Lexus presented the “STROBE” project – an LED spectacle in which acrobats and stuntmen suspended across Kuala Lumpur's night skyline were lit up in succession to create the illusion of acrobatic motion at impressive speed.

Energy efficient CFL bulb’s hay day may soon be coming to an end. Chinese government CFL subsidies started in 2008 are to conclude, according to Chinese media CCTV2 on July 4, 2014. At present, the China Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance along with other relevant departments, are researching and promoting government subsidy policies for LED lighting products. The subsidy’s scope and amount will be adjusted according to the base characteristics of CFL lighting relative to those of LED lighting. 

Stars and starlets gathered in the Bavarian capital. The Munich Film Festival is taking place this year for the 32nd time, and once again the program contains some exceptional films packed with famous names. The award for the best international production, to the value of 50,000 euros for particular ARRI products or services, will be presented for the second time jointly by Osram and ARRI. The Munich Film Festival, the second largest film festival in Germany after Berlinale, has been welcoming the Who's Who of the film world since 1983. Last year it attracted more than 70,000 visitors to the cinema screens, and this year's program promises a similar success story because in addition to independent productions from around the world there will be some major names there. A total of thirteen movies, including ones from cinema legends Jean-Luc Godard and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, featuring such stars as Nicolas Cage, Scarlett Johannson and Juliette Binoche, will be competing for the  ARRI/OSRAM Award in the CineMasters category. Famous names alone are no guarantee of awards, however, as was shown last year when the highly respected jury voted for "Heli", a gripping Mexican drug gang thriller from director Amat Escalante, as the best international film. The winner of the highest accolade this year will be revealed at 7 pm on July 5 at the Gasteig center in Munich. A long tradition in the film business "We have been working closely with the film industry for many years. Our products are used not only to put actors in the right light on set but also to project films onto cinema screens. Our passion for light is as fierce as the passion film-makers have for their productions. With the ARRI/OSRAM Award we want to add a little extra charisma to outstanding performances", said Hans-Joachim Schwabe, CEO Special Lighting at Osram. "As a traditional Munich-based company with almost 100 years of history in the film industry, ARRI has been a partner of the Munich Film Festival for many years. ARRI is a predominantly international company, so it is fitting that the first award, presented in 2008, was for the best foreign film. This year ARRI will be presenting the award together with Osram for the second time. We want the ARRI/OSRAM Award to encourage international producers to take on their next, hopefully successful project and build up a long-term relationship with us", said Franz Kraus, Managing Director of the ARRI Group.       ARRI, as a specialist in professional camera and lighting equipment and provider of film-making services, and Osram, as a lighting and projection expert, have been deeply rooted in the cinema and film industry for many years. This is borne out by the fact that Osram lamps are used in one in three cinema projectors throughout the world and that ARRI spotlights are used on every film set the whole world over. For their services to the medium of film both companies have been awarded a number of Oscars.

While most factories had closed their doors for the night yesterday, over 300 San’an Optoelectronic (San’an Opto) employees were hard at work burning the midnight oil, to pump out new wafers to meet increasing demands. 

 Walgreens Co., one of the nation’s leading retailers, selected energy-efficient LED lighting by Cree, Inc.  for its Goodyear, Ariz. location, delivering superior illumination while lowering the total cost of ownership compared to fluorescent lighting alternatives. The 14,820 square-foot store now features Cree® LED troffers, linear luminaires and downlights, saving the retailer thousands in annual energy and maintenance costs.

HELLA will be showcasing innovative lighting solutions using LED technology at the Interforst, the leading International Trade Fair for Forestry and Forestry Technology in Munich July 16 to July 20, 2014. As the partner of the German Center for Forest Work and Technology, known in German as the Kuratorium für Waldarbeit und Forsttechnik e.V. (KWF), HELLA will be exhibiting its products in the Center's special display at the trade fair (Hall B6 / Stand 215). The focus here will most definitely be on the selection of worklights designed for use on forestry machinery. 

United Arab Emirates (UAE) moves to ban the sale of inefficient lamps starting July 1 in an effort to reduce energy bills and carbon emission. 

Power management company Eaton today announced that the McGraw-Edison TopTier™ light-emitting diode (LED) parking garage/canopy luminaire and the Metalux SkyBar™ high bay luminaire from its Cooper Lighting Division have been named winners in the 2014 LFI Innovation Awards® at LIGHTFAIR International (LFI® ). Presented at the LFI conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 3, the competition features the industry’s most innovative products and designs introduced during the last 12 months.

HiLumz USA LLC (formerly Lumax Systems LLC), a U.S. manufacturer of LED Lighting and Retrofit Solutions announced today that production of its 2nd Generation Diamonz® Retrofit Kits has begun in the United States. Designed to retrofit commercial and industrial 100 Watt to 1,000 Watt light fixtures, HiLumz customers keep their existing fixtures and simply replace the bulb and ballast with an LED solution. Primary applications for the 40 Watt to 360 Watt LED retrofit kits include lighting of parking lots, street lights, warehouse high bay fixtures, wall packs, garage and gas station canopy lights and commercial flood lights. Virtually 95% of the high intensity light fixtures in use today are candidates for the Diamonz LED retrofit.

China is researching on LED lighting subsidies and policies at the moment, according to a report from Chinese-language Yancheng Evening News. Manufacturers interviewed indicated Chinese government’s new subsidies were “highly likely” to further promote the generalization of LEDs. Competition among manufacturers have advanced from single product technology to the next level involving systems.

During an interview with LEDinside, BYD Marketing Director Xiao Zhiyong explained the input and output ratio for the company’s LED investment, and discussed the company’s current situation and future developments. 

The Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute recently evaluated a newly constructed building at Siena College—Rosetti Hall, a 25,000 square foot, 3-story, contemporary brick building that includes classrooms, meeting rooms, and offices. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) awarded funding to change the lighting specification from the originally specified conventional fluorescent lighting to all light emitting diodes (LEDs), designed by Engineered Solutions of Clifton Park, N.Y., and to have the project evaluated as a DELTA demonstration project by LRC. The 20-page full color, illustrated report, “LED Lighting in a Campus Building” detailing the project evaluation and findings, is available for free download from the LRC website.

The annual Photonics Festival in Taiwan (PFT) and its affiliated Opto, Display, LED Lighting, Solar, Optics and Plant Factory Taiwan exhibition present the platform for the Taiwan photonics industry and the photonics companies in the Asia Pacific region.

The MKS product line was developed as a high-end architectural and residential recessed LED downlight collection. It includes models for new construction sites. Architects can include these in to their specifications for recessed led lighting in new homes and buildings. Remodel designs are included in the line as well and can be installed when renovating a space.

The Russian lighting market has seen explosive growth in LEDs over the past year; spurred by government initiatives to increase energy efficiency in lighting products and decrease energy intensity of GDP by 40 percent by 2020. Sergey Borovkov, Managing Partner at Lighting Business Consulting LLC in Russia, spoke to LEDinside at Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition 2014 about the current market conditions and future outlook of the Russian lighting market. 

A new 90m long pedestrian tunnel with LED integrated art-wall will open at King’s Cross at the end of June. The tunnel has been designed by Allies & Morrison and will link St Pancras International and King’s Cross St Pancras Underground stations to King’s Cross’ public spaces, restaurants, offices and homes, via One Pancras Square. 

"LEDforum 2014 China International LED market trend Summit Forum", organized by LEDinside, Cnledw.com and Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition, grandly opens at the Chinese Export Commodities Fair Pazhou Complex, Area B, Room #8 on June 11, 2014. Many distinguished guests from LED industry participated in this forum; more than one thousand people attended this forum, unprecedented. This seminar brings together global famous enterprises and professional analysts from LEDinside, the sessions at the LEDforum dissects the current situati...

 When LPL Financial, the nation’s largest independent broker/dealer, an RIA custodian and an independent consultant to retirement plans, began envisioning a new zero net energy (ZNE) office building, it set four strategies to drive the project—energy efficiency, health and wellness of employees, connectivity and flexibility. Architects had a vision for a 13-floor, 415,000-square-foot office tower in San Diego, and designers had a desire for an efficient office lighting system that felt comfortable to occupants, allowed for added savings through dimming and daylight harvesting and could easily accommodate the changing needs of a growing business.

Since our ancestors discovered fire, the ability to light a dark space has captured our imagination. Today, lighting of interior and exterior spaces can impact our ability to see clearly and function well. Plastics are used to improve the optical quality for many products that help light our lives at work and home, including energy-saving LED bulbs, interior and exterior luminaires, backlighting and other lighting applications.

LED package manufacturer Everlight has been actively developing their LED lighting brand, according to the Economic Daily News. The company merged with Germany luminaire manufacturer WOFI for less than NT $400 million (US $13.3 million) last year, which adds an extra NT $100 million to its monthly revenues. Everlight has recently announced plans to acquire another European luminaire manufacturer this year to continue expanding the company’s market presence. 

LED lighting is labor-intensive industries, But in recent years has been plaguedby recruitment difficulties faced by personnel instability and other factors,Therefore, the use of automated production lines to replace the manual, while addressing the current laborshortage, saving labor costs and the growing market demand doubled.

LSI Industries Inc. reported today that it has been selected by Shell Oil Company to participate in Shell's National Wholesaler Co-op Program to make available LED technology lighting products to their network of wholesalers and dealers that brand Shell across locations in North America.

GE Lighting introduces its most incandescent-like consumer LED portfolio yet, including more than 40 new LED products and fixtures, to meet consumer demand to adequately fill every socket in their homes with energy-efficient LED lighting.

Royal Philips unveiled the spectacular illumination of Algeria’s iconic Maqam Echahid with its latest LED lighting technology, boosting the beautification of the city of Algiers and cutting energy consumption by 75%. Philips is showcasing its LED lighting solutions in Algeria as part of the fifth consecutive pan-African Cairo to Cape Town Roadshow. By making a stopover in Algeria for the second consecutive year, Philips underlines its commitment to enhance life in Africa by improving energy efficiency in Algeria.

LED manufacturer Lextar released their fiscal first quarter 2014 financial report on May 12, 2014. The company reported revenue dropped 3 percent QoQ to NT $3.22 billion (US $106.7 million) but up 11.6 percent from 1Q13. Gross margin improved 2.3 percent QoQ to 12.5 percent. Net profit for 1Q14 reached NT $21 million with EPS of NT $0.05. 

Demand for gallium is forecast to rise rapidly between 2014 and 2020 as general lighting moves away from incandescent and fluorescent lamps to light-emitting diodes (LEDs).  This strong growth is not, however, likely to result in any tightness in supply as the market is oversupplied and likely to remain so.  

Orion Energy Systems, Inc. announced financial results for its fiscal 2014 fourth quarter and year ended March 31, 2014. Total revenue for fiscal 2014 was US $88.6 million, compared to US $86.1 million in fiscal 2013. Total revenue for the fiscal 2014 fourth quarter declined to US $12.6 million, from US $22.3 million in the prior-year period, largely as a result of delayed lighting sales coupled with a decline in the number of solar projects under construction as Orion deemphasizes its non-core solar business.

Smart kitchen lighting goes beyond replacing your old bulbs with more efficient models. Reducing energy consumed by lighting can be easy with a kitchen that's designed for flexibility and makes use of the most energy-efficient lighting of all: natural daylight.

Lunera Lighting, Inc. introduced Lunera Financing Solutions recently. The program turns BallastLED lamp retrofits into cash-flow positive investments, making it a valuable component of the re-lamping solution.

Philips Canlyte announced it will close its doors after 27 years, leaving around 190 workers without jobs.