Archive for June, 2010
Focus on Outdoor Lighting
The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has announced the 10 winning teams of the national competition “Kommunen in neuem Licht” (“Towns in a New Light”). The competition provides funding to introduce LED outdoor lighting in 10 towns around Germany. The organizers were taken by surprise when the number and quality of proposals exceeded all expectations. Among 141 participating towns from all over Germany, the ten best proposals will be granted up to EUR 2 million in sponsorship by the BMBF. The winning towns and districts are: Erfurt, Görlitz, Königsfeld, Wuppertal, Trier, Norden, München, Paderborn, Freiburg (Breisgau), and Rietberg.
Bringing down the cost of high-volume LED production
If manufacturing technology development efforts now underway produce even a fraction of their projected improvements in production efficiency, solid-state lighting cost per lumen should come down drastically in the next few years. Driven by the growing market opportunity, and by $23 million in funding by the US Department of Energy (DOE), semiconductor equipment makers and their device-maker partners are at work on a series of projects. Each of these aims at major 30-50% improvements in basic manufacturing cycle time, yield, and cost, in part by applying approaches learned from high-volume semiconductor production (see http://www.ledsmagazine.com/news/7/1/12).
The greater semiconductor supply chain is starting to turn serious attention to the particular needs of the HB-LED market, as almost $1billion will be invested in building and equipping device-production facilities this year, according to SEMI’s Opto/LED Fab Watch.
Navigating uncharted waters: new challenges in specifying LED luminaire lifetime
Understanding and quantifying the behavior of a single LED, and calculating how this will affect a system with multiple LEDs, are crucial if lighting companies are to set their system warranty level correctly and assess the cost of failures potentially occurring within the warranty period.
Power LED manufacturers claim many advantages for their products over traditional light sources; one is their presumed ultra-long life. In applications that cannot tolerate failure, or where maintenance and repair are difficult or costly, long operating lifetime and extended maintenance cycles are attractive, even when balanced against relatively high purchase costs.
Luminaire manufacturers, and lighting designers and specifiers, have generally been reassured by the claims from LED manufacturers that their devices will typically operate for 50,000 hours. But in fact, the claims of long operating life for LEDs, as for any component, only apply under certain conditions. What is more, LEDs can and do fail in rare cases
Light+Building showcases sophisticated LEDs
With more than 180,000 visitors, no-one can deny the status of Light+Building, held this year in mid-April in Frankfurt, Germany, as one of the world’s pre-eminent tradeshows for the lighting industry.
With more than 180,000 visitors, no-one can deny the status of Light+Building, held this year in mid-April in Frankfurt, Germany, as one of the world’s pre-eminent tradeshows for the lighting industry. LEDs were everywhere, at least in the halls focused on lighting technology and applications. As we discussed in the Commentary piece in our last issue, exhibition booths lit with LED-based fixtures are no longer a novelty. Many lighting companies have now moved well beyond the discussion phase and are clearly committed to incorporating LED technology into their current and future generations of fixtures. In this show report, we present some of the products that caught the eye.
Efficient LED planar lighting begins at the light source
Posted by LED Larry in New LED Technology on June 24th, 2010
Over the last decade we have witnessed mainstream market adoption of LED technology. This has been due to the phenomenal improvement in performance and reliability of highpower LEDs, and the reduction in cost that stems from high-volume manufacturing. These improvements mean LEDs have replaced traditional lighting in many applications. Early uses of LEDs included indication lights and traffic signals, while today we see a wide range of applications such as retail and display lighting, indoor and outdoor signage, wall-mounted fixtures, backlighting for LCDs, and even the replacement of incandescent bulbs. Developments in LED technology have also brought about the creation of new applications that did not exist before, specifically in the decorative and architectural lighting sectors.
One of the common denominators for many new applications of LED technology is planar lighting. LED planar lighting refers to the application of LEDs to create uniform surfaces of light. Since LEDs are a point source, creating large surfaces of uniform light has always been cost prohibitive, and has resulted in a significant loss of efficiency. However, a new technology has emerged that establishes LED planar lighting as a generic product category, without compromising on optical efficiency, product form factor or volume capabilities.
5 ways to save money for your business while saving the planet. Save Green, stay Green
Reuse and Recycle Office Supplies
- Use the back side of paper
- Don’t use post its, use free online apps like: TaDa
- Ship packages from reused boxes, alert your customers why you are reusing boxes, they will know you are energy conscious, and be more likely to come back
- Provide employees with non-disposable forks / plates / mugs as opposed to paper or throwaway items
- Print less out
- Buy recycled copy paper, refillable pens, and recycled office supplies. Here is a great place for that: The Green Office
Reduce Energy Consumption
- Use fewer gas powered products
- Use Solar, wind and water energy generators. View our Solar options.
- Regulate your Thermostat
- Bring a sweater in the winder
- Purchase energy –efficient heaters
Use Biodegradable and Less Toxic Cleaning Products
- Sea salt makes a course but gentle cleanser for scouring when mixed with baking soda.
- Baking soda not only cleanses but also gets rid of odors.
- Vinegar removes grease and dirt, and white vinegar gets rid of carpet odors.
- Essential lavender oil makes for a nice room deodorizer with a calming effect.
- Citrus juice and peels are great room fresheners.
- A great new technology that uses only water!! Check it out (Promise it amazing)
Make Your Business Environment Greener
- By adding living plants and/or a water feature to your business, you make it a healthier workspace. Living plants such as spider plants, peace lilies, and philodendrons filter out the pollutants in the air. You can save money by taking cuttings from one plant to make new plants. A water feature in your business humidifies and ionizes the air, cutting down on the level of static electricity. The sound of the water both relaxes and energizes you while you work. Get a money tree for good business prosperity!
Lighting:
- Buy Energy efficient lighting solutions. Think of them as an investment that will pay off in the long run. View our selection of LED Light bulbs for restaurant, home, and business use.
101 Green Tips and Resources
At Home . . .
1. Recycle aluminum and glass.
2. Buy energy efficient appliances
3. Run clothes washers only when fully loaded, but don’t overload
4. Plant a tree
5. Do all ironing at one time
6. Buy recycled paper
7. Buy low wattage or compact fluorescent light bulbs
8. Turn off lights that don’t need to be on
9. Use cold water instead of hot
10. Use small ovens or stove-top cooking methods instead of your large oven
11. Bring your own reusable bags to the grocery store
12. Write companies urging them to use paper rather than plastics and styrofoam
13. Buy products that will last
14. Support environmentally conscious businesses.
15. Don’t drive when air pollution is bad
16. Teach your children about these ideas
17. Avoid buying rainforest products
18. Take the bus, walk or ride your bike to meetings
19. Buy locally produced foods; avoid buying goods that must be trucked in
20. Support or start local tree planting programs
21. Recycle aluminum and glass
22. Recycle newspapers
23. Reuse glass containers
24. Buy a house plant
25. Plant a tree
26. Copy this list and send it to ten friends
27. Defrost your freezer
28. Do all ironing at one time
29. Buy environmentally safe products
30. Run dishwashers only when fully loaded
31. Request paper instead of styrofoam whenever possible
32. Hang your laundry to dry
33. Start a garden
34. Carpool to go shopping
35. Install water-efficient showerheads and faucets
36. Turn down your water heater to 121 degrees
37. Start a recycling program in your neighborhood
38. Defrost your freezer
39. Buy recycled paper
40. Cook with quick-heating, copper-bottom pans to conserve energy
41. Teach your children about these ideas
42. Use your microwave instead of the oven
43. Limit or eliminate using disposable items
44. Bring your own reusable bags to the grocery store
45. Reuse your paper and plastic bags
46. Write companies urging them to use paper rather than plastics and styrofoam
47. Request paper instead of styrofoam whenever possible
48. Use water-based paints whenever possible
49. Buy products that will last
50. Don’t buy fire extinguishers containing halon
51. Support environmentally conscious businesses
52. Buy environmentally safe products
53. Buy products that minimize packaging
54. Avoid buying rainforest products
55. Buy locally produced foods; avoid buying goods that must be trucked in
56. Start a garden
57. Support or start local tree planting programs
Urge local and state government to buy recycled paper
At the Office . . .
59. Schedule deliveries together
60. Subsidize and sell employee bus passes in the office
61. Encourage employees to phone first rather than driving
62. Use teleconferencing instead of driving to meetings
63. Take the bus, walk or ride your bike to meetings
64. Offer employees incentives for not driving
65. Buy gas-efficient or alternatively fueled vehicles for your fleet
66. Put a carpool matching map in the office
67. Buy a bike rack for your employees
68. Buy an office bike for employee use
69. Buy recycled paper for office use
70. Start a paper recycling program
71. Make two-sided copies whenever possible
72. Put an aluminum can recycling bin next to the pop machine
73. Bus, carpool, walk or bike to work
74. Ask if you can work at home one or more days a week
With Your Car . . .
75. Recycle motor oil and batteries
76. Don’t drive when air pollution is bad
77. Call your local transit system for bus schedules
78. Call your local carpool program or start one in your town
79. Carpool the kids to their school events
80. Carpool to the ski slopes
81. Carpool to go shopping
82. Eat lunch at the office instead of going out
83. Call stores first to see if they have what you want
84. Combine several small trips into one
85. Shop by mail and catalogs
86. Plan an evening at home with your kids
87. Do errands on the way home from work
88. Encourage your teens to walk or ride their bikes rather than taking the car, and do the same yourself
89. Shop for a neighbor when going to the grocery store or form a neighborhood co-op
90. Have your car’s emissions tested regularly
91. Tune-up your car, especially before winter
92. Check for proper tire inflation when gassing up
93. Don’t repair your car’s air conditioning yourself, have it serviced at a station that recycles CFC’s
94. Don’t buy a car with air conditioning
95. When buying a new car, let dealers know that fuel efficiency is important
96. Park and go inside instead of idling at a drive-up window
97. Remove unnecessary articles from your car; each 100 lbs. of weight decreases fuel efficiency by 1%
98. Enjoy sports and activities that don’t require gas or electricity
99. Avoid accelerated starts to save gas
100. Copy this list and send it to ten friends
101. Think often about the future and how you would like the earth to be 100 years from now for your grandchildren and their grandchildren
US Lighitng Products a large selection of low energy solutions to be green and save the planet. For business checkout our cost effective low energy signage.
Or use the sun for you energy! Check out our solar charging devices.
Everlight, LG, and Amtran form LED packaging joint venture
A new packaging company will target the LED-backlit TV market, with operations based in JiangSu Province, China.
LED-packaging specialists Everlight Electronics has announced its intention to launch a new company focused on LEDs for TV backlights with partners LG Display and Amtran Technology. The joint venture will be capitalized with $30 million, will be based in WeJiang City, JiangSu Province, China, and plans to start mass production by year’s end.
The joint venture will enter the LED backlight market at a time of high demand. Just last week, analyst iSuppli reaffirmed its belief that a shortage of LEDs for TV applications would persist through this year. The firm projects shipment of large-sized LCD panels with LED backlights to reach 276.7 million this year with the number growing to 477.6 million units in 2011 and 817.9 million units by 2014.
Jointly, the three partners in the new venture have shared experience relative to all key aspects of LED-backlit LCD TV technologies. Taiwan-based Everlight has deep experience in LED packaging. Korea-based LG Display is one of the leading manufacturers of thin-film transistor (TFT) LCD panels for TVs, monitors, and notebook computers.
Amtran technology is a contract manufacturer of computer monitors and TVs based in Taipei, Taiwan. The company has a close partnership with Vizio and in fact owns a stake in the company that was the market leader for TVs in the US for 2009.
The companies believe that their shared experience will enable the yet-to-be-named venture to rapidly offer state-of-the art LEDs for the backlight market.
Controls will compound the advantages of LEDs in street lighting
LED street lights designed for a long service life can be operated at reduced power levels and still deliver the needed light output, plus controls can dim or extinguish lights as appropriate.
There’s an ongoing transition to LED-based street lighting globally as municipalities try to reduce energy and maintenance costs. LEDs will last far longer than legacy street lights and can use less energy as well, although the fact that LEDs can be dimmed accounts for part of the savings. Now Edward Smalley, director of the newly formed DOE Municipal Solid-state Street Lighting Consortium, points out that municipalities will be able to save even more energy by never operating the lights at maximum output early in their service life.
About new LED street light designs and deployments, Smalley stated, “You are designing for a time in the future.” The point is that LED street lights must be designed so that the light output 50,000 hours (perhaps 11 to 12 years) in the future is still acceptable. The design must account for the projected decline in light output that all LED lighting products exhibit over time.
Smalley suggests that at install time, “You are putting out 30% more light than is required.” So a street light with a controller could cut back drive current by 30% at install time both saving energy and potentially lengthening the service life of the LEDs and the drive electronics. Smalley stated, “We can save at least another 20% in energy.”
In the past, most of the discussion of controls and energy reduction has primarily focused on dimming street lights late at night when there is little automotive or pedestrian traffic. LEDs offer a significant advantage in dimming capability compared to alternatives such as high-pressure sodium (HPS) or metal-halide lamps.
Ironically, the question of controls came up during the May 6 DOE webcast on the new Consortium. During the Q&A session following the presentation, an attendee asked Bruce Kinzey whether the Consortium would focus on control issues. Kinzey is working with Smalley on the Consortium and is the DOE Gateway project demonstration manager. At the time Kinzey stressed that the Consortium would focus primarily on street lighting although he acknowledged that controls would invariably be included in some of the demonstration projects.
In a one-on-one interview subsequent to the DOE webcast, Smalley initiated the discussion of controls and the potential for additional energy savings. Smalley stated, The reason for the consortium is to get these other municipalities up to speed.” And Smalley meant up to speed both on LED lighting and the advantages afforded by controls.
The concept of operating LED street lights at a reduced power level and raising that level over time as light output declines does introduce logistics problems. A networked installation of lights would allow for remote control of drive current and light output — at significant added cost. Of course municipalities could manually check light output sporadically and adjust the lights, but that goes against the selling point of little to no maintenance of LED luminaires.
Asked whether municipalities might use networks or manual adjustment techniques, Smalley replied “All of the above.” Smalley pointed out that the city of Los Angeles, CA is in a multiyear street light upgrade program and is using the Roam remote monitoring system to monitor and control the lights.
Smalley also pointed out that Virginia Tech has developed a mobile unit that uses a camera to accurately measure light output without stopping traffic. Presumably, a municipality could survey street light performance on an annual or periodic basis and only make manual adjustments when required.
Both Smalley and DOE Lighting Program Manager Jim Brodrick have noted that zero maintenance is not a realistic expectation. In his keynote presentation at Lightfiar, Brodrick noted that dirty lenses could be just as problematic in an outdoor lighting application as LEDs with depreciated light output. So municipalities may have to perform periodic preventative maintenance in any event.
Algae-Powered Latro Lamp Transforms CO2 Into Light
Posted by LED Larry in Other Technology on June 9th, 2010
Designer Mike Thompson has created an incredible living lamp that is powered by algae! Spotted over at Designboom, the Latro Lamp derives energy from an algae chamber that requires just sunlight, CO2, and water to operate. Stick the lamp outside, breathe into it, and voila, you’ve created your own bio battery-powered living lamp.
The lamp is made possible thanks to a recent discovery made by researchers at the universities of Yansei and Stanford. The researchers found that a tiny electrical current can be extracted from algae during photosynthesis. The Latro Lamp features a battery that stores energy generated by the algae throughout the day and a light sensor that controls the lamp’s intensity, preventing the algae from becoming malnourished. Thompson believes this discovery could lead to an algae revolution: “As advances in nanotechnology lead to increasingly energy efficient products, plant life such as algae will become attractive sources for tapping energy,” he says.
For now, though, the Latro lamp remains an idealistic design project — after all, who realistically wants to care for a lamp like a household pet?
Read more: Algae-Powered Latro Lamp Transforms CO2 Into Light | Inhabitat – Green Design Will Save the World