News Updates for the Week of April 15

1.      Goodbye Fluorescent Bulb - Dutch company Royal Philips NV says LED lamp will soon light up your office. The technical milestone the company claims to have achieved is the ability to produce 200 lumens of light per watt. It has developed an LED light that will soon be far more efficient than the best fluorescents on the market. That should make it cheaper and greener, as well. It's a combination that will inevitably help the LED dominate the market for illuminating the world's workplaces within 10 years. It will be the first on the market that reaches that level of efficiency and functions across a normal range of temperatures and is capable of consistently producing the same amount of warm white colored light as comparable fluorescent tubes. http://www.newscenter.philips.com http://finance.yahoo.com/news/goodbye-fluorescent-bulb-philips-says-112843502.html

2.      National Academy of Sciences Releases Report on Solid-State Lighting - NAS has published a report entitled Assessment of Advanced Solid-State Lighting. The NAS committee reviewed the development and future impacts of SSL, including projections of cost and research and development necessary to overcome barriers to widespread adoption. It also made a number of recommendations, including many that have already been implemented. http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18279

3.   DOE Publishes Exploratory CALiPER Study on Commercial Ambient LED Lighting - The U.S. DOE has released an exploratory CALiPER study on the problems and benefits likely to be encountered as LED products intended to replace linear fluorescent lamps become increasingly popular. Eighteen lighting designers and facility engineers compared 24 identical pairs of troffers in a simulated office space. Three of those pairs involved fluorescent benchmark troffers, and the rest were LED products. The products were evaluated for photometric distribution, uniformity of light on the task surface, and suitability of the light output for the task, as well as flicker, dimming performance, color quality, power quality, safety and certification issues, ease of installation, energy efficiency, and life-cycle cost. Bottom line: LED dedicated troffers can compete with (and beat) fluorescents in terms of efficacy. For a copy of the full report: www.ssl.energy.gov/exploratory.html

4.   PowerSecure Strengthens LED Business with Acquisition of Solais Lighting - PowerSecure International, Inc. today announced that it has acquired Solais Lighting, Inc., a private company based in Stamford, CT which has a proprietary portfolio of LED lamps and fixtures for commercial and industrial applications that provide superior light output, thermal management, optics, light quality and aesthetics.  The acquisition strengthens and complements PowerSecure's existing LED business with additional product lines and an expanded customer base, and adds strong skill sets around product design, product commercialization, manufacturing and materials sourcing. http://www.marketwatch.com

5.    EW Looks at How LEDs are Changing the Municipal Market by Doug Chandler - The advances lighting manufacturers have been making in LED technology will eventually change all aspects of the lighting market. One of the first to see a significant change has been the market for roadway and outdoor area lighting, where in just a few years the market has shifted from essentially a relationship-driven sale focused on the utilities and commodity fixtures to a spec-driven sale at the municipal level.  For Electrical Wholesaling's April issue, I talked with some product managers in the middle of this transformation about what they've seen and where this is going. http://ewweb.com/lighting/revolution-road-leds-reshape-how-municipal-lighting-sold

6.      Growing Pains: LEDs by Susan Bloom - Among other matters with LEDs, reliability has been an issue.  Long life, unparalleled efficiency, brightness and durability are just some of the benefits that LED technology brings to the industry table and the contractor’s market basket. But while the $2.5-plus billion LED lamp industry continues to progress along its rapid growth trajectory and distinctive path as the future of lighting, it remains plagued by a number of issues that currently impair its viability in a variety of key applications. Following, our experts discuss some of the issues that LEDs continue to face at this stage of their evolution as well as tips to help contractors navigate through the sometimes murky waters of LED technology. http://www.ecmag.com/section/lighting/growing-pains-leds

7.      LEDs' New Standard: Zhaga Consortium by Craig DiLouie -While integrated LED replacement lamps are designed around conventional lamp sockets, these interfaces are impractical for LED lighting fixtures, the majority of which are designed as highly integrated devices. This allows the product to be optimized around the technology but means the light source and control gear (driver/power supply) cannot be easily replaced. Some products are designed around components that are replaceable but only with major disassembly. A growing number of fixtures are entering the market that offer replaceable components, but the connections are proprietary, providing durability but not choice. Enter Zhaga, an industry consortium founded in 2010 around the goal of providing interchangeability of LED light sources made by different manufacturers. The organization now has more than 270 companies and organizations participating, including big names such as Acuity Brands, Cooper, Cree, GE, Osram Sylvania, Philips and Zumtobel.
 http://www.ecmag.com/section/lighting/leds-new-standard-zhaga-consortium

8.      LED Price Battle Heats Up as Osram Launches 10-Euro Bulb - Germany's Osram is launching a new LED light bulb that costs less than 10 euros ($13.10) to battle rivals, such as Cree and Samsung Electronics, for a share of the fast-growing market. A spokesman for Osram, which is being spun off by engineering conglomerate Siemens, said on Monday the company's new LED replacement for 40 watt incandescent bulbs would retail at 9.95 euros in Germany from June. Most comparable LED bulbs in Europe currently cost more than 15 euros. http://finance.yahoo.com

9.      Consumers Warm to LED Bulbs as Prices Fall - Thanks to subsidies from utilities, improved quality, and lower manufacturing costs, sales are expected to rise significantly this year. Part of shift is by default. Since last year, incandescent bulbs are being phased out. The 75-watt and 100-watt bulbs are no longer being manufactured, and the 40- and 60-watters will be eliminated next year. While today's prices are a big plunge from $70 for a bulb in 2009, it still seems exorbitant for people used to paying 50 cents for an incandescent.  But a 60-watt LED bulb for $13 pays for itself in about two years. $10 a bulb is seen as the tipping point where many consumers will try LED as a replacement for 40- or 60-watt incandescents, which make up 80 percent of North America's residential bulbs. 4/08 Star Tribune 

10.  MaxLite Works with Progress Energy Carolinas to Provide Energy-Efficient CFLs to Habitat for Humanity ReStores - MaxLite is helping Habitat ReStore customers in the Carolinas save energy and money through an innovative program by Progress Energy Carolinas that provides ENERGY STAR® qualified compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) to customers at greatly discounted prices. The bulbs are discounted through Progress Energy Carolina’s Energy-Efficient Lighting program and then gifted to the stores. MaxLite is also partnering with utilities and Habitat ReStores in other select areas of the nation as well. http://www.maxlite.com/news-and-events?p=3526