Recently in SSL - Solid State Lighting Category

"decorative fixtures must be more than pretty objects; they must also deliver the light that is needed in a space, to the surfaces that need it, and now they must do it with a minimum of watts.  If you are designing a space with a contemporary, futuristic, or jazzy feel, it's not that big a deal because many manufacturers make some acceptable attractive fixtures in compact fluorescent, LED, or (rarely) in metal halide. "

The Lighting Blog

Get the latest news and ideas from Caliofornia's Lighting programs:
The Lighting BLOG

PIER Visibility...
The California Energy Commission’s PIER inaugural booth experienced significant traffic during the highly attended LightFair International tradeshow in Las Vegas, NV. The booth was organized by the PIER partnership model as well as many successful PIER technologies. The PIER partnership model focuses on finding market-based solutions with manufacturers, building partnerships for demonstrations, integrating feedback for product improvement, and creating a rapid, economic path to market.


The Lighting Forum:
Lighting pros can join the discussion of efficiency, design, energy...etc.

http://thelightingportal.ucdavis.edu/

		PIER Energy Efficiency Demonstration Program Demonstration of PIER technologies at various University of California, California State University, California Community College and Department of General Services facilities to promote emerging energy efficient technologies while assessing their performance and user satisfaction. PIER Partners: California Institute for Energy Efficiency, California Lighting Technology Center, University of California, California State University, California Community Colleges

CONTACT: Wes Morgan, California Lighting Technology Center

PIER Technical Briefs

Learn more about the latest technologies, trends, and resources in energy-efficient design from the PIER Technical Briefs that distill volumes of research into two-page summaries of the problem addressed, the solution, and the benefits of implementing that solution. These briefs are available as a free public resource.

PIER Partners: E-Source

LED Fixtures
Cooper Lighting 1121 Highway 74 South Peachtree City, GA 30269		www.cooperlighting.com 770-486-5288 phone 770-486-4301 fax
Nora Lighting, Inc. 6505 Gayhart Street Commerce, CA 90040		noralighting.com 800-686-6672 phone 800-500-9955 fax
OSRAM SYLVANIA Inc. 100 Endicott Street Danvers, MA 01923-3623		sylvania.com 978-750-2213 phone 978-646-2929 fax
Schonbek Worldwide Lighting Inc. 61 Industrial Blvd. Plattsburgh, NY 12901-1908		www.schonbek.com 800-836-1892 phone 800-443-7358 fax
U. S. Weico Manufacturing Inc. 878 Towne Center Drive Pamona, CA 91767		weico-asia.com 909-621-6123 phone 909-621-6378 fax

LEDs have improved rapidly in both luminous efficacy and color quality.

LED’s small form factor make them a good candidate for downlight applications but the high brightness LED products can cause visual discomfort and the constricted thermal environment in downlights can be extremely challenging for LEDs.

The California Lighting Technology Center (CLTC) at the University of California, Davis is developing a downlighting system based on indirect optical designs that will reduce direct LED glare, decrease installation time and improve thermal management. Collaborators include Architectural Energy Corporation (AEC), California Lighting Technology Center, Capri, and  Samsung.

Features and benefits include a single central power supply that  is utilized for cost savings and energy efficiency.  Low Voltage (class 2) wiring between the centralized power supply and the downlights to allow for
easier wiring which allows for easier and cheaper installations. Indirect Optics increase visual
comfort and produces a downlight with uniform brightness. Better Thermal Management  from the Indirect Optic places the LED sources in a location where they can be more easily thermally managed, which improves LED output and life. And central power supply architecture allows for easy espandability for additional downlights as well as other LED fixtures such as under cabinet fixtures.

Applicatons for advanced LED downlights include most living and working areas such as residential kitchens and hallways; commercial corridors, conference rooms and breakrooms; and hospitality locations such as restaurants, corridors and lobbies.

This commercialization research project is part of the latest PIER portfolio—Lighting California’s Future (LCF).

In September 2007, Cree Inc, announced it had demonstrated light output of more than 1,000 lumens - an amount equivalent to the output level of a standard household light bulb - from a single R&D LED.

Cree’s achievement demonstrates continued leadership in the development of LEDs that can make traditional light bulbs obsolete.

A single-die LED, driven at four amps, produced 1,050 lumens in cool white and 760 lumens in a warm-white version. Efficacy of the cool-white LED was 72 lumens per watt and 52 lumens per watt from the warm-white device. Both LED versions operated at substantially higher efficacy levels than those of today’s conventional light bulbs. Historically, Cree’s R&D demonstrations generally have been commercialized within 12 to 24 months.

“Cree’s XLamp® LEDs are the best-performing commercially available LEDs, but we won’t be satisfied until light bulbs are obsolete,” comments John Edmond, Cree co-founder and director of advanced optoelectronics. “We’ve worked 20 years to achieve lighting-class LED performance, and we still have plenty of ways to advance the technology further.”

For more information on Cree power LEDs, please call (919) 313-5300 or visit www.cree.com.

For additional information on the benefits of converting various lighting applications to LED lighting in the work environment and to learn more about LED Workplace, visit www.ledworkplace.org.

Cree is using its headquarters facilities as a testbed for LED implementation. 

They are converting all lighting at its Durham headquarters and manufacturing facility to LED lighting and released the results of the first phase of the conversion. The parking lots, entryways, lobby and conference rooms at Cree's headquarters building are now 100-percent lit by energy-efficient, environmentally friendly XLamp(R) LEDs.

Cree's LED Workplace(TM) conversion validates the energy savings, quality of light and reality that LED lighting is now a viable option for business and residential consumers.

In a study of the energy usage before and after the lighting conversion, Cree confirmed the energy savings of the newly installed LED lights.

The findings indicate that in total the new LED lights use 48% less energy than the incandescent, fluorescent and high-pressure sodium lights they replaced.

The combination of the energy savings, reduced maintenance and disposal costs and the environmental savings demonstrate that LED lighting is now a real alternative to traditional lighting solutions.

Duke Energy Collaboration

Cree's local utility, Duke Energy, is collaborating with Cree to explore the benefits of LED lighting. "Our customers are always interested in understanding how to save money through energy efficiency, so we make it our business to support innovative technologies such as LEDs," said Ted Schultz, Duke's vice president of energy efficiency.

"We expect our energy efficiency plans to be approved next year (2008) and are committed to having a complete line of lighting solutions available for customers," said Schultz. "At that point, we expect to have programs developed that will take advantage of LED technology."

"Conventional wisdom is that LED lighting is years away from widespread adoption. The truth, however, is that the performance of Cree's LED technology enables real LED lighting solutions today," said Chuck Swoboda, Cree chairman and CEO. "The conversion of Cree's site demonstrates that the LED Lighting Revolution is well underway and will illustrate the benefits in energy savings, maintenance costs and environmental impacts."

Cree also announced that it has launched a new website to share the results and implementation details of the LED Workplace lighting conversion with other organizations.
 
...will include lighting vendor information and the light, energy and maintenance metrics that form the basis for LED lighting's cost savings. This site will also feature other LED Workplace installations.

MARCH 3, 2008 — Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE), a market leader in LED solid-state lighting, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of privately held LED Lighting Fixtures, Inc.

This acquisition expands Cree’s market opportunity by providing direct access to the lighting market. Cree's business now encompasses LED chips, components and lighting solutions. It further enables Cree to drive retrofit solutions to convert existing lighting infrastructure to energy-efficient lighting and to accelerate the adoption of LED lighting.

“We are out to lead the LED lighting revolution and to obsolete the lightbulb,” said Chuck Swoboda, chairman and chief executive officer of Cree.

Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting retrofit solutions, and semiconductor solutions for backlighting, wireless and power applications.

CONTACT: http://www.cree.com

... includes lighting vendor information and the light, energy and maintenance metrics that form the basis for LED lighting's cost savings. This site also features other LED Workplace installations.

LED lighting is currently being used in workplace installations, including:

• Overhead lighting for conference rooms and office spaces
• Recessed lighting for hallways, bathrooms, breakrooms, and more
• Exterior lighting for parking lots, walkways and entrances

Learn how energy savings and workplace productivity mount up when LED lights were installed in the featured installations and discover the potential savings achieved by installing state-of-the-art LED lighting.

Learn how LED lighting is lowering lighting costs for a variety of workplaces:

Better Day BP

Cree, Inc.

Friendly's Restaurant

The Prairie School

Sentry Equipment Corporation

Visit the Q&A section to get answers to common questions like:

Question: I own a small business and am intrigued by the cost savings and environmental friendliness of LED lighting. How can I get started?

Answer: LED lighting offers economic value in many applications, including outdoor lighting and indoor down lights and accent lighting. Please contact the listed vendors on this website for information relevant to your specific applications.

Question: How do I go about converting my facility to LED lighting?

Answer: An LED lighting conversion usually includes three types of solutions: complete replacement of the existing fixtures, retrofit of existing fixtures with LED components, or simple plug-compatible bulb replacements. For each of these, the existing wiring and power can often be used. For Cree, as an industrial operation, our electrical is at 277VAC. We adapted the installation as needed to assure the LED fixtures matched our site electrical systems. The vendors listed on this website should be able to provide a solution to match your needs.

“To replace traditional light sources, LEDs need to provide both high light output and high efficacy,” comments John Edmond, Cree co-founder and director of advanced optoelectronics. “Cree continues to push the limits of LED performance in order to realize the potential of the LED lighting revolution - energy-efficient, long-lasting LED light.”

In September, 2007, Cree announced it achieved R&D results of 129 lumens per watt for a cool-white LED and 99 lumens per watt for a warm-white LED.

These are the best results reported for packaged, high-power LEDs, and indicate that Cree is extending its lead in solid-state lighting through its continued investments in LED technology.

The results have been verified by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). NIST’s tests confirmed that the cool-white (5,813 K) LED produced 135.7 lumens of light output and achieved 129 lumens per watt efficacy. The warm-white (2,950 K) LED produced 104.2 lumens of light output and achieved 99 lumens per watt efficacy. The institute tests LEDs at 350 mA and measures the output after five minutes of operation to ensure thermal stabilization.

In coming years, such investments in core LED technology could lead to products that replace traditional light sources in all commercial applications.


For more information on Cree high-power LEDs, please call (919) 313-5300 or visit www.cree.com.