LED + SSL

Cree, Inc. and Habitat for Humanity International recently announced a three-year, $1.5 million pledge to provide high-efficiency Cree LED downlights for the kitchens in all new Habitat homes built in the United States. More than 1,500 Habitat for Humanity affiliates across the U.S. will have access to Cree’s kitchen lighting package, which features Cree’s newest [...]

GE Global Research, the technology development arm for the General Electric Company, GE Lighting and Konica Minolta have achieved a significant advance that brings the companies closer to making high-efficiency organic light-emitting diode (OLED) lighting devices a reality. GE and KM scientists have demonstrated illumination-quality white OLEDs using “solution-coatable” materials that are essential for producing [...]

The Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) recently unveiled the winners of the 2010 International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA®) competition—a celebration of the year’s most inventive and creative product and product concept designs. At least 10 lighting products were recognized. This year’s awards were chosen from the following categories: commercial and industrial products; communication tools; [...]

As the use of energy-saving LEDs becomes more widespread in both commercial and residential applications, it is clear that there are many questions about which LED products are compatible with which lighting controls. For instance “dimmable” has not been clearly defined for LEDs. Despite manufacturers’ claims for dimmable LEDs, many do not perform well with [...]

Guest Post by Jim Brodrick, Department of Energy I was really gratified by the response to the Posting a few weeks back about DOE’s fact sheet on the performance specifications of LED T8 replacement lamps. In our booth at LIGHTFAIR last month, that fact sheet went like hotcakes, because it blows the whistle on a [...]

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Lighting Research Center has announced the LED Lighting Institute, a three-day hands-on seminar where participants learn the basics of LED technology and build an understanding of LED system integration issues involving electrical, optical, and thermal characteristics of LEDs. The LED Lighting Institute will take place September 21-23, 2010 at the Lighting Research [...]

Guest post by Ted Konnerth, President/CEO of Egret Consulting Group Life was simple when electrical meant 120 volts or higher. High voltage was high voltage, and low voltage belonged to people who installed doorbells. Then alarm systems became popular, along with security systems and dimmers went from line voltage to electronic. Ballasts went from magnetic [...]

Tom Shottes has assumed responsibility for the new Professional Lighting Solid State Lighting and Light Management System groups as Senior Vice President. He has been succeeded as CEO of OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, Inc by Don Klase. In his newly created role, Shottes will be responsible for the development, marketing and sale of professional SSL solutions [...]

The Department of Energy has published a new guide, LED Luminaire Lifetime: Recommendations for Testing and Reporting, which provides an important first step toward consistent, industry-wide understanding of LED fixture lifetime. Download it here. (Bad link has been fixed)