DOE releases new research projecting LED lighting adoption in common applications

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has released an updated version of its report "Adoption of LEDs in common lighting applications." The report is based on research focused on the adoption of LED technology in ten common general-lighting applications, and also projects what savings could have been with greater penetration of solid-state lighting (SSL) technology. The report documents 143 tBTU (tera or trillion BTUs) in US energy savings in 2014 attributable to LED-based lighting products, although the savings could have hit 4896 tBTU if the country could have converted 100% of the ten applications to SSL. The DOE also just announced additional research funding opportunities.

The new research follows a prior similar report that the DOE issued in 2013. The 2013 savings reported in the earlier report were 71 tBTUs, which was equated to $675M (million) in energy costs at the time.

The 2015 report equates the 2014 energy savings to $1.4B (billion). The savings, while significant, are the result of only 3% total penetration by LEDs into general lighting. Moreover, the largest penetration is in the A-lamp space with 36% of units installed being LED based. But A-lamps don’t offer the energy savings of many of the other nine lighting types covered in the research.

Indeed, the most compelling data is forward looking in other categories. The DOE said that commercial LED lighting applications including linear fixtures and high/low-bay fixtures hold great potential. Those applications have reached only 1.3% and 2.2% penetration, respectively, thus far, yet the commercial usage equating to long hours and high light levels would lead to significant savings as SSL penetrates to a larger degree. And the DOE notes that high-performing products in these applications are poised for escalated usage. The so-called overnight potential of complete conversion in these applications is 1812 tBTU and 1165 tBTU, respectively.

Thus far, directional lighting is the application in which LEDs have made the greatest impact on energy savings. The DOE said the combination of reflector lamps and downlights is responsible for 21% of the energy savings realized in 2014. The linear and low/high-bay applications closely follow in actual 2014 energy savings despite the relatively low penetration rate.

The new report also notes some challenges ahead to broader SSL usage. Specifically, linear fluorescent lighting with state-of-the-art ballasts remains a lower-cost alternative to linear LED lighting. The DOE also said better integration of controls is also needed in applications such as linear and low/high-bay fixtures so that the latest products deliver the maximum potential savings.

You can review both a full copy of the report and a summary on the DOE website.

SBIR/STTR funding

Separately, the DOE has announced the newest research funding opportunities for SSL in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. The agency is seeking applications for fiscal year 2016 (FY16) Phase I projects. LED and OLED projects will be considered in areas such as materials that can boost efficiency.

Published on: August 4, 2015

By Maury Wright
Editor in Chief, LEDs Magazine

http://www.ledsmagazine.com/articles/2015/08/cree-and-epistar-sign-major-led-patent-cross-licensing-agreement.html

Cree LED fails early in Consumer Reports' tests. Falls far short of longevity claims

The great thing about energy-saving LED lightbulbs is that they’re designed to last a long time—often 23 years. And that’s why when some Cree LED spotlights died early in one of Consumer Reports’ tests—the most failures our lightbulb experts have seen for LEDs—it raised questions.

The dimmable Cree PAR38 Bright White LED spotlight replaces a 90-watt incandescent lightbulb and has a 27° beam angle. We paid $24 apiece at Home Depot. The model number is BPAR38-1503027T-12DE26-1U100. Here's what we found.

The tests. Our engineers conduct a number of different tests for brightness, energy use, light color, and more. Cycle testing tells us how the bulbs hold up after being frequently turned on and off. That on/off affects CFLs, but hadn’t affected LEDs, until now. Four of the eight Cree LEDs died after about a third of the way through the test.

And in our 3,000 hours life test, two of the 10 LEDs died, something that is unusual for LEDs but we have seen this in the past. One Cree LED went out before 500 hours and the other around 1,700 hours. This LED is meant to last 25,000 hours, or nearly 23 years when used 3 hours a day.

Need to know. Several visitors to HomeDepot.com commented that this LED failed very early on for them as well. The LED is Energy Star qualified, meaning it met Energy Star’s high standards when tested by a third party (not Energy Star and not Cree). And while Energy Star LEDs must have a warranty of at least 3 years, the Cree’s warranty is 10 years. This shows why you should save your receipt. And if you’re planning to buy PAR38 LEDs, especially for outdoor use with a motion sensor that frequently turns them on and off, consider the Great Value 90W PAR38 LED Soft White NonDimmable LED from Walmart. It’s $22 and a CR Best Buy.

One more thing. In our past tests Cree LEDs have done very well. We recommend the Cree 9.5-watt (60W) A19 Warm White Dimmable LED and at $8.50 it's a CR Best Buy. Our tests of the Cree PAR38 LEDs continue and we’ll continue to report on our findings.

—Kimberly Janeway 

Cree recalls the T8 tube LED due to fire hazard

Citing overheating dangers, the North Carolina-based lighting manufacturer is recalling 700,000 LED fixtures designed to replace fluorescent tube lighting.

Cree

Cree has issued a voluntary recall of its tube-shaped T8 LED, a light designed to replace fluorescent bulbs in common commercial and office fixtures. The company estimates that roughly 700,000 units are affected, citing a potential fire hazard as the cause of concern.

According to the North Carolina-based manufacturer, the problem stems from electrical resistance between the spring contact and the printed circuit board. This resistance can lead to electrical arcing, which can, in turn, cause the light to overheat. At that point, the lamp could begin to melt, posing fire and burn hazards.

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Cree

The T8 LEDs are sold through distributors to commercial lighting customers, and exclusively at Home Depot for residential usage. Nine SKUs in total are affected by the defect, and sales of all nine were halted on April 30th, 2015. Owners of those bulbs should disconnect them and contact Cree for a free replacement or a refund.

A Cree representative provided the following comment: "While known incidents are very small in relation to the number of products shipped, any potential safety issue is unacceptable. Cree is working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Health Canada and Profeco in Mexico to provide information to Cree T8 LED replacement lamp owners."

The representative goes on to emphasize that the issue is isolated to select models from the T8 LED line, and that it does not affect other product lines.

Xcel Energy awards ActiveLED customer Spradley Barr with Lighting Efficiency Achievement Award

Xcel Energy Inc. (NYSE: XEL) honored Spradley Barr Ford of Greeley as well as Leprino Foods and King Soopers for their “outstanding” efforts to save energy.

The utility recognized a dozen commercial, industrial and small business customers statewide for participating in Xcel’s energy efficiency programs last year.

The companies lowered their energy costs and reduced environmental impacts, Xcel said. Altogether, they saved more than 49 million kilowatt-hours of electricity in a 12-month period. That means the businesses avoided producing more than 28,000 tons of carbon dioxide, similar to keeping more than 7,100 cars off the road for a year.

Xcel offered incentives, such as rebates and funding for energy efficiency studies, to commercial and municipal customers to encourage them to make energy-efficient choices. The companies recognized chose more efficient equipment and processes for their facilities.

Chinese Investment Consortium to Purchase Majority Interest in Philips’ Lumiled LED Components and Automotive Lighting Businesses

Chinese Investment Consortium to Purchase Majority Interest in Philips’ Combined LED Components and Automotive Lighting Businesses

on April 1, 2015 in LED/Lighting Business News, Lighting Companies – SSL Design

Royal Philips (Philips) announced that a consortium led by GO Scale Capital has agreed to purchase 80.1% of its combined LED components and automotive lighting business. Philips will retain the remaining 19.9% and will receive about USD $2.8 billion in compensation for the transaction before taxes and transaction costs. Philips expects to get an additional differed contingent payment of USD $100 million. The transaction’s completion is scheduled for the third quarter of 2015, subject to regulatory approvals and certain closing conditions.

The new company will continue operating under the name Lumileds. The CEO of Philips’ Lighting Solutions business Pierre-Yves Lesaicherre will head the company.  Philips’ Lighting Solutions business will continue operation and will remain an important customer of Lumileds. Lumileds will continue to act as a supply partner for Philips’ Lighting Solutions business.

“Philips is very positive about this transaction with GO Scale Capital as its principals are long-term, growth-oriented investors with a track record of building and expanding technology companies,” said Frans van Houten, CEO of Royal Philips. “We have significantly improved the performance of the LED components business and optimized the industrial footprint in the Automotive lighting business over the last few years, and established a strong management team and innovation pipeline. We are therefore convinced that together with GO Scale Capital, Lumileds can grow further, attract more customers and increase scale as a stand-alone company.”

Oak Investment Partners and GSR Ventures have sponsored the new investment fund GO Scale Capital. The consortium partners are GSR Capital, Asia Pacific Resource Development, and Nanchang Industrial Group. The GO Scale Capital team reportedly has a track record in scaling up disruptive technologies.  The consortium partners have access to complementary technologies and manufacturing capacity through their past LED industry investments.

Sonny Wu, chairman of GO Scale Capital and co-founder and managing director of GSR Ventures, who will serve as interim chairman of Lumileds following the transaction’s completion stated, “The Lumileds acquisition will be a perfect example of how GO Scale turns cutting edge technologies into world class companies. GO Scale Capital will focus on expanding Lumileds’ opportunities by investing in its global centers of operation and in the fast growing general lighting and automotive industries. Through Lumileds’ world-leading technology in key verticals such as LED chips, LED mobile flash and automotive lighting, together with a customer base including the likes of BMW, Volkswagen and Audi, we expect to see significant growth and unparalleled inroads into new opportunities such as electric vehicles.”

“I am convinced that together with the new investors led by GO Scale Capital, Lumileds will extend its leading product portfolio of lighting components and continue to achieve robust growth,” said Pierre-Yves Lesaicherre, CEO of Lumileds.“With our strong technology leadership, we are ready to address the future needs of our customers. We will work closely with our industry partners and customers to lead innovation and the transformation of our industry.”

As announced in September 2014, Philips has started the process of creating two companies focused on Lighting Solutions and HealthTech. Philips plans to transition the Lighting Solutions business into a separate legal structure. Currently, Philips intends to separate the two businesses through an initial public offering, although Philips will continue to review other options.

Ringdale Announces ActiveLED® 10-Year Performance Warranty, Industry's Only Warranty That Includes Protection Against Light Loss

ActiveLED Customer Installations Maintain Original Light Levels Five Years Later

PR Newswire

GEORGETOWN, Texas, March 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Ringdale®, Inc., Texas-based manufacturer of USA-made ActiveLED® luminaries, announced its unprecedented Performance Warranty, also dubbed the No Light Loss Warranty. ActiveLED fixtures carry a 10-year guarantee that the lights will not only function, but will not lose light levels or change color for 10 years.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150313/181602LOGO
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150313/181603

The ActiveLED product­—with its overall design that includes patents in LED phosphor, LED cooling, and LED driver technology—addresses issues that typically cause lights to fail. "At Ringdale, we've been revolutionizing solid-state technology for over 30 years. We focus on manufacturing fixtures as a whole, including all of the internal components, and this results in better, longer-lasting lighting for companies. This warranty is a testimony to our robust design and one that no other manufacturer in the industry has achieved," saidKlaus Bollmann, president of Ringdale and inventor of ActiveLED.

The No Light Loss Performance Warranty supports Ringdale's driving principle of delivering sustainable products made to be durable and long-lasting, thus breaking free of the consumption lighting model. The lights are guaranteed to deliver 90,000 light hours for maintenance-free performance.

Thermal management is a leading contributor to LED failure. ActiveLED uses superior heat sink designs and patented heat transfer technology to dissipate heat and minimize junction temperature. Keeping the junction temperature low allows fixtures to run cooler, last longer, and not depreciate. The product line's outdoor fixtures operate with full light output within a temperature range of -55°C (-67°F) to +55°C (+131°F) while indoor fixtures operate without light loss and within a temperature range of -40°C (-40°F) to +45°C (+113°F). Additionally, ActiveLED fixtures have an expected life under these respective conditions of more than 200,000 hours.   

Ringdale has been offering this unparalleled assurance to customers since 2008. "When we initially started the dialog of ActiveLED providing droop-free lighting, many felt it was another unwarranted claim," explained Bollmann. "But after five years of delivering lighting that has experienced no light loss—five years during which hundreds of customers have enjoyed durable, long lasting performance—we felt now was the right time to make a formal announcement. Our proof points are the successful installations performing in some of the harshest climates and the most demanding environments."

The Performance Warranty covers every ActiveLED fixture in a portfolio of over 200 commercial-grade luminaries for interior and exterior applications, such as streets, parking structures, building exteriors, warehouses, offices, retail spaces, sports lighting, restaurants and architectural accents.

About Ringdale

Ringdale, established in 1986, focuses on helping organizations incorporate green savings into their business environments. Ringdale, an innovator of solid-state technology and manufacturer of commercial LED lighting fixtures, provides ActiveLED® luminaries with patented, solid-state lighting control and thermal management technology. Ringdale, Inc. is based in the United States with offices in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, and Singapore and is part of the Network Technology PLC Group of Companies.

Visit: www.SolarLEDAlliance.com

Bad LED lighting shows in surprising places

ForceField Energy's ESCO Energy Services subsidiary has announced that it anticipates receiving the first LED street light conversion orders under the Municipal Street Light Conversion Program. In a five-year partnership with the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM), the energy services company (ESCO) will enable municipalities to both purchase existing utility-owned street lights and convert those poles to LED-based fixtures.

The generic ESCO model for solid-state lighting (SSL) street light projects has emerged over the past several years in which an ESCO will fund a retrofit project with the municipality paying for the conversion over time via savings in electricity and maintenance. For example, Chevron Energy Solutions worked with LED and SSL module manufacturer Bridgelux on a retrofit program. More recently, Ameresco funded a major SSL retrofit project at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport (MSP).

Still, the ESCO Energy Services program goes beyond the typical retrofit project because it will allow municipalities that don’t own their street light inventory to purchase those lights from the local utility. Moreover, the offer includes the option to install networked controls and the management software and tools needed to manage the inventory both in terms of maintenance operations and in dimming the lights when appropriate for maximum energy savings.

"With a strong footprint across North America and diverse capabilities including comprehensive multi-site installations, real-time energy monitoring and analytics, and networked smart street light management systems, we are well positioned to penetrate the multi-billion LED street light market," said Richard St-Julien, ForceField Energy's executive chairman. The company says that it will future-proof the street light inventory for municipalities.

ESCO Energy Services said it is in negotiations with 20 of the 153 municipalities that comprise the CCM membership and believes the projects will commence in the second quarter. The company projects the potential to close to $25-$30 million in CCM LED street light projects during the next five years.

"We believe our ability to offer and deliver a comprehensive and fully integrated street light acquisition and LED conversion program that incorporates an array of financing options will set us apart in that growing vertical," said Mitch Barack, ESCO president and CEO. "As part of our program delivery, we also provide zero-landfill recycling of the old street light fixtures. Certificates of Recycling will be provided for all street lights received and processed. The zero-landfill recycling program actually pays the municipality for the value of the recyclable products we recover. This provides additional value in terms of contributing to the town's sustainability efforts and an added advantage of the ESCO comprehensive offering."

By Maury Wright
Editor in Chief, LEDs Magazine and Illumination in Focus