News Updates for the Week of January 20

1.      Revised Effective Date for the 2013 California Building Energy Efficiency Standards - The California Energy Commission revised the effective date for the 2013 Building Energy Efficiency Standards (Title 24, Part 1, Chapter 10 and Part 6, and affected provisions in Part 11 [Cal. Green Building Standards Code]) from Jan. 1, 2014 to July 1, 2014. The public domain software for the 2013 Standards does not yet provide the full feature set needed for building and alteration projects seeking building permits in early 2014. Further, time is needed for the building industry and local building departments to learn and adapt to the new tools. http://www.energy.ca.gov/title24/2013standards/2013_standards_revised_effective_date.html

 

2.      OLED vs LED Lighting 2013-2023 Report - OLED and LED lighting are both solid-state technologies and offer overlapping value propositions per market segment. They will therefore compete directly in many instances. LED lighting has come a long way and offers a better performance than OLEDs, and that at a lower cost. OLED lighting will therefore only gain market success if it clearly defines its unique selling points and carves out initial market niches. This report is divided into two parts: (a) technology and (b) market assessment. The value proposition of OLEDs for all market segments is critically analysed. http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1680434

3.      Two SBIR Grants Awarded for SSL Technology - The U.S. DOE Office of Science has awarded two Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants targeting advances in solid-state lighting (SSL) technology:

• MicroContinuum, Inc.: R2R Production of Low-Cost Integrated OLED Substrate with Improved Transparent Conductor & Enhanced Light Outcoupling
• Pixelligent Technologies LLC: Advanced Light Extraction Material for OLED Lighting

To learn more about these awards, visit the DOE SSL website.

To learn more about this program, visit http://science.energy.gov/sbir/

      4.      Van Meter Helps St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids, Iowa Convert Parking Garage for Better Light, Lower Cost - During the three-month retrofit project, approximately 500 lights and pole lamps in and around two parking garages were replaced with new LED technology, with Kenall TekDek 50-watt fixtures on the ramps, on the west entry and in the hospital's new ambulance garage, and Hubbell-Spaulding Cimarron LED fixtures on the pole lights. The result was that the garage space was noticeably brightened and even the ceiling areas are now visible, and energy costs were cut significantly. http://ewweb.com/

5.      NEMA Congratulates Winning Team in Public-Private Consortium Seeking to Strengthen U.S. Manufacturing - Known as the Next Generation Power Electronics Institute, it will provide the innovation infrastructure needed to support new product and process technologies, education, and training to become a global center of excellence for the development of wide bandgap semiconductor devices and industry-relevant processes. Supported by the DOE, the institute’s headquarters will be located on North Carolina State University’s Centennial campus. The North Carolina headquartered consortium of 18 companies and 6 universities include the following NEMA members: ABB, Cree, Delta Products, Toshiba International and Vacon. www.nema.org 

6.      LEDucation Expo Officially Sells Out Exhibit Space for 6^th Consecutive Year - The Designers Lighting Forum of New York (DLFNY) and the LEDucation organizers have both the exposition and educational sessions for LEDucation 8 will be held at the Sheraton NY Times Square Hotel located just five blocks from Times Square at 811 7th Avenue at West 52nd Street, New York, NY in the heart of Midtown. The educational sessions and expo will be held in the Empire and Metropolitan Ballrooms located on the second floor of the hotel. It is expected to draw more than 4,000+ lighting and design professionals during its new 2-day format on March 18 & 19th, 2014. Online Registration will open in late January at www.leducation.org

      7.      2014 Audi Sport Quattro Laserlight Concept - Audi demonstrated the future of lighting technology at CES by combining matrix LED and laser light technologies. Two low-profile trapezoidal elements are visible within the headlights–the outer one generates the low beam light using matrix LEDs and an aperture mask, while the inner element produces laser light for high-beam functionality. This new lighting tech has twice the range and three times the brightness of Audi’s previous LEDs. Audi claims it can illuminate the road for 500 meters (1,640 ft). http://www.boldride.com/ride/2014/audi-sport-quattro-laserlight-concept#gallery/5

8.      Jason Brown Bringing Youth, Charisma to US Olympic Men's Figure Skating Team - Jason Brown loves to perform, and it shows.  Maybe the name sounds familiar to you in the lighting business.  Well, he’s the son of Steve Brown, CEO of A.L.P. Lighting and grandson of the founder, the legendary Bill Brown. Talent and hard work is the secret to the Brown success. In the U.S. Figure Skating Championships last weekend at TD Garden in Boston, Jason Brown surprised everyone by scoring 182.61 points to win the free skate and 270.08 points overall to take home the silver medal. Just 19 years old, he has long, brown hair that gets pulled back into a ponytail when he skates, and he seems to bubble over with excitement as he speaks, a hallmark of youthful enthusiasm. All the best in Sochi, Jason.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1922258-jason-brown-bringing-youth-charisma-to-us-olympic-mens-figure-skating-team Video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzpyI5oavEo&feature=youtu.be

News Updates for the Week of September 23

1.      Mo and Evolucia - NY Yankees' pitching legend Mariano Rivera has joined forces with LED company, Evolucia Inc. to create a one-of-a-kind LED baseball. Preparing to retire, Rivera says he wanted his commemorative baseball to send a message to fans throughout the U.S. and in Latin America: "we can cut energy consumption, reduce pollution and save money by switching to LED lights." Evolucia developed an innovative LED-lighted baseball that is the same size and weight as a regulation Major League baseball. The ball leaves a trail of light as it is thrown, and is powered by a rechargeable battery. The commemorative baseball is available for purchase at www.evolucia.com/mariano with a portion of the proceeds benefitting Rivera's charitable foundation.

2.      LEDucation 8 “Call for Presentations” Deadline Approaching - Three more weeks available to submit speaker applications to LEDucation’s annual event on LED Technology.  The Designers Lighting Forum of New York invites experts to submit their proposals to become an official speaker at LEDucation 8, the largest single day exhibition and educational event dedicated solely to the ever-evolving LED market and technology. LEDucation 8 will return to New York City on March 18-19, 2014. Speaker proposals will be accepted through 5 p.m. EST, October 15, 2013 and should be submitted online at: www.leducation.org/call-for-presenters.html

3.      DLC Updates Guidance for the New LED Lighting Facts Submission Form - The DesignLights Consortium^® promotes quality, performance and energy efficient commercial sector lighting solutions through collaboration among its federal, regional, state, utility, and energy efficiency program members, luminaire manufacturers, lighting designers, and other industry stakeholders throughout the US and Canada. The DLC is a project of Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP).  DLC updates guidance for the new LED Lighting Facts submission form. Download the updated Manufacturer's Guide: http://www.designlights.org/resources/file/d-l-c-manufacturers-guide9-10-16-pdf

4.      IES Publishes Recommended Practice for Daylighting Buildings - The Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES) recently published Recommended Practice for Daylighting Buildings (RP-5-13). This document gathers the basic data and techniques required for the design of buildings and lighting systems and discusses the opportunities and constraints inherent in daylighting.  www.ies.org/store 

5.      Quality of Light and Overcoming Barriers to LED Adoption by Clifton Lemon - McKinsey’s 2011 Lighting the Way report www.mckinsey.com/ suggests that consumer lighting purchase decisions are driven as much by light quality as they are by the cost. Despite high first costs, the public is becoming increasingly used to assessing total lifetime costs and extending payback expectations. With the advent of widespread regulations mandating technological solutions, the lighting industry faces a future where LEDs provide perhaps the most viable way to meet pressing requirements. http://www.nema.org/news/Lists/ElectroIndustryMagazine/Attachments/32/EI_Aug13.pdf

6.      Lighting Science Receives $20 Million in Equity Investments and Commitments -  The preferred stock financing plan led by affiliates of Pegasus Capital Advisors, L.P., with participation from Riverwood Capital Partners, L.P. These companies are LSCG's two largest shareholders. The funding will be used to finance the company's growth, with a strong focus on technology platforms and product innovations. 9/16 Businesswise

7.      Shaheen-Portman Energy Efficiency Bill May Not Pass The Senate - The prospects for Senate passage of the bipartisan energy-efficiency legislation just got a whole lot dimmer. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will move next week to a government funding measure, a step that will further delay consideration of the efficiency legislation. And it’s not even a sure bet that the Senate will come back to the efficiency bill, which has been plagued by delays for almost two weeks. 9/20 Politico

8.      Most Energy-Efficient Cities in the U.S. - According to a new report conducted by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), the top five most energy efficient cities are:

1)      Boston

2)      Portland

3)      New York and San Francisco

4)      Seattle

5)   Austin

      The full report is available: http://aceee.org/press/2013/09/report-ranks-us-cities-efforts-save-

9.      CRS Electronics Announces New QuantumLED™ Sales Team - CRS Electronics Inc., a developer and manufacturer of ENERGY STAR® certified commercial LED lighting products, announced the addition of four Regional Sales Directors to its' QuantumLED Lighting team. Travis Jones, CRS Electronics President & CEO: "We are building a solid foundation of excellent personnel and products. We are searching for similar candidates for the Northwest, Mountain and Texas regions." http://finance.yahoo.com/news/crs-electronics-announces-quantumled-tm-132352170.html

10.  Lightfair Call for Speakers: Deadline Extended September 23, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. EST - Lightfair International (LFI) has issued a call for speakers from top lighting and design practitioners looking to participate in the trade show and conference to be held in Las Vegas from June 1-5, 2014. http://www.lightfair.com/lightfair/V40/index.cvn?id=10301

11.  LEDs and the Transformation of the Lighting Industry - The lighting industry is on the verge of a major transformation. Falling prices and improving quality for LED technology have begun to drive widespread adoption of this technology. Navigant Research (formerly Pike) forecasts that, by 2021, 63% of lamps sold to retrofit projects worldwide will be LED-based. Beyond a simple swap in lamp type, this rise in LEDs is expected to impact every aspect of the lighting industry. A webinar (Tuesday, October 8, 2013, 2:00 pm EDT) will examine the market changes that LED lights have already wrought, and provide forecasts for the future transformation of the industry.  http://www.navigantresearch.com/webinar/leds-and-the-transformation-of-the-lighting-industry

12.  2013 DOE Solid-State Lighting Market Introduction Workshop - Benson Hotel, Portland, OR
November 12–14, 2013.  Join DOE at the eighth annual SSL Market Introduction Workshop for two days of in-depth discussions on key topics led by industry experts. Ask all your questions about LED lighting. http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ssl/portland2013.html

News Updates for the Week of November 19

1.      Osram Sylvania Wins Race to Offer 100W-Equivalent LED A-Lamp - Just a few weeks back, Philips Lighting announced that it was readying to ship its 100W-equivalent and that the lamps would be in Home Depot by December 1. So the race is mainly for bragging rights, but the availability of 100W-equivalent LED lamps is a positive move for the industry.  The Osram lamp is selling for $50 at Lowe's now. Philips has said that Home Depot will price its product at $55.  The Sylvania product outputs 1600 lm with efficacy of 80 lm/W. It has a CRI of 80 color temperature of 2700K, 25,000-hr rated life, and is dimmable to 10%.  Philips says its lamp will deliver 1780 lm and is a 22W lamp. Both are A-21. Back at LFI, GE Lighting said its lamp would deliver 1600 lm and consume 27W and will be A-19. http://ledsmagazine.com/news/9/11/6

2.      LIGHTFAIR to Move to San Diego in 2016 - The 2016 staging at the San Diego Convention Center marks the San Diego premiere for LFI, which is produced alternately annually in large east- and west-coast venues. The San Diego location follows LFI’s long-running staging in Las Vegas at the Las Vegas Convention Center, its west-coast venue beginning in 1998, continuing in 2001 and then recurring in even years 2004-2012. LIGHTFAIR^® International 2013 is set to produce the single-largest trade show and conference in its 24-year history April 21-25 in Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania Convention Center, which will house important new category additions accommodated by expansion to an additional exhibit hall. www.lightfair.com

3.      World LED Lighting Markets (2012 Update) - The LED lighting market is growing, driven predominantly by supportive legislation phasing out inefficient lighting technologies. Frost & Sullivan research service examines the global LED lighting market, providing specific breakdowns for North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of World. Decreasing prices, improving quality, and increasing technical advantages are significant influences on the market’s anticipated growth trajectory. The study period is 2008-2018, with a base year of 2011 and a seven-year forecast period of 2012-2018. Key market drivers and restraints, market engineering measurements, and forecasts and trends for the total market, are analyzed. http://www.frost.com

4.      Google Investing in Green Energy in Greene County, Iowa - Google invested $75 million in a 50 MW wind farm in Rippey, a small town in Greene County, Iowa, bringing the company just short of $1 billion in investments in green energy projects. The wind farm, developed by RPM Access, is expected to produce enough energy to power over 15,000 Iowa homes. It uses turbines produced by Nordex USA at their Jonesboro, Arkansas facility. The energy produced by the wind farm has been contracted to the Central Iowa Power Cooperative, an Iowa-based utility that will deliver the energy to local consumers. http://www.google.com/green/energy/investments/

5.      LEDucation Expands Expo Floor for 7th Annual Educational Event/Expo on MARCH 20, 2013 in NYC - The new larger expo space at the Penn Plaza Pavilion allows for additional exhibitors to join the long list of veteran exhibitors from previous years. Exhibit hours for 2013 will begin with expo doors opening at 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. LED presentations will begin at 11:00 a.m. thru 7:00 p.m. Visit theLEDucation website (leducation.org) for details on attending, exhibiting, and educational sessions or visit the host website at (www.dlfny.com).

6.      Lighting for Aging Vision & Health - Robert Dupuy, IALD, LC & Eunice Noell-Waggoner, LC provide an in depth perspective on the subject of lighting for aging vision & health for the November session of the Human Centric Lighting Committee. http://humancentriclighting.com/?p=738

7.      White Paper: Choosing the Right LED Product for Industrial Applications - If you’re using HID or HPS fixtures, your lighting energy costs are probably in the range of $1 per square foot per year--meaning that your 200,000 square foot facility likely costs $200,000 annually. The way to reduce that massive energy expense is to upgrade to industrial LED lighting, which can reduce lighting energy use up to 90%. This white paper by Digital Lumens provides a comprehensive overview of the industrial LED alternatives—from plain LED fixtures to Intelligent LED Lighting Systems. http://ecmweb.com/whitepapers/white-paper-choosing-right-led-product-industrial-applications

8.      PECO Develops Additional Programs to Help Customers Save Energy and Money - On November 1 PECO filed a plan with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission for enhanced PECO Smart Ideas energy efficiency programs for residential and business customers. Following PUC review and approval the new programs would be available beginning in June, 2013. Included in PECO's filing are seven new programs for residential and business customers as well as the continuation of six existing programs. The programs are part of the company's ongoing support of Pennsylvania Act 129 and specifically the second phase of Act 129 energy efficiency and conservation targets. To view PECO's filing visit www.peco.com. To learn more visit www.peco.com/SmartIdeas.

9.      Maine Ripe for Energy-Efficiency Savings - Maine homes and businesses could trim their overall electricity consumption by 16 percent over the next decade by installing more-efficient lights, equipment and appliances, a new study for Efficiency Maine Trust has concluded. Efficiency Maine, an independent agency, was set up three years ago as a trust to guide and administer energy-efficiency and alternative energy programs in Maine. It spent $45 million in its first two years, with the money coming from a small surcharge on electricity bills. That spending leveraged as much as $50 million in private participation.  http://www.efficiencymaine.com/about

10.   An Afterlife for the Electric Car - Advocates of electric cars and renewable energy have talked for years about repackaging the battery packs built for cars as home energy storage devices once they can no longer hold enough charge to run a vehicle. The idea behind the prototype is two-fold: to provide a market for past-their-prime batteries, giving them a resale value that will lower their cost of ownership, and providing distributed storage that could be used to shore up weak spots on the grid or to absorb energy from intermittent sources like solar panels and wind machines and deliver it in a steady stream suitable for the power grid. A battery pack from a Chevy Volt. A new prototype lashes five of them together in an array that is supposed to provide two hours of electricity for three to five average houses. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/

11.  Ford, Toyota Will Lead Plug-in Electric Vehicle Sales in the U.S. Through 2020 - Assembly lines in Japan and the United States produced more than 20,000 plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) in 2011, an all-time record for such vehicles.  But optimism about the market for PEVs has gradually been replaced with a better understanding of the practical challenges of launching new models and expanding PEV sales to mainstream consumers unfamiliar with the technology.  Nevertheless, according to a recent report from Pike Research, sales of PEVs in the United States will climb steadily over the remainder of this decade with Ford and Toyota leading the way in the U.S. from 2012 to 2020. http://www.pikeresearch.com/research/plug-in-electric-vehicles