The LED industry has seen bulb prices nose-dive in recent years. When Walmart sold its 60W LED bulb two years ago for under $9, it was considered at the time an “aggressive pricing strategy.” But the same GE 60W LED bulb prices today has lost almost more than two thirds of its value, with three pack LED bulbs expecting to be sold for $3 each in August 2015. Over competition from Chinese manufacturers and the maturing technology has led to plunging prices in the LED bulb market, but has smart LED bulbs arrived to similar crossroads?

Large players oversupply situation in the LED industry led to LED bulbs continual downward price trend, according to a report by Chinese-language Commercial Times.

The LED luminaire industry started to attract market attention, after Japanese manufacturer Panasonic launched its first glass omnidirectional LED bulb. The pioneer bulb had a transparent substrate with a dual-sided light emitting surface. Since then the industry luminaire design has evolved.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released its latest report in a series analyzing markets where LEDs compete with traditional lighting sources. The new report, Adoption of Light-Emitting Diodes in Common Lighting Applications, reveals a wealth of insights into promising pathways for SSL technology development, providing estimates of the energy saved in 2014 due to current levels of LED penetration in 10 lighting applications, as well as the potential energy savings if each of these applications had switched completely to the best available LED products. Most notably, it puts the spotlight on two commercial and industrial applications – linear and low-bay/high-bay – that hold by far the greatest potential for future energy savings from SSL.

Royal Philips, the global leader in lighting, aims to collaborate with the world’s top technology start-ups, pushing the boundaries of connected lighting for the Internet of Things (IoT). The company has teamed up with Silicon Valley’s Plug and Play Tech Center, one of the world’s largest accelerators, to mentor and partner with some of the newest, most exciting IoT innovators.

Everlight, one of the global leading manufacturers of LED lighting components, joined the Taiwanese municipality’s tender as both system integrator and LED light bulb supplier. With a goal of replacing 8,000 mercury vapor street lights with LED, Everlight deployed Billion’s Narrowed-Band Power Line (NPLC) Control and Management System to overcome the difficulties of inconvenient installation and elongated construction. Everlight was not only able to meet the municipality’s target by saving up a considerable amount of energy, but also provide instant maintenance service to broken street lights and increase traffic safety.

When driving the high-revving, 526-horsepower Shelby GT350®Mustang, drivers would do best to keep eyes on the road.

Heliospectra AB a lighting manufacturer for plant research and greenhouse cultivation, and American Cannabis Company, a full-service cannabis industry consultant and provider of proprietary and preferred products, have successfully sold one of the largest LED cultivation installations in the world to a Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. cannabis licensee. 

The Hillsboro Fire Department is answering calls in the all-new 2015 Ford F-150, thanks to local community supporter OSRAM SYLVANIA. The company recently delivered the truck to the Hillsboro Fire Department which provides Fire Protection and Emergency Medical Services to a community that covers approximately 42 square miles and has an estimated population of 6,000 residents. During calendar year 2013, the department responded to approximately 1,000 calls. The fire department is made up of full-time staff and resident volunteers, many of whom are employees at the OSRAM SYLVANIA Hillsboro plant.

INDYCAR announced today the introduction of new technology that will track each Verizon IndyCar Series car’s running position and display it in real time via light emitting diode (LED) panels on the side of each racecar. The LED panels have been tested multiple times this season and will be implemented in time for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on Aug. 2.

The NXRoom Controller integrates automatic and manual control of lighting. Auto-configuration provides an easy and affordable way to meet energy codes, including California's Title 24 and ASHRAE 90.1. No network or software is required to set up the unit. Users benefit from intuitive energy-saving control over the lighting in their space.

The Energy-saving LED UV drying technology option supplied with the ROLAND 700 Evolution offers many benefits for printers, enabling more vibrant color and higher levels of productivity on a wide range of substrates, along with significant cost and environmental benefits and greatly increased viability for short-run printing. LED technology provides instant drying, on paper, synthetics or metalized stocks, and because it does away with the need for spray powder, it also offers significant environmental benefits.

Proprietary Broad-Color Spectrum Stimulates Remarkable Plant Growth, Supports Healthy Human Vision and Provides Significant Energy Savings Lighting ScienceGroup Corporation (OTCQB: LSCG), a leading global manufacturer of innovative LED lighting solutions, today announced the launch of its next-generation VividGro™ V2 LED Grow Fixtures, featuring state-of-the-art spectral technologies and industry leading efficiency. This proprietary combination delivers one of the most effective LED grow fixtures in the horticulture industry. The VividGro™ V2 fixture is suitable for both commercial growers and the do-it-yourself horticulturalists across a wide range of applications, and has produced remarkable results in commercial indoor growing facilities, greenhouses and the fast-growing cannabis industry.

Samsung Electric senior executives of its LED business arm and Chinese lighting manufacturer Luming Technology have signed a LED strategic framework partnership agreement.

Bridgelux’s strategic partnership with one of China’s largest electronic company China Electronics Corporation (CEC) and its LED industry strategy has made CEC the ideal acquisitor among potential buyers, wrote Bridgelux CEO Bradley Bullington in an email correspondence with LEDinside.

Speaking at a conference on Thursday, Indian Power Minister Power Piyush Goya urged LED manufacturers to correct LED bulb prices, reported Can-India News.

LG Display announced on Thursday it will be investing 1.05 trillion won (US $908 million) to construct a new OLED display plant, reported Reuters.

Recently, YAHAM lighting proudly announces the lightest 100W/120W LED high bay was born. With elegant exterior and super-high luminous Efficacy, YAHAM this new small compact LED high bay light is warmly welcomed by customers once launched.  This Small Compact high bay is carefully designed by YAHAM’s research team, which has rich experience and mature research achievements in LED light. They adopted forging technology, and designed the lighter heat sink with very good heat dissipation. IP65 dustproof and waterproof, can meet more applications. ...

OSRAM, a leading global lighting manufacturer has announced the appointment of Grant Wright as CEO/CFO of OSRAM Americas and President and CEO/CFO of OSRAM SYLVANIA effective July 1, 2015. He succeeds Jes Munk Hansen who was appointed CEO of the recently formed Lamps Business Unit. Wright will be responsible for the OSRAM business in North, Middle and South America. 

Litecool have shown promising results for new LED package design that gives focused light beams with no secondary optics or reflectors.

The energy-efficient luminaires are provided as a seamless upgrade solution for the Canadian market, where 347-volt supply circuits are commonplace in commercial and industrial settings. Vapor Tight and Utility Wrap fixtures are designed to replace traditional fluorescent lighting with more than 50% energy savings and a significantly longer, 50,000-hour lifetime that minimizes maintenance interruptions and downtime in business productivity. The 347-volt-compatible models are available as four-foot-long, 30- or 50-watt fixtures in color temperatures of 4000K and 5000K.

Royal Philips, the global leader in lighting, is giving music fans the chance to relive famous concerts and feel like they are there in person. The world premiere of Sweet Summer Sun – Hyde Park Live, an iconic live concert film by The Rolling Stones, was screened on July 15 at Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group’s KINOWELT Ruhr Park cinema in Bochum, Germany. Philips LightVibes creates a truly immersive experience for the audience by adding subtle, meaningful lighting effects during the film that will enhance the concert. 

Epistar will be reaping benefits from China Electronics Corporation (CEC) acquisition of leading U.S. LED manufacturer Bridgelux, said Roger Chu, Research Director of LEDinside.

The scale of the Chinese LED package market grew 19% year on year to US$8.6 billion in 2014, according to the 2015 Chinese LED Industry Market Report by LEDinside, a division of TrendForce. The growth of the Chinese LED package market will slow down in the next few years as LED prices continue to fall. Its market scale is forecasted to grow at a five-year CAGR of 9% from 2014 to 2019, when it will reach US$13 billion. The general lighting sector will be the main growth sector, whereas LED display and LED backlight sector will post slower growth and even decline in some periods.  According to LEDinside's analyst Allen Yu, LED package for lighting application represented 39% of the Chinese LED package market in 2014. The market scale of LED package for lighting application in China also reached US$3.3 billion that year. The lighting market has become the largest LED application in the country. “The increasing LED lighting penetration in industrial and commercial lighting applications has helped the rapid growth in lighting LED products,” said Yu. LEDinside expects strong growth in the lighting LED market to continue as LED lighting products penetrates the residential lighting application market. 

Epistar announced it has granted license to LEEDARSON LIGHTING to use Epistar’s filament patents in its products. Epistar holds key intellectual property regarding the LED filament technology used in making LED filament style lamps. This patent portfolio covers Taiwan, China, U.S., Europe and other territories.

Over the last decade, advances in the technology of light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, have helped to improve the performance of devices ranging from television and computer screens to flashlights. As the uses for LEDs expand, scientists continue to look for ways to increase their efficiency while simplifying how they are manufactured. 

Yale startup Saphlux has found a way to significantly advance LED technology and recently received US $100,000 in funding from the YEI Innovation Fund, backed by Yale, Connecticut Innovations and First Niagara Bank, as well as an additional $100,000 from Elm Street Ventures. Saphlux is building the next generation of LED chip designed by Jung Han, Professor and Chair of Electrical Engineering at Yale. Chen Chen (SOM ’16) was paired with Han by the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute (YEI) and is currently developing the venture as part of a 10-week YEI Fellowship.

The Module-Driver Interface Special Interest Group (MD-SIG) released its new specification for a universal electrical interface between LED lighting modules and power supplies, according to an Electronic Weekly report.

MEAN WELL has been involved in the LED power supply field for years. Many models, such as CLG, HLG and HLG-C series, with the supreme product specification and high reliability, have been extensively exploited in various kinds of outdoor or indoor luminaire applications. In order to cope with the intense competition in LED lighting market, MEAN WELL is now introducing the ELG family, the optimal price-performance ratio model with a highly competitive pricing.

To help fulfill its social brand promise of sustainability and efficiency, Standard Chartered chose CommScope’s Redwood® building intelligence platform to achieve significant energy savings, improve workplace experience and capture advanced occupancy data within two new office buildings in Asia.