Taiwanese LED stocks plunged on Aug. 21, 2014 over rumors of Chinese government’s intention to raise LED tariffs. To clarify market rumors, LED manufacturers Lite-On, Everlight, Epistar and Unity Opto all stated they did not receive any notices regarding increased tariffs from Chinese authorities, and an uptick in tariffs would have limited impact since they all had LED factories in China. These Taiwanese LED manufacturers also emphasized delivering good revenue performances for August 2014.

Intensified market competition in the Chinese market caused local manufacturers to turn their attention to emerging oversea markets. Russia has become a dark horse in China’s LED industry, quickly ascending to second largest export market status in less than one year. In 2013, the country could not even be found among China’s top five LED export markets.

The State Key Laboratory of Solid State Lighting (SKLSSL) under China’s Ministry of Science and Technology has recently set up a meeting to discuss publication of LED standards in Beijing, China. The organization has mainly been responsible for drafting semiconductor lighting specs.

A new holistic and interactive approach has been incorporated into the LED professional Symposium +Expo 2014 (LpS 2014). Multidisciplinary expert talks, hands on workshops and interactive group discussions will take place in Bregenz, Austria, from September 30th to October 2nd. Attendees will be inspired to create new designs and engineering concepts for future LED lighting systems in order to transform innovations to the next level.  

A group of researchers from University of Illinois have found in a study that windowless offices had a negative impact on workers health and could cause sleep issues, according to a report by Co. Design.

Huayue Electronics (Huayue), a manufacturer and international distributor of LED lighting products announced that Slovenia’s second largest city Maribor intends to use greener LED streetlights. The Chinese manufacturer has submitted a proposal through wholly-owned subsidiary, Changzhou Huayue Electronics, to retrofit the city streetlights is still under review.

Imagine if you could light up all the dark, shadowy areas in your city, allowing people to move around freely and safely wherever they wanted. Imagine if you could illuminate the city center, parks, and main urban traffic routes flexibly, as lighting needs change over time. You could decide how to switch and dim the lights in selected areas of your city, delivering light exactly when and where it is needed — all by a simple mouse click. 

Hubbell Lighting, a world leader in lighting innovation, announced today the release of two new LED floodlights from Hubbell Outdoor Lighting—the FLL and FXL. The two high lumen output fixtures round out a versatile floodlight offering for office buildings, facades, safety/ security and other applications.

Access Fixtures announced the release of its 23-inch outdoor LED flood light. This shoebox flood light uses only 378w of energy and provides a light output comparable to a 1000w pulse start-metal halide lamp. More recently the demand for high output LED luminaires has increased, but the technology had not been powerful enough to provide the amount of light customers were looking for. This no longer holds true. 

Samsung Electronics reinforced its high-power LED line-up with the LH351B and the LH351Z, which have a high lumen density and are highly reliable LED packages optimized for outdoor lighting.    

Taiwan and China’s LED markets have been affected by market rumors this morning of rising LED tariffs in China, with Chinese manufacturers in general reaping in profits, while neighboriing Taiwan manufacturers saw stock prices drop.The disruptive market rumor has proven to be false by a source from  China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC), according to a report from Chinese financial media NetEase.

Earlier this morning, LED stocks on Taiwan’s bourse riveted from market rumors surrounding China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC) plans of raising LED tariffs, but LED manufacturers have refuted receiving any related government notices.

The U.S. Department of Energy has published the 2014 edition of the Solid-State Lighting Manufacturing R&D Roadmap. The Roadmap complements the SSL R&D Multi-Year Program Plan that guides the Core and Product Development R&D programs. One of the goals of the Roadmap is to guide the Manufacturing R&D program and help direct funding solicitations for it.

Applications for Visible Light Communication (VLC) systems are now extending into the realm of advanced automobile systems, according to several technology reports.

Canadian City Ottawa has reported new LED streetlights installed since Fall last year have helped cut energy bills by nearly 75 percent, according to local paper The Times report.

Revolution Lighting Technologies (“Revolution Lighting”) announced that it has entered into a three year loan and security agreement with Bank of America. The agreement allows Revolution Lighting to borrow up to US $25 million on a revolving basis.

Princeton University is making campus lighting more sustainable and efficient one fixture at a time. Through the Lighting Efficiency Upgrade Program, the University will convert more than 100,000 fixtures to light-emitting diode (LED) technology in buildings across campus. The improvements will significantly reduce carbon emissions, promote cost savings and limit waste.

Luxonic has expanded its range of LED lighting specialized for the retail sector with its latest addition, Teardrop LED for Linearlux®. Highly efficient LED’s provide gentle and appropriate light levels that combine with sleek design aesthetics in order to offer an all-encompassing lighting solution for retail environments.

Product testing and ceritifcation organization DEKRA outlines some of the recent changes in Mexico and Australia's LED standards.

On Tuesday, September 9, the U.S. Department of Energy's Better Buildings Alliance will host a 60-minute live webinar entitled Better than CFL? Dimmable LED Downlights in Hospitality Facilities.

DOE has revised its October 2013 report, Dimming LEDs with Phase-Cut Dimmers: The Specifier's Process for Maximizing Success, to include updated information about the installation of LED lighting and controls at the Burden Museum in Troy, NY, a GATEWAY project that was still in construction when the original report was published.

The 2014 Light and Architecture Design Awards, presented by Architectural Lighting magazine on August 12, showcase remarkable installations that “set a benchmark for excellence in architectural lighting design and serve as a guide for others working with light.” The lighting in these installations does more than illuminate—it influences spaces and inspires people. The winning lighting designers have mastered the art of transforming spaces by weaving light into the environment with innovative techniques.

Echelon Corporation, open-interoperable control networking pioneer for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), announced that it has acquired Lumewave Inc., a wireless outdoor lighting control system provider with a strong track record selling its solution to U.S. municipalities, universities, medical facilities and enterprises.

LED lighting manufacturer Illumitex, Inc., has announced a partnership with FarmedHere, a sustainable indoor farming venture in Chicago. Illumitex will be the sole source of horticulture lighting for the company’s expansive hydroponic and aquaponic growing operations.

Now offered in 4-inch and 6-inch versions, the Lumination™ RS Series LED DownLight from GE Lighting provides a contractor-grade, energy-efficient lighting solution for residential and commercial spaces. With a variety of one-to-one replacement options for incandescent, halogen and screw-in CFL recessed cans, the Lumination RS Series LED DownLight is aesthetically pleasing and easy to install, making it ideal for the simplest of projects.

Just a few years ago it was nearly impossible to develop a down or spot light with light output over 3,000 lumen without using an active fan or blower LED cooler.

Lumigen LED's 3 in1 panel light offers recessed, surface mount or suspended options suitable for almost any industrial or commercial application.

Lextar will be scaling up investments in 4Q14 to expand production capacity in 2015 to overcome production shortages, according to a UDN report.

Despite suspended production in one of its four major factories, China’s biggest lighting company NVC Lighting’s recent boardroom drama will have limited impact on its UK subsidiary, according to a report by Lighting.

Recently, China’s National Technical Committee of Auto Standardization has announced plans of amending GB4785-2007 “Automotive and exterior signal lighting devices and safety standards.” This is the second draft, and once amendments are completed it will enter the phase of accepting public opinion.