Global Emergency Lighting Market, Forecast to 2025

The global emergency lighting market is anticipated to have earned a revenue of $4,671.1 million in 2018. The growth trend observed in the past years is expected to continue during the forecast period, and the emergency lighting market is expected grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 6.9%. Market revenue is measured in terms of manufacturer's earnings from regional demand for lamps, luminaires, battery packs, power supplies, and all associated accessories.

Underwater Lighting Market Worth $USD 348 Million by 2024

The Underwater Lighting Market is projected to grow from USD 279 million in 2019 to USD 348 million by 2024, at a CAGR of 4.5% from 2019 to 2024. Rising underwater activities such as amusement sports, night fishing, excavation of underwater artifacts, and defense search & rescue operations are contributing to the demand for underwater lighting across the globe. Increasing infrastructure spending and rising number of smart city initiatives across the globe are expected to drive the demand for water bodies to boost the aesthetic appeal of structures.

The swimming pools segment is projected to lead the underwater lighting market during the forecast period. Swimming pools are fitted with underwater lights such as LEDs to ensure their safe use during nighttime as well as to enhance their aesthetic appeal. Underwater lighting used in swimming pools is connected to transformers that convert electrical energy to a voltage of 12V. Ongoing urbanization is expected to lead to an improvement in the lifestyle of masses, thereby contributing to an increase in the demand for multiple amenities such as swimming pools within the same infrastructures. This, in turn, is expected to contribute to rise in demand for underwater lighting to be used in swimming pools.

Marset Multicolored Paint-Dipped Lamp creates eye-catching ambiance

Created by dipping giant lightbulbs into bucks of paint, Marset Multicolored Paint-Dipped Lamp is a stunning addition to any nightstand. When the lamp is dipped in paint, small concentric circles are created, each one lighter than the last. Designer Jordi Canudas created these lamps as an experiment with light. He wanted to see how different layers of paint affected the ambiance of a room. The result is a lamp that looks more like a modern art piece than a light fixture.

CARTA’s network of bus shelters, now with solar-powered lighting, is growing fast

One of the worst things about using the Charleston area’s bus system — waiting at a bus stop with no shelter, exposed to the elements — is getting a lot better. The Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority is in the midst of a bus-shelter-construction boom, with the near-term goal of having shelters at 20 percent of CARTA’s bus stops. That would be 171 stops with shelters, 44 of which are expected to be installed this year. In addition, the new perforated steel shelters and the existing shelters are lighted, using solar panels on the shelter roofs. Daniel Brock, a spokesman for the authority, said the solar systems already installed have been working well.

Light Up Your Life With This NES Controller Super Mario Lamp

We wouldn't usually get all that excited about a lamp, but this particular design has caught our attention for all the right reasons. Introducing the 'Light Up The World NES Controller Lamp'.
Featuring a Super Mario Bros design around the lampshade itself, this USB-powered contraption is inspired by the classic NES console. Our favourite part has to be the NES controller switch, though, which uses the face buttons to turn the lamp on and off, the D-Pad to control the brightness, and a cable which doubles up as the main support for the whole thing.

My desk doesn’t deserve the $600 Dyson Lightcycle lamp

Like many of you, I’m assuming, my desk was purchased at Ikea and is the center of my life. Such as it is, the desk is littered with bits of crackers, memory cards, branded Moleskin notebooks and countless coffee cups. I’m not a slob. I just live here. The desk is clean enough. Then Dyson sent me its new task light to try out. My desk suddenly felt dirty. After assembling the light, I looked around and took inventory of my life and choices. If I was going to have something as lovely as this on my desk, I would have to have a cleaner space. I cleaned up my desk.

Data science helps engineers discover new materials for solar cells and LEDs

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a high-throughput computational method to design new materials for next generation solar cells and LEDs. Their approach generated 13 new material candidates for solar cells and 23 new candidates for LEDs. Calculations predicted that these materials, called hybrid halide semiconductors, would be stable and exhibit excellent optoelectronic properties. Hybrid halide semiconductors are materials that consist of an inorganic framework housing organic cations. They show unique material properties that are not found in organic or inorganic materials alone.

Wyze’s next smart home product is an $8 light bulb

Wyze is known for its budget-friendly smart home products, and its latest addition is an $8 smart lightbulb, fitting called the Wyze Bulb. It’s already up for preorders today in Wyze’s app, with shipping planned for later in June. Wyze will only sell the bulbs as $30 four-packs to start at launch, although it plans to sell individual bulbs for the aforementioned $8 price point soon after. The Wyze Bulb will support Alexa, Google Assistant, and IFTTT (not HomeKit), and it can be integrated with Wyze’s other products through its app.

Outdoor Lighting Perspectives Opens New Location in NW Arkansas

A company in low voltage landscape and architectural lighting, Outdoor Lighting Perspectives (OLP), is opening a new location in NW Arkansas. This new OLP location is owned and operated by Amy Giezentanner Hardwick.

Starting in February 2019, Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of NW Arkansas offers design, installation and maintenance of low voltage outdoor lighting systems for residential, hospitality and holiday lighting. This location will service the greater Northwest Arkansas and River Valley areas, including Springdale, Rogers, Bentonville, Eureka Springs, Fort Smith, Siloam Springs, and Fayetteville.

A native of Northwest Arkansas, owner Amy Giezentanner Hardwick has a wealth of creative skills. Her training and years of experience as a photographer give her a sharp eye for lighting design. She enjoys sharing that sensibility with her clients to enhance the safety, beauty, and value of their homes. Her love of all things design inspired her to open Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of NW Arkansas so she could help people enjoy their dream outdoor spaces like patios, pools, decks, and kitchens after the sun goes down.

Worried About LED, OLED Blue Light Eye Damage? Dell Is

A widely-covered report out of France this week said that the blue light in LED lighting can damage the eyes. Dell, seeing the writing on the wall, isn't taking any chances. "We want to reduce the risk of blue light damage. The science is still being put together," Frank Azor , VP and General Manager, Alienware, Gaming & XPS at Dell, told me in an interview this past week. Dell is doing this "on several of our products and rolling out more into our portfolio in the future," he said.  "As we continue to invest in higher quality, brighter displays with better color gamuts, the unintended consequence is that blue light emissions have been increasing over time."

Quantum Dots from Osram Make LEDs Even More Efficient

Osram Opto Semiconductors, a world leader in the optoelectronics industry, will showcase its first Quantum Dot LED in booth #1701 at LIGHTFAIR International. Quantum Dots (QD) are nanometer-sized semiconductor particles and are approximately 10,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. Due to their very small size, the light that is re-emitted when blue LED light hits the nanoparticles depends on their size. For example, QD particles that are roughly three nanometers in size produce green light, while particles around seven nanometers emit red light. This innovative, tunable light conversion technology is featured for the first time in Osram’s Osconiq S 3030 QD mid-power LED. It will lead to more QD LEDs for the general lighting market in the future. The Osconiq S 3030 QD was specially developed to enable customers to design luminaires with high efficacy and excellent color rendering for area lighting and downlight applications.

When manufacturing conventional white LEDs, the main objectives are efficacy and product quality. Achieving both at the same time is particularly challenging, especially with very high color rendering indexes (CRI). QDs can solve this problem. The great advantage of using these nanoparticles is that the existing LED manufacturing processes remain the same. QDs are simply used instead of conventional phosphors when the converter material is applied.

More than a year ago, Osram acquired Pacific Light Technologies (PLT), a leading company in the development and manufacturing of high-performance optical nanomaterials. The PLT QD technology enables Osram to begin to close the efficacy gap that exists between CRI 80 and CRI 90 LEDs today. The new Osconiq S 3030 includes a specially developed QD phosphor solution that enables CRI 90 to achieve an outstanding efficacy value of 173 lm/W at 3000 K – a best-in-class value for 0.2 W high-performance LEDs. The compact dimensions of 3.0 mm x 3.0 mm and the low thermal resistance enable simple system design. The Osconiq S 3030 QD is also available in various color temperatures from 2700 to 6500 K.

Another unique feature of the PLT QD technology is that the Quantum Dots are encapsulated to protect them from moisture and other external influences that pose the greatest risk to the functionality of an LED. The special encapsulation technology allows the QDs to reliably master the demanding conditions of on-chip operation within the LED component.

Lutron announces new Aurora dimmer designed to integrate with existing Philips Hue setups

Lutron’s new Aurora dimmer accessory is designed to fit over existing toggle switches that you have around your home. The new round-shaped dimmer snaps onto existing mounting bases, with Lutron claiming that installation is completely wire-free and takes less than two minutes. It simply snaps over your existing light switches to provide easy access to Hue controls. Once in place, the Aurora will prevent light switches from being toggled off, and thanks to Hue integration, allows you to control brightness by simply turning the knob. You can also tap the dimmer to turn lights on and off via the Hue platform.

SpecGrade LED Achieves UL8800 Certification for Horticultural Lighting Equipment

SpecGrade LED, a global leader in advanced industrial LED grow lighting technology, announces their achievement of the UL 8800 Certification for horticultural lighting equipment, as offered by the Underwriters Laboratory.

Underwriters Laboratory sets industrial performance and safety standards that have become a bedrock of trust and authority in multiple industries. They created the UL 8800 horticulture certification due to the uniquely harsh environment of a grow facility, where dust, dampness, and air debris combined with high temperatures and humidity combine to create a unique environment for lighting fixtures.

SpecGrade LED is proud to announce that both of our LED grow light series, the Verta-8 and Verta-4, have acquired the UL 8800 Certification.

In addition to certifying the safety requirements of horticulture lighting, the UL 8800 takes into account a variety of performance testing to acknowledge the unique requirements of plants to produce biochemical growth under artificial light. UL testing takes into account active PPF and PPFD, as well as appropriate spectral distribution for photosynthesis and efficient photon efficacy.

The blue light from your LED screen isn’t hurting your eyes

Last week, several articles warned of a new report from a French government agency outlining dangers of blue light from LED lighting. These headlines are alarming because, depending on the time of day and your phone or computer’s settings, your eyes are being exposed to blue light right now. LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, are hugely popular—they’re more energy-efficient than traditional lights, and 90% cheaper now than they were a decade ago. All screens have LEDs that emit blue light, as do many offices and homes.  But the risks to typical screen-users eye health is seriously overstated, both by the agency’s own report and press release, and in the news headlines that followed. 

LHT Touts New Standard for LED Cabin Lights

A new European Standard for LED cabin lights is among recent tech breakthroughs Lufthansa Technik (LHT, Booth H71) is touting at EBACE 2019. The tech spec, DIN EN 4731, is aimed at fostering illumination commonality among next-generation interior systems. The issue: LED lights, unlike the fluorescent fixtures they often supplant, have highly individual light spectrums, generally determined by the manufacturers’ specifications. Cabin lighting systems with mood lights, for example, have an almost infinitely variable light spectrum. These variations affect the appearance of interior colors, among other impacts.

LED lights damage eyes and disturb sleep, European health authority warns

The blue light in LED lighting that is increasingly used in our homes can damage the eye's retina while disturbing our biological and sleep rhythms, a French health authority warned in a new report. New scientific evidence confirms the "phototoxic effects" of short-term exposures to high-intensity blue light, as well as an increased risk of age-related macular degeneration after chronic exposure to lower-intensity sources, according to the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety, known as ANSES. Age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of vision loss among people over 50, causes damage to the macula, a small spot near the center of the retina that's needed for sharp central vision.

America’s Utilities Unite to Support Lighting Standards

Thirty-seven electric utilities operating in 42 states and the District of Columbia, serving a combined total of almost 55 million households and businesses, have just taken an historic stand for their customers and the public interest. The utilities, which together represent more than one-third of the nation’s electricity customers, are urging the U.S. Department of Energy to abandon its proposed rollback of federal lighting efficiency standards. They also have a long track record of helping their customers replace literally billions of inefficient inca

LED Jewelry Makes Neat Use Of Brass

Wearable electronics can be both fun and fashionable. However, there are certain challenges involved in neatly integrating electronic components in a way that is both functional and comfortable for the wearer. In this vein, Jiri Praus has managed to create some glowing earrings that are remarkably simple to boot. The earrings start out with brass rod, bent with pliers and soldered at the ends. By following a paper template, it’s possible to get neat and accurate bends by hand, which is necessary to make a matching pair.

LED Matrix And A Phototransistor Make A Reverse Camera

Power Authority paying $662,0000 for LED light upgrades at MCS

The New York Power Authority is paying for a $662,000 LED lighting upgrade in Massena Central’s elementary buildings. Mike Pioggia from NYPA told the Board of Education on Thursday night there will also be some exterior LED lights added to all district buildings, but the elementary schools will get new interior lights as well. He said the district will save about $28,000 annually on its utility bill with the new lights.

Acuity promises affordable OLED luminaires in OLEDWorks alliance

While many mainstream LED lighting companies have jettisoned OLED technology, Acuity Brands has continued to hang in there, and now it has signed a deal with specialist OLEDWorks to help it expand its line with what it says will be affordable OLED luminaires. Affordability has been a big reason why other LED vendors have exited the once promising business. OLEDs — organic light-emitting diodes — are thin sheets of material that light up in response to a current. They have been hailed for allowing sleeker designs than what single point LEDs allow. And proponents also point out that OLEDs can deliver a softer light.

Seoul Semiconductor’s SunLike Series Natural Spectrum LEDs Chosen for Illumination in Paris’ Grevin Museum

Seoul Semiconductor announced that its SunLike Series natural spectrum LEDs have been adopted by RAMO, a LED lighting manufacturer in France, for downlight fixtures used to illuminate wax figures in the Grevin Museum of Paris.

Since 1882, the Grevin Museum Paris, located on the Boulevard Montmartre, has been a leading tourist attraction, with exhibits of more than 200 wax figures of movie stars, celebrities, historic figures and politicians including Kylian Mbappe, Katy Perry, Michael Jackson, Marilyn Monroe, Angelina Jolie, and Albert Einstein.

Seoul Semiconductor’s SunLike Series natural spectrum LEDs are the world’s first LEDs to produce light that closely matches the spectrum of natural sunlight. SunLike Series natural spectrum LEDs were co-developed through the combination of Seoul Semiconductor’s optical semiconductor technology and Toshiba Materials’ TRI-R technology, which defines its original concept as “the light closest to the sun for human well-being.” TRI-R technology enables the spectrum of natural sunlight to be reproduced by a white LED light source.

NiteSpecs LED Light Reading Glasses let you see with precision

No matter what you need to see, these NiteSpecs LED Light Reading Glasses can help. They’re designed to be reading glasses, and they excel at that. If you like to read in bed with your bedroom light out, these LED reading glasses ensure that you can. However, they can also help in other situations where you need better light to see more clearly.

Are laser and LED light therapy treatments good for your skin?

Light can be a powerful tool in skin care, whether it’s an LED facial or a laser treatment for acne. Light therapy can also seem a little mysterious if you’ve never done it before, because light doesn’t interact with the skin in the same obvious way as, say, a serum or moisturizer. Red and near-infrared light therapy can also help heal damaged or irritated skin. Joanna Vargas, a celebrity esthetician whose clients include Julianne Moore and Naomi Watts, said she often uses red light therapy to soothe the skin after other treatments. “I can do a really intense peel on somebody that would normally leave somebody really red for several hours, but after the peel, I can do red and infrared light and you walk out looking like a glowing angel,” she told TODAY Style.

LED Lights for Video and Photography for Hybrid Shooters

Aputure RC LED light

The Aputure RC is a small fixture that looks a lot like a regular lightbulb. It even has a screw fitting so it can be used with domestic light fixtures. It’s designed for use in practical lights where it’s useful to be able to control exactly what light is in your scene. Inside, however, the Aputure RC is a lot smarter than a simple lightbulb. Illumination comes from a 5W RGBW LED and it integrates with Aputure’s new Sidus Link mesh network.

The 3 Best Floor Lamps For Bright Light

When it comes to reading, working on crafts or projects, or lighting up an otherwise dark room, sometimes the brightest floor lamp possible is what you need. As you shop, keep in mind that the best floor lamps for bright lights typically share the following characteristics: LED bulbs: The brightest floor lamps generally use LED lights. That's because LED lights give off a higher output of light versus other types of bulbs. Multiple brightness settings: A great floor lamp lets you choose between different levels of brightness to find the level that's most suitable for your activity. Some also allow the color of the light to be changed, as well.

Penelec Offers to Convert Streetlights to LED

Penelec is offering to convert the streetlights throughout Wyalusing Borough so that they would use LED bulbs, borough officials said at the Wyalusing Borough Council’s meeting on Monday, March 11. Compared to the sodium vapor bulbs used in the streetlights now, the LED lights are a lot brighter and use less electricity, which would save the borough money, council members said.

Adorable Boba Tea Lamp Is The Home Accessory Of Our Dreams

Online retailer Smoko—aka a "gift, tech, wellness, and accessories brand"—is selling a truly adorable ambient light inspired by the milk tea drink. According to the site, the lamp measures 5 by 3 by 3 inches and will automatically shut off after an hour to save battery life. The lamp is currently available for pre-order and has an estimated ship date between June 18 and June 23.

Is Micro-LED Technology The Future Of iPhones?

Foxconn is reported to increase its efforts to bring the micro-LED screen to future iPhones, according to Economic Daily News. Currently, the iPhone XS, iPhone X, and Apple Watch are all using OLED displays. micro-LED technology is superior as it doesn’t need a backlight and it doesn’t rely on organic substance, which means they’re more durable and longer-lasting than their OLED counterparts. The company is thinking of ways to be able to mass-produce micro-LED panels for future iPhones.

This Is My Favorite Portable LED Light For Video

Free LED light bulbs offered in Talent

Talent residents can get up to 16 energy-saving LED light bulbs installed at no cost under a joint program by the city of Talent and Rogue Climate that runs through the end of May. Low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators also are available. Bulbs and plumbing devices are funded by a 3% state of Oregon charge attached to utility bills for reinvestment into energy-efficient projects. As of Monday, the team had worked in 44 houses and changed out 526 LED bulbs, 21 aerators and 10 shower heads. The program, which began in April, aims for installations in 100 homes, said Michael Hoch, program coordinator for the city.

Detroit’s LED streetlights going dark after a few years

The city's lighting authority fears tens of thousands of streetlights are in jeopardy of failing just a few years after being installed, threatening to put some of Detroit's neighborhoods back into the dark. The authority behind the state-of-the-art overhaul of Detroit's streetlight system filed a federal lawsuit Monday against the manufacturer of nearly a third of the city's 65,000 streetlights, saying a fix is expected to cost millions.

Optronics’ Purilite Light-Shield LED Lamps Reduces Exposure to Allergens & Pathogens

Optronics International, a leading manufacturer and supplier of LED vehicle lighting, recently unveiled its new LED-based Purilite Light-Shield decontaminating light. The unique LED technology promises to bring a revolutionary level of hygiene to vehicles everywhere, while improving air quality and enhancing occupant safety in the process.

Optronics’ new Purilite Light-Shield LED lighting technology sanitizes vehicle air, while removing hazardous particulate matter from RV, motor coach, public transit, paratransit, shuttle and school bus environments.

Many who frequent RV, motor coach, public transit, paratransit, shuttle and school bus environments are exposed to microscopic airborne pollutants the are so small, they evade the body’s natural defense mechanisms, penetrating deep into respiratory and circulatory systems, and causing damage to lungs, hearts and brains. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has developed ambient air quality trends for particle pollution, also called particulate matter (PM).

PM 2.5 describes fine inhalable solid particles and liquid droplets, with diameters that are generally 2.5 micrometers and smaller. These particles include many types of mold and bacteria that are found in vehicles that transport or provide living spaces for people. PM2.5 also includes soot that is emitted by diesel engines and APUs.

“Airborne and surface-based mold and bacteria are a concern for RVers, tour groups, commuters and school children who are regularly exposed to biological residue and other contaminants,” said Kyle O’Dell, engineering manager for Optronics International. “Food, waste products, pets, service animals, people and climate all play a hand in allergen and pathogen proliferation in vehicle environments.”

Purilite Light-Shield LED lamps generate a constant stream of negative ions that are created by a proprietary coating applied to their LEDs. The lamp provides decontamination and sanitization functions, while producing optimal light quality for human vision that approaches the color temperature of natural sunlight.

The ionic sanitization occurs through both physical and biological mechanisms. The negative ions bind to lightweight airborne PM2.5 particles. This adds mass and enables natural gravitational forces to remove them from the air by causing them to float safely to the ground.

The negative ions also combine with positive molecules in mold spores and bacterial proteins, destroying them and causing them to decompose. Once terminated, what’s left of the pathogens also fall inertly to the ground. With viability removed, the biological remnants are rendered essentially sterile, reducing exposure risks, even if they are disturbed and become airborne again.

Star Wars Electrostaff Effect, Done With Spinning LEDs

Apple continuing work on 'hybrid' displays mixing OLED & quantum-dot LED

Perhaps reflecting a desire to maximize power efficiency in all areas, a newly-published Apple patent application showcases a "hybrid" display mixing OLED and quantum-dot LEDs. The U.S. filing, no. 20,190,131,356, describes a "tandem hybrid pixel" with an OLED subpixel and a quantum dot subpixel, plus various needed transport layers and cathodes. Quantum Dots are photoluminescent particles included in an LED-backed TFT display that can produce brighter and more vibrant colors, with the colors produced depending on their size. While available in current QLED televisions, the technology is only really being used to enhance the backlight, rather than being used to illuminate individual pixels.

Electronic levelling tool swaps a bubble for LEDs

Bubble-type levels have been around for hundreds of years, and even digital models with LCD numerical displays aren't exactly new. A group of Montreal-based entrepreneurs have come up with something a little different, though, in the form of the LED-packin' LumiLevel. Touted as being the world's most accurate level, the tool features a strip of 25 LEDs that illuminate to one side or the other, indicating its vertical or horizontal angle. Initially, each LED represents a slope of 0.2 degrees. Once the device has been approximately levelled, however, the LEDs switch over to each representing one one-hundredth of a degree, allowing for "fine levelling."

iteGear LiteMat Spectrum LED Panel Announced

New MedMaster MT Series: Budget-Friendly Lighting for Healthcare Settings

Kenall's MedMaster MT Series light fixtures join an ever-growing family of LED luminaires for healthcare settings: this new lighting provides excellent value, even illumination, reduced glare and exciting options such as Tunable White and Indigo-Clean Technologies. Housings feature rugged construction and are NSF2 certified for easy cleaning.

Frank Gonzalez, Kenall's Director of Product Management, feels that it is important to offer a full complement of lighting to meet healthcare parameters – including budget: "The MT Series is constructed of lightweight aluminum, which helps keeps costs in check but still allows facilities to install high-quality, sealed luminaires with premium features."

Along with the MT Series, Kenall also has an MRI-friendly offering, the MedMaster MRIT Series. The MRIT has radio frequency (RF)-free, non-ferrous construction for comfortable, dimmable lighting in imaging suites.

Global Commercial Airport Lighting Market 2019-2023: Shift from the Use of Conventional Incandescent Lights to LED and Solar-Powered LEDs

The global commercial airport lighting market is witnessing the growth in travel and tourism industry. Owing to the increasing willingness of travelers to spend on recreational activities and rising frequency of promotional activities that attract large number of tourists annually. Further, governments across the world are taking initiatives to boost the travel and tourism industry.

The high cost of LED poses a challenge in the market since the global commercial airport lighting market is driven by LED, OLED, and solar LED lighting. Owing to their benefits, many airports are likely to upgrade to LED lighting to save energy as well as to adopt environment friendly lighting systems in the airport

Nichia launches 280nm deep UV LED

Japan-headquartered LED pioneer company Nichia has launched its 280nm UVC NCSU334A “deep blue” ultra violet-outputting LED, intended to address mass market goals for water purification and air sterilization using solid-state lighting. Over recent years the company has had considerable success with the development of UVA LEDs, specifically designed for resin curing applications.

New Technique Could Pave the Way for Simple Color Tuning of LED Bulbs

A new technique―the result of an international collaboration of scientists from Lehigh University, West Chester University, Osaka University and the University of Amsterdam―could pave the way for monolithic integration for simple color tuning of a light bulb, according to Volkmar Dierolf, Distinguished Professor and Chair of Lehigh’s Department of Physics, who worked on the project.
“This work could make it possible to tune between bright white and more comfortable warmer colors in commercial LEDs,” says Dierolf. The team demonstrated the possibility of color tuning Gallium Nitride (GaN)-based GaN LEDs simply by changing the time sequence at which the operation current is provided to the device. Light-emitting diodes or LEDs are semiconductor devices that emit light when an electric current is passed through it.

A Chrome Extension for Configuring RGB LEDs

Like pretty much all of us, Andy Schwarz loves RGB LEDs. Specifically he likes to put them on RC vehicles, such as navigation lights on airplanes or flashers and headlights on cars. He found himself often rewriting very similar Arduino code for each one of these installations, and eventually decided he could save himself (and all the other hackers in the world) some time by creating a customizable Arduino firmware specifically for driving RGB LEDs. The software side of this project, which he’s calling BitsyLED, actually comes in two parts.

Residents say new LED streetlights are blinding

Denver residents say the new LED streetlights are blinding and wish they could be dimmed. “It’s so bright in the living room I have to close the blinds,” Donna Funk said. “It’s like an interrogation light but brighter.”  In March Denver started converting 44,000 streetlights to LEDs, which save money, are more energy efficient and are a lot brighter than the old yellow lights. “It would be nice if they may be dimmed them according to how dark it is,” Brent Galas said.

Nichia and RayVio announce UV LEDs, Lumileds expands IR portfolio

Nichia has announced the NCSU334A packaged LED that emits at 280 nm in the ultraviolet (UV) range and specifically in the UV-C band that enables instantaneous sterilization and purification for air, fluids, and surfaces. For medical phototherapy applications, RayVio has new LEDs that emit at 308 nm. Lumileds, meanwhile, has announced a new infrared (IR) LED family that spans the range of 850–940 nm enabling a solid-state lighting (SSL) approach to applications such as security and vision systems.