Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of electronics stores advertising their inventory of “LED TVs.” As someone who knows a little (not a lot mind you, but a little) about LEDs, this confused me. I mean, I know LEDs can do a lot, but can they actually make up the technological bulk of an entire television, enough to warrent the product being named for them? Apparently, other people have been asking this question too, wondering: “what exactly is an LED TV, and what do the LEDs in that TV do?” The answer is fairly straightforward. An LED TV is an LCD or plasma television that uses LEDs to back light the display. Traditional models of LCD screens used florescent tubes to light the screen, which could not achieve the deeper tones of black necessary to create a sharp image. For that reason, a lot of consumers were disappointed with the clarity of their LCD screens. And besides achieving blacker blacks, and therefore, more clarity, screens lit with LEDs also use less power than plasma TVs or LCD TVs lit with florescent tubes. According to a NY Times article about the subject, there are two ways to use LEDs to light a TV screen: “…either by placing LEDs across the entire back of the display, or by placing LEDs just around the perimeter, which is called an “edge lit” display.” There are pros and cons to both methods, though typically edge-lit TVs are less expensive and super-thin, while back-lit TVs can create deeper blacks through a technique called “local dimming.” Either way, it looks like LEDs are once again leading the way by creating better, more efficient products. The same NY Times article said it best: “After all, “LED” is the acronym du jour, a technology that’s all the rage as a new, perhaps revolutionary lighting source. It’s as emotive a term as “HDTV” and “digital” were in their heydays.” And, in case you were wondering, a TV made entirely of LED lights IS in fact possible, with one LED light per pixel on a 2-million pixel LCD screen. Check out the Wallgreens LED Sign in Times Square!
Author Archive for Christine
LED lights are everywhere in the news these days. It seems the world is finally getting comfortable with the idea that LEDs are here to stay, and that they are in fact the best lighting option on the market. More and more consumers are buying LEDs, and more and more government bodies are making the switch to LEDs for civic applications across the country and the world. All of this change means that the lighting design community will have to keep up, and it is! In fact, I’ve noticed more and more lighting designers beginning to create fixtures and lighting housing options intended for LEDs. It’s good to see the focus of lighting design switching to incorporate LEDs, because that means more and more consumers will be able to find aesthetically pleasing lighting fixtures that work with their LEDs. Seeing as how LED lighting fixtures can come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, it’s easy to see how they are beginning to provide the design world with a whole new array of possibilities. One of my favorite LED designs that I’ve come across are these adorable LED pendant lights by Croatian designer Zoran Sunjic, which he calls “Ginkgo decorative lighting.” The tiny, lightweight yet ultra-bright LEDs make fun, modern lighting like this possible, and effective. Look how bright they are! I think they’d be so cute in a kitchen or a bathroom! If you think about all of the LED lighting solutions available these days, including LED strip lighting, flexible LED lighting, full color LED products, waterproof LEDs, LED light bulbs and more, it’s easy to see how LEDs inspire new, innovative designs like these every day!
LEDs are good for a lot of things, but did you know that they can potentially heal wounds also? According to a 2004 study published in The Journal of Clinical Laser Medicine and Surgery, infrared LEDs can help heal wounds. The study came about thanks to NASA, which was using IR LEDs for plant growth experiments in space. During their research, scientists found that if IR LED light rays were delivered deep into the tissues of the body they could promote wound healing and tissue growth. Once the scientists got a hunch that LEDs could heal wounds, they went ahead and performed some tests. They found that IR LEDs increased cell growth by 155 to 171 percent in humans and wound size decreased up to 36 percent. According to teh study’s abstract, “. LED produced improvement of greater than 40% in musculoskeletal training injuries in Navy SEAL team members, and decreased wound healing time in crew members aboard a U.S. Naval submarine. LED produced a 47% reduction in pain of children suffering from oral mucositis.” The study concluded that , “the use of NASA LED for light therapy… will greatly enhance the natural wound healing process, and more quickly return the patient to a preinjury/illness level of activity.” I guess the question really should be: what can’t LEDs do?
Before you decide if this project is for you, you should answer two very important questions.
1. How much do you like bugs, or other very small, fast moving objects? (If the answer is anything but “a whole heck of a lot,”‘ then you might not be so into this idea.)
2. How much do you like photography? And I’m not talking about looking at pretty pictures, I’m talking actually taking pretty pictures. (If the answer isn’t “I’m obsessed with taking pictures!”, then once agian, this project is probably not for you.)
If you answered sufficiently, however, read on!
So here’s the deal, you bug-nutty shutter-bug, you! A Belgian photographer who goes by the name of Fotoopa has devised a way to take what some are calling the best, clearest and most up-close shots of flying insects (namely: bees) ever. A key component of his contraption is infrared LED lights, as the LEDs are what detect when the bug has flown into optimal shooting range, and then signal the camera to take a picture. In fact, because of the use of IR LEDs, it even works in complete darkness. Before Fotoopa’s invention, the old mode of thought on wildlife and especially insect photography was that you had to take a ton of crappy pictures just to get one or two good ones. And even those were luck of the draw. That’s because human reaction time just isn’t fast enough to capture a tiny insect in flight with as much precision as is needed to take a truly clear picture. If you modify your camera using Fotoopa’s instructions, however, you can get great shots in 10 seconds! Click here to see his DIY instructions for making this ingenious instrument, and say goodbye to the days of frustration and wasting shots. That assuming you already spend a lot of days frustrated over your sub-par photographs of bees. I’m guessing not many of you do, but hey, maybe it’s time for a new hobby!
Got acne? Who doesn’t, or at least hasn’t at some point? Unfortunately, it’s not a pleasant condition, nor a pretty sight, and it can be hard to get rid of. That is, of course, until LEDs came along. You thought LEDs were just good for lighting your home or office? Well, now it turns out they can also lighten your mood by clearing up your skin! “Blue Light Acne Therapy,” or “photodynamic therapy” as it’s called, uses LED bulbs that emit light at a specific wavelength (415 nm) to kill the bacteria that cause acne to start and to persist and spread. Unlike a lot of other acne treatments, LED-based therapy is natural, painless and safe, and doesn’t use harsh chemicals. Usually it involves just sitting in front of a blue-light emitting LED for a few minutes each day. It’s common knowledge that the sun (or UV rays) help to fight acne, but it’s also a well known fact that too much exposure to UV rays can damage skin or even cause skin cancer. In fact, light therapy for acne used to involve bathing beneath UV light rays until it was discovered that UV rays damage skin. Blue LEDs, however, are out of UV range, but still offer all of the benefits of UV therapy for troubled skin, without any of the dangerous side effects!
The Proof
Blue light works by killing the acne-causing bacteria, P. acnes, and is most commonly used to treat inflammatory acne vulgaris that has not responded to other acne therapies. Several studies have documented to effectiveness of this treatment. For instance, a study published in the Journal of Cosmetic and Laser Therapy in June 2003 found that more than 80% of the patients treated with blue-light therapy responded to the treatment. The patients who responded saw a 59% to 67% reduction in inflammatory acne lesions. To learn more about this effective treatment, click here!
Just like flowers blooming in the sun, new solar-powered, sustainable LED street lamps designed by Philips soak up the sun’s rays during the day, and then use the accumulated energy to shine much-needed light at night. This ingenious design mimics that of real flowers; the lights’ photovoltaic petals (each light is comprised of five solar panels in the shape of petals) fall open during the day to collect as much sun as possible. At night, they close, and LED lights embedded in the petals shine outward onto the city streets. But that’s not all! The lights also come with motion sensors, which are able to detect human activity on the street below. When no one is around, the lights shut off, thereby conserving energy. Philips calls this feature “proximity sensing.” Another great feature of these sustainable lights is that whatever energy they don’t consume over the course of an evening, they give back to the power grid to be used elsewhere, ensuring nothing gets wasted. Keep in mind that LED lights are a pivotal component to the energy-saving qualities of this design. Because LEDs are so energy efficient, they are easily powered by the solar energy gathered by the lights over the course of a day. Incandescent bulbs would not be able to work unless at least ten times as much energy was gathered. Philips is unclear about which cities, if any, are using these lights yet, but I’m exciting for the day when I’m walking down the street, and look up to see that LED lights in the shape of giant flowers are lighting my way.
Two Naval bases in California are receiving a complete lighting overhaul, leading to what some are calling “the largest lighting retrofit in Naval history.” The Naval bases ofPort Hueneme and Point Mogu in Ventura County are set to replace more than 1,000 street lights, area lights and parking lot lights with LED lights, according to The Environmental Leader. The goals of the retrofit are to reduce energy and maintenance costs and the overall carbon footprint of the bases. The LED lights being installed are expected to reduce exterior lighting costs by 60 percent, and increase the life of the lamps by three times. Naval Base Ventura County Energy Manager, Tom Santoianni, is quoted as saying, “The entire project at the two bases will reduce our energy consumption by 317,445 KwH (Kilowatt Hours) which translates into a reduction of 228 metric tons of CO2 emissions* and will cut our annual utility bill by $45,500, based on the average Ventura County, CA utility rate of $0.14.KwH. This helps us to set the environmental standard for US Naval Bases.”
Switching to LED lights is not the only thing the Naxvy is doing to maximize its sutainability, though the lighting is helping enorlously. A 2009 study showed that the Navy could save 87 percent of the electricity used on existing shipboard lighting systems by converting to LED and HID lighting systems. Furthermore, the Navy announced last year that it would install solar energy systems at its US bases, and signed a $100 million contract to do so.
It’s big changes like these that are most encouraging for both the LED lighting industry as well as for the environment. If a US government organization like the Navy recognizes not only the need to reduce carbon emissions, but also the fact that switching to LEDs is a vital step in doing so, perhaps it’s easier to see how we can all make similar changes in our individuals daily lives. If you think it’s time you retrofitted your house, for instance, why not start with our line of LED retrofitting products? There’s something for almost any application, and they’re the perfect tool for making the switch from energy consumer to energy saver!
Going to the supermarket can be a bit of a headache, especially for constantly busy Americans. It’s not cool, then, when the lighting in the freezer section of your supermarket makes that headache worse with its unappealing florescent glow. Luckily, more and more supermarkets are making the switch to LED lighting in their frozen aisles, thanks to a recent study put about by the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The study found that shoppers overwhelmingly prefer LED lighting inside supermarket freezer cases, stating that it helps to make the merchandise more appealing, is easier on their eyes, and provides brighter, more even illumination. More than 300 shoppers were interviewed about their preferences while viewing two test freezers, one using LED lights, and the other using florescent bulbs. (See picture above, with LED freezer on the right!) When the illumination levels in the freezers were the same, more than 86 percent of shoppers selected the LED freezer as their top preference. A second survey was conducted after dimming the light level in the LED freezer, while leaving the florescent freezer at full capacity. Even after dimming, 68 percent of shoppers favored the lighting in the LED freezer.
It turns out that while fluorescent lamps may be an efficient source of lighting, they are not well suited for cold environments. Low temperatures cause the mercury vapor pressure inside fluorescent fixtures to drop, which can lead to a 25 percent reduction in light emission. LEDs, on the other hand, function at 100 percent capacity in cold temperatures. Furthermore, the flexible and lightweight nature of LEDs allow them to be installed in all sorts of tight spaces that florescent lights have never been able to reach, which results in a more effective lighting scheme overall for the frozen food section. Just imagine all of the tight spaces you could fit flexible LED strip lighting! And, LEDs last longer than florescent lights as well, which means reduced maintenance costs for supermarkets.
It’s just another way LEDs are making life a little easier…the next time you’re doing your weekly shopping, keep your eye out for LED lights! And if you don’t spot any, tell the store manager you’d like to see them installed; my guess is: he’ll thank you!
I hate to rub it in, but I had a fantastic Valentine’s Day weekend. I know it’s easy to hate Valentine’s day, seeing how it’s a Hallmark holiday and all that, but it’s also easy to love it–what’s not to like about chocolate and kissing, two major V-day cornerstones? This year was great because my honey came to visit me, and we got to participate in LA’s biggest V-day event, Lucent L’amour. Besides the great music lineup, there was also some truly awe-inspiring art at this event, some of which incorporated full color LED lights!
Take a look, for instance at the illuminated sculpture by Sean Sobczak, also called “Sandman Creations.” Several of these brilliant and beautiful pieces were arranged just inside the entrance to the indoor venue at Lucent L’amour, and they were breathtaking! The light embedded within each sculpture created lines and shadows that seemed to undulate as if the sculptures really were the underwater creatures they were made to represent. As you can imagine, without LED technology, sculptures like these would not be possible. What other type of light fixture can you bend and twist and manipulate to get any shape imaginable? What other light fixtures provide such a mesmerizing and limitless color scheme? What other form of lighting stays cool enough to handle for hours, no matter what the creative process throws at you?
While we here at Elemental don’t sell any of the “el wire” that Sean uses in his sculptures, we do have tons of flexible RGB LED strip lighting in a full array of colors. So if you’re itching to make your own illuminated sculpture, you know just where to go to make it happen! In fact, what a great idea for next year’s Valentine’s Day gift for your sweetie! Nothing says “I love you” like something you made yourself!
If you talk to anyone who watched the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Olympic Games on February 12th, you will most likely be talking to an awe-struck person. Literally everyone I talked to who watched the ceremony was in practical convulsions over how amazing the production and performances were, and was equally disappointed that I didn’t get a chance to watch them. See, it tured out that on the night of the 12th, I was busy preparing for another event, which I’ll blog about next time. Suffice to say, I was bummed that I missed getting to see the opening ceremonies. I decided to look up some pictures of them online to see what I missed. What a show! Even looking at still pictures was enough to tell me that this ceremony was truly spectacular. And, I was pleased, and shall I say, not too surprised to see that LED lights were an important part of what made it so special. Take k.d. Lang’s performance of the Leonard Cohen song “Hallelujah,” for instance. I watched it on YouTube, and got chills–her voice was pure perfection. But did you notice all of the candles the audience members were waving in the background? Those weren’t candles at all, actually, they were energy efficient, fire-safe LED flashlights!
And if you saw the segment called “Peaks of Endeavor,” you would have noticed red-and-white-clad skaters, skiers and snowboarders sporting LED lights on their costumes suspended from the ceiling while images of Olympic events were projected on a replica of the Rocky Mountains.
Also, there was a 20-meter spirit bear puppet that was completely covered in LED lights, which represented the cultural heritage of the early Canadian peoples; what a dazzling effect! The Olympic Games play an important role in bringing the world together, especially during these tumultuous times. It’s a good feeling to know that LED lights are a part of that unification!
