Valence Process Equipment, Inc. (VPE) has announced the commercial release of the VPE GaN-500 MOCVD system, a new metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) system for production of high-brightness light emitting diodes (LEDs). The VPE system includes a reactor that is designed around a novel (patent pending) chamber and gas-injector, resulting in the highly efficient use of pre-cursor gases. The system has a capacity of 59 two-inch wafers with a future upgrade path to 72 two-inch or 20 four-inch wafers. Frank Campanale, CEO of VPE, commented: ...

GE's new Evolve™ LED Scalable Cobrahead lighting fixtures have been installed by Xcel Energy in the city of West St. Paul, Minn., as part of a utility-initiated implementation of LED street lights. Xcel Energy will monitor performance of the new lights for two years and use the data to develop an LED program for every state in its service area: Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin. The utility maintains approximately 500,000 Xcel Energy and customer-owned street lights in all eight states. ...

Wailuku, Hawaii, U.S., hosts an LED street-lighting demonstration in Wailuku, Mayor Alan Arakawa announced. The walking tour reportedly features four energy-efficient “smart” light-emitting diode streetlights on Wili Pa Loop in the Wailuku Millyard. "The first of its kind in Hawaii and one of the most advanced of its kind in the US, the testing process is examining the use of wireless remote controls to dim the streetlights late at night to save energy," county officials said in a press release announcing the presentation. As part of the t...

Royal Philips today announced that the 300th licensee signed up to its LED luminaire and retrofit bulb licensing program, which has seen its number of licensees grow by 50% since May 2012. As a result, 300 companies have access to Philips’ comprehensive portfolio of patented LED system technologies and solutions. Within the last year, the LED luminaire licensing and retrofit program has gained an impressive 100 new licensing agreements with companies worldwide. Signing up its 300th licensee is a significant milestone for Philips which is committed to driving innovation...

Philips Hue LED light bulb Philips’ intelligent LED light bulb named Hue has just been given an update. Now, Hue users can tie their bulbs to the IFTTT service which turns a user’s Internet service into an actionable equation. The new Hue update also adds geofencing support, programmable alarms and timers, turning the LED bulb into just as much a notification system as it as a source of light. This update comes a little more than two months after Philips opened up the API to allow developers to write their own apps for the colorful bulb. "P...

Philips announces a number of innovations making Philips Hue - the world’s smartest connected LED lighting system – even more intelligent, convenient and accessible to homes across the world. These updates reflect valued feedback from the growing community of Hue enthusiasts and developers worldwide.   Now connected light can keep you up-to-date The next generation of the Hue app (version 1.1) can now hook up to your essential internet services via your smartphone or tablet, meaning your bulbs can act as indicators for weather, stock quotes, sports scores, emai...

LED Lighting Manufacturer, MHA Lighting, announces a strategic partnership with Solar Bright Ltd, a leading New Zealand-based LED lighting solutions provider.   This new partnership sees Greater Manchester-based MHA Lighting granting Solar Bright, an agreement to distribute MHA’s waveguide products throughout New Zealand. The strategic partnership was formed in response to the rapidly-growing demand from New Zealand companies to make the switch to energy-efficient LED lighting, which is of high quality and reliability.   Solar Bright...

Building upon the success of the CR Series downlights, Cree, Inc. introduces Cree  Full Definition CR4™ and CR6™ downlights – the ideal luminaire to replace outdated incandescent four- and six-inch recessed downlights. Featuring a warm-white 2700K color temperature, dimming and better than 80 CRI, the Full Definition downlights are ideal for applications that require good light quality and low initial cost. "Cree is committed to delivering customers the LED lighting solution needed to fit their budgets and applications," said Greg M...

Verbatim’s VxRGB Vivid Vision™ directional lamp targets applications that demand highest light quality Verbatim announces the commercial release of Vivid Vision™, a directional LED lamp using VxRGB® technology developed by Verbatim’s parent company, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation. Vivid Vision ensures that colours and fine details of objects are rendered accurately through a unique combination of red, green and blue phosphors applied to a violet, rather than blue, LED die. This type of LED lighting is particularly effective in ...

UK-based LED lighting company, PhotonStar was awarded a grant by the UK Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) for up to £372,269. The grant from the DECC Energy Entrepreneurs Fund and will be used to develop further PhotonStar’s ChromaWhite smart circadian retrofit LED lighting solutions, particularly the ChromaWhite smart lamp, a standard lamp form factor, with full wireless control. The grant will be paid in installments upon the completed development of certain milestones during the current financial year. ChromaWhite is the Gr...

While conventional LED materials enabled the start-up and initial development of the industry, higher performing products such as silicones can help solid-state lighting meet more challenging performance requirements for fast-growing applications like streetlights, office illumination and architectural lighting. "Dow Corning’s global lighting customers are concerned that emerging LED applications are quickly pushing conventional LED materials – such as glass, epoxies and plastics – to their practical limits," said Eric Peeters, vice president of D...

April 2013 prices of 40W and 60W retrofit LED light bulbs in Japan were JPY1743/unit and JPY2357/unit, respectively, showing an on-month decrease of 4% and 12.5%. April prices of 40W retrofit LED light bulbs in South Korea showed an on-month decrease of 3.8% to KRW14749/unit. Prices for 60W retrofit LED light bulbs in South Korea were KRW23742/unit in April, up 6.6% compared to March. In China, April prices of 7W and 9W LED light bulbs from domestic brands were CNY38.3/unit and CNY53.6/unit, respectively. Both prices fell compared to Mar...

Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada - The city of Yellowknife is speeding up its efforts to install more cost effective, energy efficient LED bulbs in street lights. to date the city and its partners Northland Utilities have swapped out 178 high pressure sodium bulbs and replaced them with the longer lasting LED option. Director of Corporate Services Carl Bird says the long life of the LED bulbs isn't the only advantage. "The biggest advantage is a significant reduction in the amount of power required to run LED lighting compared to the existing ...

The township of Whitehall, Pennsylvania, has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the installation of LED streetlights for the Peachtree subdivision. This is the township’s second project focused on removing and replacing aging streetlighting infrastructure with energy efficient LED streetlighting. The success of the first installation, which included thirty GE Evolve post top fixtures, encouraged city officials to pursue additional installations. The upcoming project includes the removal of 41 existing poles and fixtures, and the purchase and installation of 4...

Japanese consumer electronics giant Panasonic Corp. announced Monday its technical team developed a solar lantern with high powered LED lights that also operate as a charger for small electronic appliances, which are especially carried by people living without electricity. At about 15 cm tall, the newly developed device which is equipped with a solar panel, LED light bulbs giving around 100 lumens per watt and a rechargeable battery in addition to a USB port, will be small enough to place in the center of a table or hang from a bag without noticing it's there until they t...

Dual-colour lasers could pave way for more energy efficient LED lighting Researchers in the US have come up with a new semiconductor device that is capable of emitting two distinct colours and could potentially open up the possibility of using LEDs universally for cheap and efficient lighting. To create the proof-of-concept device, the researchers, who hail from Arizona State University, used nano-scale materials and processes to emit green and red light separated by a wavelength of 97 nanometres. Their findings have been published in the scientific journal Semiconduct...

The well-known fixture, VG 10, which has been installed outdoors in volumes of hundreds of thousands in the Nordic countries, is now available in LED based versions. This is thanks to a unique cooperation between Aluwave, provider of customized LED modules and systems, and the Swedish lighting supplier Nokalux. The new LED version of VG 10 is available either as a completely new fixture or as an upgrading kit of the light source to be used in existing fixtures. ”Besides the fact that the European Union prohibits mercury lamps from 2015, our customers will find...

The Chinese government has been cutting back on subsidies to manufacturers of LED chips, a reason some companies are blaming for their poor first quarter results. This points to a change in approach to policies over the once-hyped sector amid overcapacity and sliding prices, noted a report Wednesday by Global Times. Chinese listed firms, such as Elec-Tech International, issued a profit warning last month in its first quarter earnings report, the news site said. The company forecast net profits for the first half of the year would drop 30 to 60 percent year-on-year, partly b...

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia has begun a pilot project aimed at replacing the country’s street lights with LED bulbs. The government said it was part of an effort to reduce its utility bills, which reach around $7 million for street lights alone each year. Under the project, St Lucia has erected 48 LED bulbs on the country’s John Compton Highway and Jeremie Street. "This is to reduce on the energy consumption of these lights, so this project will be monitored," said Vincent Antoine. “First we’re going to install a meter to monito...

E-Switch’s LP6 Series Pushbutton Switch E-Switch announces an RGB color option for the LP6 series LED illuminated pushbutton switch. You can order this switch with either SPST or DPST circuit options and it is a momentary switch. It offers a 15mm square sculptured cap with LED color options that now include RGB. The applications and markets for this switch include consumer electronics, medical devices, audio/visual, instrumentation, vending machines, kiosks and more. Specifications for the LP6 series illuminated pushbutton switch include: ...

After the launch of LDD-H/HW and LDD-L/LW series, MEAN WELL further announced two kinds of DC-DC Buck converter with constant current output for LED driving purpose ~ LDD-HS and LDD-LS series. With SMD package, they are suitable to be mounted by surface mounted-process (SMT) on the system PCB of lighting fixture and save the labor cost of installation. LDD-HS features with 9~56VDC input and 2~52VDC output range while LDD-LS possesses range of 9~32VDC input and 2~28VDC output. Both series provide multiple output curren...

Manchester, United Kingdom, - For people looking for money saving smart lighting solution, Gigateq Ltd, a leading electronic manufacturer and retailer from Manchester has come up with their innovative smartphone controlled LED light bulb that consumes lesser electricity than conventional lighting solutions. The new light bulb is called Easybulb and is guaranteed to last up till 25 years. Gigateq Ltd is the biggest independent manufacturer & online retailer of Easybulb that offers a range of products which could be controlled by smartphone & mobile devices. "O...

Global shipments of metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) systems will fall by 46% year-on-year to a total of 148 units in 2013, a report forecasts, as LED chipmakers have sufficient capacity and the number of LED chips used in LED TV backlighting has been decreasing. US-based Veeco Instruments is predicted to continue dominating the MOCVD system market, with 60.2% market share in 2013, due mainly to orders from China-based firms. Germany-based Aixtron is expected to rank second, with 35.8% market share. Some China-based MOCVD system makers...

Lighting Science Definity LED lamps were chosen for installation in the Sioux City Public Museum to help bring the museum galleries into the modern era during a recent retrofit operation. The new technologies installed versus traditional halogen technology, the museum will be saving 110,760kWh annually. The museum needed to upgrade their facilities, including their lighting, in their newly refurbished home, a re-purposed J.C. Penney Department Store. Hilferty Museum Planning was contracted to design the exhibit spaces including the lighting design for a 12,000 sq. ft. ...

Syracuse, N.Y. -- The addition of LED lights along the New York State Thruway and Canal system should cut electric costs by 20 percent, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced. The lighting upgrades should also improve visibility along the state's Thruway and Canal system, the governor said in a news release. "As we celebrate Earth Week, New York is continuing to move forward with efforts to increase energy efficiency and reduce costs in state government by adopting new green technologies," Cuomo said. "The Thruway’s LED lighting project is one e...

Street lights in front of Castlegate in Aberdeen, Scotland. Every street light in Scotland could be fitted with low-energy LED bulbs as part of ambitious plans to cut CO2 emissions, ministers said on Thursday. The Scottish government unveiled proposals for the green investment bank (GIB) to fund the Scotland-wide LED lighting programme as part of a £500m package of climate and green energy measures . LED street lights, which are being piloted by several Scottish councils and are already in use by a number of English local authorities, were floated by...

Osram reports that it will shut down its production site in Tangerang, Indonesia, by the end of December 2013 at the latest. In Tangerang, Osram manufactures traditional products, mainly incandescent lamps, with some 1,100 employees. The move is part of the company’s reorganization program initiated in 2012 and targets cumulative gross savings of about 1 billion euros by 2015. The products manufactured in Tangerang are sold both in Asia and worldwide. However regulations and technological change in the lighting industry are leading to the incandescent lamp disappearing fr...

Seoul Semiconductor(SSC) has announced the completion of its installation of Acrich LED streetlights covering a section of 30km on Yang-zi River road in Yangzhou city. The company contends that Acrich LED streetlights, were chosen for the project in the city because they minimize the payback period within three years. The company says that this reduced payback period is because the cost of installation and maintenance are dramatically reduced. Seoul Semiconductor also asserts that Acrich streetlight is brighter and lighter than conventional DC LED streetlights. T...

THE Chinese Academy of Science reports that researchers in China have used strain engineering to improve the light output power of 530nm green light-emitting diodes (LEDs) by 28.9% at 150mA current injection [Hongjian Li et al, Appl. Phys. Express, vol6, p052102, 2013]. The research was carried out by Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Semiconductors, Beijing, and University of Hong Kong. Schematic of epitaxial material for conventional and shallow quantum well (SQW) LEDs (Figure 1). Light output power–current–voltage (L&ndas...

CPY250 Cree reports a breakthrough innovation in canopy LED lighting with the introduction of the CPY250 canopy and soffit lighting series. According to Cree it Consumes 75 percent less energy than the MH (metal halide) systems it’s designed to replace and 5–15 percent less energy with more than 35 percent increased performance compared to competing higher-cost LED luminaires, the new CPY Series delivers exceptional visual environments across a range of canopy applications, including gas stations, bank drive-through ATMs and hotel/airport drop-off ...