Are LED Downlights Economically Viable? Buildings, June 24, 2016 One-for-one LED replacements for fluorescent downlights can save nearly 40% in lighting-related energy use, according to a field study conducted by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) on behalf of the GSA’s Green Proving Ground program. Tested in three GSA buildings in Dallas, Philadelphia and Auburn, WA, the … Read more
Lightbulbs excluded in EU regulations on energy efficiency claims The Guardian, April 12, 2016. Image credit: jacquess27 The EU has voted to close loopholes that allow home appliance manufacturers to make misleading claims about their products’ energy performance, but environmentalists are incandescent that lightbulbs have been excluded from the new rules. Companies will no longer be … Read more
L.J. Eldredge, ERS, for Zondits March 23, 2016. Image credit: Anton Fomkin Solid state lighting uses light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, as sources of illumination rather than electrical filaments, plasma (e.g., fluorescent lamps), or gas. LEDs can be found in any style of lighting fixture, be it a decorative pendant or a linear strip, and while fluorescent … Read more
The Most Important Light Bulb Deal in the World Slate, March 18, 2016. Image credit: David Mellis Today, the worm has turned. With production levels increasing, the per-unit cost of LEDs has fallen sharply. (You can get a decent GE LED for about $6 at retail.) Higher efficiency standards have pushed incandescents out of the mix … Read more
World’s Largest LED Retrofit Will Cut Chase Bank’s Lighting Bill In Half GE Reports, February 18, 2016. Image credit: M.O. Stevens Banking is about to get brighter. In a deal amounting to the largest single installation of LED lights in history, some 5,000 Chase branches will replace indoor light bulbs and fluorescent tubes and outdoor … Read more
DOE proposes light bulb standard EE News, February 12, 2016. Image credit: suvajit DOE issued a proposed rule this afternoon for light bulbs that would likely lead to the phaseout of compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), analysts say. The rule has been under discussion for more than a decade. It was affected by a “light bulb rider” … Read more
Ryan Pollin for Zondits, January 18, 2016. Image credit: MIT Image/Ognjen Ilic LED lighting is the best we’ve got, and it’ll stay that way for some time. But, our best and brightest physicists have been up to some very neat tricks in the laboratory, making progress on even more efficient lighting. Researchers at Purdue and MIT … Read more