LED, or light-emitting diode, has come a long way since its first discovery in the early 1900s. Back in the 1970s, manufacturers used LED as a status indicator on consumer electronic products (yes, the red little dot on your watches and TV remotes) or alphanumeric display on calculators. LED technology has since evolved to offer more colours and higher brightness, diversifying its application especially in the lighting world. With more colours – green, yellow, orange, blue and white, to name a few – LED has made its way to don traffic lights, billboards, signages and vehicle dashboards. In tech gadgets, LED is used as light source in projectors and backlight in notebook computers.

Increasing usage
LED usage has gone up worldwide as the technology allows manufacturers to advance their products by offering slimmer and brighter models.

“Edge-lit LED backlighting helps reduce the depth of products and upsell the slimness factor,” says Wee Teck Loo, head of global consumer electronics research, Euromonitor International.

Notebook makers also use LED as backlighting to reduce the thickness of the machines and get longer battery life. Acer, for example, has refreshed its Aspire One range and launched the LED-backlit netbook D250 in Malaysia.

Apple’s new iPad tablet has a touch-screen that uses LED as backlighting,
and this is touted as a key selling
point.

LED usage goes beyond consumer electronics. Audi, for example, uses LED daytime-running lights to improve visibility so its cars can be quickly seen by motorists to avoid potential road accidents.

Wider appeal
As prices of the LED modules fall, what was once traditionally a backlighting technology for high-end displays, is now going mainstream.

“In the PC monitor space across the Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) over the last three quarters, we have seen this market grow in excess of 150 per cent quarter-on-quarter.

“There are advantages of more uniform lighting across the monitor, longer-lasting backlight, so the monitor lifecycle can be extended and power consumption lowered,” says Reuben Tan, senior manager for personal systems research, IDC Asia-Pacific.

He sees more end users jumping onto the LED bandwagon when pricing of LED-backlit monitors falls to as low as that for their traditional CCFL, or cold cathode fluorescent lamp, counterpart.

“For higher-end desktops (such as gaming machines) or workstation bundles, this could happen this year, or as an upsell to regular monitors,” he says.

LED application

Mobile phones
Due to its durability, small size and high luminous efficiency, LED is practical in mobile devices such as phones. The backlighting in phones such as in keypads and panels uses low-power white LEDs. Some phone models feature a flash light mechanism which uses multiple LEDs that are connected to give brighter illumination.

Apart from white LEDs, RGB (red, green and blue wavelengths) LEDs are used to enhance phone aesthetics. With a combination of colours, RGB LEDs may be used as a blinking light for incoming messages or calls.

Notebook computers
The popularity of notebooks came about mainly because of their light weight, advanced features and handy size. A key driving technology behind such miniaturisation is LED lighting.

Apart from efficient illumination in monitor displays, LED lights need little battery upload, giving notebooks additional energy for other functions. Not only that, the LED driver provides flexibility in implementation of programs, synchronisation with other applications, and advanced safety features that help redefine the functionality of a notebook.

Digital cameras
The efficiency of LED is needed in the flash fucntion of digital cameras so clear photos can be taken. The industry is keeping up with this demand by providing flash LED drivers, display backlight drivers and lighting management units.

Digital cameras also now come with high zoom capability and impressive features even for night photography. This is made possible by high-power LEDs (one watt) used in camera phones to back up picture taking in dark environments.

What’s more, LED lighting uses minimal power.

Automotive lighting
LED can greatly reduce accidents, especially at night, since it offers steady, bright illumination over a long distance. This gives the driver of oncoming traffic more time to react and avoid a collision, especially rear-end crashes.

Also, LED, unlike incandescent and other automotive lighting types, does not break and is shock-resistant.

Personal navigation devices
Consumers have moved from standalone GPS receivers to personal navigation devices to get around in unfamiliar territory. Just like in mobile phones and PDAs, LED has made the backlighting in display panels as well as indicator and keypad lights clearer and brighter.

Personal media devices
Among the many personal media devices within the consumer electronics industry, the PDA is the most popular. It not only helps you keep track of your schedules, but also let you send and receive e-mail or used as an Internet phone.

Like MP3 players and handheld gaming consoles, modern PDAs that use LED lighting in their monitor panels and keyboards have been able to reduce their bulk considerably. Coupled with efficient energy use and brighter displays, it is little wonder that such devices are getting more popular.

Printers and multi-functional devices
In the printer and multi-function device market, LED helps enhance performance and cut energy use.

With advanced exposure control technology such as Digitally Enhanced Lighting Control Imaging System, LED printheads can achieve a consistent high print resolution (1,200 by 2,400 dots per inch), resolving the conventional laser printhead limitations. LED printheads also use 45 per cent less energy.

LEDs are also used as a scanner’s light source. Scanners using high-intensity LED light source can achieve up to 1.5 times brighter scans than conventional scanner lamps. LED also allows scanners to use two-thirds less energy with improved scanning precision and speed.

Three key benefits

• Technologically advanced
LEDs consume less power at the same level of brightness compared to conventional lighting. For example, a red traffic light signal head with 196 LEDs consume 10 watts compared to incandescent light which uses 150W. They are also smaller, so they can be used in smaller and lighter devices.

• Benefits to consumers
LEDs are cooler to the touch after significant periods of operation compared to existing incandescent bulbs. They produce a clear white light (more like a fluorescent tube) rather than the warm yellow light from an incandescent bulb.

• Long-term savings
LEDs last up to 100 times longer than an incandescent bulb and use up to 80 per cent less energy to produce a comparable amount of light. Efficiency ensures 82 to 93 per cent savings in terms of operational and maintenance costs. LEDs also have a long life, about 100,000 hours, as they are stronger than an incandescent bulb and harder to break.

The concept-design is shown above

At the end of a year, you can see your usage patterns and know what kind of progress you’ve made in trimming down your consumption.

Design kinks aside – such as how to power the mirror’s LEDs if you’re constantly reducing the flow of water down the drain and so reducing the amount of harvested energy, and if that’s even a way to harvest enough energy for 1 LED, let alone dozens – if you needed a way to keep the water crisis front and center during your morning routine, this would be the design for you.

Originally Posted on Treehugger.com
Images via Yanko Design

MVS Sign outside of McDonald's in California

In a new study, the firm cites testimonials from unnamed users of digital reader boards saying that the displays have increased their business by between nine and 20 percent, as well as U.S. Small Business Administration figures suggesting sales uplifts can range from 15 to 150 percent.

Working with the lowest of these figures – a nine percent uplift – Daktronics then calculates that if a quick-service restaurant (QSR) with gross annual sales of $1.175m and a gross margin of 68 percent spends $30,000 on a digital reader board, sales over the year will increase by just under $72,000.

That represents a return on investment in the first year of nearly 240 percent.

“A digital reader board with effective messages typically will pay for itself within four to 18 months,” the firm concludes.

But “the return is proportional to the content quality displayed on the digital reader board and its integration into a marketing campaign”, cautions Daktronics.

The boards are also more effective than conventional media on the basis of cost per thousand exposures (CPM), argues Daktronics.

Taking the Seattle area as an example, the company says that the main local newspaper carries a CPM of at least $22.52, TV at least $5.14, and radio at least $1.80, against just $0.35 for a digital reader board.

Daktronics also argues that heavy commuters – those most likely to pass a digital reader board regularly – are less exposed than other segments of the population to newspapers and TV, necessitating another way to reach them.

Other factors making digital reader boards attractive to QSR operators, according to the display manufacturer, are that they attract attention; can promote multiple different products and services, changing according to the time of day; are safer and quicker to update than non-digital boards; and encourage impulse buys, which account for nearly 40 percent of fast-food restaurant business.

originally posted on screen.tv.com

Aside from opting for eco-responsible products being a good business practice, it also does wonders for a restaurant’s finances. As all business owners know, costs have a direct and significant impact on an institution’s bottom line. In an economic downturn companies often have to cut corners to cut costs. Fortunately, LED technology makes it possible to upgrade and save money. One bulb uses 90% less energy than traditional sources. This has huge implications for any restaurant that has a substantial utility bill. They are able to cut their utility bill to 10% and actually benefits associated with eco-responsibility and reduction in energy consumption. In addition, LED bulbs lasts 10 times longer than fluorescent. This means LEDs virtually eliminate the cost of maintenance for over 10 years after installation. In addition, LED lighting gives off substantially less heat, reducing air conditioning costs.

Companies all over the world have taken advantage of LED technology. Macy’s has one of the historically biggest plans for LED lighting in their stores. By replacing a 75W bulb with a new 10W LED bulb, they are on tract to save $45,585,056 in the first year, alone. McDonalds and Dunkin Doughnuts have switched lighting, signs, and menu board lighting to LED technology to become more efficient.

In addition to all the financial benefits there are to switching to LED technology, the switch can have some great implications for the restaurant’s environment and the environment at large. Most importantly, LED technology does not contain Mercury or other hazardous materials that would be harmful in any environment and especially food service.

For more information about LED technology please feel free to call Dave Goldberg at Millennium Visual Systems, (845) 356-4100.

The 2010 APEC (Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition) kicked off in Palm Springs Monday, and among the early highlights you will find several LED-centric developments. The power-electronics IC community has embraced LED lighting as a key application going forward, and the current trend appears to be more efficiency and power factor correction (PFC).

On Semiconductor, Fairchild Semiconductor, and Infineon have all made news in the LED space. Along with efficiency, other headlines include TRIAC dimming and varying power-supply topologies.

On Semiconductor launched the NCL30000 driver that is mainly used in critical-conduction-mode flyback supply architectures, although it can also support buck topologies. The IC can implement a single power stage working from the AC line, eliminating the need for a DC/DC stage.
On Semiconductor NCL30000

The design includes power factor correction (PFC). In a power supply, PFC circuits control input current to the load attempting to keep voltage and current in phase and to make the load appear purely resistive. A resistive load allows most efficient usage of AC mains power. PFC is expressed as a fraction of unity and the On Semiconductor component achieves a 0.95 rating.

Targeting residential and commercial applications, the NCL30000 also offers the efficiency needed for certifications such as Energy Star. In fact the IC can maintain efficiency even at very light loads and can implement TRIAC dimming to less than 2% of full light output.

Infineon also introduced a dimming capable IC at APEC. The company claims that the ICL8001G achieves 90% overall efficiency and a PFC rating of greater than 0.98. Moreover, the IC maintains efficiency of over 80% across the entire dimming range.

The Infineon IC targets residential applications including 40W to 100W incandescent bulb replacement. The AC-driven IC includes digital soft-start capability to limit in-rush current as well short-circuit, over-voltage, and over-temperature protection.

The Fairchild offerings include the FSEZ1307, FSEZ1317, and FAN103 PWM drivers. All of the products use primary-side regulation (PSR) techniques that don’t require feedback from the secondary side of the supply. The constant-current drivers dissipate only 30 mW of standby power and achieve efficiency levels needed for Energy Star compliance.

Stay tuned for more APEC news later in the week.

Investors including Argonaut Private Equity, Braemar Energy Ventures, Paladin Capital Group and Stata Venture Partners have led a new investment round in Luminus Devices. Luminus specializes in LEDs for specialty applications such as projection displays, digital signage, and ultra-violet industrial processes.

The new funding will allow Luminus to expand product offerings and the breadth of target applications. Keith T.S. Ward, president and CEO, Luminus Devices, said “This financing has dramatically improved our balance sheet, simplified our equity structure, while better aligning investor objectives with management’s market-focused strategy.”

Luminus’ PhlatLight LEDs are currently designed into products such as projectors at leading consumer electronics companies such as Acer, LG, Philips, Sony, Samsung, and Toshiba. The products are in DLP, 3LCD, and LCOS projection products. The company targets the range of applications from pico projectors to home theater.

The investment group sees a bright future for Luminus. “We continue to be bullish on energy efficiency, especially in the area of LEDs and solid state lighting, which makes up a large portion of our portfolio. With our expertise in the area and Luminus’ dominance as a LED manufacturer and supplier across multiple market segments, it provides a great investment opportunity for Braemar,” said Dennis Costello, managing partner, Braemar Energy Ventures.

Dr Paul Conley, principal at Paladin Capital group, added, ” We invest in companies with strong leadership and breakthrough innovations in high growth markets. We’re proud to back the Luminus team again. It’s incredibly rewarding to see the rapid adoption of the PhlatLight LED products in a diverse range of commercial, industrial and defense applications.”

Ironically, Luminus was almost force from business in early January (see related stories at right for details). Now the company appears both stable and ready for growth.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has released a new report that analyzes the potential energy savings of broadly deployed solid-state lighting (SSL) sources – predominantly LED- and OLED-based products. The DOE projects that between 2010 and 2030, SSL could save 1,488 terawatt-hours representing a savings of $120 billion at today’s energy prices.

The DOE has taken an active role in supporting and funding SSL lighting both to achieve energy savings and to position the US as a global leader in SSL technology. This latest report updates previous projections the DOE made in SSL lighting over the last decade.

The multi-faceted reports begins with an examination of lighting inventory and lumen demand. It continues with a look at the installed base and the technology improvements in conventional light sources.

The LED-centric content examines the improvements and cost savings expected in SSL over two decades. For instance, the report projects efficacy improvements. In high CRI (76-90) SSL lights, the DOE expects efficacy to go from 64.3 lm/W today to 147.3 lm/W in 2020 and to 176.3 lm/W in 2030.

From a cost perspective, the DOE projects SSL to go from $169.49 per klm today to $5.03 per klm by 2030 for high CRI products. The report makes projections for other CRI ranges and for OLED lighting as well.

The latter portion of the report focuses on projected market penetration and energy savings calculations. The analysis attempts to take a balanced view on the gradual replacement of technologies such as fluorescent with SSL alternatives.

The conclusion as stated up front is certainly impressive. The DOE expects SSL to completely displace all other technologies in commercial, residential, industrial and outdoor segments by 2030. The projected savings, however, come primarily from the replacement of fluorescent and halogen lamps in the commercial sector.

Outdone by an tower extending over 800 meters in Dubai, the world’s former tallest building, Taipei 101, wants to become the highest green structure by completing a checklist of clean energy standards, a spokesman said on Monday.

Taipei 101 will spend T$60 million ($1.9 million) over the next year to meet 100 criteria for an environmental certificate that it would hold over Dubai, spokesman Michael Liu said.

The office-commercial tower that reigned for five years as the world’s highest building at 509 meters (1,670 feet) expects the U.S-based Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design to give it the certificate in 2011.

“We’re focused now on becoming a Taiwan landmark, that won’t change, and on going green. We’d be the tallest building to get a green certificate,” Liu said by telephone. Taipei 101, he said, would work with its 85 office tenants to cut electricity and water use, while encouraging them to recycle more refuse. Annual utility savings should total T$20 million.

Restaurants would be asked to bring in supplies from as close as possible to reduce transportation.

“We can reduce power, trash and water by more than 10 percent,” he said. “We’re already pretty green. In principle there’s no major problem.”

The Taiwan skyscraper, complete with an observation deck popular with tourists, has already met 60 of the checklist items, including double-paned windows to retain cool air.

FlyFire: This 3-D face (left) is built of a swarm of golf-ball-sized, LED-equipped helicopters (right). MIT

Meet the next generation of art installations. Together, the SENSEable City and ARES Labs atMIT have created an adaptable, remote-controlled display comprised of dozens of robotic, flying “smart pixels.”

The concept is simple: As with any digital image, the picture is made of groups of tiny dots of varying colors that, at the right scale, appear as one large image. Now imagine the pixels in a pointillist painting like a Georges Seurat aren’t tiny flecks of paint, but thousands of miniature helicopters with varying color LEDs arranged as the image.

Flyfire, though, takes things one further by adding depth. The face of the Mona Lisa, for example, can be blown out and backward to create a 360-degree rendering of the painting.

The helicopters are about the size of a golf ball, each with a color-changing LED. It took the expertise of the ARES flying robotics lab to make small ‘copters that fly steadily enough and that can adapt quickly and with utmost precision.

Right now, Flyfire is best suited for large-scale art installations, since the ‘bots are still a bit hefty. In the future, though, smaller parts will mean smaller ‘copters and more exact displays that don’t need to take up a whole room.

Reposted from: NicerNews.com

The 2010 Vancouver Olympics has yet another feather to add to their cap – they now have the greenest neighborhood in the world. Yesterday, Millennium Waters, the Olympic Athlete’s Village located on Southeast False Creek across from the BC Place Stadium, received LEED Platinum Certification for the entire neighborhood as well as LEED Gold status for all of the buildings included. Millennium Water is only the second neighborhood to receive LEED Platinum status, with the first being Dockside Green in Victoria, British Columbia. With super energy efficient residential units, close proximity to the city center, a renewable energy heating system and a net zero energy building, this village is sure make other eco-developments green with envy.

During the Olympics, the neighborhood, which was formerly an industrial site, houses about 2,600 athletes and coaches. After the Olympics end, the neighborhood becomes Millennium Water, a mixed-used residential and commercial neighborhood. Individuals will be able to buy condos in the passively designed buildings, most of which will be high end real estate, but the project does include some affordable housing. Natural and non-toxic building materials were used inside each condo, and residents can monitor their energy and water use.

Rainwater is used to help flush the toilets and the entire complex is heated by sewage. Renewable energy systems, like solar panels and solar hot water systems generate power for the households and there is even anet-zero energy building on the site. The neighborhood is a true mixed-use complex with both residential as well as commercial and plenty of common use spaces and gardens. Learn more about the design and construction process of this impressive neighborhood at the Challenge Series which documents the entire process as a way to educate and inspire communities, professionals, owners and builders seeking to create meaningful opportunities out of the challenges of climate change.