Royal Philips Electronics announced the release of their 12 watt EnduraLED bulb at the Lightfair International tradeshow this week, making the company first-to-market with an LED replacement for the most commonly used incandescent bulb in household lighting – the 60 watt.  The bulb delivers up to an 80% energy savings over the traditional 60 watt incandescent bulb, and can last 25 times longer than its century-old predecessor. It has an expected life span of 25,000 hours, equating into possible lifetime energy savings of $120 per bulb.

In the United States alone, more than 425 million 60 watt lamps are sold every year, which accounts for 50% of the incandescent bulb market. Philips calculates that converting these to LED could potentially save 32.6 terawatt hours of electricity annually – enough energy to power the lighting in 16.7 million homes.

In response to the most common complaint about LED’s, that they do not throw the same kind of light as incandescent lamps, Philips used an innovative design and remote phosphor technology to deliver the same soft white light consumers are accustomed to. The bulb also works with standard dimmers, addressing another common customer concern.

The importance of developing an LED equivalent to the 60 watt has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE), who created the L-prize competition to spur innovative development in this space. To date Philips is the only entrant in the contest, and while the EnduraLED is built on that prototype, the commercial version does not meet the 10 watt target outlined in the contest. The bulb will be available to consumers in the fourth quarter of 2010, although pricing is not available at this time.

In a similar announcement, just last month GE unveiled their LED replacement for the 40 watt incandescent bulb, which uses 9 watts of energy and is expected out late 2010 or early 2011.

Millennium Visual Systems recently attended the 2010 Lightfair International show as well and will soon be adding a broad selection of LED bulbs to our product line. Stay tuned for updates! And checkout our most recent LED bulb additions for general lighting and specialized needs.

The new investment fully funds the company’s operating plan to expand production and enable growth with minimal debt.

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.

LED Menu Write on Board

Millennium Visual Systems LED Write on boards come in three sizes: A1: measures 22” x 32” A1: measures 18” x 25” and Banner Board measures: 18” x 25”. All three boards have a sturdy plexi-glass face to write on with the three vibrant markers that are included in the purchase. Additional sets of 5 markers can be purchased if desired.

LED Write on Boards can be hung or held up by an easel(also a Millennium Visual System product) The super bright LED message board is backlit with an even distribution of light around the edges. Great for retail, restaurants, bars, libraries, and many more places where illuminating your message is desired.

• Plexiglass write-on face
• Wipes clean with dry cloth
• Energy efficient
• Maintenance free
• Super bright white LEDs
• Full, even illumination
• Durable aluminum frame
• Vertical or horizontal display
• Includes 3 markers, chain to hang board, and UL / CUL listed power adapter.

LED Tea Lights and LED Votive Candles

LED Candles are perfect for catering, banquets, restaurants, and home. Forget about the smoke, mess and danger or real candles with LED Candles. Millennium Visual Systems offers sets of rechargeable candles (sold in packs of 4 or 12) and also packs of battery operated Tea Lights or Votive Candles.

Light up your night with LED Candles. Great for indoor and outdoor use! Why worry about the wind blowing out your candles or lighting something on fire? With Millennium Visual Systems safe and beautiful LED Candles sets you will never have to worry again!