News Updates for the Week of July 22

1.      Smart Electric Turns to Kickstarter to Fund Its Bright Idea - Smart Electric is proposing a solution to the problem of bedtime jitters and energy inefficiency with its Smart Bulb collection of innovative lighting products. To fund the manufacturing and marketing of this first-ever line of consumer products, the company has launched a Kickstarter campaign. "After generations of using traditional 'dumb' light bulbs that were limited in functionality and hiring electricians for custom installations, our team developed technology that delivers lighting solutions for consumers without the need for expensive remote dimmers and timers," said Smart Electric president and CEO Stan Angelo. 7/12 HCN  http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2000111114/smart-bulb-make-light-do-more

2.      2012 CEE Report Demonstrates Importance of Efficiency - The Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE) releases its 2012 Annual Industry Report, painting the most complete picture of energy efficiency and demand response program activity available from a single source. Based on a survey collecting budget, expenditure, and impact data, the report covers both gas and electric demand side management in the United States and Canada. Expenditures and budgets continue to climb, with commensurate growth in savings. Total expenditures for 2011 reached $7.6 billion, growing 17 percent from $6.5 billion in 2010. Budgets in 2012 measured $9.4 billion. http://www.cee1.org/content/growth-trends-energy-efficiency-industry

3.      Are LEDs Safe for Our Eyes? -  To answer it, the DOE has come out with a new Fact Sheet entitled Optical Safety of LEDs, which clarifies what's known about that issue and takes a look at current standards for photobiological safety. Conclusion: LED products are no more hazardous than other lighting technologies that have the same CCT. Furthermore, white-light products used in general lighting service applications are not considered a risk for blue light hazard according to current international standards. http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/ssl/opticalsafety_fact-sheet.pdf

4.      Connected Lighting Alliance Taps Zigbee Light Link for Residential Controls - The Connected Lighting Alliance has formally selected ZigBee Light Link as the network and protocol of choice for connecting lighting products and controls in homes. The ZigBee standard isn’t specific to LED-based solid-state lighting (SSL) but such products are especially amenable to controls, and the endorsement by the alliance should help broaden deployment of connected SSL in residential applications. The Connected Lighting Alliance was formed just less than a year ago in August 2012 by GE Lighting, Lutron, Osram, Philips, and Toshiba. The stated mission of the organization is development of an open standard wireless network that supports interoperable products from multiple vendors. http://ledsmagazine.com/news/10/7/12

5.      “Why the Wait?” Campaign to Encourage Action on Energy Bill - NEMA announced “Why the Wait?”—a campaign to encourage swift Senate action on S 761, the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act, introduced by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Rob Portman (R-OH). The bill sailed out of committee in May thanks to overwhelming bipartisan support, but has yet to be brought to the floor. The bill will use a variety of low-cost tools to reduce barriers for private sector energy users and drive adoption of available technologies to reduce energy use and save consumers money. It also will require the federal government—the single largest energy user in the nation—to adopt energy-saving techniques. http://www.nema.org/News/Pages/Why-the-Wait-Campaign-to-Encourage-Action-on-Energy-Bill.aspx

6.      Researchers Work to Bring Cheaper, ‘Greener’ LED Lighting to Market - Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) hold the promise of being both environmentally friendly and versatile. Though not as efficient as regular LEDs, they offer a wider range of material choices and are more energy efficient than traditional lights. OLEDs can also be applied to flexible surfaces, which may lead to lights or television displays that can be rolled up and stowed in a pocket. A promising line of research involves combining the OLEDs with inorganic quantum dots, tiny semiconductor crystals that emit different colors of light depending on their size. These “hybrid” OLEDs, also called quantum dot LEDs (QD-LEDs), increase the efficiency of the light-emitting devices and also increase the range of colors that can be produced. But commercially manufacturing this promising green technology is still difficult and costly.  http://www.ledjournal.com

7.      Energy Department Invests to Save Small Buildings Money by Saving Energy - The Energy Department announced an award of $10 million for six projects to help small commercial buildings save money by saving energy. These small commercial buildings are less than 50,000 square feet in size and include schools, churches, strip malls, restaurants and grocery stores. The six projects are aimed at developing user-friendly tools and resources that can be easily deployed at any small building. The Energy Department’s $10 million investment across these six projects will be matched by at least $14 million in private sector funding. http://energy.gov/articles/energy-department-invests-save-small-buildings-money-saving-energy