News Updates for the Week of January 3

1.      The 100-Watt Bulb at Death's Door - General Electric estimates 50 million 100-watt bulbs are in use. GE, which Edison founded, plans to end production of 100-watts for the U.S. market on December 31. At midnight, the production line will go dark. 12/28 Tampa Tribune

2.      New Year Ushers in Bright New Era in Lighting - Lighting likely accounts for 12% of home energy use, but the growing array of energy-efficient options allows consumers across the country to cut those expenses by $50 to more than $100 a year. Many of the new products are already on store shelves in anticipation of the federal standards that begin phasing in on January 1. The LUMEN Coalition, a group of nonprofit organizations, manufacturers, utilities and others committed to educating consumers about their new lighting choices www.LUMENnow.org  can help consumers understand their new lighting options and shows them the results of a lighting makeover in a home. 12/29 PRNewswire

3.      Consumer Reports Spotlights the Best CFL and LED Replacement Lamps - The days of the ubiquitous incandescent A19 are coming to an end, and recent tests from Consumer Reportsshowcase more than 30 different integrated compact fluorescents and LEDs for indoor and outdoor spaces. Consumer Reports’ comprehensive report on CFL and LED replacement lamps reveals that many problems of the earlier versions have been overcome and that these new efficient lamps last longer and use far less electricity than the traditional incandescents. Shoppers now have a variety of different products to match their needs. http://lighting.com/consumer-reports-test-cfl-led/

4.      Top 20 LEDs Magazine News Stories of 2011 - http://www.ledsmagazine.com/news/8/12/22

 1. Cree delivers LED alternative to linear fluorescent fixtures

 2. McKinsey releases lighting market report

 3. Lighting Science Group enters L Prize with 60W-equivalent LED lamp

 4. LED market grew by 93% in 2010, driven by backlights

 5. Strategies Unlimited forecasts LED revenue growth of nearly 10% in 2011

 6. Switch Lighting announces unique LED replacement lamps

 7. Ambergreat introduces Amberstar 252W, 25312-lm LED street light

 8. Philips installs LED lights along 7-km length of highway

 9. GE plans to submit 60W-equivalent LED lamp for DOE’s L Prize

 10. Zhihai releases new multi-function LED light up to 1000W HID retrofit

 11. Financial results: Philips, Cree, SemiLEDs

 12. LSG plans intelligent LED lamp for Android @ Home

 13. Lasers could offer alternative to LED light sources

 14. A-lamp LED products highlighted at Lightfair

 15. Cree XLamp MT-G LED targets MR16 halogen retrofits

 16. LED highway lighting project in China features a million Cree LEDs

 17. DOE announces that Philips has won the 60W-replacement-lamp L Prize

 18. California implements new light-bulb laws

 19. Nichia appoints Lumitronix as its first-ever LED distributor

 20. Fire hazard causes recall for Eco-Story LED lamps

5.      Despite Delay, the 100-Watt Bulb Is on Its Way Out - At Home Depot, which like other leading retailers has developed a house line of energy-saving lights, 60 percent of sales are standard incandescents, 25 percent are CFLs, 10 percent are halogen incandescents (which meet the new efficiency standards) and 5 percent are LEDs, according to Jean Niemi, a company spokeswoman. 12/16 NY Times

6.      Philips Calls for Global SSL Deployment at UN Climate Change Conference - Philips called for a worldwide switch to LED lighting at the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban. The company is stating that a tipping point has been reached in the development of LED lighting that can now be used for general high-quality lighting in almost all applications http://lighting.com/philips-calls-for-global-ssl/

7.      CSA LED Lighting Lab Opens in Atlanta - To address the growing demand for energy-efficient lighting products and new 2012 lighting standards, CSA has unveiled a new 30,000 square-foot testing facility in Atlanta, Georgia. The laboratory provides testing and certification of LED and lighting products to more than 75 different standards as well as required third-party ENERGY STAR testing. http://lighting.com/csa-led-lighting-lab-atlanta/

8.      Govt to Spur Deregulation of Power Industry - US The government will study four proposals for reform to change the current system in which power generation and transmission are undertaken in a package by utilities. The proposals include forcing utilities to separate their power supply and power generation businesses, as well as separating the accounting for their power transmission from that of their generation business. Through this separation and other deregulatory measures, the government aims to create a fairer platform for new participants in the industry. The government will also study a plan to enable businesses to supply power beyond the borders of their allocated areas of service. Another proposal will examine whether to deregulate retail prices of power to businesses and households. 12/27 The Yomiuri Shimbun

9.      DOE Consortium Publishes Guidelines for Converting to LED Roadway Lighting - The U.S. DOE’s Energy’s Municipal Solid-State Street Lighting Consortium recently published guidelines for converting to LED roadway lighting. The Model Specification for LED Roadway Luminaires is for cities, utilities, and other local agencies interested in saving money and energy by switching from traditional lighting technologies to solid-state lighting (SSL), which uses LEDs instead of filaments or gases.  The estimated 35 million streetlights in the U.S. consume as much electricity each year as 3.9 million households, and generate greenhouse gas emissions equal to that produced by 8 million cars. http://www.lightnowblog.com/2011/12/doe-consortium-publishes-guidelines-for-converting-to-led-roadway-lighting/

10.  Model Lighting Ordinance - The Model Lighting Ordinance (MLO), produced jointly by the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) and the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA), provides a template for municipalities seeking to develop standards for responsible outdoor lighting. Specifically, the MLO addresses skyglow, or light emitted up into the sky that obscures nighttime viewing of stars; light trespass, or light emitted onto neighboring property; and glare, or excessive brightness that impairs or disables vision. Download a free copy: http://www.ies.org/PDF/MLO/MLO_FINAL_June2011.pdf

11.  NEMA Publishes ANSI C136.37 for Solid State Light Sources Used in Roadway and Area Lighting - The first solid state lighting (SSL) standard produced by ANSI accredited standards committee C136.37, this standard defines interchangeability and some requirements for SSL source fixtures. References to existing regional and international SSL standards are used to recommend guidance to utilities and manufacturers for harmonized solutions and expectations. C136.37 includes requirements for operating temperature, correlated color temperature, mounting provisions, dimming, ingress protection, and wiring and grounding. In addition, C136.37 sets protocol for surge-test waveforms, the basic insulation test, and specific product ratings. http://www.nema.org/stds/C136-37.cfm

12.  CBs Certified Nearly 2,400 Lighting Products in 2011 - The new third party certification process is taking off. EPA-recognized Certification Bodies (CBs) certified bulbs from over 100 manufacturers and luminaires from 85 manufacturers. After a fast and busy first year of transition, recognized bodies are ramping up and expanding testing and certification capacity to reduce time to qualification. The Certified Subcomponent Database (CSD) has recently been updated and includes many more options for luminaire manufacturers. Find the report at www.energystar.gov/lightingresources

13.  ENERGY STAR Qualified Lighting Simplified: Now Only Two Lists - Instead of five separate lists we will now have two, one for bulbs and one for fixtures. The ENERGY STAR qualified products list (QPL) for light fixtures at www.energystar.gov/lightfixtures is a one stop shop for all qualified light fixtures. Similarly, we now have one QPL for lamps combining CFLs, GU24 lamps and LED lamps. The new Lamps QPL is available at www.energystar.gov/lightbulbs

14.  ENERGY STAR Website Shortcuts –

www.energystar.gov/lighting
www.energystar.gov/luminaires 
www.energystar.gov/lamps
www.energystar.gov/3rdpartycert
www.energystar.gov/lightinglabs
www.energystar.gov/faqs
www.energystar.gov/lightingresources
www.energystar.gov/dime Database for Incentives and Joint Marketing Exchange

15.   IES Philadelphia: January 12, 2012 Lunch Seminar OLED Technology, Applications and Potential for the Future - Join the IES Philadelphia Chapter for an informative presentation on OLED technology and principals by Dr. Diekmann of Osram. Find out the strengths and weaknesses of this new technology and a look into where this will lead us in the future. https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?llr=c5xtm6cab&oeidk=a07e5h1fbexf428e2e1&oseq=a00lfxizp7vj