News Updates for the Week of December 5

1.      The Math Changes on Bulbs - Companies like Wal-Mart Stores Inc., GNC Corp. and Caesars Entertainment Corp. are shelling out for the advanced new lights. Consumers can get by using CFL bulbs in their lamps. But for specialized commercial applications like refrigeration, parking lots and lobby lighting, the answer is LED, some businesses say. Last month, Wal-Mart opened its first U.S. store lit entirely with LEDs, a 40,000 square foot store in Wichita, Kansas. The world's largest retailer will use only LED lights in the parking lots of new stores around the world. GNC Holdings Inc. and Starbucks Corp. have converted all of the lighting in their outlets to LEDs. A year ago, Home Depot introduced a LED bulb that gives off as much light as a 40 watt incandescent bulb—but it cost an eye-popping $21. Today, that bulb sells for $9.97. 11/30 The Wall Street Journal

2.      Consumer Confidence Heads in the Right Direction - The Conference Board reported Tuesday morning that its Consumer Confidence Index increased to 56.0 in November, up from 40.9 in October. That's not the only metric improving. The Expectations Index rose to 67.8 from 50.0, and the Present Situation Index increased to 38.3 from 27.1. Consumers appear to be entering the holiday season in better spirits, though overall readings remain historically weak. The November confidence metric of 56.0 was also ahead of November 2010, when the index stood at 54.3. 11/29 HCN

3.      U.S. Unemployment Rate Drops to 8.6 Percent; Economy Adds 120,000 Jobs - Small businesses and startups that were skittish about the economy this summer started hiring in bigger numbers this fall, helping drive the unemployment rate down to 8.6 percent in November, the lowest in two and a half years. 12/2 Washington Post

4.      $1 Million Remains for Energy Rebates in Tennessee - The money is for consumers who have upgraded to a qualifying Energy Star appliance since April 22, 2010. According to the Energy Division of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, about 17,500 rebates totaling $4.1 million have been paid to Tennesseans through the program. Rebates range up to $250. New applications must be postmarked by Jan. 14. http://www.e-rebates.org/teearp

5.      GLOBALCON Conference and Expo - The Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), along with sponsors, Hess, Constellation Energy, North America Power Partners (NAPP) and others to present GLOBALCON 2012 on March 7-8, 2012 in Atlantic City, NJ. It will feature a multi-track conference program, free expo and exhibit hall workshops, and networking opportunities. www.GLOBALCONEvent.com

6.      CSA Opens New LED and Lighting Certification Lab in Atlanta - CSA International has opened a certification and product-testing laboratory capable of testing LEDs and lighting products to 75 standards including Energy Star requirements. The 30,000 square-foot facility will have the capability to test thousands of lighting products for safety, light output, heat output, endurance and light dispersion. The laboratory provides full LM-79 testing, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) testing and third-party Energy-Star testing. It can certify a variety of lighting products from street lights and airport runway lights to automotive lamps and flashlights. http://www.csa-international.org  

7.      Nexxus Lighting Announces Factory Direct Commercial Web Portal - Nexxus Lighting, Inc. announced its new www.ArrayLEDdirect.com commercial web-portal to sell direct and to expand their commercial customer base for the Array® brand of specification grade LED replacement light bulbs. The new portal also provides commercial customers with a unique set of services and support based on their specific business needs, including new cost saving tools and ROI calculators that demonstrate the tremendous cost savings potential LED lighting can bring to their specific application, facility or end customer. ArrayLEDdirect.com will go live on December 14, 2011, but beginning today commercial customers can pre-register on the site and receive special discounts and other incentives on initial orders.

8.      Cree LMH2 LED Modules Bring Unrivaled Efficacy and Light Quality - Cree, Inc. announces the commercial availability of the new LMH2 LED module family, designed to speed time-to-market for high-quality LED luminaires. The LMH2 is the only LED module delivering 80-lumens-per-watt system efficacy combined with CRI greater than 90. The modules feature Cree TrueWhite® Technology.  The LMH2 is available at 850 and 1250 lumens and in color temperatures of 2700 K, 3000 K, 3500 K and 4000 K and is designed for 50,000 hours of operation and dimmable to five percent. www.cree.com/modules 

9.   Solais LED Lamps Receive Energy Star® Certification - Solais Lighting, Inc., a manufacturer of lightweight, specification-grade LED lamps featuring exclusive, actively-cooled Luxiance® thermal management technology, announced LED lamps receiving Energy Star® certification 

      on the following popular models: 

• “LR38” PAR38 Replacement – 21 Watt, 25-degree, 3000K, 1250 lumens 
• “LR38” PAR38 Replacement – 21 Watt, 25-degree, 3000K, 1100 lumens 
• “LR30LN” PAR30 Long-Neck Replacement – 18 Watt, 25-degree, 3000K, 975 lumens

     10.  Samsung Brings LED Retrofit Lamps to US Market - Samsung Electronics America (SEA), Inc., based in Ridgefield Park, NJ, has announced the availability of the company’s first LED lamps for the US consumer market. Samsung’s initial 

      product line includes A19, PAR20/30/38 and MR16 lamps, which are available from Lowe’s. Samsung’s line of retrofit lamps includes a directional 550 lm (40W-equivalent) A19 lamp priced at $19.98 as well as PAR20, PAR30 and PAR38 lamps with 400-lm, 890-lm and 1100-lm outputs and prices of $27.98, $49.98 and $59.98, respectively. In related news, Toshiba has introduced two omnidirectional A19 retrofit lamps that feature a traditional bulb design and are designed to Energy-Star specifications. http://www.ledsmagazine.com/news/8/11/28

11.  Obama Announces $4B in Energy Upgrades - The $4 billion investment announced today includes a $2 billion commitment, made through the issuance of a presidential memorandum, to energy upgrades of federal buildings using long term energy savings to pay for up-front costs, at no cost to taxpayers. In addition, 60 CEOs, mayors, university presidents, and labor leaders today committed to invest nearly $2 billion of private capital into energy efficiency projects. This announcement builds on a commitment made by 14 partners at the Clinton Global Initiative America meeting in June to make energy upgrades across 300 million square feet, and to invest $500 million in private sector financing in energy efficiency projects. 12/2 UPI