Germany increases focus on infrastructure, LED lighting

Germany is calling for increased foreign investment in LED installations. The country's LED lighting sector is expanding rapidly, with an expected double-digit annual growth through 2018 according to Frost & Sullivan, a market research company. The firm also anticipates the Solar chargers for Iphone industry in Germany to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 27% between 2008 and 2018. Solid-state lighting (SSL) companies are well positioned for the next growth phase within the lighting industry, say Germany Trade & Invest experts, who are attending year's LED/OLED Expo in South Korea. The Expo opened today and runs through Friday."The energy revolution in Germany is enabling many infrastructural upgrades. Several German cities have already begun testing LEDs in street lamps and in buildings," stated

Jonathan Schoo, electronics and microtechnology expert at Germany Trade & Invest in Berlin. "The German automobile industry is also exploring the advantages of LEDs, which could draw in valuable investments," added Schoo.
"There is a call for foreign investment to support increasing LED installations. Germany provides an excellent infrastructure and a skilled workforce for international companies interested in taking advantage of the recent energy shift in the country," said Schoo.Germany Trade & Invest is the foreign trade and inward investment promotion agency of the Federal Republic of Germany. The organization advises foreign companies looking to expand their business activities in the German market. It further provides information on foreign trade to German companies that seek to enter foreign markets.
They pointed out that although Lextar offers integrated manufacturing service ranging from chips and packages to modules and lighting fixtures, Lite-On is Taiwan's first LED maker starting operation around 30 years ago and has maintained close ties with international contract buyers.In this deal, Philips contracts Lite-On to supply LED packages and modules, Epistar Inc. to supply chips and some mainland Chinese manufacturers to supply light fittings. Industry executives pointed out that this is a huge order that Lite-On has won from international big name company since it entered into alliance with Epistar and mainland Chinese lighting fixture makers.Lite-On executives said the company's revenue for the second quarter would surge to double that of the same quarter last year largely thanks to brisk demands from contact buyers and smooth output at the company since beginning of the quarter.

Change over and save big with LED lighting

AS too good to be true as it sounds a LED light bulb only costs $20 and can be used eight hours a day and last up to 15 years.This is the simple energy-saving tip that OZ3LED director Stan Timms wants to get out into the community as carbon tax takes hold on Sunday."You are basically saving about 80 per cent of the amount of power that you are using on each bulb," he said. "So really, it's silly not to change over because they pay for themselves over a year - it's a no-brainer."Mr Timms said LED lighting had become more efficient and cheaper in the past decade."We know what they are worth and the big players are not releasing that realistic pricing because they have got a stock of stuff that they want to get rid of and they know Solar bag is the future," he said.
He said the word was getting out there and would continue to do so when electricity bills rose and people were unaware of the government rebate.

"All of the electricians I'm talking to now, are talking people into it," he said. "We are just putting an option there for them and business is starting to pick up now as people are now getting on to it."Located in central-east Santa Catarina State, Florianopolis is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and boasts more than 100 beaches. Most of the city (97.23%) is on Santa Catarina Island, known as the Magic Island. According to the 2010 IBGE Census, Florianopolis has a population of 421,000. It ranks as one of the world's leading tourism destinations, known for the seashore at Canasvieiras, popular among Argentines and Uruguayans; the glamor of Jurerê Internacional; the famous Cost?o do Santinho resort; and surfing and hipster meccas such as Joaquina and Praia Mole.
SQE LUZ operates public lighting systems for the largest cities in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, among them Florianópolis, Joinville, Sao José and Sao Francisco do Sul. Its highly qualified technical team uses programs and technology designed especially for public lighting by Arcadis Logos S.A., a world-renowned engineering company. Its public lighting services range from a toll-free customer service number and website to control of energy costs, geo-referenced registration of the public lighting system, planning, maintenance and projects using the most modern public lighting technologies to ensure excellent service under municipal control and oversight.

Texas Bridge Now An LED Tourist Attraction

With its steel truss spanning 620 feet above the shipping channel, the Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge is a prominent landmark in Corpus Christi, Texas — and now, thanks to a new lighting system, it figures prominently in the city's skyline at night. The bridge, which has been in the dark for nearly ten years, is now illuminated by energy efficient, color-changing LEDs from Philips Color Kinetics (PCK).
The bridge was constructed back in the 1950s, but its original lighting system fell victim to the local elements, which include the punishing trifecta of extreme heat, harsh winds and salt water. Corpus Christi Mayor Joe Adame — inspired what he'd learned about the benefits and applications of LED lighting at the 2010 United States Conference of Mayors — tapped Naismith Engineering and Spectrum Lighting to determine the viability of lighting the harbor bridge using this tech.

Naismith, in turn, tested Solar Laptop charger fixtures from several companies that came pre-programmed with color-changing displays for 4th of July shows, and Philips emerged victorious.
According to Philips, its PCK system beat out all comers based on its light output, which is four times the intensity of that of competing products. But the City of Corpus Christi still needed to make sure that system could stand up to the harsh Gulf Coast environment, so it started by installing PCK lighting on two smaller pilot projects for wind vanes in the downtown area and on the local amphitheater. The PCK LEDs passed the test, so the city moved ahead on the bridge project, with the Texas Department of Transportation, the Port, the City of Corpus Christi and a generous donation from American Bank covering costs.
Corpus Christi Mayor Joe Adame said, in a statement, "…I saw an opportunity to take a landmark like the Harbor Bridge and turn it into a showcase that Corpus Christi could be proud of, and one that has had a positive economic effect." Apparently, it's working, as the bridge has become a local attraction since it was relit in December, creating buzz around Corpus Christi and beyond for its lightshows (which change on a monthly basis). Hospitality businesses near the bridge, such as restaurants and hotels, report selling out on a regular basis, and now require reservations at least a one month in advance.Healy is using four of the Prism RevEAL LED Profiles to keylight the judges as they sit at their table. "I usually use a followspot as a key when people are moving around but here I had a fixed location. I am keying the judges from a 45° angle left and right. Principally because when you try to key them from straight on it ends up backlighting all the theatrical smoke on stage, which then creates a fuzzy diffused image of the performers."

Smart guide for portable camera lighting

Lighting can make or break a photo as underexposed images usually suffer from a lack of detail as well as increase noise and blurriness.Sometimes, natural light isn't enough to illuminate your subjects properly and that's where artificial light such as on-camera flashes and continuous LED lighting comes in.
In this smart guide, we'll give you some insight on some of the more commonly used portable lighting solutions and accessory options along with some useful tips. Do note that this list is by no means exhaustive--you still can find alternative lighting gear and apply them creatively. Unlike the inbuilt flash on your camera, external flash units that attach to the hotshoe have bounce and swivel heads which are useful for creative flash photography. They can sync with your dSLR or interchangeable lens camera (ILC) by balancing the intensity of the flash with ambient light. Besides having more power to illuminate faraway objects, on-camera flashes also come with AF assist illuminators that can help you focus better in low-light conditions. Some come with a modeling light function which fires a burst of flashes repeatedly, allowing users to preview a scene before image capture.
These flashes can even be used off-camera for more creative purposes where users can trigger them via infrared. Also, some flashes can be set to slave mode and will fire when it detects a secondary flash.There are also plenty of third party wireless triggers using radio waves which will allow you to use your flash off-camera, too.GE LED lighting improves safety while reducing energy cost at Marriott headquarters.Conventional flashes are usually blocked by the camera's lens when shooting closeups, causing harsh shadows to appear in the image. These macro and ring lights can be positioned very near to your subject, often on the lens' barrel itself, allowing the user to throw light into hard-to-reach areas.
dSLRs have the option of either using a dedicated ring flash which can sync exposure via the camera's hotshoe or a macro flash which features two or more miniature flash heads which are mounted via an adapter on the camera's lens barrel. Fret not if your camera doesn't have a hotshoe--there are some models that come in the form of LED ring lights that can be attached via a rail on your shooter's tripod mount. One of the most popular types of continuous lighting are Light-emitting diode (LED) lights, due to their lower energy consumption, longer lifetime and smaller size. LED lights are usually favored by videographers as they provide bright, flicker-free illumination, are easy to setup and allow you an instant "preview" how your image looks and make adjustments accordingly. They are also more compact and cheaper than traditional fluorescent or incandescent movie lights. Smaller lights can also be handheld and used with almost any camera out there.

LED lamp price reduction will come from integrated and smart designs

LED-based equivalents of 20W and 40W incandescent lamps are available at an affordable price range of $5-$10. However there are no solid-state lighting (SSL) replacements for 60W lamps that are priced comparable to the CFL equivalent. High prices mean that the LED bulb market remains largely untapped by most countries and regions, with the exception of Japan, which significantly outdistanced North America and Europe combined in terms of the number of units sold.
"The price reduction should come as an integrated solution that will include more efficient design, easier manufacturing, and negotiations with sales channels,"said Vladislav Bougrov, the executive vice president of of Optogan Group. A recent interview with Bougrov got me thinking about the most important factors that affect the final pricing of LED bulbs.LED bulb replacements are characterized relative to traditional bulbs as equivalents of certain wattages. This is how traditional lighting sources have always been characterized. LED bulbs provide the benefits of consuming less energy and providing equal amount of lumens, similar color temperature, and high CRI, but the equivalency is not well-defined. Consumers are suddenly forced to learn what light is all about and how it affects the price they pay.
Buying an LED bulb is more like buying a device that will last long time and will save money. Japanese manufacturers offer a great lesson to any market on consumer education: the packaging illustrates the comparison for light distribution and lumen output of traditional lamps versus LED lamps and stores are full of interactive stands that display practical applications and compare LED lamps with other types of lamps. The efforts of the US retailers to educate consumers about LEDs are less impressive.
Manufacturers are offering the equivalent substitute for the traditional lighting sources that would give the same lumen output as well as color quality for the most part. However, Bougrov shared with me Optogan's intention to introduce their new 400- and 600-lm 2700 K lamps to Russian and eastern European markets that would be significantly cheaper than the current market prices. The product selection was defined by their marketing team.The goal in designing an LED bulb is to provide an alternative that would have a similar form factor and lumen output. If, however, consumers are only now beginning to be educated about what new quality light is, why not offer them a variety of options for the lumen/dollars? The unique properties of LEDs allow manufacturers to innovate, keeping the legacy form factor in mind. For example, luminaire manufacturers are promoting LED modules for the purpose of interchangeability -- LED lamps could benefit from this approach as well. The simplification of design would ease the manufacturing process of LED bulbs.

GE LED lighting improves safety while reducing energy cost at Marriott headquarters

"The parking lot and garage were dim and poorly lit and Marriott executives started to get complaints from employees who worked late and came in early," explained Sean Veit, associate product manager of GE Lighting. "They knew they had to address their lighting situation because they had primarily a metal-halide system that hadn’t been re-lamped in over five years."Marriott purchased outdoor LED light fixtures from three vendors and compared their performance for a year. "We preferred the output and uniformity of GE’s Evolve LED lighting," said Young. "GE performed a comprehensive lighting audit of our existing system, provided photometric analysis with 3D renderings of the new system, and forecasted our energy and maintenance savings. GE excelled as both a trusted strategic consultant and solutions provider," added Young.
Security and energy savings were top priorities when considering new lighting to cover the nearly two million ft2 (45 acres) of parking and garage space at Marriott headquarters (Fig. 2). Veit explained that the outdoor area included around 400 metal-halide fixtures and 200 mercury-vapor fixtures. "The ballasts of the mercury-vapor lamps had been legislated out in 1998 or 1999, so a lot of rewiring was required on those fixtures, but the decision was made to go to nearly all LED." The outdoor lots are now lit by more than 230 Evolve LED area lights, while the parking deck has nearly 400 Evolve LED garage light fixtures (Fig. 2), several Evolve LED tunnel lights and efficient GE T8 fluorescent lamps.Taiwan market LED lighting pricing strategies and global competition.Collectively, a 280W reduction per outdoor lighting fixture is expected to reduce electricity use by 580,000 kWh/yr, equating to $70,000 in utility cost savings.
"Our LED area lights consume between 97W and 220W and were designed to replace traditional 400W to 1000W high-intensity discharge systems that can spill and waste light," said Steve Briggs, vice president of product management and marketing for GE Lighting Solutions.Veit explained that in the garage area, roughly 150 motion sensors are in place. "So at 2 am, if motion is detected, the lights that are currently dimmed to around 30 percent will automatically raise to 80 percent light output level. This is tied into the security system, so a camera will instantly show the security guard whether there is a deer in the garage or if something is going on that he should know about. That was a functionality that Marriott was very excited about." Before and after photos taken with the security camera (Fig. 1) show the improved light output and distribution in the parking lot.

Risun offers active thermal solutions for LED lighting

Originally the world-leading micro-fan supplier for the cooling of pico projectors, mobile internet devices (MIDs), and ultra-thin computers, Risun Expanse Corp. has made strong moves into a new horizon, the active thermal solutions for LED lighting.By adding two round-framed axial cooling fans, RRA3008 (Φ30×8mm) and RRA6016 (Φ60×16mm) to the product lineup, Risun is turning a new page on the cooling of high power LEDs.
In response to the eco-friendly appeal for energy-saving and low carbon emission, LED has long been regarded as the viable alternative to inefficient incandescent lamps and eco-unfriendly compact fluorescent lamps. However, on the way to become a truly general lighting solution, there are several issues left to be tackled for LED. One major issue of LED is the luminous decay caused by high power and temperature from the ever-increasing demand for high brightness output. The elevated temperature will pose a serious problem to the service life of LEDs.
For the capability of pure passive cooling means, such as heat sink, to keep up with the heat-generation rate of high power LEDs, the size and weight of heat sink will usually go up to an unreasonable level, making it impractical for the cooling of high brightness LEDs and setting the stage for the active cooling fans with much higher cooling efficiency.Rated at 5V and about 0.35W, both RRA3008 and RRA6016 adopt a stator structure with an axial air-gap and without iron cores or silicon steel stacks, which is unprecedented among LED cooling fans usually consisting of a stator structure with a radial air-gap and silicon steel stacks, the causes of induced eddy current losses, higher fan power, and poor fan efficiency. Without silicon steels, the diameter of fan impeller can be smaller and the length of fan blades longer, meaning a cooling fan can achieve the same performance at a lower rotation speed and therefore lower noise level compared to its counterpart with silicon steels.
RRA3008 is aiming at the cooling for LED lights, such as MR16 and E27, with input powers up to 12W; while RRA6016 for LED highbay lights with input powers up to 50W. Other features include a service life over 30,000 hours at 60J and IP57 ratings. Moreover, total LED cooling solutions are also available in the form of thermal modules combining LED cooling fans, advanced heat sinks, and innovative thermal designs.To sum up, Risun's LED cooling fans have the unique stator structure with an axial air-gap and without silicon steels, leading to a lower fan power, higher fan efficiency, lower rotation speed and lower noise level. By embedding Risun's active thermal solutions in LED lighting, the customers can build LED products with greater added-values, featuring lighter weights and compact sizes, higher powers, more lumens, less luminous decay, higher efficiencies, and longer service lives.

Taiwan market LED lighting pricing strategies and global competition

As global efforts increase to become greener, LED lighting is becoming more pervasive around the world. It was originally estimated that by the end of 2012 mainstream LED light bulbs would be around US$10, but vendors in Taiwan decided not to wait that long in hope of being able to dominate the local market as well as react to increasing demand for energy saving products due to energy hikes that are about to take place. As of now, a LED fixture that can replace a 60 watt incandescent one in Taiwan costs NT$249-299 (US$8.29-9.95) and consumers are purchasing LED fixtures earlier than expected.
Once thought of as overpriced lighting, LED fixtures are now in high demand. Everlight's LED products can be found in 7-11 convenience stores all over Taiwan with 8 watt LED fixtures going for NT$299. Tsan Kuenn, a 3C retail chain that outsources LED lighting products to Unity Opto Technology (UOT), has an own LED product line with a 7.5 watt LED fixture equal to a 60 watt incandescent one going for NT$249. With these prices, LED lighting is becoming the new standard for lighting throughout homes in Taiwan.
According to Digitimes Research, a 40 watt incandescent equivalent LED fixture in South Korea was going for US$12 while a 60 watt one was going for about US$17 in April 2012.LED Work Area Light features hanging bracket mount.In order to compete in South Korea's market, international firms are offering competitive prices with Philips offering a 60 watt LED equivalent at 44.5% cheaper than its price in the US.In comparison, Taiwan's 60 watt equivalent is under US$10 with its 40 watt version priced at US$6.70, making Taiwan the number one nation in the world in terms of LED price drops. In May, Philips introduced its 60 watt LED equivalent to Taiwan's market with a price tag of NT$1,300 (US$43.5), which will pose a strong challenge for Philip's sales where other LED makers are offering much lower prices.
The ex-factory price now for one watt in a LED fixture is roughly US$1. That means LED vendors in Taiwan are hardly making any profits at the current retail price levels.Within the pricing layout in the LED market, price control is a strategy for Taiwan vendors. When the market is in the beginning stages of promotion, lowered costs to boost market share and using strategically made products to raise awareness for brands will indeed show successful sales results in the short term. But it is still up for question whether Everlight can use this strategy to be successful in markets in Europe and the US and overall become known more internationally.