As New Year’s Eve approaches we thought it would be fitting to chat with the lighting designer who created the lighting concept for the illustrious Time Square Ball. Paul Gregory, Principal of Focus Lighting in New York City, discusses the lighting inspiration behind the most famous ball in the world and the issues that were involved in lighting such a renowned landmark.

CGE Energy (CGE) is saving Golling Automotive Group (Golling) $1.4 million in energy costs over the next 10 years by upgrading lighting at four southeast Michigan dealership locations. This is a savings of nearly 80 percent in total energy costs. The project was just completed by CGE's install team, and Golling will see a return on their investment in less than 14 months.

Peterson Manufacturing has extended its rapidly growing, USA-made LumenX® LED line with a 4" Round Strobe light and a 6" Oval Strobe. Both models are rated for use as directional flashing warning devices on Class 1 and 2 emergency, maintenance and service vehicles.

LED Lighting Inc., a primary resource for custom illumination solutions, has expanded their T8-series product line to include the Generation 3 (G3) 90+ CRI (Color Rendering Index) tube lamp. The 18-watt, 4-ft LED tube lamp is available in neutral white (4000K) and cool white (5000K); all UL certified, DLC approved and meets CA Title 21 requirements. The third generation T8 tube lamp features more advanced technology, while reducing costs for the end user.

More manufacturers are turning to emerging markets that hold high growth potential as maturing U.S., Europe and Japanese markets become saturated. Emerging markets including India, Thailand, and Russia hold many business opportunities for LED manufacturers, due to their high reliance on LED chips, components and package imports.

Spurred by government policies and market demands, China’s LED package and module manufacturers have shown exponential growth in the past few years, according to a CNA report.

NanoMarkets believes that opportunities for commercial use of quantum dots (QDs) have changed dramatically in the past year, and this, our most recent report on QDs, identifies where the money will be made as the a result of these new trends and developments.

The India’s Union Ministry of Power launches a pilot project to upgrade traditional streetlights into energy-saving LED streetlights as part of the effort to turn New Delhi into a smart city, according to a report of Indian media Niti Central.

With the technology shift to LEDs in full flow, the Zumtobel Group is rigorously defending its intellectual property rights. Companies that have infringed the rights of the Group or its subsidiaries are requested to respect these rights and purchase the appropriate licences. In the event that infringements of its patents and other intellectual property rights persist, the Group reserves the right to take legal action. In a recent example, Tridonic Jennersdorf GmbH filed a lawsuit at Mannheim District Court in Germany against AOC International (Europe) B.V. and AOC International (Europe) GmbH.

Advanced Energy Capital, LLC (“AEC”), an energy finance company led by Jack Doueck and Richard Rudy, has announced today that AEC has signed a deal with LED Funding, LLC to provide financing for up to $15,000,000 in LED lighting retrofit projects and other efficiency and on-site clean energy efforts in commercial, institutional, municipal and industrial settings originated by LED Funding, LLC.

In late 2013, LEDinside team forecasted major company restructure market trends will continue throughout the year. The trend has been consistent in 2014, as more lighting manufacturers take necessary restructure measures to remain competitive in the market, such as Philips, Epistar or NVC Lighting.

Even from space, holidays shine bright. With a new look at daily data from the NOAA/NASA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite, a NASA scientist and colleagues have identified how patterns in nighttime light intensity change during major holiday seasons – Christmas and New Year's in the United States and the holy month of Ramadan in the Middle East.

The Ministry of Culture and Elementary and Secondary Education of the Republic of Indonesia, PT. Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur, Prambanan and Ratu Boko (Persero)[*1], the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Office in Jakarta, and Panasonic Corporation signed a four-way Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on October 9 to promote "conservation and awareness raising for the protection of UNESCO World Heritage Sites" and "education and cultural activities aimed at sustainable development for young people in the vicinity of the Borobudur, Prambanan, Ratu Boko sites in Indonesia." The signing marked the launch of the following joint projects. 

Selecta Klemm, a leading company in floriculture has installed Valoya wide spectrum LED - luminaires in their recently constructed facility in Stuttgart, Germany. Valoya wide spectrum LED lights offer a maintenance free and energy efficient alternative to traditional fluorescence or red/blue LED lights.

Hubbell Lighting, a world leader in lighting innovation, announced today that Hubbell Outdoor Lighting’s award winning LNC2 LED wallpack now features a motion sensor option. The updated fixture offers a perfect combination of efficiency, safety and security. 

As 2014 comes to an end, a lot of Chinese LED manufacturers have found it increasingly difficult to survive. One Chinese manufacturer has even taken desperate measures to clear out inventory to repay debts by selling LED bulbs at less than US $1 per kilogram. Market rumors have also surfaced about Epistar’s acquisition of a major Samsung backlight order.

Dow Corning’s LED Optical Silicon Encapsulant patent 200480028707.8 in a patent dispute with KMT Technology (KMT) has been ruled invalid by China’s State Intellectual Property Office Patent Reexamination Board on Dec. 17, 2014, according to KMT official website.

Nanyang Technological University (NTU) scientists have developed a smart window which can darken or brighten without the need for an external power source.

Soraa, the world leader in GaN on GaN™ LED technology, announced that it has extended its line of PAR and AR111 lamps to offer a full range of halogen replacement lamps from 50W to 120W halogen equivalent. The newly launched 12.5W line features a lower wattage addition to its award winning, full visible spectrum PAR30 and AR111 LED lamps, while maintaining the high Center Beam Candle Power (CBCP) characteristic of Soraa’s lamps. 

There was a special delivery in NYC on Tuesday December 16th. The New Year’s Eve 2015 numerals arrived at Duffy Square across from Times Square. For this occasion a photo op with the numerals was organized. The public was invited to get their photos taken with the last two digits of 2015 numerals that stand 7 feet tall.

Over the years, EGG Energy, co-founded by MIT and Harvard University engineering and business students, has garnered public praise as the “Netflix of electricity” for rural Tanzania.

Power management company Eaton today announced that its Galleon™ light-emitting diode (LED) area luminaires from its Cooper Lighting Divisionhave improved the lighting performance, energy efficiency and reliability at Pioneer Ford, located in Bremen, Georgia. The conversion has resulted in a 61 percent energy usage reduction, while providing brighter and uniform illumination, and reducing the high number of lighting maintenance issues the auto dealership was experiencing.

GlacialLight, the lighting division of GlacialTech Inc., announces the latest addition to its commercial lighting products – the Pollux GL-PL0606-V2 series – is the new thinner, lighter and even more energy efficient version of the versatile LED Panel Light. The Pollux series of Panel Lights offers smooth, even illumination across entire lighting panel. The new 60cm sized GL-PL0606-V2 offers 3 color temperatures options, enhances performance up to 90 lumens per watt, and adds additional mounting options as well as 3-in-1 dimming, making these Panel Lights even more energy efficient and versatile.

Amerlux CEO and President Chuck Campagna announces that the Cylindrix® III LED Track Head is featured in the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) 2014 Progress Report and is recognized for its unique, significant advancements to the art and science of lighting. The Progress Report, featured in the January issue of Lighting Design + Application (LD+A) Magazine, documents significant global developments and achievements in the lighting industry and highlights new products, applications and design tools that are significant enough to share with more than 10,000 lighting designers, electrical engineers and industry professionals worldwide.

Sources from the Honglitronic’s securities division indicated the company is set to mass produce automotive headlights targeting mainly oversea market clients, according to a news report from Chinese-language Grand Wisdom Finance.

Founded in 1891, the Dutch electronics conglomerate was once coined “the King of Home Appliances” and was once the “European giant” in the TV sector. Yet, the company’s gradual business transition has resulted in its shift towards health and lighting businesses.

San’an Opto was granted RMB 230 million (US $37.11 million) subsidy by Torch Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone Committee for 50 MOCVDs the company recently purchased, according to a news report from China Securities Journal.

Refond Optoelectronics announced that the company had received RMB 4 million (US $647,708) subsidy from China’s Ministry of Finance on December 16.

Kent County Council in UK is planning to invest £40million (US $62.33 million) to convert its 120,000 street lights to a centrally-controlled LED lighting system that will reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions by 60%, and deliver annual savings of £5.3million.

Digital Lumens, the leader in intelligent LED lighting, announced it has been awarded six new patents, including its first international patent granted by Australia. This brings the company’s total awarded patents to 20. The advancements covered include a wide range of technologies embedded in the Digital Lumens Intelligent Lighting System, an enterprise-scale LED lighting solution that delivers operational visibility and dramatic energy efficiency to customers worldwide.