LED Lights: Think Beyond the Bulb

Light Emitting Diodes Are the Future

While the recently approved energy bill -- which included the federal phase out plans – appropriately positions age old filament bulbs as a way of the past and compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) as the way to the future, the reality is that in 10 or so years the eventual lighting technology winner will be light emitting diode (LEDs) solutions.

Since their introduction in the early 1960s, LEDs have evolved from simple indicator lights and alphanumeric displays to an exciting new source for general lighting. LEDs differ radically from traditional light sources in that there are no glass bulbs or filaments to break, or electrodes to decay. Instead, LEDs are solid state light sources – basically, a chemical chip embedded in a plastic capsule. When the chip is energized by applying a voltage, it emits visible light, the color depending on the chip's chemical composition. The light can then be focused, routed, or scattered using lenses, waveguides or diffusers.

Due to the tremendous pace of technical developments, LED efficacy now rivals or surpasses that of standard incandescent lamps as well as the newly minted CFLs. For example, white LEDs are now producing more than 20 lumens per watt, compared to 8 - 15 lumens per watt for incandescent lamps. White LEDs are actually blue LEDs with a phosphor coating, which converts a portion of the blue light to yellow – the combination resulting in white light.

OSRAM SYLVANIA (OSI), the lighting division of engineering conglomerate Siemens AG, is integrating LEDs in a number of unique modular systems, including flexible and linear modules, marker lights, and powerful "effect" modules with focusing lenses. Flexible and linear LED modules can provide uniform backlighting for signs and contour lighting for architecture, while occupying a fraction of the space – and consuming a fraction of the energy – required by traditional light sources. Similarly, low-profile marker lights can highlight steps or edges, guiding or alerting users to hazards in areas like auditoriums, stairways and subway platforms. Effect lights combine an array of ten LEDs with individual lenses in a single compact module, focusing the combined light output into an intense and narrow beam, which can provide colorful accent lighting for architectural features.

Given the current pace of development, even general room lighting with LEDs is not a distant consideration. Indeed, the unique characteristics of LEDs invite designers, consumers and organizations alike to "think beyond the bulb," and ponder a more seamless integration of lighting and building materials.

Obama tightens efficiency rules for home water heaters

President Obama's push to increase energy efficiency is extending to home water heaters. The Department of Energy is requiring new ones meet stricter standards that could increase initial costs but reduce utility bills.

The Department of Energy is requiring that water heaters, beginning in 2015, meet stricter energy efficiency standards. Here's a General Electric one that carries the government's Energy Star label.

DOE, which has increased efficiency standards for more than 20 products such as washing machines in the last year, announced Thursday that large electric water heaters (55 gallons or more) will need to use 47% less energy and large gas ones, 30% less. Smaller units won't need to reduce energy use as much.

"You don't have to go out and replace your water heater," says DOE spokeswoman Jen Stutsman. The rules simply require that new conventional water heaters, beginning in 2015, be more efficient.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu said energy efficient appliances save families money, reduce pollution and "enhance our energy security for decades to come."

Environmentalists pushed for the new rules, which are stricter than ones DOE proposed late last year.

"These standards will not only boost the total national energy savings, but help create a bigger market for advanced water heater technologies that will eventually make every shower cheaper and more sustainable," Lane Burt of the Natural Resources Defense Council said in a statement.

DOE is also increasing efficiency standards, beginning in 2013, for pool heaters and direct heating equipment, such as gas fireplaces. These products, along with water heaters, account for 18% of home energy use.

Over three decades, DOE says the new rules will save a total of $10 billion and prevent up to 164 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions -- the equivalent of taking 46 million cars off the road for one year.

DOE estimates that the installed cost of a typical gas storage water heater (now $1,079) will increased $120 but will be offset by savings of $143 in average lifetime operating costs.

The department says it' also stepping up its enforcement of efficiency standards. On Monday, for example, it ordered that AeroSys, Inc. stop distributing an air conditioner and heat pump that independent testing showed were consuming more energy than allowed.

U.S. solar industry shows signs of growth

The U.S. solar industry is continuing to regain momentum in both the residential and commercial market, with a number of companies reporting gains overseas and in the domestic market.

One recent example comes from a Reuters report on Los Angeles-based Suniva, which has reportedly sold out its products through 2010 and is planning to triple its exports in the next five years.

The wire service added that the company is also expected to build a 400-megawatt plant in Saginaw County, Michigan, with an eye on generating electricity there by 2011.

Americans are going to see more and more solar energy generated in the next several years, with dozens of projects under construction or being planned throughout the Southwest. Other parts of the country that do not get as steady a supply of sunlight are also increasingly embarking on their own solar projects. Some states are even home to projects that will re-invent old landfills as solar energy plants.

Elsewhere, a number of other companies have showed that they have serious potential for long-term growth with or without the various tax credits that have been provided under the government stimulus bill.