Intermatix Phosphor Opens Doors for LED Lighting

Intematix has developed a separate phosphor component (shown here) for LED lights, breaking with the conventional method of a phosphor coating. (Credit: Intematix)

Intematix today announced an component designed to improve LED lighting efficiency and give light fixture manufacturers more flexibility in adjusting light qualities.

The Fremont, Calif.-based company announced its ChromaLit product line, which offers a separate phosphor component that converts the blue light of LED light sources into pleasing white light.

Phosphors, which are compounds with inherent luminescence, are used for all LED light fixtures and bulbs. They are generally in a powder form that is directly coated onto LED light sources, which are semiconductors that emit light when electricity is passed through them.

By contrast, ChromaLit is a separate, disk-shaped component. According to Intematix, this allows for LED light fixtures with more possible shapes, including three-dimensional and curved LED light fixtures.

A separate phosphor component is also up to 30 percent more energy efficient, and manufacturers can swap in various phosphor components on the same LED light source to create products with a different color temperature and color rendering index.

Having a separate phosphor component can extend the life and performance of LEDs, Intematix CEO Mark Swoboda told Scientific American. That’s because phosphor coating on an LED light source often reflects much of the light back toward the semiconductor light source. By contrast, a layered design means that reflected light can still be emitted around the sides of the phosphor component.

The company is targeting ChromaLit at LED light fixture manufacturers in both the commercial and residential markets.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20028726-54.html#ixzz1BUHF5nvJ

By Martin LaMonica

CNET

Sylvania Shows Off Their LED 4′ T8 Fluorescent Replacement Lamp

I recently attended the Sylvania LED Road Show where they introduced their upcoming LED 4′ T8 Replacement Lamp.  The product name is a mouthful and in two parts:

LE-RT8-120/48

 DL1600/25W/80/41

Absolutely the best T8 LED I’ve witnessed and trust me, I’ve seen many.  Phenomenal light  output and really a dead ringer to the fluorescent T8.  Pricing will be the caveat here and wattage is a bit high, but other than that, Sylvanis has put together a great product.

Jodi Vallante, LC

Commercial Engineer Provided the following Q & A:

Q. What are the specifications of the remote phosphor LED T8 tube?  A. 2’ or 4’ versions.  Color temperatures of 2700, 3100, 3500, 4100, or 5000K; LPW 60-70; 106⁰ bean angle; 110V, 230V, or 277V; Internal driver (later version with external driver); dimmable down to 30%; 30,000 hour life.

Traxon introduces their Shield AC XB lighting system

Press Release

The Shield AC XB Wall Washing and Grazing LED System Extends Traxon Technologies’ Leading Edge in Flexibility, Simplicity, and Innovation

Hong Kong — January 14, 2011 – Traxon Technologies is proud to introduce the Shield AC XB lighting system, best suited for wall washing and grazing applications where fixtures are located far from the control area, or where the structural construction is complicated and extensive cabling or mounting is limited.

Powered by line voltage, the Shield AC XB system can run up to 300 meters away from the nearest power source. It eliminates the need for separate driver units and is perfectly suited for large scale architectural installations, such as bridges and high-rise buildings, as it allows more flexible placement of fixtures in outdoor applications

.

Based on the standard daisy-chain topology and using one cable for power and data, the Shield AC XB system simplifies wiring and helps save installation time and costs. The field-installable connectors provide wiring flexibility, allowing installers to optimize cable length and fixture positions. High flux LEDs used in the system sustain Traxon’s leading edge in high brightness and energy efficiency, helping customers save on energy costs. The detachable LED head is designed to be separated from the power unit in the base to avoid a major source of heat, ensuring the LEDs can sustain their rated lifetime, and simplifying long-term maintenance.

Rated IP66, a robust heat dissipation system and an industry leading temperature threshold [60°C / 140°F] make the Shield AC XB system the perfect choice for applications in extreme environments. Additionally, cutting-edge control technology from Traxon | e:cue allows smooth color mixing and dynamic white tones

South Africa Saves 1800 Megawatts with Energy Efficient Lights

Jan 17, 2011 10:48 AM | By Sapa

Between 2004 and 2010 43.5 million compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) were rolled out as part of Eskom’s national efficient lighting programme.

“Through retrofitting power-guzzling incandescent bulbs with energy savers, South Africans have helped save 1800 MW of electricity. This is enough to power a city the size of Durban.”

This was the highest number of CFLs to be rolled out in the world in one country through a single campaign.

Mexico was planning to roll out 30 million CFLs, which would place it second to South Africa.

Senior general manager of integrated demand management at Eskom Andrew Etzinger said the programme’s success was due to millions of “energy-conscious and environmentally-concerned” South Africans.

“The electricity saved as a result of the marked reduction in consumption by lighting in homes and buildings across the country brings us closer to achieving our energy savings targets.

“We are enormously appreciative of the South African people who supported this drive and we encourage them to continue working with Eskom and with each other to save power by using electricity wisely and living resource-efficient lifestyles,” Etzinger said.

However, Eskom said the gap between supply and demand would remain tight until the first unit of its Medupi dry-cooled, coal-fired power station being built near Lephalale in Limpopo, started generating power in 2012.

How It’s Made – The Incandescent Reflector Lamp

Maybe this should be renamed…How It Was Made 🙂

The Biggest Lighting Evolution Since Edison – And the Company That Will Benefit the Most

by Alexander Moschina, Investment U Research
Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Imagine a market worth $90 billion – and set to compound at an annual rate of 22%, according to NextGenResearch.

Imagine no more. Analysts say this will become a reality for the Light-Emitting Diode market (LED) in 2011. It’s the biggest revolution in the lighting industry since Thomas Edison patented the electric lamp. And it’s not surprising, given that LEDs last up to 50 times longer than traditional electric bulbs.

Now picture a company at the forefront of this industry – and the profits it could churn out for investors savvy enough to buy the stock. It’s already worth $7.29 billion and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) has invested $3 million in its groundbreaking research…

Cree Unveils the Most Efficient, Most Profitable Lamp Ever

Founded in 1987, Cree Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE) is an LED market leader. In October, the company announced that its quarterly sales hit a record $268.4 million – a 59% year-over-year increase.

Then in November, it unveiled the XLamp – the most powerful and most cost-efficient LED lamp ever. But most impressive? The product went from concept to commercially available in just eight months.

And according to Director John Edmond, future developments may roll out even faster. In fact, the new technology is so advanced that it could “enable applications we haven’t even thought of yet,” he said.

And fast development will be key, as LED demand skyrockets. Today, just 5% of all lighting fixtures use LED technology. But in just five years, LEDs will make up more than 50%.

It’s no wonder that Cree shares are up 33% since the start of November. But it’s only the beginning. Because according to recent forecasts, the company’s Chinese business is about to kick into high gear…

Cree in Prime Position to Capitalize on China’s Booming LED Market

In China, revenue from LED-backlit TVs is poised to reach $24.8 billion this year – a jump of more than 3,000% from a mere $77 million in 2009.

Riddhi Patel, iSuppli’s director of televisions and retail services, cites the Chinese stimulus plan as cause for the sharp increase. He added, “Demand in China is so robust that availability of LED-backlit sets has become constrained.”

That’s excellent news for Cree, as Asia accounts for almost two-thirds of its business. And the company is preparing itself for the coming flood of business. To date, it’s invested nearly $167 million in its Chinese operations, which puts it in a very strong position to significantly grow its sales as the lighting industry takes off.

Nexxus Lighting Launches New Array™ MR16-HO

-Sets the new standard in overall LED MR16 performance-

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Nexxus Lighting, Inc. (Nasdaq: NEXS) today announced the official launch of its new Array™ MR16-HO (High Output) LED replacement lamp. The lamp is a direct replacement for halogen MR16 down lighting and track lighting applications. With third-party testing as validation, the new Array™ MR16-HO delivers industry leading performance in lumen output and center beam candle power (CBCP) along with high color rendering index (CRI) and excellent dimming ability for both magnetic and electronic transformer dimming systems.

Utilizing Nexxus’ unique patent pending thermal management system known as Selective Heat Sink™ (SHS), the new MR16-HO operates at 12V AC and uses only 6.5 watts to deliver over 325 lumens and a CBCP of 2693. It is designed to last 50,000 hours and provides excellent color rendering (greater than 83 CRI) in both 2700 and 3000 degree Kelvin color temperatures. The new lamp is available in 18 degree Spot, 22 degree Narrow Flood and 100 degree Flood optics and can be operated in open or enclosed fixtures.

“We have shipped sample quantities of the new MR16-HO to various national accounts for the last six weeks and the response to its performance has been excellent. Our customer base is getting educated on LED lighting. We clearly see the differentiation of the Array MR16-HO’s performance from lesser grade lamps as these accounts create mock up areas in their stores or facilities,” said Mike Bauer, CEO of Nexxus Lighting. “From retail stores and restaurants to hotels and conference centers, this lamp again sets the standard in specification grade quality, superior performance and true value; criteria that Array has become known for.”

LM-79, LM-80, Lighting Facts labels and detailed specifications are all available for the new MR16-HO at http://www.nexxuslighting.com or http://www.arraylighting.com

About Nexxus Lighting

Nexxus Lighting, Inc. (www.nexxuslighting.com) is a leader in advanced LED lighting technology, including solid-state LED replacement light bulbs and linear strip lighting products used in commercial, architectural, signage and retail lighting. Nexxus Lighting sells its products under its Array™ Lighting and Lumificient brand names.

Certain of the above statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are within the meaning of that term in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Reference is made to Nexxus Lighting’s filings under the Securities Exchange Act for factors that could cause actual results to differ materially. Nexxus Lighting undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Nexxus Lighting, Inc.

For Pricing & Availability

Night owls may want to dim their lights

Study finds that that night-time lighting reduces hormone associated with sleep and health

By Janet Raloff

Web edition : Wednesday, January 12th, 2011

ScienceNews

People who spend their evenings in relatively bright light run the risk of stressing their bodies by ratcheting down the production of melatonin. Produced in the brain’s pineal gland, this hormone plays a pivotal role in setting the body’s biological clock – and, potentially, in limiting the development of certain cancers.

More than 100 young adults volunteered for a roughly 10-day research trial during which each took turns living in a light-controlled room at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. From midnight until 8 a.m. the room was totally dark. At other times, researchers from Harvard Medical School tinkered with the room’s lighting.

On most evenings, the illumination averaged 200 lux (or roughly the brightness of a normal living room at night); on other evenings, it was no brighter than 3 lux (what might be expected from three candles burning at a distance of 1 meter.)  

When their room’s lighting had been bright, the participants made, on average, 71 percent less melatonin in the hours before sleep. Their bodies also commenced production of the hormone substantially later on nights when the lighting was brighter – just 23 minutes before scheduled sleep time (midnight) versus almost 2 hours before bedtime when the lighting had been dim.

What’s more, the body didn’t fully catch up for any late start on melatonin synthesis. The day’s production fell short by about 12.5 percent after an evening when the lighting was bright.

And it gets worse if people pull all-nighters, Joshua J. Gooley and his colleagues found. In a second, smaller trial involving just 12 volunteers, they let the participants spend a few days adjusting to a normal day-night lighting routine in the test room. Then came a 40-hour cycle of constant light at the 200 lux level.

Eleven people went through this ordeal once. The twelfth endured it twice. And in 11 of the 13 trials, the recruits sustained a dramatic reduction in melatonin production – of at least 51 percent; in six trials the hormone shortfall ranged from 76.9 to 92.5 percent. This experiment established that “exposure to room light in participants who were kept awake during the usual hours of sleep suppressed melatonin by more than half the amount measured during sleep in darkness,” Gooley’s team reports in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

 Their paper, slated to appear in March, has been posted early online.

“Given that chronic light suppression of melatonin has been hypothesized to increase risk for some types of cancer and that melatonin-receptor genes have been linked to type 2 diabetes, our findings could have important health implications for shift workers who are exposed to indoor light at night over the course of many years,” Gooley says.

Richard Stevens of the University of Connecticut Health Center, in Farmington, goes farther. “I think – hope – that this paper will be seen as a turning point.” For what? For the possibility that the typical nighttime illumination to which almost all people in the modern world (not just shift workers) are exposed might actually pose a health risk, especially for breast cancer.”

Until a seminal 1980 paper in Science, “it was thought that humans, unlike other animals, were insensitive to light during the night,” Stevens says. Seven years later, when he published a paper hypothesizing that light at night might foster breast cancer, plenty of people scoffed. Indeed, he recalls, “Nobody thought room light from electric bulbs was adequate to suppress melatonin.”

The JCEM paper, he says, now suggests that indoor lighting at night not only lowers melatonin, but also alters the rhythmic cycles of the body’s clock. And that, he contends, means that light at night “could be a problem for any malady for which [those] circadian rhythms might matter — like breast cancer.”

OLED advancements heading to revolutionize lighting and more

OLEDs are self-luminous, paper-thin, power efficient, and is already finding its way into displays for cell phones and TVs. With few process steps and lower cost materials than LCD display, OLEDs provide visual imagery with high brightness, contrast, and ultra-wide viewing angles that LCDs can’t match. With the roll-outs of panels from Philips, OSRAM, GE, LG etc, OLED technology is maturing and will revolutionize the display and even lighting industry.

In the upcoming years, this technology will revolutionize the way we use lighting!

Back in 2008
OSRAM Opto Semiconductors presents first OLED light source

The ORBEOS panel combines energy savings, quality light and design

Light, thin, non-glare and warm white – ORBEOS is the first OLED light source from OSRAM Opto Semiconductors for premium quality functional lighting. The new energy-efficient surface-emitting panel is especially suited to applications in the premium segment such as architecture, hotels and catering, offices, private homes and shops.

The renowned lighting designer Ingo Maurer is the first to use organic LEDs (OLEDs) from OSRAM in a function table light. The light, known as “Early Future”, is being produced as a limited edition. It works with tiles straight from the laboratory and demonstrates the enormous potential of OLEDs for future applications as eye-catching illumination and design elements.


In 2009, OSRAM had the following as a press release:

The ORBEOS OLED panel has a round lamp surface of 80mm diameter, is only 2.1mm thick and weighs 24g. These limited dimensions ensure plenty of different usage options. With an efficiency of 25lm/W, the panel beats that of conventional halogen lamps.

Its warm white colour temperature (2,800K, CRI up to 80) matches the warm light of an incandescent lamp and is therefore suited to lighting that is atmospheric and functional at the same time. Especially in homes, museums, restaurants or hotels, OLEDs also rate highly with their pleasant, non-glare light.

New design possibilities for architects and lighting planners

OLEDs open up totally new design possibilities for architects, lighting planners and designers – it is possible to create illuminated areas with them such as lit ceilings or partitions. “Our ORBEOS adds to the wide range of lighting in the premium segment. Not only do its technical features have an effect here, but first and foremost its completely different appearance”, says Markus Klein, senior director SSL at OSRAM Opto Semiconductors. “ORBEOS is a combination of energy savings and aesthetics.”

Long-lasting panel lighting

ORBEOS can be switched on and off without delay and is continuously dimmable. Unlike LEDs its heat management is simple. The panel contains no mercury and emits no UV or infrared radiation. Its brightness level is usually 1,000cd/m² with power input of less than a watt. In ideal operating conditions it has a lifespan of around 5,000 hours. ORBEOS is available with a frosted glass surface. The panels can be easily mounted using spring contacts.

The rapid advance of OLEDs in general lighting has succeeded not least thanks to the technical principles of the ‘Organic Phosphorescent Lamps for Applications in the Lighting Market’ project (OPAL), which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).


In 2010, OSRAM (a Siemens company) launched this promotional video to encourage OLED design for Room Lighting:





Today we are already off to the races with OLED technology, getting ready to control the video monitor and display market. The lighting takeover will still be a few years out, but it’s coming!

Check out LG’s progressive OLED innovation with the Worlds slimmest TV

Still using T12 Fluorescent Lamps?

If you company is a laggard with regards to updating your lighting systems, it’s time to take advantage of technological breakthroughs and trim back on the expenses that have been tarnishing your bottom line. You’ve probably changed your computers a half dozen times in the past 10 years, which is fairly normal operating procedure to “hopefully” step up productivity. Well, a much less expensive way to increase worker productivity is to increase the quality of lighting that your employees/co-workers operate under. Your outdated T12 fluorescent lighting produces very poor quality light, giving employees a more lethargic feeling and eye strain, thus diminishing their full potential.

While updating to T8 fluorescent lamps is a step in the right direction, you should really look at the high quality energy-saving T8 fluorescent lamps that can not only improve the quality of light, but also give you an added boast to energy savings. When referring to the most commonly used T8 lamp (the standard 32 watt 4′ model), I encourage all businesses to go with either the 28w or 25w version of the lamp. If you have the really old T12 40w lamps, the 28w version offers you over a 30% drop in energy usage. If you have a the more common 34w T12 model, then you can enjoy an 18% drop in energy consumption. Now with these wonderful reductions in energy, there is some additional upfront costs involved. You will need to change out the ballasts to an updated electronic T8 ballast and the lamps will cost you about twice as much up front. However, even with the higher up-front cost, your return on investment will be within 4-12 months (depending on your kWh rate).