Feb 19th
Source: LEDsmagazine.com

Framingham, MA – To illuminate signs, flags, and monuments, 38 Massachusetts municipalities are installing solar powered outdoor lighting systems. With volunteers from the Massachusetts International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and funding from the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust, SolarOne® Solutions is providing solar powered/LED lighting systems where accessing conventional power lines is prohibitive.

Each SolarOne® lighting system is powered by a photovoltaic panel and battery pack that powers two landscape light fixtures. The system is controlled by SolarOne’s proprietary SO-Bright™ Technology, which controls the solar panel and LED lamp operation with maximum efficiency, intelligently adapting to the changing seasons and weather patterns, to ensure that the flags and monuments will never be left in the dark, even in the darkest days of winter storms and during extended cloudy periods.

The systems are primarily lighting flags and monuments, paying tribute to war veterans’ service across the state from Barnstable on the Cape to West Stockbridge on the New York Border
The Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust awarded the grants to showcase and promote clean renewable solar energy while assisting municipal beautification efforts. The Trust seeks to maximize environmental and economic benefits for the Commonwealth’s citizens by pioneering and promoting clean energy technologies and fostering the emergence of sustainable markets for electricity generated from renewable sources.

“I commend the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 223 and SolarOne Solutions for partnering to bring this innovative solar lighting program to cities and towns around the Commonwealth,” Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles said. “By building local awareness about the importance of solar energy, this program is one more way we are expanding the reach of renewable power in Massachusetts.”

SolarOne Solutions, Framingham, MA, is the nation’s premier manufacturer of solar powered outdoor area lighting.

“This project has been transformative in that it moved us to a new platform from which to continue building the business in the Commonwealth and helping other businesses we work with grow as well. In fact, it has played an important role in growing our production capacity” says Moneer Azzam, President of SolarOne Solutions. “It was the impetus for our aggressive expansion activities in 2008,” says Azzam. “The program is really a model for how clean technology can integrate rapidly into the nation’s infrastructure.”

The Trust has sponsored the program because it offers significant benefits to help foster Massachusetts into the new green economy. While giving professional electricians with the IBEW experience in new technologies, such as LED lighting and solar electric power, the program also builds awareness at the municipal level about energy efficiency measures and alternative power sources.

The fixtures employ round strings of small LEDs, providing an attractive, uniform light. The LEDs themselves are housed inside a high quality commercial-grade Bronzelite® Landscape Lighting fixture. One of two types of lamps is used in each system. Wide beam flood lamps are used to illuminate signs and monuments at close distances, while spot lamps are used to illuminate flags 20 to 40 feet tall. The long-lasting LED lights significantly reduce maintenance, and perform well in cold temperatures.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Locals 7, 96, 103 and 223 provided not only their labor, at no charge, but also their considerable expertise in “best practices” for commercial-grade installations.

According to Marty Aikens, Business Agent for IBEW Local 103, the process allowed the IBEW workers to gain an understanding of the attributes of solar powered lighting, increasing their portfolio of capabilities, enabling them to serve a broader range of applications.
“Because solar power light fixtures require no trenching to connect to the electric power grid, siteing systems was easier and we were able to install more fixtures in the same period of time,” said Aikens.

Aikens went on to explain that the experience gained by those involved in this project will play an important role in establishing consistency across commercial lighting installations whether they are connected to the electrical grid or independently powered by solar energy; an important step in bringing solar energy into the mainstream.

“And, when the American flag is illuminated,” Aikens explained, “Ol’ Glory doesn’t need to be taken down in the evening anymore; American flags and veterans memorials will be seen at night across the Commonwealth.”

About SolarOne:
SolarOne® Solutions provides simple and effective autonomous solar powered solutions for high-value commercial applications. SolarOne® Solutions has consistently led the industry in innovation: it was the first solar powered lighting company to offer max power tracking and the first to use solar powered LED lighting for general illumination. In 2005, SolarOne® Solutions received recognition for Excellence in Design at LightFair, the most prestigious lighting exhibition in the U.S. Installations across the globe serving a wide range of applications and customers including major college campuses, government laboratories and municipalities, have fueled SolarOne’s rapid growth in this emerging industry. The company’s patent-pending SO-Bright™ Control Technology enables its HL (High Lumen) LED lamps to provide general outdoor illumination with unparalleled efficiency and reliability. The company is venture backed and supported in part by the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust.

Phillips' reading light

Feb 16th
Source: LEDsmagazine.com

The solar-powered reading light will be available in a standard version and a slimmed down version with a target consumer price of < $15.

Royal Philips Electronics will launch a new solar-powered reading light, which enables people to both read and write after dark, in autumn 2009. “My Reading Light” was developed specifically for the education sector in Africa and will allow school children to continue with their homework after sunset.

For the estimated 500 million Africans who live without electricity, nightfall means either darkness or the flickering light of a candle or kerosene lamp. Since kerosene lanterns pose health and safety risks, are expensive, and have a low light output, LED-based lamps may be a solution.

Offering these lights leads to a “triple-win: the lives of people in Africa will be generally improved, LEDs result in a very low carbon footprint, and companies offering the right solutions stand to gain,” says Rudy Provoost, executive VP and CEO of Philips Lighting.

The reading light is extremely lightweight and can be hand-held or placed over the page of a book, allowing the user to read or write. There is a choice of high/middle/low dimming settings. It has a built-in rechargeable battery providing between 3.5 and 9 hours of light depending on the light level selected.

The reading light will be available in two versions: a standard light and a slimmed down, low-cost version with a target consumer price of < $US15.

This new development is part of Philips commitment both to developing sustainable lighting solutions for Africa and to its partnership with the Dutch government on the Sustainable Energy Solutions for Africa (SESA) project, which aims to provide 10 million people with affordable, appropriate and sustainable energy services across ten sub-Saharan African countries by 2015. SESA links with the existing UN Millennium Development Goals project.

Feb 18th
Source: LEDsmagazine.com

The CITADEL program will develop measurement protocols and benchmarking analyses of LEDs, and methods to assess the aging and life expectancy of LED lighting products. The CITADEL program – an R&D initiative led by the CSTB (the French Center for Building Science and Technology), major French academic lighting laboratories and the French branch of Philips Lighting – has recently been formed to research and promote the optimal use of LEDs in buildings.

The program’s goal is to fully characterize LED lighting products, as they apply to the specific needs of buildings and tenants. The program hopes to define new measures of visual comfort and color rendering specific to LEDs, said Christophe Martinsons, head of the Lighting, Electricity and Electromagnetism Division of the CSTB.

Clinton Initiative's LED Streetlights

Feb 19th
Source: LEDsmagazine.com

Over a five-year period, the City of Los Angeles’ Bureau of Street Lighting will replace 140,000 existing streetlight fixtures in the city with LED units.

On February 16, former President Bill Clinton announced that the Outdoor Lighting Program of the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) is working with Los Angeles on the largest LED street lighting retrofit project ever undertaken by a city to date, said a report by the CCI.

Over a five-year period, the City of Los Angeles’ Bureau of Street Lighting will replace 140,000 existing streetlight fixtures in the city with LED units that not only will improve LA’s lighting quality and reduce its electricity use, but also will help the city to save money in the process.

While typical streetlight lamps will last from four to six years, LED fixtures have a longer life span, estimated from 10 to 12 years. The new, white-light LED streetlight units are more durable and damage-resistant than other technologies. This not only will reduce the frequency and cost to repair streetlight fixtures, but also will provide LA with considerable savings in labor and material.

The improved equipment life also means that fixtures will more reliably light streets and sidewalks for city residents. In addition, LA is committed to using LED fixtures that will ease what is known as sky glow – the artificial illumination of the night sky.

“If you have ever been to Death Valley National Park and looked up on a clear night, you would see that the stars seem to be dimmer than they were when I was a child. But they are not getting dimmer, really – the rest of the sky is getting brighter because of all the lights from Los Angeles and Las Vegas and other surrounding cities and communities,” President Clinton said. “Now, thanks to the work of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the Los Angeles Bureau of Street Lighting, and my Foundation’s Climate Initiative, the stars over Death Valley may again shine more brightly.”

Once this overhaul is fully complete, LA will save electricity expended on street lighting in the city by a minimum of 40 percent and reduce carbon emissions by approximately 40,500 tons a year, which is the equivalent of taking 6,700 passenger vehicles off the road every year.

Over a seven-year period, the city will save a total of $48 million and reduce carbon emissions by 197,000 tons. After the loan is repaid in seven years, LA will continue to save $10 million annually as a direct result of this lighting retrofit project. In addition, this loan will have no adverse impact on the city, as the loan payments will be covered in full by savings from current energy and maintenance costs.

This LED retrofit project also will include the installation of remote monitoring units at all 140,000 streetlights replaced in the city. These devices will automatically report streetlight failures directly to the Bureau of Street Lighting for immediate repair, thus enabling its staff to optimize its maintenance services.

“If every city followed the example of Los Angeles and reduced the electricity used by their streetlights by 50 percent, it would be equivalent to eliminating over 2.5 of those coal plants per year,” President Clinton said. “We would do that while saving taxpayers money. And by doing that, we would also reclaim our night sky.”

CCI’s Outdoor Lighting Program works with partner cities to improve the energy efficiency of street and traffic light systems through a combination of technical, purchasing, and project assistance.