Luminus
Devices is collaborating with Texas Instruments DLP Products (TI)
(NYSE: TXN) to combine the award-winning PhlatLight®
LED technology with TI's DLP® technology bringing high-quality,
long-lasting solid-state illumination to mainstream projection applications.
The two companies demonstrated the industry's first 1080p prototype home theater projection system using their combined technology during InfoComm 2009
An ongoing
collaboration between Luminus and TI has resulted in dramatic brightness improvements
for DLP projection systems using PhlatLight LED illumination, with
breakthroughs from TI in Digital Light Processing enabled by the PhlatLight LED
digital light source from Luminus. These improvements are enabling several
leading projection manufacturers to introduce DLP home theater projectors later
in 2008. Further developments by TI and Luminus will lead to the introduction
of DLP projectors for corporate and education markets powered by PhlatLight
LEDs in 2009.
PhlatLight LED-based projectors have been
previously developed and commercialized, but until today brightness has limited
their use to lower brightness ultra-portable pocket projectors. The
significance of this breakthrough is that it creates the first lamp free
projector for mainstream applications that delivers all the color and
performance advantages without compromising brightness.
"DLP
projectors illuminated by PhlatLight LEDs have significant advantages, offering
superior versatility, reliability and convenience with instant start-up, stable
brightness and color over the life of the projector plus they eliminate the
need for lamp replacement," said
Luminus has
been manufacturing its patented PhlatLight LEDs for HDTV's since 2006 and PhlatLight
LEDs remain the only LEDs that are bright and efficient enough to replace arc
lamps. PhlatLight LEDs are unique in that they are larger than conventional LEDs
and designed to operate at significantly higher intensity. Projectors
illuminated by PhlatLight LEDs produce more than fifty percent wider color
gamut than the NTSC standard and the pure, primary colors sequentially pulsed at
high speeds, provide ultra-fast color refresh for stable, accurate colors and a
smooth picture with superior motion quality.
The
prototype home theater projector will be demonstrated during Infocomm at TI's DLP
booth, Central Hall #C909, June 18-20, at the
Reporting on these standards trends is Kevin Dowling is the VP of innovation at Philips Color Kinetics (www.colorkinetics.com) and has been active in SSL for over 10 years. He founded and chairs the IES SSL Committee and the NEMA SSL Committee, and is a past Chairman of the Next Generation Lighting Industry Alliance.
The LM-80 standard describes the measurement of lumen maintenance of LED light sources including LED packages, modules and arrays (but not luminaires). Prediction of lifetime beyond the testing period is not included in the standard.
To read the full version of this article, visit the LEDs Magazine page, where you can download FREE electronic PDF versions of all issues of LEDs Magazine.
SSLNet at the University of Toronto Institute of Photonics
Solid-state lighting educational strategies that include enhanced marketing activities for attracting and recruiting students into the Photonics program would help turn out additional trained graduates ready for the LED manufacturing and retail workplace. LED manufacturers in regions that are shifting their economic focus from heavy manufacturing to innovation and technology will benefit from having solid-state technicians at all levels available for jobs being created by the upsurge in demand.
MITACS ACCELERATE
MITACS ACCELERATE is a unique cost-shared internship program managed by MITACS Inc, a national research network, which connects companies, governments and community organizations with the vast research expertise in Canada's universities, from applied sciences, engineering, social sciences, business, arts, life sciences and much more.
The conduit between the partner organization, being a company, government department or agency or not-for-profit and the university is a graduate student or post-doctoral fellow. Armed with the very latest tools, techniques and innovations, the intern brings a new perspective and the latest knowledge to a research challenge faced by the partner. Internship projects can be undertaken in a wide range of areas including manufacturing, technical innovation, business processes, IT, social sciences, design and many more.
MITACS ACCELERATE: www.mitacsaccelerate.caPhotonics program at Niagara College, contact Alexander McGlashan, Coordinator of Photonics at 905.735.2211 Ext. 7513 or amcglashan@niagarac.on.ca.
More details about Canada's LED/Solid-state trends, see ledsmagazine.com
Studies suggest that a complete conversion to the lights could decrease carbon dioxide emissions from electric power use for lighting by up to 50 percent in just over 20 years.
And in the United States, lighting accounts for about 6 percent of all energy use.
A recent report by McKinsey & Company cited conversion to LED lighting as potentially the most cost effective of a number of simple approaches to tackling climate change using existing technology.
LED lighting was once relegated to
- basketball scoreboards
- cellphone consoles
- traffic lights
- colored Christmas lights
But as a result of rapid developments in the technology, it is now poised to become common on streets and in buildings, as well as in homes and offices.
Some American cities, including many in California, as well as Ann Arbor, MI., and Raleigh, NC, are using LED street lights and industrial size fixtures to illuminate streets and parking garages. Dozens more cities and counties, as well as state governments are exploring the savings in maintenance as well as the energy-saving efficiencies. San Jose, Calif., plans to use $2 million in energy-efficiency grants to install 1,500 LED streetlights.
LEDs are more than twice as efficient as CFLs - compact fluorescent lights -- currently the standard for greener lighting. And the longer life reduces replacement maintenance time, which can be more of a savings than the bulbs or energy itself.
Unlike compact fluorescents, LEDs turn on quickly and are compatible with dimmer switches.
Fluorescent bulbs also contain mercury, which requires special disposal, and LED bulbs contain no toxic elements, are so small, and last so long that disposal is not much of an issue.
The switch to LEDs is proceeding far more rapidly than experts had predicted just two years ago.
President Obama's stimulus package, which offers money for "green" infrastructure investment, will accelerate that pace, experts say.
J. Dee Dennis Jr., CEO and President of Visible Light Solar Technologies says, "For 150 years it was all about pushing as many lumens out onto the ground as possible without a thought to how much heat was generated or power was used. That's over. Now, our solar/LED solutions mean we can light right, not just light big." Dennis also asserts, "By reinventing lighting and replacing all the old HID fixtures in every commercial and industrial application in the US, we can reduce our customers' power consumption by billions of kilowatt hours, taking hundreds of coal powered plants off the drawing board."
Visible Light Solar announced it has installed or is installing Vector retrofit lighting applications at 12 sites, including the Bosque School, DKD Electric, and Osuna Business Park.
Vector products let businesses significantly reduce their kilowatt consumption without having to replace their existing infrastructure of light poles, heads, casements and wiring. Visible Light Solar claims to be the first commercial and industrial lighting company to integrate LED lighting devices with solar power technology in exterior and interior retrofit lighting fixtures.
According to a statement by the company, their solar/LED lighting applications operate up to 85% more efficiently than their HID counterparts because of the integration of energy efficient LED components with solar power technologies. Linking these two technologies is Visible Light Solar's Self Powered Device Interface (SPDI), a patent-pending intelligent power management infrastructure that combines custom hardware and software to control voltage fluctuations, seamlessly switch between solar battery and grid power, and provide the ability to customize each fixture's illumination levels.
In addition to dramatically lowering energy consumption, Visible Light Solar's solutions reduce maintenance costs; LED's require far fewer changes than HID bulbs because they can last up to 100,000 hours and are resistant to thermal and vibrational shocks.
First Product Line: Vector Lighting Retrofit
Visible Light Solar's inaugural product family, Vector Lighting,
addresses the need by businesses to rapidly retrofit
energy-inefficient, maintenance-intensive, metal halide and mercury
vapor lighting fixtures while leveraging existing light poles, heads,
casing and wiring. Customers can upgrade their existing lighting
applications to hybrid solar/LED or LED-only retrofit solutions with no
waste and minimal incremental cost while maintaining 100% reliability
by backup grid connections. Businesses can choose from an extensive
line of Vector retrofit applications, including:
|
Visible Light Solar's SPDI software and hardware infrastructure extends the light quality and reliability of LED lighting technology, provides voltage balancing, and allows for fixture-by-fixture programmability. SPDI gives facility managers the ability to program illumination levels for each fixture based on clock time, motion detection, ambient light levels, temperature and solar storage availability thereby increasing businesses' ability to provide enhanced security for their customers and raise and lower illumination levels as needed in order to reap energy savings.
For Visible Light Solar's solar/LED applications, SPDI provides the intelligent interface between the solar battery, grid power and the lighting application, ensuring the fixture's optimal use of solar power while maintaining 100% reliability through its grid connection. If the solar gain on a particular day has not sufficiently charged the battery, or if the battery charge becomes low, then SPDI will automatically manage the switch from solar to grid power to ensure adequate lighting levels are maintained. Finally, SPDI manages the voltage and current driving the LED devices, controlling power spikes and maintaining LED longevity.
Visible Light Solar's Certified Installation Partner Program will provide nationwide installation and maintenance of the company's products.
Outdated mercury containing HID bulbs and PCB-laden ballasts will be responsibly recycled by National Metals as part of Visible Light Solar's corporate commitment to environmental stewardship.
Based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Visible Light Solar Technologies (www.visiblelightsolar.com) is an intelligent solar and LED lighting technology company. The company is headed by J. Dee Dennis Jr., the former founder and CEO of DKD Electric, and staffed by an experience team of solar, embedded software and LED lighting technology engineers. Visible Light Solar is a member of the Illuminating Engineering Society, US Green Building Council and the International Dark-Sky Association. The company is backed by the venture accelerator firm, Noribachi (www.noribachi.com).
Visit the Green and Sustainable Job Training Catalog at: CaliforniaGreenSolutions.com
A recent report by McKinsey & Company cited conversion to LED lighting as potentially the most cost effective of a number of simple approaches to tackling global warming using existing technology.
LED lighting was once used in computer dashboards, basketball scoreboards, cellphone consoles, traffic lights and colored Christmas lights.
But as a result of rapid developments in LED light, cost efficiency and cooler technology, LED lighting is now poised to become common on streets and in buildings, as well as in homes and offices.
Some American cities, including Ann Arbor, Mich., and Raleigh, N.C., are using LED lights to illuminate streets and parking garages, and dozens more are exploring the cost and environmental benefits of LED technology.
LED lighting is a growing part of LEED cetified green buildings to improve lighting control and reduce energy use. With new downlight styles as well as flat panels, new architectural applications are rapidly developing.
And don't forget that what's good for the Queen, could be good for your home -- the 60-foot-high ceiling lights of Buckingham Palace's grand stairwell are now illuminated with LEDs!
The McKinsey Research Report
Starting in 2007, the McKinsey research team worked with leading experts to develop a detailed fact base estimating costs and potentials of different options to reduce or prevent greenhouse gas emissions in the US over a 25 year period. The team analyzed more than 250 options encompassing efficiency gains, shifts to lower-carbon energy sources and expanded carbon sinks.
Central Conclusion
The US could reduce GHG emissions in 2030 by 3 - 4.5 gigatons of CO2e using tested approaches and high-potential emerging technologies. The cost would be less tan $50 per ton, with the average net cost to the economy being far lower if the nation can capture sizable gains from energy efficiency. Achievement of these reductions would require strong, coordinated, economy-wide action that begins in the near future.
One complicating factor is reaching goals is that a gradual decrease in the absorption of carbon by US forests and agricultural lands will reduce achievements, and require greater GHG reductions.
Abatement Opportunities
- The largest option -- coal-fired power plants -- offers less than 11 percent of total abatement potential. The largest sector (power generation) only accounts for approximately 1/3 of the total potential.
- Almost 40% of abatement could be achieved with options that would generate positive economic returns over their lifecycle.
- Abatement potentials, costs and mix vary by geographic region.
Five Sectors offer Clusters of Abatement Potential
1. Improve energy efficiency in buildings and appliances (710-870 megatons)
This cluster of options includes: Lighting rtrofits, Improved heating, ventialation, air conditioning systems, Building envelopes, and building control systems; Higher performance for consumer and office electronics and appliances...and other options.
2. Imcrease fuel efficiency in vehicles and reduce carbon intensity of transportation fuels (340-660 megatons)
Most of the benefit would come from fuel economy packages such as light weighting, aerodynamics, turbocharging, drive-train efficiency, reduction in rolling resistance, and increased use of diesel for light-duty vehicles. Plug-in hybrid vehicels offer longer-term potential if vehicle cost/performance improves and the nation moves to a lower-carbon electricity supply.
3. Industrial Sector pursues various options cross energy-intensive operations (620-770 megatons)
A multitude of fragmented opportunities exist within specific industries: Equipment upgrades, process changes -- and across setors: Motor efficiency, combined heat and power applications.
4. Expand and enhance carbon sinks (440-590 megatons)
Increasing forest stocks and improving soil mnagement practices are relatively low-cost options.
5. Reduce carbon intensity of electric power production (800-1370 megatons)
Shift toward renewable energy sources primarily wind and solar, additional nuclear capacity, mproved efficiency of power plants and eventual use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies on coal-fired electricity generation.
"The theme of greater energy productivity pervades these clusters."
Improving energy efficiency in buildings and appliances and industrial sectors, for example, could offset some 85% of the projected incremental demand for electricity in 2030, largely negating the need for the incremental coal-fired power plants assumed in the government reference case.
Improved vehicle efficiency could roughly offset the added mobility-related emissions of a growing population, while providing net economic gains.
SOURCE: Download the full report at Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report 11.21.07
The grants or loans can be used to make energy and green retrofit investments and to ensure the maintenance and preservation of the property. In return for the added assistance, owners must agree to extend affordability period for at least another 15 years. Owners must spend funds within two years.
The Office of Affordable Housing Preservation (OAHP) in HUD's Office of Multifamily Housing administers GRP.
HUD Notice H-09-02, issued on May 13, 2009, announced that HUD will begin accepting GRP applications on June 15 on a first-come, first-served basis. GRP grants or loans can be up to $15,000 per unit. Projects are expected to be completed within 12 months and in no event should work extend more than 24 months. Though the GRP is a distinct program, it shares some elements of the existing "Mark-to-Market Green Initiative". In some instances, OAHP may make Green Retrofit funds contingent on the owner's agreement to a Mark-to-Market debt restructuring.
HUD's ARRA Energy and Green Retrofit webpage,http://portal.hud.gov/portal/
- HUD's GRP Overview
http://portal.hud.gov/
- HUD Notice H-09-02 implementing GRP,
http://portal.hud.gov/pls/portal/docs/ - HUD's Green Retrofit Program (GRP) Powerpoint from May 13, 2009 - Added 5/20/2009
http://portal.hud.gov/portal - Questions and Answers - Added 5/20/2009, http://portal.hud.gov/pls/portal/
HUD's Office of Multifamily Housing webpage, www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/hsgmulti.cfm
Energy and Green Retrofit Section of the ARRA Statute, http://www.nlihc.org/doc/Green-Housing-Retrofits-ARRA.pdfEnergy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG)
ARRA provided $3.2 billion for this Department of Energy (DOE) program, $2.8 billion to be distributed by formula, with the remaining $400 million to be awarded competitively. EECBG provides grants to states and local governments for improvements in energy efficiency and to reduce energy use and fossil fuel emissions. EECBG is a new program, receiving money for the first time due to ARRA, although it was authorized in 2007. The block grant is administered by DOE's Office of Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.Potential housing-related uses of EECBG include: grants to nonprofits to perform energy efficiency retrofits; financial incentives for energy efficiency improvements; energy efficiency for buildings; and, residential energy audits. In addition there are many other eligible uses ranging from energy efficient traffic signals to carbon capture and sequestration from power plants.
Applications from sates and local governments are due June 25.
EECBG webpage, http://www.eecbg.energy.gov
EECBG Financial Assistance Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA),http://www.eecbg.energy.gov/downloads/DE_FOA_0000013_Amendment_000003.pdf
More than 4,200 LR24 recessed LED luminaires are planned for installation in Wedge 5 of the Pentagon as part of a major renovation.In a signing ceremony today at the Pentagon, John J. Kubricky, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Advanced Systems and Concepts, and Albert C. Ellet, acting director of the Washington Headquarters Service responsible for overseeing the renovation, signed an intra-departmental Memorandum of Agreement kicking-off the initiative to install LED lighting in the Pentagon.
The Cree LR24 luminaires have undergone extensive government testing and business-case analysis, including a preliminary Pentagon installation to meter the fixtures and compare the results to the alternative fluorescent technology.
This independent analysis demonstrated a 22% reduction in energy usage and improved light quality.
- The business-case analysis yielded a payback of less than four years.
- The payback analysis considered energy savings, lifetime maintenance savings, savings from reduced load on the HVAC system, and elimination of hazardous waste disposal fees for mercury-laden fluorescent bulbs.
- Extensive modeling was also performed to determine optimal lighting design--analyzing the light distribution and spacing to ensure superior lighting and energy efficiency.
- The Wedge 5 installation is estimated to save 140 tons of CO2 emissions per year.
"The U.S. federal government is taking a leadership role in energy efficiency for federal buildings both through existing mandates, as well as President-elect Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, which calls for the renovation of public buildings to make them more energy efficient," said Chuck Swoboda, Cree chairman and chief executive officer. "Installations of highly efficient, low-maintenance LED lighting, like these in the Pentagon and in the U.S. Federal Reserve, demonstrate that the future of energy-efficient lighting is here today."
The LR24 units being used for the Pentagon renovation are being purchased from Cree by the Department of Defense's (DoD) Title III program as a part of its ongoing development program with Cree, and provided to the Washington Headquarters Services (WHS), which oversees the Pentagon renovation program.
"The Title III program has long supported the development and deployment of SiC substrates and devices for use in high-power RF and power-switching applications for DoD systems," said John Palmour, Ph.D., Cree co-founder and chief technology officer for advanced devices. "The program realized the importance of ensuring a strong domestic supply of SiC substrates and related devices, and the potential growth of solid-state lighting in the U.S. This Pentagon lighting project is a perfect example of stimulating America's leadership in high-technology manufacturing yielding unique commercial and defense products, while saving energy. Title III funding was also used to develop the technology in Cree's lighting class XLamp® XR-E LED platform--the light source in the LR24 recessed LED luminaire."
