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-Eco-Friendly' Category
It’s hard to imagine a world without incandescent or florescent bulbs, but it seems that’s where we’re headed, in no small part because of the US Department of Energy. In its 6th round of funding for LED technology and solid state lighting, the DOE announced $37 million in grants to support more research for improving LEDs and supporting their development and manufacturing. The grants will benefit both the regular LED and OLED (carbon-containing organic light emitting diodes) marketplaces. As we all know, LEDs can be 10 times as efficient as incandescent bulbs and last hundreds of times longer. They’re safer, both because they’re more durable and because the emit much less heat, so risk of fire is lower. So, with all of these benefits, why is the government still concerned with funding LED research? Well, there are still a few areas that could be improved, namely “cost and color,” according to a Popular Mechanics article. The article states, “ Solid-state lighting available on the market today costs roughly three times as much as other lighting options. This is largely due to the materials involved and the limited economies of scale compared to the long-established techniques for manufacturing incandescents and fluorescents by the hundreds of millions every year. LEDs also have problems with light color—their whites appear too bluish and thereby render other colors poorly compared to traditional bulbs.”
But these small setbacks are but a blip on the radar screen of a continually burgeoning LED market. What’s more, the DOE awarded the $37 million in 17 grants based on three categories to address these issues and hopefully eradicate them for future LED consumers. For example, $4 million is reportedly allocated for “filling in key technology gaps and expanding the knowledge base.” $10.3 million will go towards product development, specifically making products more consumer-friendly. And $23.5 million is intended for a manufacturing category, which will allow companies to produce LEDs for less, therefore driving costs down for consumers.
It looks like all signs are pointing towards a future that’s bright with the light of LEDs…we’re well on our way, jump aboard!
Soccer (or to some of you: football) fans rejoice! You may already know that the 2010 FIFA World Cup has been scheduled to take place June through July in South Africa, but you may not know that LED lights will play an integral role in ensuring that all soccer fans get the best view of what’s happening on the field. That’s because two of the World Cup soccer stadiums, the Nelson Mandela Bay in Port Elizabeth and the Mbombela stadium in Nelspruit, will offer new LED screens from Spectrum Visual Network, which will bring spectators the clearest-and most energy efficient-view of their favorite players on the field below. Each soccer stadium is capable of holding hundreds of thousands of fans, which means not all fans will be able to sit in an optimal viewing location. But thanks to the LED screens, every spectator will be treated to an unobstructed view of the game. Even better, because of their unparalleled brightness, LED screens provide the only technology that allow an image to be seen properly in daylight. Since most soccer games take place in the afternoon, this is an important feature. Also, LED light bulbs consume less energy, give off less heat, and last for up to 100,000 hours, which means reduced energy bills and maintenance costs for the stadiums. In fact, the LED screens are a key component in FIFA meeting its energy saving compliance requirements for 2010. Thanks to LEDs, the crowded stadium experience just got a lot more pleasant…now if only they could do something about those rowdy fans!
If you don’t own an iPhone, you know at least 10 people who do. After all, they’re the do-anything, take-anywhere, have-an-excuse-for-ignoring-anyone device of 2010! (According to yours truly, anyway.) I’ve gotta admit, though, with all of the users out there (CNN Money expects 40 to 45 million iPhones will be sold in 2010), iPhones must have their perks. One of the benefits I’ve been privy to is the photo quality achieved by that little built-in camera! I have to say, the clarity certainly can’t be rivaled by my flip phone, which was cool back in, oh, say 2004.
But now, the iPhone is taking its camera to the next level by installing a super-bright LED light to serve as its camera’s flash. Up until this new addition surfaced, iPhone users have had a hard time taking good, clear photos in low light situations like concerts and dinner parties. But with the bright light of LEDs, they can kiss the days of fuzzy, dim photos goodbye. Apparently, the LED flash will also enable iPhone users to record video in low light situations as well. And, because LEDs are so energy efficient, the flash will not take up more battery power than the already short-lived iPhone can handle. In fact, the next generation iPhone is also reportedly going to boast better battery life. Maybe the LEDs can take credit for some of that newfound longevity, or at least for not diminishing it.
Regardless, the teaming up of iPhone and LEDs seems inevitable to me since both markets are growing so rapidly. If you thought those CNN numbers about iPhones were impressive, check this out: CNN Money also reports that the LED market is expected to reach $1 billion before 2011. If that’s not impressive, I don’t know what is. Now, if only I had an iPhone, I could tell all my friends about it on Facebook..
Sometimes people just think of the darndest things, don’t they?
Take the Lightspeaker by Klipsch…it’s a speaker that screws into 5 and 6 inch recessed light fixtures, and also contains a dimmable LED light bulb inside as well. That’s right, it’s a speaker and a light all at once! The beauty of this innovation is that you can now create ambient or “surround sound” almost anywhere in your home in a very streamlined, in fact almost invisible way! And you don’t have to sacrifice your lighting to do it! The Lightspeaker simply looks like a normal light that’s flush with your ceiling. Apparently, Klipsch is working on upcoming models that will fit into hanging fixtures, wall sockets and floor and table lamps.
Now, if you’re like me, you’re probably wondering, “How in the heck do the speakers transmit audio? How are they connected to your stereo or iPod?” It turns out that wireless technology allows the speakers to receive transmission from your source (stereo or iPod) using a standalone transmitter, which can be positioned up to 15 m away.
And the exciting part for us LED lighting freaks is that the LED light fitted inside each Lightspeaker is rated for 40,000 hours, which means it will last for up to 15 years without having to be changed, and will reduce the overall energy consumption of your home. What a great idea!
Okay, I’m not one to tout smoking. I know it’s really really bad for you and causes all kinds of problems like cancer and emphysema–a couple diseases that are nothing to sneeze at, in my opinion. But it’s also true that smoking is one of the hardest habits to quit, and if so many people are doing it I figure, there’s gotta be a way to help smokers that actually WORKS, right? Well, turns out that there IS, and it’s called the electronic cigarette.
E-smoking, as it’s called, involves using a battery-charged device to simulate the act of smoking tobacco. But instead of actually combusting tobacco product, e-cigarettes instead vaporize liquid nicotine to provide smokers with their fix of the stimulating, plant-based chemical, without any of the cancer-causing, tar-ingesting effects of smoking regular cigarettes. Now, it’s true that nicotine itself isn’t without its downfalls. While studies show that nicotine doesn’t directly cause cancer, it is responsible for hindering the body’s ability to destroy and get rid of unwanted cells. The problem with that is that if unwanted cells stick around with nothing to do, they might turn into cancer. Furthermore, most liquid nicotine is combined with the chemical propylene glycol, which, though found in most personal care products like soap and lotion, has some toxic properties.
But the good news is that most smokers who switch to electronic cigarettes report a significant decrease in the desire to smoke regular cigarettes, less consumption of nicotine overall, and improved health, including being able to take fuller breaths, exercise longer and overall improved quality of life. All good things, in my opinion.
Now you’re probably wondering, where do LEDs come in? Well it turns out that one of the big reasons for e-cig’s success is that using them feels remarkably similar to using a regular cigarette, and a lot of that has to do with the LED installed at the tip of most E-cigs. When the user pulls on the e-cig, the LED at the tip lights up to give the effect of a burning ember at the end of a smoke. And, because LEDs are so low-wattage, it has a very low effect on the overall life of the battery of the e-cig. Overall, the LED helps smokers to feel that they’re not missing out by switching to the healthier alternative of an electronic cigarette…which helps them to continue using e-cigs as opposed to relapsing back to smoking.
Once again, LEDs are helping our planet (and its inhabitants) to be healthier and happier!
Yes, it’s true. I”m one of the sorry Lakers fans who witnessed the travesty that was the Christmas game at the LA Staples Center on Dec. 25th, 2009 (AKA: yesterday, AKA: a day I’d rather forget). I’m not even going to get into the game itself, since it was such a disappointment, such a lump of coal in the proverbial stocking of life, if you will. Suffice to say, my favorite part was when, after yet another foul on the Lakers’ part, fans booed and hissed and threw yellow foam fingers onto the court, erupting simultaneously into one giant tantrum-inflicted mass. It actually provided some comic relief from the otherwise not-so-funny situation playing out for the Lakers (and their fans).
Another upswing of the evening, however, was the way the Staples Center was decorated for the Holidays, especially outside. As we shuffled, despondent and bitter, out of the stadium, we were greeted with a spectacle of lights that really did seem to cheer us up.Beautiful LEDs decorated the trees outside the stadium, including some that created a dripping icicle effect. They were simply stunning! And then across the street, the giant LED Christmas tree was breathtaking to say the least-it changed color in three segments and was at least 3 stories tall. Building and lighting it was also probably more sustainable than cutting down a real tree, I might add.
So, even though watching the Lakers lose was difficult, I’m just happy that the evening wasn’t a total bust. Leave it to LEDs to save the day yet again!
I know it may sound weird to wish for a light bulb this season, but aren’t the holidays all about lights? Hanukkah is the Festival of Lights, after all. And I’m not just wishing for any light bulb, you see. The bulb that I want is quite special, in fact I do believe it’s my new favorite product that we carry! (Though I still hold a special place in my heart for the RGB LED Remote Control Light Bulb, which I raved about in a previous blog.) I love it so much because it’s the first bulb we’ve carried at Elemental that can replace the most common household bulbs out there-screw-in 60 watt incandescent or CFL bulbs. That’s right, our new (actually it’s one of our very newest products) 60 W Replacement LED Light Bulb has an E27 screw-in base, which is the most common base found in homes and offices.
Now, I want you to imagine for a minute how many times over the course of your lifetime you’ve had to change light bulbs. For most people it’s been a lot, ranging into the hundreds of times. With this new replacement LED, however, you will potentially have changed your last bulb for whatever fixture (ceiling light, lamp or spot light) you choose to put it in. That’s because this astonishing bulb has a life of over 50,000 hours. Imagine all the time and money you’ll save over the years if you switched all the bulbs in your house to our replacement LED!
And it gets even better! Even though the bulb gives off the equivalent of 60 W of light, it only uses 12 W of power! That means that if you switched all of your bulbs to our replacement LED, it would cut your energy bill by three-fourths! So, while this bulb may cost a bit more than regular incandescent or CFL bulbs, it is well worth it in the long run.
In fact, I love this bulb so much, I can’t imagine someone NOT wanting one in his/her stocking…
LEDs are the next big thing in hotel design, and you can imagine why. They allow for some pretty cool ambiance, and they are saving hotels across the world tons of revenue by lowering energy consumption. In the hotel world, LED strip lighting is great for illuminating hallways, under cabinets in bathrooms, elevators, and for creating ambiance in any hotel restaurant or bar, just to name a few. In fact, LED light bars are great for almost any lighting purpose inside of a hotel! But it turns out that LEDs are also making a huge splash on the outside of hotels as well
Check out this amazing LED design on the Yas Hotel in Abu Dhabi, finally completed this month! Designed by Asymptote Architecture, the hotel features two huge curving steel grids that blanket the buildings themselves, each about 217 meters in size. Besides steel, the grids are constructed of 5800 pivoting, diamond-shaped glass panels as well as 5000 LED lights that glow in stunning red and blue. The hotel is being called “the largest LED project in the world.” Apparently, the lighting is controlled by remote device management, offering color changing sequences and also the option of playing low-resolution images across the glass grid. The effect is breathtaking and unlike anything I’ve ever seen done on a hotel, even in Vegas! I guess my next trip will have to be to Abu Dhabi! To see more pictures, check out the hotel’s website, here.
We all know it’s been a chilly week, one of the coldest on record in some parts of the country! And with the cold comes ice and snow, and harsh driving conditions galore! Now, if you’ve been paying attention to this blog (and I hope that you have, because it’s pretty darn interesting), you’ll notice that we’ve covered several infrastructural upgrades over the last year, mainly those that have to do with retrofitting old lighting fixtures with new LED lights. All across the country, cities, neighborhoods, companies and even entire states are deciding to make the switch to LEDs in all kinds of arenas, from transportation to Christmas tree decorations. The influx of demand for LED lights has been incredible!
Well, back to my original point. With the lighting industry changing so quickly and so broadly, there were bound to be a few hiccups. And the first one came recently, thanks to the cold weather. In Wisconsin, specifically, some towns that have installed energy-saving LED traffic lights have found them to be dangerous in snowy weather. This is because LEDs produce much less heat than incandescent bulbs (it’s one of the main reasons why they save so much energy), and so they don’t melt off the ice or snow. In a snowstorm, or in windy, icy weather, traffic lights can become covered.
The problem isn’t enough for cities to switch back to incandescent bulbs, however. Instead, crews have manually been scraping the ice and snow off the traffic lights. The LEDs have saved thousands of dollars in monthly power bills, and are worth the hassle, for now, officials say.
If anyone has any ideas about how to solve this problem (maybe solar-powered heaters installed on traffic lamps?) feel free to post it here! We’re curious to hear your thoughts, and to continue to improve upon the already wonderful world of LEDs!