candidate for more efficient solid-state lasers and light emitting diodes (LEDs).

"The discovery of such material, and understanding of the nature of the existence of the ground bright exciton, open the way for the discovery of other semiconductor structures with bright ground excitons," said Dr. Alexander Efros, research physicist, NRL. "An optically active bright exciton in this material emits light much faster than in conventional light emitting materials and enables larger power, lower energy use, and faster switching for communication and sensors."

Corsair’s snack-proof keyboard gets upgraded with rainbow LEDs

Corsair’s snack-proof gaming keyboard, the K68, was pretty great when it launched last year, demonstrating a remarkable resistance to soda and snacks. But it had one fatal flaw (okay, two, if you count pouring an entire bottle of Mountain Dew on it for science) — it only came with boring red LED lights. Fortunately, Corsair has a new variant of the K68, the K68 RGB, which adds the whole spectrum of colors to your keys. Like Corsair’s other LED-equipped accessories, the K68 RGB is customizable through the company’s Cue software, allowing you to perfectly set your colors to match the rest of your gaming rig’s lighting.

Soraa’s violet LEDs can help you sleep better with healthy lights

If you’re not getting enough sleep, you can blame it on those blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that are replacing incandescent light bulbs everywhere. But Soraa is out to protect your eyes and your sleep cycle with violet LEDs that also give you the full spectrum of colors. The company is announcing its better light bulbs today. Fremont, California-based Soraa has been making high-end LED bulbs for five years, but today the company is launching two consumer bulbs dubbed Soraa Radiant and Soraa Healthy. They’re the byproduct of years of research by Shuji Nakamura, the father of the modern LED light and founder of Soraa.

This lamp beams internet to your laptop

So you’ve heard of Wi-Fi. You might even be on Wi-Fi right now. But what if you hate Wi-Fi? What if you are just really, morally opposed to and personally offended by Wi-Fi, but still want wireless internet? Then finally, you have an answer: Li-Fi — internet delivered via infrared light. Li-Fi is not exactly new, but a company named Oledcomm is one of the first to bring it to market in a way that’s accessible to consumers. It’s created a product named MyLiFi that lets you get internet wirelessly using a lamp and a dongle that plugs into your computer’s USB port. I got to test it out at CES today, and it definitely works. But there are so many drawbacks that I find it hard to imagine why someone would want to buy one.

Japan's Koito sees brighter profit on brisk auto lamp sales

Automotive lighting maker Koito Manufacturing now expects net profit to grow 31% to 74 billion yen ($678 million) in the year ending in March thanks to better-than-expected sales of light-emitting diode headlights in Japan and elsewhere in Asia. The new forecast out Friday is 3 billion yen higher than the previous projection and would represent a sixth straight year of record profit. Koito will likely book some 12 billion yen in extraordinary profit in the quarter ending in March from the previous sale of a Shanghai subsidiary.

LightCam: a smart light bulb that doubles as a security camera

Smart light bulbs are all the hype, and we are glad to see LIFX and Philips Hue are no longer the only players in the game. Manufacturers are rising across the industry; some with very interesting ideas. So far we haven’t seen anything like LightCam, though. It is pretty much what it sounds like—a smart light that doubles as a security camera. The concept is rather simple, but it is clear the team did a good job setting up a strategy in the drawing board. In terms of lighting, the bulb can be easily controlled through an app, which allows for setting up on/off schedules. Alternatively, you can set it up so it turns on with motion. It needs no hubs and fits into any light socket. Things can’t get any simpler, really.

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are the hottest thing in interior grow lights for plants

Well, maybe ‘coolest’ is a better term than ‘hottest.’ One of the main selling features of LED grow lights is that they run much cooler than the competition and are, therefore, more energy-efficient. But LED grow lights are also more costly than conventional grow lights, so the question that you need to ask yourself before purchasing them is ‘Are they really worth the extra money?’

Before one can make a decision on whether or not to install LED grow lights (or any other grow lights, for that matter) it helps to understand a bit about what they are and how they affect plant growth. The scientific explanation of how LEDs work can be a bit headache-inducing at times. What works for me is to think of a single LED fixture as a structure that contains many small semiconductors (diodes) that restrict the flow of electrons whenever the fixture is plugged in and turned on. This restriction causes the diodes to