Archive for category New LED Technology
City of Chicago Testing PolyBrite International’s New Borealis® LED Streetlights
Posted by LED Larry in New LED Technology on August 2nd, 2010
NAPERVILLE, IL. – August 2, 2010 – PolyBrite International, Inc., developer of the Borealis® brand Light Emitting Diode (LED) Lighting Systems, announced today that the City of Chicago has installed new Borealis LED streetlights as part of a test pilot program. The City of Chicago will monitor the LED streetlights, weighed against their current lighting solution for streets and alleyways. The goal is for a safer, cleaner and brighter light that will improve nighttime safety and the overall appearance of the city.
Borealis LED streetlights have been installed and will be monitored for three months on the block of 4800 W. Parker Avenue in Chicago, IL. The city will be testing the LED streetlights for high color rendition to assure adequate vision, and greater control of light dispersion and energy savings. Currently, most of the city’s streets are illuminated with High Pressure Sodium (HPS) streetlights. HPS lights are used primarily because of their long rated life relative to other conventional options, but HPS street lighting has a very low color rendition, hindering visibility at night.
“We continue our efforts in assisting communities and cities everywhere with innovative ways to reduce their lighting concerns and their carbon footprint on the world,” said Carl Scianna, President and CEO of PolyBrite International. Mr. Scianna also noted that, “Borealis LED streetlights have a very high color rendition and consume a remarkable average of 60% less energy than the HPS streetlights. We appreciate the city’s study and their commitment to a clean, bright and safe lighting solution for their city streets.”
Borealis LED streetlights have a longer life, up to 50,000 hours, compared to the HPS life span of 20,000 hours. In addition to reduced maintenance, Borealis LED streetlights have a very high color rendition and produce a sharp, pure color without glare. They feature an instant “on” with no cold starting compared to HPS street lights, which typically take several minutes to achieve full brightness. PolyBrite’s patented LED technology, used in all Borealis lamps and lighting systems, will reduce the city’s operating costs, including lower energy usage and reduced maintenance and bulb replacement.
Motion sensors and lighting controls can also be used with Borealis LED lighting since they can be turned on and off instantly. Furthermore, Borealis LED streetlights are better equipped to withstand extreme hot and cold temperatures and provide more control over what is illuminated, thus reducing light pollution, making it an ideal solution for public lighting applications.
US Lighting Products is a reseller of Borealis LED Light Bulbs. New Products will be added this week to our website for retail purchase!
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.
SolPix: A Giant LED Display That Doubles as a Solar Shield
Posted by LED Larry in New LED Technology, Other Technology on June 1st, 2010
SolPix, a prototype for a combined media-wall/solar blind premieres at the Cooper-Hewitt.
SolPix combines two of the biggest trends in facade architecture: Solar shielding and media walls. It functions first as a set of heavy-duty blinds that can shift according to the strength of the sun.
But the blinds themselves have photovoltaics in them, as well as LEDs. The PV array uses the energy it gathers to create the media facade pictured below:
In addition, the system monitors its own performance, and visualizes it in motion graphics that play across the facade:
This is among the biggest and most advanced installations being unveiled this Friday at the opening of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum’s Design Triennial. This year’s theme is design that tackles the world’s most pressing problems. SolPix is also largest working prototype produced by Simone Giostra & Partners Architects, so far. They hope that eventually, the system will be deployed by others looking to make their buildings both glitzy and green.
Traxon and AGC Glass Europe agree to develop LEDs in glass
Posted by LED Larry in New LED Technology on May 24th, 2010
AGC’s Glassiled safety glass with embedded LEDs will be combined with LED color-mixing and control systems from Traxon.
Lighting manufacturer Traxon Technologies has signed an agreement with glass manufacturer AGC Glass Europe to develop a range of products and capabilities combining LEDs and glass for the illumination of buildings and interiors.
AGC manufactures Glassiled, a patented safety glass with embedded LEDs. The companies plan to combine this with Traxon’s technology for sustainable LED lighting systems, to provide illumination and animate facades, atriums and conservatories as well as interiors. The solutions can be used for buildings, shopping malls, hotels and other large building in any environment, as well as wall cladding, partitions or showcases in shops, restaurants, bathrooms, boats and trains.
In addition to the advantages of LED technologies such as low energy consumption, long lifetime and space-saving, as well as monochrome or sophisticated RGB color mixing options, the innovative Glassiled can bring out all the benefits of glass in any environment. Designers can create new applications with an unlimited range of effects thanks to LEDs embedded in the transparent or mirror glass structure. Almost any design or logo can be reproduced in Glassiled.
Furthermore, coupled with advanced control solutions, customers can enjoy the “dynamic world of colors at their fingertips, with the individual lighting memory settings and remote control features,” says Traxon.
“Architects and designers all over the world will be able to give their creativity free rein in mastering light with Glassiled. Thanks to the high-performance lighting software and control system from Traxon we can propose exclusive, environment-friendly solutions” says Jean-Luc Batkin, Vice-President, Solar & Processed Glass of AGC Glass Europe.
“Our partnership with AGC will enhance our portfolio of LED systems and in combination with our control systems we will be able to offer superb, integrated and innovative LED-glass based solutions to the market,” says Mike Mastroyiannis, Managing Director of Traxon Technologies. “In addition, our agreement will lead to further synergies based on the global presence of both companies, to support local projects and customer needs.”
Louisiana Governor Wants to Build New Islands to Ward Off Oil Slick
Posted by LED Larry in New LED Technology, Uncategorized on May 11th, 2010
Photo by Brian Merchant
After the press jumped on the fact that the first attempt to seal the gushing oil leak with an underwater oil containment dome had failed, other noteworthy news receded into the background: Namely, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s new plan to fight the giant incoming oil slick by dumping dredged materials across the barrier islands off the coast. He says this would strengthen existing islands, and even create brand new ones–but at what cost?
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Build Islands, at a Time Like This?
Well, the monetary cost is one thing–the governor said that it would cost “hundreds of millions of dollars” if the plan was given the go ahead. Twelve sites have already been selected for the dredging, and the plans have been sent to the federal government for “quick approval.”
Jindal was optimistic that it would have both short and long term benefits–keeping large swaths of oil from entering Louisiana’s fragile marshlands, and strengthening the barrier islands’ ability to shield the coast from storms. Those islands have been eroding away at an alarming rate–up to 100 feet vanish a year, according to one US Geological Survey report.
NOAA map showing projected oil impacts on islands for Tuesday. New islands are proposed in Chandeleur Sound, around red oil impact marks.
He took pains to note that a similar plan has actually been on the drawing board for three years now, and that the oil spill makes the need to approve them even more acute. However, such an operation shouldn’t be taken lightly, as it’s the cost to the environment that should be more carefully considered–it’s got some potentially devastating side effects. And yet, after Jindal announced the plan at a press conference I attended in Venice, LA, attention shifted immediately to the failed containment box, and the plan wasn’t even questioned.
Could be Dredging for Trouble
What Jindal is talking about is essentially a form of what’s commonly referred to as beach nourishment. Which is shiny terminology for shipping in sand or sediment from other locations to drop on threatened or eroding beaches. It’s already a fairly common practice–the federal government already spends some $50-100 million a year “nourishing” beaches in places like California and Virginia. Although in this case, nourishment seems like an understatement–”beach creation” is more apt.
Louisiana’s coastal barrier islands. Image via IAE
So what’s the problem? Well, just picture what needs to be done to make this happen: First, material needs to be dredged from the selected locations. Which means, tons of mud needs to be dug up form another ecosystem, and this can can be disruptive, even toxic to local wildlife. It can cause a number of problems to the local food chain as well. And then, all that material needs to be dumped on the new location–again disrupting the already existing habitats.
And these barrier islands that Jindal proposes strengthening are indeed home to fragile ecosystems and threatened species like the brown pelican, Louisiana’s state bird. In other words, there could be a bevy of side effects that nobody’s hearing about in this island-creation scheme. Which isn’t to say the plan should be ruled out–just that a careful cost-benefit analysis regarding the effected environment should be carried out before the governor builds a chain of brand new islands.
I’m traveling around the Gulf of Mexico reporting on the continuing oil crisis. Stay tuned for the latest developments and reports from the scene.
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.