Albany, NY — The New York State Public Service Commission has approved a new pricing option for Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation to enable municipalities to install energy efficient LED street-lighting.
“A major operating cost municipalities face is the cost of operating and maintaining street lights,” said Commission Chairman Garry Brown. “The key advantages of state-of-the-art LED street lights over traditional street lights are lower energy costs, improved night visibility, significantly longer life spans, reduced maintenance costs, and a much lower environmental impact. Installing more energy efficiency lighting devices is clearly the wave of the future.”
It is agreed, wild spread SSL (solid state lighting) adoption is only a matter of time. Emerging solid – state Technologies, including LED lighting, have found a place in many popular applications, Next up, the architectural environment. Steeped with potential, architectural applications will generate new value in ways existing lighting technology cannot. As the technology comes, new applications will emerge. An open dialog is demanded to address this undeniable evolution in lighting.
What is an LED and what L.E.D stand for?
L.E.D stands for Light Emitting Diodes. An LED is a semiconductor diode that emits color lights. The color of the light emitted by the LED depends on the substance the semiconductor is made of. Semiconductor materials may include Aluminum gallium arsenide (Red), Gallium nitride (Green), Silicon (Blue) and even Diamonds (Ultraviolet).
What are some of the advantages of using LEDs?
There are far too many advantages to using LEDs. The life of an LED can be up to 25 times longer lasting than traditional light bulbs. Compared to incandescent bulbs, LEDs produces more “light” or brightness per watt which means it is more energy efficient. The “bulb”, called diode, of the LED also does not turn a yellowish color after extensive use. LEDs also are much sturdier than traditional light bulb, it is actually very hard to damage or break an LED. LEDs also do not contain mercury, a poisonous element found in traditional incandescent light bulbs.
What makes an LED fail?
Failure of an LED usually comes from extreme and extensive use of the LED in which the output level and efficiency starts to decrease. Also if the LED is exposed to high temperature it may result in thermal runaway which will cause a ‘short’ to the LED. Although rare, electrostatic discharge may also cause damage to the LED which is why LEDs are handled in an electrostatic protection bag
Europe’s First All-LED Industrial Plant Opens in The Netherlands
The LED lighting revolution achieved another milestone with the opening of an industrial plant lit exclusively with LEDs.
Located in Etten Leur, The Netherlands, All interior and exterior lighting fixtures feature LEDs The system is fully integrated into the plant’s sprinkler system, doubling as emergency lighting should there be a power failure at the plant.
Lighting systems in the US House of Representatives have been upgraded with the installation of more energy-efficient LED technology.
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The House of Representatives will reduce its need for cooling as well as lighting energy with the LED system
35-year-old lighting systems in the Main House Chamber were replaced by California-based Nila, Inc., using its Nila Boxer LED lights.
The system has seen energy consumption reduced in the Main House Chamber from 24,000 watts to 6,000 watts, along with an 80% reduction in air conditioning associated with the replaced lights.
Report on GreenBuild
As I walked this year’s GreenBuild tradeshow and worked at our booth display, my primary impression was an engaged and broad audience. Many tradeshows are single industry silos. This one exists to advance the expansive future of green building – a rapidly growing industry. The attendees were concerned and informed about broad sustainability issues.
I missed retired Gen. Colin Powell’s opening keynote address but I heard his remarks were thought provoking and motivating. What I didn’t miss were the throngs of people milling through the aisles. They ranged from students to facility managers, engineers and lighting specifiers in commercial, residential and municipal capacities. All sought the best products and practices. It’s apparent that sustainable technology is an expectation of innovative new products.
For those attending, I hope they stopped by the Department of Energy’s Solid-State Lighting booth for free training sessions on a range of hot topics. It was a great opportunity for the curious and skeptical to learn about the latest CALiPER test results, GATEWAY demonstrations, the Lighting Facts® label, and other energy saving opportunities.
As an exhibiting lighting company, it was refreshing to be among an international audience prioritizing reduced energy consumption and who might not have otherwise understood our LED products amongst the many lighting solutions.
The energy (no pun intended) among this interested crowd served as a reminder that improved efficiency is a common goal. The U.S. Green Building Council’s Greenbuild event showcases sustainability trends and thought leaders in our industry. Few shows accomplish so much, so well.
Venture Capital Investors are targeting New Green Energy Lighting Companies
Smart venture capital investors are on the hunt for potential new green energy firms to add to their portfolios. Clean technology investments by VCs hit record levels in the first half of 2010 at $4.10 billion, and 43% of all new VC investments are now targeted at cleantech. But according to a report by Ernst & Young, investors are shifting their money from capital intensive green energy firms into companies that use technology to reduce energy use, because funding requirements are lower and the returns are often faster. “These are more tech-type investments that the typical venture capitalist is comfortable investing in,” said Douglas Regnier, a partner at Ernst & Young in San Diego.
Here we look at three such companies who have been on the radar screen for many VC investors. for full story www.lighting.com
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