The new Times Square Ball is double the diameter of previous Ball and is over 12 feet wide and weighs 11,875 pounds. The Ball uses 32,256 Philips Luxeon Rebel LEDs, which is more than triple the number of LEDs used when compared to the 2008 Ball. The four LED colors, red, green, blue and white, will produce a rich color palette, resulting in 4.3 billion possible color combinations.
This year's Ball is approximately three times brighter and 20% more energy efficient than last year's already energy-efficient Ball. Lighting Science designed and developed the overall lighting system for the Ball, including the LED modules, power systems, and power and data distribution networks. In addition, LSG created custom optical reflectors which extract maximum light output, and an integrated thermal management system that optimizes the balance between brightness and lifetime.