News Updates for the Week of March 19

1.      New Round of DOE Small-Business Funding Opportunities - The U.S. DOE Office of Science will sponsor another round (Phase 1, Release 3) of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) funding opportunities. Topics for this final round of FY12 funding can be found at http://science.energy.gov/sbir and include solid-state lighting (topic 3a, page 3). The full funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is expected on April 3, with pre-applications due May 1. Details of this new process, along with eligibility requirements for U.S. small businesses, will be shared on a webinar on Monday, March 19, at 2:00 p.m. EDT. For more information on the SBIR/STTR webinar, visit the registration page.

2.      DOE Advanced Research Projects Agency Issues $150 Million Funding Opportunity - The U.S. DOE Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA-E) has announced a $150 million funding opportunity that may be of interest to the solid-state lighting community. Anticipated to be split up into anywhere from 60 to 80 awards of $250,000 to $10 million each, the funding opportunity is open to all transformational energy technologies. Notices of intent are due by March 30, and concept papers are due by April 12. PA-E's mission is to identify and fund research to translate science into breakthrough energy technologies that are too risky for the private sector and that, if successfully developed, will create the foundation for entirely new industries. For more information on solicitation number DE-FOA-0000670), visit https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov

3.      Webcast on L Prize^® PAR 38 Competition: A New Start - On Tuesday, March 27 at 1:00 p.m. EDT, the U.S. DOE will host a 60-minute live webcast on the newly reopened L Prize PAR 38 competition. Moderated by James Brodrick, DOE Lighting Program Manager, the webcast will feature a 30-minute presentation from Marc Ledbetter of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, followed by a 30-minute question-and-answer session with attendees. To register for the webcast: registration page To learn more about the L Prize PAR 38 Competition: http://www.lightingprize.org/

4.      Smart Lighting 2012 - This Research and Markets report provides an analysis of the worldwide smart lighting market and builds on NanoMarkets' extensive six-year experience of analyzing the solid-state lighting industry. The report shows how new value is being created in the lighting market by adding enhanced electronics and intelligent luminaires and how such product strategies will be able to build on the massive trend towards introducing CFLs, LEDs, OLEDs and other forms of energy efficient lighting. For more information please click on: http://www.researchandmarkets.com/product/b194b4/smart_lighting_2012

5.      Energy-Efficient Lighting Explained - Research and tips for businesses who want to take advantage of the existing policies and technology in the lighting industry to lower their energy use. Lighting is one of the most cost-effective energy efficiency investments. The Daily Energy Report and Real Energy Writers' "Energy Efficient Lighting Explained: A guide for business people who aren't lighting techies":  

• Educates you about your lighting technology options 
• Informs you about the political landscape and controversies surrounding lighting 
• Describes how you can take advantage of current lighting market conditions to cut costs and reduce your footprint.

     For more information: http://www.researchandmarkets.com/product/2b0893/energyefficient_lighting_explained  

6.      The Efficiency Boom: Cashing In on the Savings from Appliance Standards - Appliance, equipment, and lighting standards have been a cornerstone of U.S. energy policy since Congress enacted the first standards in the 1980s. They have significantly reduced U.S. energy consumption, providing large economic benefits for consumers and businesses. Taking into account products sold from the inception of each national standard through 2035, existing standards will net consumers and businesses more than $1.1 trillion in savings cumulatively. The ACEEE report finds that over the same period, cumulative energy savings will reach more than 200 quads, an amount equal to about two years of total U.S. energy consumption. http://www.aceee.org/research-report/a123

 

7.      Home Energy Efficiency Incentives Proposed - Several Congressional bills are in the works that address energy efficiency in the United States, but don't get your hopes up. About the only pending federal legislation that directly addresses tax credits for homeowners investing in energy efficiency upgrade is the Cut Energy Bills at Home Act.  According to the Alliance to Save Energy, the tax credit is based on annual predicted energy cost savings from heating, cooling, hot water and "permanent lighting" in a primary residence. For a minimum credit of $2,000, homes would need to reduce energy costs by 20 percent; for each additional 5 percent savings beyond that, the credit would be worth an additional $500. However the credit could not be greater than either $5,000 or 30 percent of the taxpayer's expenditures.  3/13 Earth Techling

8.      USGBC and Home Depot Launch New Database of Green Building Products - The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), in conjunction with The Home Depot, has launched an online green home products database. The database: www.leed.homedepot.com is a special microsite within www.homedepot.com that features products geared toward green home building, many of which may contribute towards earning LEED points and prerequisites for the LEED for Homes program, making it easier for homeowners and builders to find the products they need.  Currently, more than 2,500 products sold at The Home Depot are listed on the website.

9.      Switch Lighting Debuts 100-watt Replacement - SWITCH Lighting™ www.switchlightingco.com/  announced the launch of the SWITCH100, an A series 100 watt-equivalent LED replacement lamp for select commercial channels. Key features include:

• Lifespan of at least 25,000 hours 
• Uses 20 Watts of input power, and produces 1600 lumens 
• Color temperature of 4100K 
• Can be used in any fixture, recessed or fully enclosed 
• Can be used in any orientation, with no compromise to driver function or lumen output 
• It is dimmable and turns on instantly 3/13 BUSINESS WIRE

10.  Energy Efficiency Incentives Improved - The New York State Public Service Commission set new financial incentives that utilities would be able to receive as a way to encourage electric and natural gas utilities to continue to make investments in energy efficiency programs. The Commission set up incentive pools totaling $36 million for electric utilities and $14 million for gas utilities, totaled over a four-year incentive period. The Commission's decision may be obtained by going to the Commission Documents section of the Commission's Web site at www.dps.ny.gov and entering Case Number 07-M-0548 in the input box labeled "Search for Case/Matter Number." 3/15 Post Star

11.  Rebate for CFL Bulbs Raised to $1.40 from $1 Each in Hawaii - The state's main energy efficiency program has boosted the instant rebate for CFLs to $1.40 from $1 for a limited time to encourage residents to replace their old incandescent bulbs. The program is funded mainly through a fee paid by electric utility customers. In addition to the CFL rebate, Hawaii Energy is funding a Blue Planet Foundation program that allows residents on Maui and Hawaii island to trade their incandescent bulbs for CFLs. 3/14 Star Advertiser

12.  GE Introduces Lumination LED Troffer - GE Lighting Solutions of East Cleveland, OH, has introduced its first commercial product in the Lumination brand line. It is a recessed LED troffer offered in 600x600-cm (2x2 ft) and 300x1200-cm (1x4 ft) versions with a panel thickness of only 14 mm (0.5 in). Both sizes are dimmable and offered in 3000K, 3500K and 4000K configurations. GE Lighting Solutions has stated that it expects to introduce more than ten new luminaires in the next year and a half including linear, suspended-fixture and surface-mounted troffers. http://www.ledsmagazine.com/news/9/3/13

13.  LEDucation 6 Is Expected to Draw More Than 1,200 Lighting and Design Professionals -LEDucation 6 will be held at the Hotel Pennsylvania on March 21st, 2012 in New York located between 32nd & 33rd Streets – across from Madison Square Garden.  Exhibit Hours have been extended and open at 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. with LED presentations beginning at 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.  Online registration will remain open until Monday, March 19th at www.leducation.org

14.  March 27-29 for EE Global 2012 in Orlando - The SOLD OUT Solutions Showcase highlights the latest energy efficiency technologies, services and products from over 40 companies and organizations. Open all three days, you can walk the show floor and interact with global companies. http://www.eeglobalforum.org/

15.  March 30 is Deadline for NAED PAR Surveys - PAR provides members with an up-to-date picture of actual operations throughout the industry. Each year, industry statistics are compiled into a report from a confidential, financial performance survey administered by the Profit Planning Group - an independent third-party research provider. Participants have the option of receiving a personalized report comparing their operation with others of similar size and customer emphasis. Participate in NAED’s 2012 Performance Analysis Report survey before March 30. http://www.naed.org/PAR/

16.  Lighting Industry Launches Global Lighting Association - The global lighting industry has launched the Global Lighting Association, which is designed to be “the voice of the lighting industry on a global basis.” As a grouping of national and regional lighting associations, the Global Lighting Association represents over 5,000 lighting manufacturers and $50 billion annual sales. The primary mission of the Global Lighting Association is to share information. Originally founded in 2007 as the Global Lighting Forum, the new Global Lighting Association represents the same members, but with a renewed focus and a commitment to being active and influential participants in shaping how the world is illuminated. According to the Global Lighting Association, its priorities for 2012 include: energy efficiency, LED performance quality, and innovation. http://www.globallightingforum.org/

17.  LED Retrofit Kits for LED Troffers by Stan Walerczyk - The future of retrofitting recessed 2x4, 1x4 and 2x2 lensed and parabolic troffers will probably be LED kits, not LED T8s. Stan is helping develop specifications and pricing on LED kits and needs input from large end-customers, retrofit contractors, ESCOs, etc. regarding:

• Cost
• Wattage
• Lumens per watt
• Rated life
• Warranty
• Optional dimming
• Optional Kelvin changing
• Integral controls

If you are interested, contact Stan Walerczyk at stan@lightingwizards.com.

News Updates for the Week of February 13

1.      LED Lighting Experienced Strong Growth Surge in 2011 - Despite a decline in the overall market for lighting products in 2011, the LED lighting market (including both LED lamps and LED luminaires) had an exceptionally good year in 2011, growing by 69% year-on-year. The total revenue from the LED lighting market was $5.5 billion in 2010 and $9.4 billion in 2011. Moreover, the LED lighting market is predicted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20% from 2011 to 2016. Commercial and industrial lighting was the biggest growth sector. http://www.ledsmagazine.com/news/9/2/9

2.      LED Market Grew Almost 10% In 2011, With 44% Growth in Lighting - The worldwide high-brightness LED market grew from $11.3 billion in 2010 to $12.5 billion in 2011, a growth rate of 9.8%, according to market-research firm Strategies Unlimited. Demand for LED components (i.e. packaged LEDs) in the lighting market grew 44%, from $1.2 billion to $1.8 billion.

• Leading LED Suppliers for 2011 - On the supply side, 10 companies accounted for more than 68% of the LED market in 2011. The rank order of the top 10 suppliers in the LED market for 2011, by revenue of packaged LED components, is:

1. Nichia
2. Samsung LED
3. Osram Opto Semiconductors
4. LG Innotek
5. Seoul Semiconductor
6. Cree
7. Philips Lumileds
8. Sharp
9. Toyoda Gosei
10. Everlight

• LED Supply by Region - Geographically, Taiwanese and Chinese suppliers gained market share at the expense of the other regions. China’s improvement in product quality, coupled with gains in the domestic market, fueled the growth from 2% market share to 6% in one year. Korean companies lost share in the slowing market, even though they were the most aggressive in increasing capacity during the ramp-up in 2010. The expansion by Philips Lumileds, Cree and Osram Opto into 6-inch substrates slowed as there was a great deal of excess capacity in their existing 4-inch lines. The Japanese LED business has trended down or flat. However, Nichia and TG are major beneficiaries of the boom in tablet computers. Osram Opto gained a major design win, which propelled its visible LED component business to more than $1 billion.
• Lighting - The same supply conditions that reduced the price of LEDs increased the demand for packaged LEDs in lighting applications from $1.2 billion in 2010 to $1.8 billion in 2011. System efficacy, rather than LED efficacy, was the gating factor in 2011. The LED luminaire and replacment lamp market was $9.3 billion in 2011, an increase of 45% over 2010. The market for LEDs in lighting is expected to demonstate substantial unit growth over the next five years, but revenue growth will be much lower due to pricing pressure. http://www.ledsmagazine.com/news/9/2/6

3.      ENERGY STAR TM-21 Calculator Now Available - The ENERGY STAR TM-21 Calculator is based on the Illuminating Engineering Society’s TM-21-11: Projecting Long Term Lumen Maintenance of LED Light Sources, referenced in the ENERGY STAR Luminaires V1.1 specification and in Draft 1 of the ENERGY STAR Lamps V1.0 specification. The Calculator is available for download on the ENERGY STAR website at www.energystar.gov/TM-21calculator

4.      New DOE Consortium Financial Tool Figures Impact of Switching to LED Street Lighting - The U.S. Department of Energy's Municipal Solid-State Street Lighting Consortium has released an economic cost-benefit analysis tool to help cities, utilities, and other organizations estimate the costs and impacts of switching to street lighting that uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The Excel-based Retrofit Financial Analysis Tool was developed in collaboration with the Clinton Climate Initiative. Users input data on the relevant variables for their particular application to get a detailed analysis that includes annualized energy-cost savings, maintenance savings, greenhouse gas reductions, and simple payback. To download the tool see www.ssl.energy.gov/financial-tool.html. To learn more about the Consortium, visit www.ssl.energy.gov/consortium.html

5.      Top R&D Achievements in Energy-Saving Lighting Honored at DOE Workshop - The Energy Department recognized six research and development project teams at "Transformations in Lighting," its ninth annual Solid-State Lighting R&D Workshop, held this year in Atlanta. The following organizations were recognized by DOE:

• Cree, Inc., was recognized for developing a novel LED that enables a new, high-efficiency driver (i.e., power supply) architecture to improve overall lighting system efficacy. 
• Osram Sylvania was recognized for its work developing an LED replacement for 2'x2' fluorescent fixtures (i.e., troffers) that has achieved extremely high energy efficiency. 
• Philips Lighting was recognized for its efforts to develop a family of LED drivers that are smaller, lower-cost and more efficient. 
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute was recognized for its efforts to close the "green gap" by improving the color rendering of LEDs. 
• Universal Display Corporation was recognized for completing two pre-prototype undercabinet phosphorescent OLED systems that have achieved high efficiency levels. 
• White Optics was recognized for developing a composite coating to optimize the light output of SSL systems by maximizing reflection. http://www.energyvortex.com/pages/headlinedetails.cfm?id=5433

6.      Economic Confidence Remains Very Low - The latest Gallup polls show that almost every state is tracking economic confidence at lower levels than in 2010. The average was -28 and in 2011 it slumped further to -37. There was not one state or region that showed positive numbers, the closest was Washington D.C. with a -4 reading.

7.      Employment Rise Little Help to Construction Workers - The recent national upturn in job growth has not reached the construction industry, where unemployment rose from 16% in December to 17.7% in January. Those looking for work outpaced the 21,000 new construction jobs created, according to a statement released by the Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA). 2/07 HCN

8.      A-D Announces 2011 Sales Results - Affiliated Distributors (AD), Wayne, Pa., released their Electrical Divisions’ year-end results with US sales having grown 19% to $11.2 billion and Canadian sales having grown 10% to $852 million, respectively. AD Affiliates also set new records for both net distributions and return on remittances. http://livewire.electricalmarketing.com/

9.      Excellence in Energy Efficiency Act Promises $1 Billion Prize for 100 MPG Car - H.R. 3872 – the Excellence in Energy Efficiency Act of 2012 – was just introduced by Representative Dan Lungren (R) of California's 3rd Congressional District. If passed, the legislation would have the Secretary of Energy "establish a program to award a prize in the amount of $1,000,000,000 to the first automobile manufacturer incorporated in the USA to manufacture and sell in the USA 60,000 mid-sized sedan automobiles which operate on gasoline and can travel 100 miles per gallon." 2/06 AutoBlog

10.   LEDucation 6 Is Expected to Draw More Than 1,800 Lighting and Design Professionals - LEDucation 6 will be held at the Hotel Pennsylvania on March 21st, 2012 in New York located between 32nd & 33rd Streets – across from Madison Square Garden.  Exhibit Hours have been extended and open at 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. with LED presentations beginning at 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Online Registration at: www.leducation.org