All of us have, at some point or another, complained about the use of lumens as a metric – for a variety of reasons. First, lumens are not very accurate as a proxy for perceived brightness. Second, there is a temptation to increase lumens by ‘cheating’, for instance on the chromaticity of a lamp – ponder this next time you are subjected to a depressingly greenish fluorescent lamp! Third, the lumen race pushes the industry to compromise on competing aspects, especially color rendition. If two LEDs emit the same number of optical watts, but one generates more long-wavelength photons to properly render deep-red tones, it is by definition penalized in terms of lumens.

Wired technology is now largely a thing of the past. We now use wireless networks and new for faster computing and communication devices. But where do we go next? Every day we read another article that suggests the future is closer than we think. Whether it’s artificial intelligence, robots in the home, or technology that will make today’s ‘supercomputers’ as outdated as the dinosaur.

National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) announced that Patrick Hope has joined the organization as the executive director of its Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA). He comes to MITA from the American College of Cardiology (ACC) where he served as the senior director of legislative policy.

Porsche Italy’s premier showroom, located in Padua, recently installed innovative lighting products featuring industry-leading Cree XLamp® CXA and XT-E LEDs to illuminate its large showcase area, highlighting its latest Boxster®, Cayman®, Panamera® and Cayenne® models.

v2 Lighting Group, an innovator in specification grade LED lighting, has released a range of Up + Down Pendants. These new LED fixtures, with up to 8000  total lumens, are perfect for lighting large space above and below. The Up + Down Pendant is shipping today in a multitude of styles, finishes and lumen options.

Cree continues to raise the bar in LED applications with the introduction of the TW Series™ LED Candelabra bulb, delivering the exceptional lighting experience consumers expect from Cree’s best-selling LED Bulb portfolio. The Cree® LED Candelabra bulbs emit a warm, decorative light while consuming up to 88% less energy* than traditional incandescent bulbs – making it ideal for candelabra fixtures, wall sconces and chandeliers. Available as 25- and 40-watt replacements, the new Cree LED Candelabra bulbs are sold in three-bulb multi-packs at The Home Depot® stores for US $19.97.

Hubbell Lighting, a world leader in lighting innovation, announced that Dual-Lite has launched the NEMA 4X Dynamo Emergency Light. Designed for complex industrial applications, the high output Dynamo enables spacing up to 74’ at 12’ mounting heights or 81’ at 7.5’ mounting heights—the widest spacing in the industry. Plus, the LED emergency egress luminaire includes a lifetime LED warranty—an industry first. 

Philips’ Hue will be seamlessly integrated with ABB’s i-Jia, a smart home control system, to give Chinese consumers an amazing connected lighting experience and further the adoption of smart homes in China.

Austrian lighting company Zumtobel restructures have helped the company turn around the EUR 4.8 million (US $ 5.32 million) losses it incurred in the last fiscal year, reported Austrian media Die Presse.

Samsung Electronics has recently signed a LED lighting component and module partnership service testing agreement with China Certification & Inspection Group’s (CCIC) Korean branch, reported Qianjia.com.

The latest research from the Niels Bohr Institute shows that LEDs made from nanowires will use less energy and provide better light. The researchers studied nanowires using X-ray microscopy and with this method they can pinpoint exactly how the nanowire should be designed to give the best properties. The results are published in the scientific journal, ACS Nano.

Semicon Light, a Korean company funded by Chinese LED manufacturer HC Semitek has been listed on the Korean bourse KOSDAQ on June 25, 2015.

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science has awarded four Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants targeting advances in solid-state lighting (SSL) and building-integrated heat and moisture exchange technology:

Phoseon Technology, the leader in UV LED curing solutions, today announced a major milestone for UV LED light sources. As a result of Phoseon's rigorous reliability efforts, lifetime testing of lamps has now surpassed 50,000 hours of operational on-time with lamp irradiance being greater than 80% of its original output when the test first began five-plus years ago. For perspective, utilizing a single shift workweek of 2,000 hours per year, 50,000 hours equates to 25 years of UV LED operating on-time. 

Kenall Manufacturing introduced Indigo-Clean™, a light fixture that uses Continuous Environmental Disinfection technology to continuously kill harmful bacteria linked to hospital acquired infections (HAIs). The technology behind Indigo-Clean™ inactivates a wide range of micro-organisms that are known causes of HAIs, including MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), C.difficile and VRE (Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus).

Saffron aims to bring Silk, a smart LED bulb capable of color tuning to people’s circadian rhythm throughout the day onto the market by January 2016.

Osram was not only acting as an industry partner at the fifth tour of the largest electric vehicle rally in the world, the WAVE (World Advanced Vehicle Expedition), but also mingling amongst the competitors with a car fitted with OSRAM products. WAVE 2015 took place from 12 to 21 June, with a route over several locations from Plauen in Germany to St. Gallen in Switzerland.

CALL-FOR-ENTRIES Research into LED technology started in 1962, 53 years ago, but the invention and development of the high-power white-light LED to use for illumination has only made it into our everyday life since 1995. We celebrate the 20th anniversary of this benchmark with the 'happy LED life!' competition.

Cree LED business will undergo restructures, which the company estimates will cost a total US $85 million. According to Roger Chu, Director, Research Division, LEDinside, the company has been hurt by LED bulb price wars. Startup 3D LED company Aledia has successfully completed its round B financing, and has been backed by IKEA GreenTech and automotive lighting company Valeo. Valeo has a 10% stake in Aledia, and appears to be interested in using 3D LED technology in its future automotive lighting products. Merck continues to show interest in OLED technology and has invested in another manufacturing plant in Germany. The company aims to become one of the leading OLED material companies by 2018.

The Guangdong Province in Southern China incurred the greatest losses in China’s lighting industry, according to monthly statistics compiled by National Bureau of Statistics.

Chapter 3: LED market segments were added, covering the market scales on Chinese backlight LED, lighting LED and display LED fields. Also, Chinese LED package market scales in 2015-2019 by both manufacturer camps and power types are estimated. Furthermore, LED supply chain of backlight, lighting, and display markets are discussed.

The lack of LED standards is still a big issue, and users do not always understand the LED terminology jargon, which often leads to dissatisfied consumer experiences, said WhichLEDLight’s Commercial Director Rory Wilding in a recent interview with LEDinside.

Founded in 2014, Which LED Light, is a website in UK that offers different brands LED bulb price comparison information to end consumers, designers, and installers. To ensure only good quality LED products are recommended on the website, only products that have been tested in International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) certified labs are offered on the UK-based company website. The company’s Commercial Director Rory Wilding recently spoke to LEDinside about the company’s business model and how interested manufacturers can submit their products for review.

Latest market rumors from Korea have noted South Korean display manufacturers are trying to persuade Apple to use flexible OLED screens in its future iPhones, reported Business Korea.

For the three Danish regions collectively known as Greater Copenhagen, the vision for reducing global warning and creating green growth is quite clear and very ambitious.

A court in The Hague has made an unprecedented ruling and ordered the Dutch government to cut carbon emissions by at least 25% within five years, reported The Guardian.

Eaton Cooper announced recently it has dropped the Cooper name for its lighting business, details of the transition can be seen in the statement below from Mark Eubank, Preident of Eaton’s Lighting Division.

Lighting Science Group, a global manufacturer of LED lighting solutions, announced comprehensive refreshes and redesigns across the company’s entire commercial product portfolio. Being rolled out in a phased approach beginning this quarter, this revamp will begin with the general availability and release of the new and improved value-based GP19 lamp.

Filmmaker Jack C. Newell and design consultant Seth Unger have launched a Kickstarter campaign to transform the dingy elevated train tracks (L) in Chicago’s loop to a piece of interactive light art.

LED market trends observed at Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition  2015 (GILE 2015) that took place in Guangzhou, China in mid-June  can be summed up in this short poem: