NEMA’s Lighting Systems Index increased 1.9 percent from the second to the third quarters of 2014, climbing to its highest level to date in calendar year 2014.  The index posted a gain of 4.1 percent on a year-over-year basis. Shipments of emergency lighting, fixtures, and miniature lamps improved during the quarter; however, ballast and large lamp shipments fell.

The Discover LED Lighting survey from North American lighting leader OSRAM SYLVANIA finds nearly one third of American households surveyed have lighting issues in key areas of the home. Brightness, color and usage time are major lighting concerns in some rooms, and these issues could be easily fixed by upgrading lighting to LEDs. In fact, 90 percent of Americans surveyed that use LED lighting in their homes report high levels of satisfaction.

LEDs are known for the long lifespan of lasting nearly 20 years compared to traditional incandescent bulbs, but one long living incandescent bulb has fought against the rule of physics and kept lighting experts baffled.

The holiday season is upon us, bringing decorations, festivities and holiday cheer! PECO offers the following tips and suggestions to get in the holiday spirit while staying safe.

While decorating the tree, house, or garland, a whole section of lights can go dark -- along with holiday spirits. Light outages can be frustrating and time-consuming to repair during the busy holiday season.

Lexington-based QD Vision, Inc., a spinoff of MIT, has developed Quantum LightTM Optic and the lamp is termed a quantum LED (QLED), to produce both lamps and downlighting fixtures that emulate the warm colors of an incandescent bulb but provide much greater light power and lamp life-time. The mechanism behind this extraordinary development is the redistribution of color by means of “quantum dots”. The ability to tune the color of a quantum dot offers a way to redistribute the harsh LED light by placing a specially designed layer of quantum dots in fron...

This year retailers have offered more LED holiday lighting choices than ever before and at lower prices. To demonstrate the energy efficiency of LED lighting and to reduce energy use, Otter Tail Power Company replaced about 780 C7 incandescent bulbs outlining the roof and corners of its general office building in Fergus Falls with C9 LED bulbs, whose bases were compatible with the existing light sets.

As we know, light is so important to plant health, the purchase of grow lights requires a bit of thought and consideration. Fluorescent grow lights are very efficient and cool compared with incandescent bulbs, which are not a particularly good choice because of the heat generated.

According to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)’s recent study, the emerging solid-state lighting that replaces incandescent and fluorescent bulbs with LED can reap enormous savings in cost, natural resources and pollution. The firm claims that over the next 10 years, savings of more than $1.8 trillion will eliminate the need to burn almost a billion barrels of oil in power plants that would otherwise produce 10 gigatons in the carbon dioxide emissions.  

More homeowners and businesses than ever are replacing their old incandescent holiday lights for efficient LED bulbs, according to Pacific Gas & Electric Co. officials and businesses that sell lighting. Joe Molica, spokesman for PG&E, said as the public becomes more aware of them, they are becoming more popular. They are trying to raise the awareness that energy efficiency is one of the most important tools we have in the fight against global warming.

Colorado Springs replaced the incandescent bulbs in traffic signals with LEDs. Now, the city has saved a bundle of money and untold kilowatts of electricity in a five-year effort. The replacement program began in 2003 and is nearing completion on all 561 intersections in the city. Measurements at 14 intersections showed costs declined 74 percent on average, yielding roughly $280,000 in savings.  

Now, LEDs, illuminate the traffic lights and cell-phone buttons, are finding their way into the home. Their residential uses are limited as yet, but look for big advances in the next few years, those in the industry say. Terry McGowan, a Cleveland Heights, Ohio, lighting consultant and director of engineering for the American Lighting Association, said lighting is undergoing a revolution, much like what happened to electronics when tubes gave way to solid-state components. We're right on the edge of seeing LEDs show up in the living room.

Recently, Arrow Asia Pac Ltd., a business unit of Arrow Electronics, Inc., announced it will cohost a lighting solution seminar in Taipei, Taiwan, on Nov. 19, with Cree, Inc., a market leader in LED solid-state lighting components.

Lighting in the future, as far as fact is concerned, is heading in the same direction. Ten to 15 years from now incandescent bulbs, fluorescent tubes and CFLs are going to be lightings of the past because of rapid advances in the field of organic light emitting diodes, or OLEDs. These are electronic devices made by placing a series of organic thin films between two conductors that begin to emit a bright light when an electrical current is applied.

LEDs have been used widely for decades in other applications—forming the numbers on digital clocks, lighting up watches and cell phones and, when used in clusters, illuminating traffic lights and forming the images on large outdoor television screens. Until recently LED lighting has been impractical to use for most other everyday applications because it is built around costly semiconductor technology. But the price of semiconductor materials has dropped in recent years, opening the door for some exciting changes in energy-efficient, green friendly lighting options.

It’s reported that the nation's largest shopping mall, the King of Prussia Mall, located in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania will replace nearly 300,000 incandescent Christmas lights with energy efficient LED Christmas lights this year.

It’s reported that General Electric has created a giant OLED panel printer to be specifically used for lighting.

It’s reported that Arrow Asia Pac Ltd., a business unit of Arrow Electronics, Inc., announced that it will host a lighting solution seminar in Guangzhou, China, on Oct. 10, with Cree, Inc., a market leader in LED solid-state lighting components.

It’s reported that new research from Boston University's College of Engineering, funded by a National Science Foundation grant, indicates that LEDs may be not only the integral lighting component of the future, but may also form the backbone of future wireless networks. The US government is funding research into using next-generation LED lighting as data network access points. Room or street lamps would link with devices using visible light, carrying data beyond over existing power lines.

It’s reported that Microsharp Corporation, a privately owned UK company focused on the development of specialist optical films, has joined the EU funded, OLED-100.eu R&D project as the only UK participant.

Recently, PureSpectrum, Inc. has begun testing the viability of its innovative ballast design for use with LED applications with its ongoing efforts to continue development of the company's breakthrough ballast technology,

According to Edward Po, general manager of Philips Taiwan Ltd.-Lighting Division, Philips Lighting will likely subcontract LED lighting manufacturing to Taiwan when it begins volume production of the products.

It’s known that LEDs are becoming more commonly used for under-cabinet lighting in kitchens, the reddish glow of the LEDs helps warm up the cool colors in his kitchen. The future is looking brighter for LEDs, the next generation of energy-efficient lighting. LEDs still cost much more than incandescent or compact fluorescent bulbs, but its prices are dropping. Rising energy prices also have helped raise public awareness of the miserly LEDs, which are available in an increasing variety of lighting products.

It’s reported that some of the largest lamp bulb manufacturers have become convinced that the LED will soon supplant both incandescent and compact fluorescent lamps for illumination. In fact, the nation’s big three of lighting — General Electric, Osram Sylvania and Royal Philips Electronics — are embracing a new era of more efficient technologies. Encouraged by legislation and the rising cost of energy, as well as concerns about greenhouse gases, consumers are swapping out incandescent bulbs.

Recently, Everett traffic engineers got the green light to replace every green light in the city. City street crews will soon swap out incandescent green light bulbs at 169 traffic signals and replace them with more energy-efficient light emitting diodes, or LEDs.LEDs are used in electronic devices such as cell phones, digital alarm clocks and even the crystal ball that descends on New York's Times Square on New Year's Eve. In addition to green lights, the city also plans to install LED lights in pedestrian signals this year.