News Updates for the Week of July 8

1.      Lighting to Overtake Cellphones as Largest LED Driver IC Sector - With the efficiency and total lumen output for LED on the rise, lighting this year will surpass cellphones as the biggest application for LED driver ICs. This market is set to grow to $323 million this year, up from $214 million in 2012, according to a new report from IMS Research. Cellphones will have revenue of $316 million. Unit shipments of LED driver ICs this year will continue to favor mobile handsets with 1.5 billion units, versus 1.1 billion for LED lighting. However, that will change in 2014 when lighting is forecast to overtake mobile as the volume shipment leader with 1.9 billion, compared to 1.7 billion for cellphone LEDs. Revenue will continue to grow for LED lighting for the next few years heading to $519 million in 2014 and $666 million in 2015 on its way to $810.3 million by 2018. http://electronicsfeed.com/news/4534

2.   Bright Lights and Even Brighter Ideas - In principle, LEDs could be nearly 100 percent efficient at turning their energy into visible light. In practice, they’re somewhere near 20 percent, which is still far greater than the five percent of conventional incandescent bulbs. To better understand the source of those efficiencies--and hopefully improve them further--a team of researchers at Brookhaven National Lab and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) took a close look at indium gallium nitride (InGaN), a material used in many LEDs.  InGaN is an alloy, a mix of metals, and scientists had seen clusters of indium within it, which they suspected might contribute to its useful properties. http://energy.gov/articles/bright-lights-and-even-brighter-ideas

3.      American National Standard Practice for Office Lighting Available - The Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES) recently unveiled "American National Standard Practice for Office Lighting (ANSI/IES RP-1-12)," the latest in a continuing series of IES Recommended Practices for lighting practitioners. Approved by the American National Standards Institute as an American National Standard, ANSI/IES RP-1-12 has been substantially revised and reorganized from earlier editions to address recent changes in the office environment, such as computer-based tasks, new office layouts, the effect of energy efficiency on lighting design, new light sources, and control techniques. http://www.ies.org/store/

      4. Video: Audi Confirms Newly Updated A8 by the End of This Year, to Feature New Matrix LED Lighting - The newly updated Audi A8 flagship sedan for a launch sometime at the end of this year focuses on one of the biggest technical highlights for the new facelifted A8: Matrix LED Headlights. Each headlight consists of 25 high-beam light-emitting diodes arranged specially with a variety of lenses and reflectors connected into a specific serious. Additionally, Audi’s new system in the A8 can detect oncoming traffic and could adjust the beam accordingly to avoid blinding opposing traffic. For full details and a video: http://www.egmcartech.com/2013/07/03/video-audi-confirms-newly-updated-a8-by-the-end-of-this-year-to-feature-new-matrix-led-lighting/

5.      LEDs' New Standard: Zhaga Consortium by Craig DiLouie - Specifiers enjoy a choice of brands and components to provide optimal solutions for their applications. Owners can replace components for maintenance or upgrade purposes while retaining the hardware. And manufacturers, specifiers and owners all benefit from having a choice of components from different suppliers with associated economy of competition. 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

6.   New Materials Could Bring More Natural Lighting from LEDs - Scientists from Oak Ridge and Argonne national labs and the University of Georgia are working together to develop a new group of phosphors that glow in a broader part of the electromagnetic spectrum. They are growing and testing nanocrystals composed of europium oxide and aluminum oxide powders. Europium is a rare-earth element that has exceptional phosphorescent qualities. Making a LED bulb that produces warm, white light is still the goal. http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2013/07/04/new-materials-could-mean-natural-lighting-leds

7.      Energy Star Updates Portfolio Manager for Buildings -  The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Portfolio Manager, used by more than 9,000 hotels across the United States to benchmark their energy and water performance, is about to undergo some significant changes. On July 10, the EPA will release a complete upgrade of the online tool. Users of the new Energy Star Portfolio Manager tool will enjoy an easier-to-use interface, more streamlined sharing tools and enhanced reporting features, according to EPA. http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2013/07/01/energy-star-updates-portfolio-manager

      8.   US Energy Transitions: 1776 to 2076: Happy July 4th. Happy Independence Day - In 1776, Britain's thirteen American colonies ran on a 100-percent renewable portfolio standard and a distributed (wood- and horse-based) energy economy. Today, as the EIA graph shows, natural gas is ascendant in the U.S. while coal is in decline and nuclear power has plateaued. Petroleum rules the world. Renewable energy survives as the small mammal beneath the dinosaurs' feet. http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/US-Energy-Transitions-1776-to-2076