Archive for category New LED Technology
Analyst questions LED backlight technology but still sees growth market
Posted by LED Larry in Green Tip, LED, Lighting, New LED Technology on March 9th, 2010
Steve Ohr discussed LED TV backlighting in an APEC Consumer session questioning the price and advantages of the technology while stating that even a bearish outlook promises growth.
The APEC conference featured a series of Special Presentations focused on application areas this year, and the lead session in the consumer space focused on LED backlighting for LCD TVs. Gartner Research Director Steve Ohr presented “The promise for LED backlights in consumer TVs” and questioned just how quickly LEDs will penetrate the application, but still offered a positive market outlook.
Ohr started the presentation stating, “I thought LEDs would be too expensive to use as backlights.” But Ohr noted that consumers seem to be buying the LED sets despite the price premium – and in many cases without a discernible difference in picture quality. Ohr questioned whether the edge-lit sets offer any real improvement in image quality relative to fluorescent-lit sets.
While Ohr noted that some analysts and the TV manufacturers are predicting 50% market penetration in 2010, he takes a much more conservative view. Ohr sees 50% penetration by 2013, but notes that bearish outlook still results in a $2 billion white LED opportunity in 2013
Ohr isn’t alone questioning some of the bullish forecasts. Strategies Unlimited’s Bob Steele also questioned some of the high market projections two weeks ago at the Strategies in Light conference. In his annual market forecast presentation, Steele noted that some analysts are projecting that 39 million LED-based TVs will ship in 2010 while he believes 22 million is a more reasonable projection.
Despite his analysis of the financials and questions about the advantages of LEDs in edge-lit configurations, Ohr said signs are pointing potentially to a more rapid adoption of LEDs. He stated, “Promotion of LED backlights may result in high consumer acceptance despite the higher price.”
Ohr also noted that there are signs in the semiconductor space that those companies see a more rapid transition than most expected previously. He noted that NXP had discontinued development of a new fluorescent driver IC. And he displayed a slide of a Marvell fluorescent driver data sheet with discontinued stamped across the sheet.
Ohr concluded stating, “We need $0.05 by 2013.” He questions whether the LED industry can deliver components at that price both because of the manufacturing and packaging cost, and the need to test and bin the products for intensity and color.
Everlight LED fixtures illuminate Boston parking lot
Posted by LED Larry in New LED Technology on March 8th, 2010
Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood experiments with energy-saving LED street-light technology and realizes better light coverage.
The City of Boston, MA just installed 20 Everlight SL-Dolphin LED street-light fixtures in the city’s first cobra-head replacement project. The 128W fixtures replaced 250W high-pressure-sodium lights.
Boston installed the LED lights in a parking lot in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood. The cobra-head deployment comes on the heels of a trial of acorn-style LED lights on Boston Common. As chronicled in our story on the Common trial, the city indicated it was in the process of identifying potential sites for cobra-head lights.
In the Jamaica Plain deployment, Boston projects greater than 60% energy savings based on the efficiency of the LED lights. The 50,000-hr projected life of the LEDs will also cut maintenance costs.
It turns out that the LEDs have also improved the coverage of the light in the parking lot. Bryan Glascock, Environment Commissioner for the City of Boston, said, “The high pressure sodium lighting we had in our municipal lot here in Jamaica Plain looked pretty dated and didn’t cover the lot well. The shadowed areas along with the strong orange hue made for a surreal scene at night. But these new LED cobra heads are sleek looking and provide even light levels across the parking lot without shadows, colors aren’t washed out, you’d think the lot was brand new.”
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| Everlight SL-Dolphin street lights |
According to Everlight, LEDs provide several other advantages relative to legacy street-lighting technologies. There is no mercury or other hazardous substance in LEDs. Issues with shock, vibration, and impact are diminished since there is no arc, tube, or glass that can break. The LEDs are instant-on and –off devices and offer better color rendering.
For the city, LEDs cut greenhouse gas emissions through the energy savings. The city’s Glascock said, “LED lighting is emerging as an important component of Boston’s efforts to reduce energy costs, shrink our carbon footprint and help meet Mayor Menino’s energy goals.”
LED Galaxy Dress by CuteCircuit is World’s Largest Wearable Display
Posted by LED Larry in LED, Lighting, New LED Technology, Uncategorized on March 3rd, 2010
It seems like everyone has a cause to tout these days, from health care reform to gay marriage to…ahem…making fashion more sustainable. Instead of feverishly emailing your friends, tweeting, and updating the “Causes” tab on your Facebook profile, why not get your clothing to do the talking for you? CuteCircuit’s mesmerizing Galaxy Dress lets you advertise your message all over your body with the help of 24,000 full-color LEDs, making it pretty difficult to ignore what you have to say! Click below the fold for a haunting video demonstration.
A BRILLIANT DISPLAY
Each of the flat, extra-thin LEDs that illuminate the dress measures a mere 2×2 millimeters, but they work together to create a dazzling light show of hundreds of colors that pulse across the flowing skirt. And we’ve come a long way from those lame, scrolling LED belt buckles—the intricate circuitry that underlies this futuristic frock was painstakingly hand-embroidered on a layer of silk, imbuing it with the fluidity of fabric.
24,000 LEDs work together to create a dazzling light show of hundreds of cascading colors.
To diffuse the light and create an even more ethereal effect, the designers added four layers of silk chiffon, along with 4,000 hand-applied Swarovski crystals that extend the gown’s glittery sheen even after the LED bulbs go dim. And although the Galaxy Dress is lightweight, the heaviest part isn’t the technology but rather the 40-layer pleated silk organza crinoline that gives the skirt its flounce.
LOW POWER, HIGH IMPACT
The whole display can be powered with just a few iPod batteries for 30 minutes to an hour—just enough time for you to “enlighten” everyone at a cocktail party about the need for yogurt-container recycling at every supermarket. (Thanks to the LED technology, you won’t overheat.)
The Galaxy Dress requires only a few iPod batteries for 30 minutes to an hour.
On permanent display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, the Galaxy Dress is still in its prototypical stages, but if it does take off, it could very well be the next big thing in visual communication.
Photos by J.B. Spector/Museum of Science and Industry
Originally Posted by: www.ecouterre.com
Dorsheimer chronicles LED market cycles at Strategies in Light
Posted by LED Larry in Lighting, New LED Technology on February 23rd, 2010
Backlighting is the driving force in the current second cycle with general lighting poised to drive the third cycle.
Jed Dorsheimer, Principle Senior Equity Analyst at Canaccord Adams, presented an overview of the high-brightness (HB) LED market at Strategies in Light, defining the market by application cycles. Dorsheimer projected a bright near term outlook driven by the LED-backlit TV market.
Dorsheimer predicts that LED penetration in the TV backlight market will hit 74-85% by 2012. He believes that the industry will experience significant under capacity beginning this year and a 70 to 100 billion LED deficit by 2012. That said Dorsheimer also predicts a cyclic market that will ultimately experience over capacity as well. But the TV market will help to enable a third boom cycle driven by lighting. He stated, “Lighting demand could go from 5 billion LEDs to 30 billion in one year.”
The first cycle for HB LEDs began with mobile handsets in the early 200s according to Dorsheimer. First the LEDs were used to illuminate keypads and later to backlight color screens. That led to a surge in LED manufacturing and over capacity by the 2004/2005 time frame.
Still the LED performance improvements and declining prices driven by the first cycle enabled the backlight market cycle that was started by Apple with the Macbook Pro and is now driven by TVs. Based on the ramping TV market, Dorsheimer believes the LED manufacturing industry needs to add 515 to 780 more MOCVD reactors through 2012. And independent of the tools, Dorsheimer believes a sapphire shortage could still impede adequate supply.
So what happens beyond 2012? Dorsheimer believes current trends will lead to a 30% overbuild for the TV market. That will yield a surplus of as many as 60 billion LEDs, and what Dorsheimer calls a “one to two year digestion period” in the 2014 to 2016 time frame with little capacity growth. Once again the price declines and performance gains made in LEDs will help enable the third cycle driven by lighting.
Dorsheimer also discussed obstacles to LED adoption in the lighting space. He points out that the actual cost of the LEDs remains significantly too high. In current LED-based replacement bulbs, Dorsheimer claims that LEDs account for as much as 40% of the bill of materials (BOM), and that’s despite the fact that the bulbs require a power converter printed circuit board and robust heat sink.
Today, Dorsheimer estimates the LED portion of the BOM at $25. He believes that number needs to drop to $4 to enable a $10 retail price for a 1000 lm bulb. The cost is critical because in residential applications Dorsheimer estimates the current payback time for an LED bulb to be 11 years relative to a CFL bulb.
Dorsheimer also discussed how the industry might get to lower prices. He sees a move to larger wafers as key. He predicts a move from 2-inch wafer to 4- or 6-inch wafers because the larger wafers offer better thermal stability and ultimately better yield. Dorsheimer stated, “Yield trumps all in this industry.”
Canaccord will offer more details on the third cycle later this year. Dorsheimer believes that lighting could consume more than 100 billion additional LEDs by 2020.
Coordinated schemes provide circuit protection for LED lighting
Posted by LED Larry in New LED Technology on February 19th, 2010
Utilizing a coordinated circuit protection scheme based on several device types can help designers reduce component count, provide a safe and reliable product, comply with regulatory agency requirements, and reduce warranty and repair costs, writes FARAZ HASAN.
LED technology has advanced rapidly, with improved chip designs and materials facilitating the development of brighter, more energy efficient, and longer-lasting light sources that can be used in a wide spectrum of applications. In spite of the technology’s growing popularity, LED light manufacturers continue to wrestle with the fact that LED luminaires are extremely heat-sensitive. Without adequate thermal management, heat can degrade the LED’s lifespan and affect color output. Also, because LED drivers are silicon devices, they can fail short. This means fail-safe back-up overcurrent protection may be required.
Resettable polymeric positive temperature coefficient (PPTC) devices have demonstrated their effectiveness in a variety of LED lighting applications. Like traditional fuses, they limit current after specified limits are exceeded. However, unlike fuses, PPTC devices have the ability to reset after the fault is cleared and the power is cycled. A variety of overvoltage protection devices—including metal oxide varistors (MOVs), electrostatic-discharge (ESD) surge protection devices, and polymer-enhanced Zener diodes—can be used in a coordinated scheme with PPTC devices to help improve LED performance and reliability.
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This article was published in the Jan/Feb 2010 issue of LEDs Magazine. To read the full version of this article, please visit our magazine page, where you can download FREE electronic PDF versions of all issues of LEDs Magazine. You can also request a print copy of LEDs Magazine (available by paid subscription) and sign up for our free weekly email newsletter.
About the Author
FARAZ HASAN is Global Marketing & Business Development Manager–Appliance/Industrial/Lighting for Tyco Electronics Circuit Protection Products.
OXO Candela Guardian: The Perfect Portable LED Nightlight
Posted by LED Larry in New LED Technology on October 12th, 2009
If you’re tired of stumbling around in the dark during late night feedings and diaper changes, then the OXO Candela Guardian nightlight is the perfect solution for you. This LED lighted rechargeable lamp is super portable with a nice handle that stays cool to the touch — so you can carry it to and from your baby’s nursery. The charger has a luminescent panel that’s always lit, and once you remove the portable lamp from the charger it illuminates instantly and lasts for eight full hours. Because the Guardian uses LED technology it’s far more efficient than many other nursery lamp options. It is cost efficient as well; because for the life of this nightlight you’ll never need to change a bulb! The subtle glow of the LED light will softly illuminate the room — making night feedings more relaxing and making it easier for baby and mom to return to sleep.
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