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.
Archive for the 'Green Companies' Category
What we can we say; we here at Elemental have pretty amazing friends. Some in particular are the people behind Laguna Beach, CA-based industrial design and lighting manufacturing firm, The Cerno Group. The company’s three founders (one of whom attended the University of Colorado with Elemental LED founder, Max Darling), have developed a well-rounded design company that emphasizes cutting edge technology and the creation of aesthetically pleasing, functionally efficient and structurally perfect furniture and lighting products.
And speaking of Cerno’s products, we are particularly fond of its concrete desk lamp because it features, as you might have guessed, LED lights! The modern lines of this lamp are sleek enough to mesh with almost any home or office design scheme, and with 400 lumens of output, 12 watts of energy use and over 50,000 hours of life, it’s not only a beautiful lighting option, but a smart one as well.
And even as lighting nerds, we can appreciate non-lighting products as well. I’m totally crazy about Cerno’s line of Baltic Birch furniture, for example. The design of this Lentus chair is timeless, yet inventive at the same time. While it looks comfortable enough to sit in, its beautiful sculptural quality could make it the centerpiece of any room! And I love the futuristic appeal of the X-Grow coffee table…what a gorgeous design!
Besides Cerno’s products, the company also specializes in creative solution development in the areas of industrial design, environmental design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and product development and branding. It seems no matter what your needs or specifications, Cerno can find a way to give you what you’re looking for…maybe it’s time you got to know Cerno!
Car lovers rejoice! Audi just released specs, pictures and info about its 2011 Audi A8 and select lucky viewers got to glimpse the car in person at the star-studded Miami design week! Not only is the sedan as sleek and powerful as ever, it’s also planet-friendly. One important reason that the car is greener than ever before is that it’s filled to the gills with LED lights, using them for all of its lighting needs. In fact, the car’s LED lights consume only 40 watts each when in use, according to The Daily Tech. And talk about high tech! The full LED headlamps adjust their direction and intensity based on information they receive from the navigation system.
Despite their awesome functioning, it also just so happens that the LED lights look snazzy as well, creating a sophisticated, almost futuristic aesthetic. What’s more, the Audi A8 is still a V8 engine, but is 15 percent more fuel efficient than other V8 cars, thanks to Audi’s cutting-edge technology. It also has a lower CO2 rating than any other luxury vehicle. The car is both high tech and stylish, powerful yet green all at once. Funny thing, that’s exactly how we feel about LEDs. It makes perfect sense that they are one of the highlights of this year’s most talked-about car To view more pictures, click here.
The media engineering department of Elemental (i.e. me) recently moved to Portland, Oregon, where it’s maybe more rare to see LED light fixtures than in the Bay Area. So imagine my surprise when, for the third time this year, I noticed LED lights poking their head out of the live music world.
One of these times was actually when the metal band Mastodon played in August at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. Their newest release “Crack the Skye” is a concept album about, among other things, the life of Russian mystic and con-artist Rasputin. Behind them on stage they had a screen—about 8 feet high and 12 feet wide–showing a somewhat psychedelic film montage of scenes from the classic film “Aleksander Nevsky” and animations of Rasputin and space travel (that’s one subject I was referring to in saying “among other things”.) I was thrilled to see that the screen was made of LEDs, which gave the images a sharp yet glowing quality, and a lot of impact.
The best pictures I could find of the screen used for the Crack the Skye tour were by Sarah Roberts, a photographer based in Glasgow, Scotland. Scroll down to see one, and visit her Web site www.sarahrobertsphoto.com for more great pictures. I guess LED televisions have been on the market for a little while, but it was still exciting to see the impact of an LED screen at an already powerful rock show.
Then last month I saw the great punk band NoMeansNo at Berbati’s Pan, a Portland institution that has perhaps the best sound in town. I noticed at that show that most or perhaps all of their stage lights are round LED can lights, very similar to, if not virtually the same as, the PAR 64 RGB LED Wall Washer that we sell. It can honestly be said their LED lights are very bright, even the colors that are on the lower end of the brightness spectrum, such as red and green.
I couldn’t find any pictures online from that show, but did find some nice shots by Carrie Johnston, who is actually a Portland-based writer who contributes to the concert review site Melophobe. One of her pictures from the Dirty Three show at Berbati’s is below. (How did I miss that show?!?)
The Dirty Three at Berbati's Pan, September 2009. Photo by Carrie Johnston.
The LED screen used by Mastodon on their recent tour, behind drummer Brann Dailor. Photo by Sarah Roberts.
The day-after-Thanksgiving-shopping-mayhem known as Black Friday has officially come and gone, but the repercussions (or shall we say benefits) of all that purchasing will be felt for months. According to the 2009 holiday survey by Pricegrabber.com, 45 percent of consumers were planning to shop on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with 80 percent planning to make a purchase on Black Friday and 66 percent on Cyber Monday. And I can vouch from a personal standpoint that it was crazy out there, people! I happened to be in Chicago on that fateful Friday, and let me just say, Michigan Avenue was nothing less than insanity. But given the struggling economy, that’s not a bad thing. In fact, the numbers were better than expected by retailers, who attracted shoppers with hard-to-turn-down sales. (Again, I can vouch for this from a personal perspective. There must have been something in the water at Macy’s because those sales ladies were downright hypnotic with their powers of persuasion…but I digress.)
LEDs were no exception this season; more shoppers than ever purchased decorative holiday LED lights. That’s a great thing for our planet and our nation, since the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that if every household switched to using LED holiday lights, the country would save approximately $410 million in electricity costs. While the recession is still affecting most Americans, that didn’t stop them from spending a little extra for LED lights. While a string of incandescent lights costs about $2 and a similar string of LED lights costs $5-$15, the LED lights will last more than 20,000 hours (that’s up to 40 holiday seasons!), are less likely to break and remain cool to the touch, so they’re safe for kids and to use on that dried up Christmas tree! LEDs use 70 percent less energy than incandescent lights and they contain no mercury like CFLs do.
In fact, due to the increasing popularity of LED lights, IKEA plans on phasing out incandescent lights over the next five years. That’s a big statement from a huge retailer, attesting to the popularity and staying power of LEDs. What can we say, we told you so?
Well, we knew it would happen someday. Now when you’re crossing the street to go to the other Starbucks because the Starbucks you were just in was out of coffee cup lids, you can rest assured that the company is doing something good for the environment where lighting is concerned. Starbucks just announced that it will replace conventional lights with light emitting diode (LED) bulbs in 8,000 stores by March of next year. The coffee manufacturer is making the switch as a part of its overall goal to reduce energy consumption by 25 percent by the end of next year. Each store will replace its incandescent bulbs and other vacuum-and-chemical lights to solid state lighting, which is estimated to reduce energy costs by 7 percent per store.Reportedly, General Electric will be supplying the LEDs to Starbucks, and worked closely with the company to design lights that fit with the Starbucks ambiance and aesthetic. One thousand Starbucks have already been retrofitted with LEDs. According to Michael Petras, president and CEO of GE Consumer & Industrial’s lighting and electrical business, “Starbucks’ aggressive moves on the conservation front will have far-reaching environmental and financial impacts. Other GE customers will benefit from these achievements.”
And lighting isn’t the only place Starbucks is purportedly getting on the “green” wagon. According to TreeHugger, “The company isn’t often on this side of green when it comes to operations. A year ago they were in hot water for wasting 6 million gallons of water a day, all for a very lame policy for cleanliness. However, they have been trying hard to be eco-friendly, including starting BICEP, Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy, switching to hormone-free milk, and getting more serious about fair trade coffee.”
Well, Starbucks, our hat is off to you! Welcome to the wonderful world of LEDs!
Wow, it’s a close game.
It’s the bottom of the 7th inning in the 5th game of the American League Championships series, the Anaheim Angles versus the New York Yankees. The Yankees lead the series 3 to 1. In this game, they just scored 6 runs in the top of the 7th to put themselves back in the lead; the Angles have scored 5.
BUT, in the bottom of the 7th, the Angeles rally to bring the score back in their favor: 7 to 6. And thats where we sit right now; it’s a tense situation, let me tell you. I’ve got an Angeles fan on one side (my dad) and a Yankees fan on the other (my boyfriend). I’m not exactly sure to root for, and I know that no matter who wins, I’ll have a grumpy male to deal with.
Its no wonder then, that my mind turns to happier, brighter things. Namely, the lights on the field. No, I’m not talking about the big overhead lights that illuminate the field itself, but the lights that make up the images flashing in the advertising banners throughout the stadium. These banners and screens, which not only provide advertising for stadium sponsors, are also responsible for those flashy, eye-catching visuals we all love to cheer along to during an especially nerve-racking moment in the game, or during the 7th inning stretch.
And, if you’re an LED fan like I am, you’ll be happy to find out that most of those banners and screens are comprised of energy efficient, environmentally-friendly LED lights. Not only do LEDs help stadiums save on energy costs, they also allow for seamless and vibrant color changes in the images they are creating. That’s because LEDs can be digitally programmed to emit almost any color imaginable. Compared to the old days, when color changes in lighting had to be accomplished through plastic filters or switching out costly colored bulbs, LEDs are a big step up.
It’s the 8th inning, and the Angels are leading 7-6. Since I (like most of us here at Elemental LED) am from California, I have to admit, I’m rooting for the Angeles. So I guess it’s my lucky day when, with Yankees loading the bases, the Angeles still manage to come out ahead in the 8th inning, and they win the game! Yay! Afterall, it’s just another thing to feel good about, along with the fact that that baseball is just another place LEDs have taken the lead in lighting.
We’ve all heard of the Green Revolution-even during the current economic crisis, all things “green” still seem to be a safe place to invest your, well, green. A key indicator of this trend is the way the government reacts to and becomes involved in it, and recent news reveals that government organizations are more on board than ever. In May, the Department of Energy set aside $786.5 million of Recovery Act funds, allocating them for new and existing projects in “bio-refineries, sustainability research, infrastructure-compatible biofuels and ethanol research.” The government has also awarded $2.3 billion in tax credits to businesses who specialize in clean-tech equipment manufacturing.
And as if that’s not enough, the LED market is purportedly on the rise in a big way. In September, Business Week reported that while the LED market is currently a small portion of the lighting industry, it is anticipated to become the fastest-growing sector over the next 10 years. One thing that will help the LED industry grow is the national goal to improve building efficiency by 25-50 percent in the next ten years, according to Business Week.
Evidence of this new trend is popping up all over the country, as well as the world. For instance, new LED lighting technology will be installed in the Elb-Tunnel in Hamburg, Germany. The LEDs will not only help move traffic safely through the tunnel, but will also reduce energy usage and carbon emissions. And PR Newswire just reported that LEDs will completely replace halogen bulbs in the European surgical market by 2014. In fact, European nations are incorporating LEDs more rapidly than the United States.
But, the US is not far behind. Indianapolis, for instance, just joined ranks with other American cities by switching to using LEDs in their traffic signals. Indianapolis received federal stimulus funds to help them make the change, thanks to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program.
It seems that no matter where you look, LEDs are popping up, lighting the way to a brighter, cleaner, safer future.
With all of the toy options out there these days, it’s hard to know which ones to pick for your child-you want something that’s going to keep Junior safe and entertained, while maintaining your sanity and checking account. And with the electronic toy industry growing by leaps and bounds, it’s becoming even more difficult to find toys that are both wallet and planet friendly. But luckily, LEDs have changed game for parents all around the world. Now, kids can enjoy light-up and interactive sound technology without the high-energy costs of electronic toys.
For instance, See Toys by Zen Designs are toys that light up and make sounds and are powered completely by rechargeable batteries that get re-juiced every time the child plays with the toy. The product line includes wind-up or crank-powered toy fireflies, dolphins, sharks and tigers, with colorful LED eyes realistic sound capabilities. The interactive nature of See Toys stimulates kids’ minds and encourages them to use their imagination. And, LED toys are safer than traditional electronic toys too! Because the battery is rechargeable, you will never have to remove it or replace it, which eliminates the danger of swallowing or otherwise ingesting toxic substances for your kids, and the cost of buying more batteries for you! Every year, thousands of kids swallow batteries, most of which contain potentially toxic metals like mercury, cadmium, lithium, and copper. Health risks associated with mercury include kidney damage and genetic, neurological, and psychological disorders. Cadmium is a confirmed human carcinogen and is poisonous when ingested or inhaled. Even if batteries are not swallowed, they still must be disposed of in a proper way, through a toxic substance recycling program. Purchasing toys that employ energy efficient, lightweight LEDs removes such hassles from your life, and keep your kids out of harm’s way.
Elemental LED Makes a Name for Itself at Maker Faire 2009
We are thrilled to announce that Elemental LED’s first tradeshow experience went off without a hitch! Maker Faire 2009, the country’s largest do-it-yourself festival, provided our first opportunity to display, demonstrate and get creative with our products in a public arena. And did we ever! Over the two-day event (May 30—31), our booth was quite the popular place to be. The focus of our installation was interactivity. Everything we had to offer—from our product displays to our workshops—engaged the audience on a participatory level. We ensured that each visitor left with a better understanding of how LEDs can be used to meet his/her individual needs, reduce environmental impact and improve overall quality of life. Check out some of the different aspects of our Maker Faire booth below.
Product Displays
Expertly crafted by our friends at Arcane Solutions, our displays demonstrated the unique energy savings, huge lumen output and adaptability of our products. We showed off most of our strip lighting, our waterproof, flexible LEDs, compared brightness, heat and wattage output in one of our LED bulbs to that of a regular incandescent bulb, and used our full color LED wall panels as enticing eye candy.
An especially exciting part of our display was the nearly 2ft X 2ft Elemental LED logo we had fabricated to illustrate the unique customization capabilities of our LEDs. Through this demonstration, viewers learned not only of the versatility of our color changing lights, but also that with the right programming, anyone can manipulate and control our LEDs remotely using a computer and/or iPhone. Choose your own colors, opacity, brightness and/or patterns and control them from your personal handheld device—the possibilities are endless!
Soldering Workshops
In keeping with the theme of Maker Faire, we also wanted to incorporate an activity that allowed festival-goers to make something with their own two hands. We achieved this by holding soldering workshops in which participants learned how to solder components (transistors, voltage regulators, capacitors, etc) to a special Elemental LED circuit board. If done correctly, each person walked away with a working sample of our color-changing flexible LED strip lighting that they built themselves!
Syncomasher
Another important element of our booth was the Syncomasher, an interactive audio instrument created by musician and artist Matt Moldover. The instrument combines five controllers that each represent a unique sonic element, and are all connected to one computer brain. The result is an “electronic drum circle” that’s extremely entertaining for all age groups. Elemental LED lights were used in the Syncomasher to provide visual feedback and aesthetic appeal.
Thank you
Over the course of the weekend, we met hundreds of interesting people, and connected with like-minded companies and organizations. We’re excited about the possibilities and will continue to expand our network and to grow as a company. Elemental LED would like to thank everyone involved in making our experience at Maker Faire a complete success. We hope to see you next year!