News Updates for the Week of October 21

1.      Litek Retrofits Lighting in Venice, Customizes LEDs for Legacy Look - The historic city of canals, piazzas, and bridges now saves over 80% in energy usage with SSL retrofits installed in the existing fixtures that also match the warm color temperature and light distribution of the legacy lighting. Venice, Italy is one of  those historical cities where change is not necessarily welcome, especially if it changes the iconic look and the feel of the place. Litek’s retrofit project took four years of testing and has now retrofitted 7000 existing fixtures with LEDs. http://ledsmagazine.com/news/10/10/8

2.      PSFK Labs Report: “The Future Of Light” - Think tank PSFK Labs has published an independent report, The Future of Light, with support from Philips. Based upon expert interviews and more than 50 ground-breaking case studies, the report showcases how the new age of digital light will unlock significant health, well-being, sustainability and economic benefits for all aspects of society in the future. The report covers four key themes–'Luminous Relationships,' 'Illuminated Expression,' 'Enlightened Communication' and 'Light For Life'–which are broken down into 12 micro-trends. http://www.psfk.com/publishing/future-of-light

3.      LED Phosphor Intellectual Property (IP) LED Phosphors and Down-Converters Patent Investigation Report 2013 - Phosphor IP is a major force in the LED industry. With more than 40 litigation cases, it is also used as leverage by companies which have negotiated close to 70 licensing and supply agreements to date. It can also be argued that in the first half of the 2000 decade, the strict enforcement and lack of license grants for some fundamental IP related to the design and manufacturing of white LEDs might also have slowed down the progress of the industry by preventing more efficient competition that would allow prices to decrease. The report identifies the key players with the most relevant IP. It provides an overview, of phosphor related IP litigation and licensing, that has shaped the industry since the mid 90s, as well as a detailed analysis for the major players involved. http://www.researchandmarkets.com/publication/2dk562/led_phosphor_intellectual_property_ip_led_p  

4.      U.S. Expected to Become One of the Most Energy-Efficient Countries - The U.S. is on track to become one of the most energy-efficient countries in the developed world by the end of the decade, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday.  Based on current projections, by 2020 the U.S. could have the world's most extensive system of mandatory energy-performance standards for appliances and equipment, the world's largest energy-services industry and efficiency levels for cars and vans comparable to those in the European Union and Japan, energy efficiency policies and programs will triple the amount of energy the U.S. saves in 2020. 10/16 WSJ

5.      Pepco Energy Selected by Appalachian State University for Phase II Energy Efficiency Project - Pepco Energy Services, Inc. has signed a $16.3 million comprehensive energy savings performance contract with Appalachian State University. Pepco Energy Services will install $16.3 million of energy savings measures in 28 buildings that encompasses over 1.6 million square feet. All of the equipment and system improvements will be paid from energy savings over the 13-year contract term. Energy savings measures include building automation controls, building lighting including new LED lighting equipment, high efficiency chillers and air handlers, geothermal heating and solar thermal water systems, hot water conservation equipment, high efficiency data center infrastructure, Dark Sky compliant campus lighting and steam system improvements. 10/11 BUSINESS WIRE

6.      2013 DOE Solid-State Lighting Market Introduction Workshop November 12–14, 2013 • Portland, OR - http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ssl/portland2013_registration.html

7.      IALD Announces New Cities for Global Lighting Event 'Chase the Dark' on 14 Nov - New cities participating in IALD's 14 November's global 'Chase the Dark' event, during which architectural lighting designers will take to the streets to compose a series of temporary lighting installations, demonstrating the power of light in urban communities. These displays will be installed for just a matter of moments-the images of each light project will be captured permanently on camera and shared on Twitter using the hashtag #IALDchasedark all evening long. http://www.iald.org/