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