New blog post from David Orchard, UK Outdoor Sales Manager at GE Lighting about his observations of the hesitance by some local authorities to upgrade to LED. If financing is no longer a problem, what's the hold up? 1st July, 2014

LG Display (LGD) will supply OLED panels to German automotive manufacturers including Daimler-Benz, according to a Korea Economic Daily Report.

Nominated: Urban-Think Tank, Zurich (CH), for “Vertical Gymnasium Santa Cruz Del Este”, Caracas (VE) – sports and recreation facility for urban upgrade. The multi-level gymnasium as urban catalyst | Revitalisation of urban space and upgrading underdeveloped areas | Promoting healthy lifestyle choices for underprivileged population | Solar cells, wind turbines and rainwater collection | Partnering with municipal governments, industry and local organizations

Commercial ceilings in need of a refresh now have the option to do so more beautifully and efficiently with GE’s Lumination™ BR Series LED Luminaire with dimming functionality. Providing balanced, even lighting, this recessed LED troffer provides high uniformity, excellent efficiency and can help reduce glare in T-grid ceiling applications.

Visibility is key when it comes to playing indoor sports like soccer, lacrosse and tennis; and three intrepid Massachusetts indoor sports entrepreneurs at the Bass River Tennis Club, Fore Kicks, and Home Grown Lacrosse came to the same conclusion. Improved lighting on the playing surface, delivered by ThinkLite, a Massachusetts-based lighting efficiency leader, has helped differentiate their facilities and delight their members and players.

In 1967, a curious scientist in Hungary thought to perform an experiment to check if laser radiation can cause cancer in mice. He shaved dorsal hair and divided the mice in two set of groups and exposed one group of mice with a low powered ruby laser (694 nm). To his regret and to the joy of mice, they didn’t succumbed to cancer, but to his surprise, he observe that the mice treated with laser had grew back more hair as compared to the untreated group.  This was the beginning of an era of photo bio-stimulation sparked by Endre Mester. 

On June 30, 2014, Dutch lighting conglomerate Philips announced the spun-off of LED component business Lumileds and automotive lighting business into an independent company. The two businesses revenue aggregated to US $1.9 billion last year. On the same day, leading Taiwanese LED chip manufacturer Epistar acquired FOREPI through conversion of stocks.

HC SemiTek Corporation announced on July 1, 2014, that its wholly-owned subsidy HC SemiTek (Suzhou) has been granted an industry development subsidy of RMB 27.50 (US $4.4 million) by the Administrative Commission of Zhangjiagang Economic Technology Development Zone.  

Epistar’s acquisition of FOREPI earlier this week rocked the LED industry. Foreign financial institutes have tooted the merger as a win-win for both sides, as it will boost Epistar’s global market shares to 20 percent and production capacity up 30 to 40 percent, according to a United Evening News report. 

Strong LED market demands this year have led to patterned sapphire substrate (PSS) manufacturers expanded production capacity, according to “2014 Global Sapphire Substrate Market Report” by LEDinside, a LED research division of TrendForce. The 4-inch PSS market current supply shortage situation was mostly caused by Taiwanese and Chinese LED chip manufacturers introduction of large volume PSS into products, and manufacturers shift towards 4-inch PSS production. However, since manufacturers are expected to expand PSS production by the end of the year, tightened market supply conditions are expected to ease. 

During the first half of 2014, China’s LED industry kept up high growth rates, a trend extended from 2013. Industry insiders have reached a consensus that LED lighting demands will propel this trend well into 2016. Related industries have started production expansion, talent headhunt, and distribution channels establishment. These companies have stuck it out during the LED industry’s initial restructure phase, and do not want to miss out on the exponentially growing LED lighting market.

A recent CNET article demonstrates how Philips LED Hue bulbs can be customized into severe weather warning lights using Internet platform service IFTTT. For full demo of how it can be done on IFTTT please see link.

Nichia Corporation, headquartered in Tokushima and directed by President Eiji Ogawa, announced today its decision to commercialize blue and green semiconductor laser diode models specifically designed for automotive Head-Up Display (HUD) systems*1 .

OSRAM Licht’s supervisory board has designated Dr. Werner Brandt (60) as the successor of the outgoing member Dr. Joachim Faber (64). Faber resignation from office will be effective starting July 1, 2014.

Universal Display Corporation (Nasdaq: OLED), enabling energy-efficient displays and lighting with its UniversalPHOLED® technology and materials, today announced an expanded evaluation agreement with BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd. (京东方). Under this agreement, Universal Display will broaden its collaboration with BOE and supply additional highly efficient phosphorescent OLED (PHOLED) materials for display applications.

Belleds Techologies launched a new video today showing how the Q light bulb notifications are easy enough for a cat to enjoy. Most people are sick of their smartphones bothering them with beeps or clicks when they get home. Belleds integrates notifications into the SmartHome by using LED lights to alert people to important messages without interrupting family and friends activities.

After successfully illuminating more than two dozen sports venues across North America with its revolutionary LED arena lights, Ephesus Lighting in partnership with Durham, N.C.-based Cree, Inc. and Duke University, is taking its innovative stadium lighting solution outdoors. Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium, a multi-purpose outdoor facility that serves as home of the women’s field hockey team and is also used for campus recreation and club sports, will become the first NCAA Division I outdoor college sports venue to be lit with LED lighting. The ground-breaking announcement was made Tuesday by Amy Casper, CEO of Ephesus Lighting and Mike Cragg, Deputy Director of Athletics for Operations of Duke University.

New Title 24 lighting efficiency regulations that take effect in California today are likely to fuel demand for hardware and software solutions that Silicon Valley companies are poised to fulfill. Changes to California’s Title 24 are designed to reduce energy consumption as much as 30% in commercial and public spaces. Most of the changes rely on electronic components and software controls that are becoming more common with the adoption of LED based lighting solutions. Advances have already been made for street lighting and parking lots and further efficiency gains will be realized. But the real energy savings ahead will be the result of more stringent regulations for indoor spaces, specifically retail, hospitality and office environments, where lighting is used for a significant part of the day.

Once news broke of Epistar’s acquisition of FOREPI, all eyes turned to China based chip manufacturer San’an Optoelectronics (San’an Opto), eager to see how the company would react. 

The global 40W equiv. LED bulb Average Selling Price (ASP) declined 3.2 percent to US $14.20 in May, with price decreases most evident in China. Additionally, the ASP for 60W equiv. LED bulbs dipped slightly by 3.6 percent to US $19.50. With continual LED bulb ASP declines, manufacturers are looking to smart bulbs to break free from intense pricing competition, according to the latest LED bulb retail findings for May 2014 from LEDinside, a division of research organization Trendforce. 

Royal Philips  today announced that it will start the process to combine its Lumileds (LED components) and Automotive lighting businesses into a stand-alone company within the Philips Group. Philips will explore strategic options to attract capital from third party investors for this business. Philips intends to remain a shareholder and customer of the new company, and will continue the existing innovation collaboration.

One of the requirements to fully enjoy a haute cuisine dish is to have more precise, more diffuse and better quality light. The light, color and smell are part of the ritual of tasting a delicious delicacy. The Pont de Louysse hotel-restaurant, which has been well aware of this fact over 5 generations, has renovated the lighting in its restaurant with GE Lighting LED lamps to get the most out of each visitor experience. 

Power management company Eaton today announced that more than 4.8 km – totaling nearly three miles – of the io™ light-emitting diode (LED) lights from its Cooper Lighting Division have been installed in Terminal 2 (T2) of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai, India. The io LED products are designed for wall grazing, combining energy efficiency with optical performance excellence, helping the facility to earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification.

INSTEON announced that its connected home devices are now available in Microsoft retail stores. Previously, INSTEON announced its all-new apps for Windows Phone and Windows 8.1 and product availability on MicrosoftStore.com

Digital Lumens, the leader in intelligent LED lighting systems, today announced that its Intelligent LED Lighting System meets the recently updated requirements of the California Title 24 Energy Standards for indoor commercial and industrial lighting applications.

Lighting supplier and manufacturer, LED Waves, is pleased to announce some changes to the Rio Grande™ Waterproof Flexible LED Strip Light. This best-selling strip is especially popular among professional lighting designers for its sturdy, DIY-friendly construction, and for the extremely high lumen output of its LEDs. These qualities (which best lend the Rio Grande to edge-lit signage and retail displays, cove lighting, and other applications requiring a powerful indirect light source) will remain unchanged.

Backed by a strong commitment to provide innovative exterior LED lighting solutions, Amerlux introduces the new AVISTA LED Light Engine for illuminating nearly any traditional exterior lighting fixture for both new and retrofit installations. AVISTA can be used in a traditional post top and other fixtures designed for street lighting, parks, pedestrian walkways, recreational areas, parking lots, schools and municipalities. Amerlux is a global leader in innovation, manufacturing and creative lighting solutions for a broad range of commercial, retail, hospitality and institutional environments.

Hubbell Lighting, a world leader in lighting innovation, announced today that Columbia Lighting has unveiled a new website and also now offers a free mobile app for both Apple and Android devices.

Top Taiwanese LED chip manufacturers Epistar and FOREPI have officially merged, the two companies announced at a joint press conference held in Taipei, Taiwan on June 30, 2014. The two companies announced the merger will integrate the two companies resources, production capacity, and staff to meet market demands and improve revenue performances.

Taiwan-based manufacturers Epistar and FOREPI today announced merge plans. Through conversion of shares, FOREPI will become a 100 percent fully owned subsidy of Epistar. The trend of acquisitions within the LED industry will continue in 2014, observed LEDinside, a research division of TrendForce. Epistar’s merger with FOREPI will improve production capacity, cost management, as well as client and product integration. After the merge, the two companies will also be able to jointly resist market threats from Chinese LED chip manufacturer San’an Optoelectronics (San’anOpto).