LED lighting market to double by 2014

There is likely to be strong growth in LED lighting over the next three years, resulting in a doubling of the market by 2014, according to a new report.

Strategies Unlimited predicted that the global market for LED light fixtures would grow to $8.3 billion (£5.1 billion), up from £3.8 billion in 2010.

This represents a compound annual growth rate of 22 per cent.

The report listed a number of factors driving increased take-up of LED lighting.

They included improvements in the performance and price of commercially available LEDs and growing awareness of the importance of energy efficiency.

Fiscal stimulus measures undertaken by numerous countries and the phasing out of incandescent light bulbs have also played a part.

Meanwhile, lighting designer Victoria Lee has predicted that the LED lighting market will grow with “reckless abandon” in the year ahead.

“LEDs are getting so much better, and the market is flooded with them so there are so many to choose from,” she remarked.

Rapid Electronics is a leading supplier of LEDs and optoelectronic components, and the main UK distributor of Kingbright LEDs.

Some LED lights spark concern over toxins

Because it’s energy-efficient, LED lighting is spreading into new areas, but an academic study cautions that some types of LED lights use hazardous metals.

The University of California at Irvine last week published results of a study into the materials used for LEDs in Christmas tree lights and car brake lights and headlights. After crushing these types of lights, researchers measured the contents and found they contained varying amounts of toxic materials, including lead and arsenic.

“What our study showed clearly was that some LED lights qualify as hazardous waste, depending on color and light intensity, according to federal (US EPA) regulations, and State (California) regulations. The red, low intensity fixtures that we tested exceeded lead (Pb) standards for California regulation by about 8 times, and exceed the federal regulations by about 35 times,” said Oladele Ogunseitan, chair of UC Irvine’s Department of Population Health & Disease Prevention via e-mail.

Right now, these products are not classified as hazardous waste, but Ogunseitan recommended that people dispatched to clean up vehicle collisions use protective gear. Homeowners should also wear gloves and masks in the case of clean-up. The copper used in some LEDs can pose health hazards to river and lake ecosystems as well if disposed of in a landfill.

Ogunseitan said that the move to LED lighting is a case in which there should be mandatory product replacement testing. He claims that the potential environmental health impacts were not sufficiently tested before manufacturers put them in products as a replacement for incandescent bulbs.

Recycling recommended for large LEDs
Large LEDs bulbs with a screw-in bottom designed for home use are just coming onto the market as replacements for 40-watt or 60-watt incandescent bulbs. In addition to good efficiency and long life, these bulbs are marketed as an improvement over compact florescent bulbs because they don’t contain mercury. CFLs can be returned to many retail stores or municipal hazardous waste handling services for recycling.

When LED maker Cree introduced an LED bulb it expects to come out later this year, I asked about toxins and disposal. Cree vice president of marketing Greg Merritt said that there were no hazardous materials used in its bulb and that it is expected to comply with the ROHS European hazardous material directive.

UC Irvine’s Ogunseitan is testing large LED bulbs but has not yet published the results. “However, I can say that precautionary principle supports not throwing this in the regular trash for landfills,” he said.

Last month, I asked the Department of Energy about hazardous materials and large LED bulbs designed for home use. A representative said that, in general, these LED bulbs do not contain toxic chemicals in any significant amount. She added that consumers will face disposal only a few times in their lives given the long projected life of LEDs, which could be over 20 years, but it’s best for consumers to recycle them.

“That said, like most consumer electronics, at the end of their useful life, LEDs contain materials that are both valuable and recyclable. Where available, LEDs should be recycled using municipal recycling programs,” she said.

Do Your Gadget Lights Harm Your Health?

When I turn off my bedroom light at night, the room is still lit up like the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. No, I’m not some sci-fi fanboy, just a gadget-happy materialist.

In one corner, I’ve got a desk with a PC on it. Six button lights on my two monitors glow orange. The PC power button blinks bright green. The speakers have a red light near the switch. My desktop microphone has a shockingly bright green light that casts a circle on the ceiling, as if I’m calling Batman. It’s all plugged into a generic surge protector, which has a very bright red light on the toggle switch.

My wife usually leaves her work laptop, a MacBook Pro, and her personal laptop, a Dell Studio, charging in the bedroom. The Mac throbs with a blue-green light that gradually brightens, then dims, then brightens again like an airport beacon. Her Dell shines a small, dim light in the front. And the AC adapter has a light ring around the plug.

We also have a TV in the bedroom, and it has a cable DVR plugged into it. The DVR has a bright red light that’s pointed straight at the bed. The TV and the DVR each has a smattering of other lights.

We’ve got two more surge protectors, each with a bright red light. Our e-books have lights that remain on when charging.

Our bedroom has a door to a bathroom, in which our electric toothbrushes flash amazingly bright green lights. Even when we close the door, you can see the seam around and under the door flash green! green! green!

Even with the room lights off, it’s almost bright enough to read by the collective light produced by all of those status lights. And half of them are flashing. I’m supposed to sleep? Isn’t this how they torture inmates at Guantanamo?

I wrote a column in this space four years ago about how incredibly annoying all these gadget status lights are and demanded that device makers get rid of them.

I didn’t expect manufacturers to respond. And in fact, the problem is getting worse. The number of gadgets we use keeps growing, and each device seems to have more and brighter lights.

Since I wrote that column, new research has emerged that reveals how incredibly bad all of those lights can be for our health.
Lights on During Sleep Harms Health

New science has shed light on various health effects of sleeping in a room that isn’t dark.

Lights at night can make you depressed and fat. An Ohio State University experiment on mice led researchers to conclude that even dim light in a room during sleep may cause depression. In a different study, Ohio State researchers found that sleeping in a dimly lighted room increases the amount of hunger experienced during the day, which can contribute to weight gain and possibly susceptibility to diabetes.

Sleeping in a room with dim lights increases a woman’s chance of getting breast cancer, according to research conducted at the National Cancer Institute and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The reason is that the body produces a cancer-fighting hormone called melatonin at night during sleep. But this process is interrupted if the room isn’t dark.

Another study conducted at the Scheie Eye Institute at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine found that babies who sleep with a night light have an increased risk for developing short-sightedness, or myopia. Just 10 percent of babies who slept in the dark most nights needed glasses, compared with 34 percent who slept with night lights and 55 percent who slept with room lights on.

The bottom line is that the human body is designed to sleep in total darkness. All those gadget lights are lighting up our bedrooms at night and damaging our health.
LED Lights are Toxic

The little lights that are built into our phones, computers and other gear are made with a semiconductor technology called the light-emitting diode (LED). These lights are advertised as “eco-friendly.” But a recent study by University of California at Irvine’s Department of Population Health & Disease Prevention found that LED lights can contain hazardous substances, including lead, arsenic, nickel and more than a dozen other deadly materials.

According to a release by the university, “lead, arsenic and many additional metals discovered in the bulbs or their related parts have been linked in hundreds of studies to different cancers, neurological damage, kidney disease, hypertension, skin rashes and other illnesses.”

In general, say researchers, the brighter the light, the more poisons they’re likely to contain. Colored lights contain more lead than white ones. Red lights were found to contain up to eight times the amount of lead allowed by California law and about 35 times the amount allowed by federal law. That’s right: Red LED lights are so toxic they’re illegal.

Researchers say LED lights are generally safe unless they break, in which case they advise that you construct your own hazmat suit to deal with the toxic cocktail that spills out.

One major ongoing risk is car accidents. When cars collide, the LED lights built into the dash, as well as gadgets and computers in the car, can shatter, causing a release of toxic substances that experts say should be treated like any other hazardous materials spill. If LED traffic lights are damaged, it’s especially bad because those LEDs are so bright and numerous. Unfortunately, the risk is typically ignored, and emergency crews are routinely exposed to these hazardous materials without protection.

There’s also an environmental cost. Current law ignores the risks of LED lights, which are legally disposed of in landfills. The toxic metals in the lights, especially copper, can make its way from landfills into lakes and rivers, poisoning wildlife.

And when gadgets are discarded and “recycled,” they’re often handled by children in filthy Chinese processing centers who have to contend not only with the toxic materials required to make computer equipment function, but also the materials in the lights, which aren’t even necessary.
What Can You Do?

A single LED light on a single gadget is no big deal. But most people surround themselves with dozens of devices — all with their own lights — in their bedrooms, homes, offices and cars. These lights are incredibly annoying, damage our health and represent a toxic hazard both for people and the environment.

Worst of all: They’re unnecessary! Sure, a status light may alert you to an incoming e-mail, or tell you at a glance that something is receiving electricity. But we now know that benefits like those are vastly outweighed by the costs.

You can protect yourself to some degree by keeping as many devices as possible out of your bedroom. Put black electrical tape over the lights on those items you do keep in the bedroom.

And treat any broken LED lights with extreme caution.

Now that we know how toxic and dangerous LED lights can be, gadget makers have a responsibility to eliminate all lights that aren’t absolutely necessary. They waste electricity, annoy users, wreck health and pollute the environment.

Gadget makers love lights. But getting rid of them would be the brightest thing they could do.

Light bulb phaseout can’t dim Edison’s incandescence

Consumers may not all be aglow with the idea, but the government-mandated phaseout of incandescent light bulbs has reached all the way to the winter home of Thomas Edison.
Under a 2007 federal energy law, manufacturers must phase out incandescent bulbs in favor of more efficient bulbs such as compact fluorescent lamps, or CFLs, LED bulbs or new styles of halogen lights.

The law phases out 100-watt incandescent bulbs in January 2012, followed by the 75-watt version in 2013 and the 60- and 45-watt bulbs in 2014.

At the Edison & Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers, the incandescent garden lights have been replaced, even though Edison is credited with making the first practical incandescent light.

“Edison would have been all for this, because he was always looking for a better way to do something,” said Chris Pendleton, CEO of the estates.

While CFLs use at least 75 percent less energy, some consumers complain the lighting is dimmer, doesn’t look as warm and takes a while to reach full brightness. Some also worry about disposal requirements, because the bulbs contain a few milligrams of mercury.

“Every time I go to the store, I pick up a few (incandescent) light bulbs,” said Kay Horn, 62, of Fort Myers. “I probably have enough light bulbs for the next 15 years.”
Jack Lurie, owner of Tropical Hardware in Fort Myers, said he hears customers complain about the phasing out of incandescent bulbs and he said their sales have increased.

“There is plenty of stock now,” he said, “but that will change.”

The American Lighting Association’s Larry Lauck hasn’t seen statistical signs of stockpiling but has heard anecdotal reports.

Such reports are common whenever a new standard is introduced, says the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Noah Horowitz. He says consumers will be able to buy incandescent, but new ones will have more efficient halogen capsules.

“Unless you prefer paying higher electricity bills, there’s no reason to hoard old incandescent bulbs,” Horowitz says.

Richard Downing, 81, of Fort Myers has been using CFL bulbs in his home for almost 10 years. He has been a fan of fluorescent bulbs for 30 years, since he installed them on a 40-foot ketch.

“They drew the battery down a heck of lot less,” he said.

He said he is concerned about the bulbs’ mercury content, mainly because he worries consumers will just toss them in their garbage.

“You aren’t supposed to do that, but you know people will,” Downing said.

Lee County’s recycling program won’t collect the CFL bulbs, but homeowners can drop them off at the Household Chemical Waste Collection facility, 6441 Topaz Court in Fort Myers.

While that sounds inconvenient, Downing said he can’t say whether it is.
“In 10 years of using those lights, I’ve never had to replace one,” he said. “They might cost just a little more, but you make up what you spend very quickly in the energy savings and longevity.”

Let there be light, and make sure it is energy efficient

Since the late 1800s, consumers have relied on standard incandescent light bulbs to illuminate homes and businesses at the flick of a switch, but this is about to change.

Due to provisions of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, also known as the Clean Energy Act of 2007, incandescent light bulbs will be phased out and replaced by more energy-efficient lighting, including halogen, compact fluorescent, or CFL, and light-emitting diode, or LED, bulbs.

General Electric Co., the last U.S. based manufacturer of incandescent light bulbs, closed its plant at the end of 2010.

According to GE, the Clean Energy Act requires that between 2012 and 2014, standard A-line 40- and 100-watt incandescent light bulbs must use 30 percent less energy, but produce the same light output as today’s incandescent bulb.

While consumers won’t be required to throw out existing bulbs, according to GE, “you may be surprised when trying to find the same replacements at the store. After 2012, you’ll find that these bulbs will have to be replaced with energy-efficient options, such as halogen, CFL and LED light bulbs.”

Richard Wilkins, operations manager for Ulster Electric in Poughkeepsie and Kingston, said that lighting technology is changing every day in an effort to meet demands for energy efficiency.

“There’s always something new coming out,” he said. “Lighting technology is going to change within the next 10 to 15 years,” he said.

LED lighting, for example, is currently somewhat expensive to purchase but is expected to come down in price, Wilkins said.

“LED lighting offers better light output with less wattage,” he said.

CFL bulbs, Wilkins said, draw a lot less energy but are more expensive to purchase than incandescent bulbs.

New construction projects benefit from tax incentives when installing energy-efficient lighting, Wilkins said.

“Architects are seeing rebates for using energy-efficient products in new construction, including commercial projects,” he said.

According to the United States Department of Energy, artificial lighting consumes “almost 15 percent of a household’s electricity use.”

Use of more efficient lighting technologies, according to the DOE, can reduce lighting energy use in homes by up to 75 percent.

The DOE’s EnergyStar website notes that one CFL bulb can save homeowners more than $40 in electricity costs over its lifetime.

CFLs use about 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer.

Consumers have been slow to warm up to CFL lighting due to factors such as a yellowish lighting tint, a slow warm-up time and traces of mercury in the bulb, according to a recent article in USA Today.

Manufacturers are addressing concerns by producing bulbs that use less mercury and produce brighter light.

With LED lights, according to the DOE, small light sources become illuminated by the movement of electrons through a semiconductor material.

LED lighting is more efficient, durable, versatile and longer lasting than incandescent and fluorescents lighting.

LEDs emit light in a specific direction, whereas an incandescent or fluorescent bulb emits light — and heat — in all directions.

LED lighting uses both light and energy more efficiently, according to the DOE.

A benefit of LED lights is that they turn on immediately, as opposed to CFL lights that take a moment to illuminate.

The American Lighting Association recommends CFL bulbs as lighting for laundry rooms, storage rooms, kitchen and baths.

LEDs, according to the association, are very efficient light sources for a growing number of applications, such as under-cabinet lighting, task lighting and outdoor step lights.

For tasks such as reading, however, the association recommends that incandescent bulbs are often still the best choice because of their brightness.

To be as energy-efficient as possible, the association recommends using halogen incandescent bulbs instead of standard bulbs.

Halogen lights are more expensive to purchase than incandescent bulbs, according to the DOE, but are less expensive to operate because of their higher effectiveness.

They are commonly used in reflectors such as indoor and outdoor flood lighting, indoor recessed and track fixtures, and floor and desk lamps.

Unlike many CFL bulbs, some halogen lamps are dimmable, and are compatible with timers and other lighting controls.

According to GE, “Halogen lamps provide a small, white light source with excellent color rendering. Unlike standard incandescent lamps, halogen lamps use a halogen gas that allows the bulbs to burn longer without sacrificing light output.”

As living green becomes more ingrained in our lives, LEDS will continue to light the way, said Jeff Dross, senior product manager of Kichler Lighting, who will introduce several new under-cabinet systems and landscape products with an ultra-efficient technology next year.

LED lighting, in addition to halogen and CFLs, offers energy conscious options to replace the incandescent bulb.

LG’s LED monitor/TV

LG’s LED monitor/TV

LAS VEGAS–Monitor TVs are nothing new, but it’ll take manufacturers some continued innovating to keep me excited. LG shows that it understands this with its latest monitor/TV, the M80D.

The M80D is LG’s first monitor/TV to use an LED backlight. The design is sleek and stylish and looks to be wall mountable.

Incoming specs:

• 1,920×1,080 resolution
• 250 cd/M2 brightness
• 5ms response time
• VGA, DVI, HDMI connections
• Component, VGA, HDMI, Audio in/out
• Built-in speakers with 2.1-channel sound

Samsung LED D8000 Series LCD 3D HDTV

New for 2011, the Samsung LED D8000 series 3D TV comes in a 0.2″ brushed metal bezel, a fine line that subtly frames the rich content on the screen and enhances the TV’s light form factor. The D8000 Series continues the minimalist style of the C8000 Series and uses an improved Quad Stand to ensure ultimate harmony between the TV and its environment.

The reduction in bezel size means consumers can enjoy a larger viewing screen and wider viewing angle without having to increase the physical size of their TVs, and makes using social applications like Skype and YouTube, browsing the Web, sharing content and playing games that much more inclusive.

With a 240Hz refresh rate, 2 millisecond motion picture response time (MPRT) and improved LED backlight scanning, this CES Innovation Award honoree offers true-to-life 2D, 3D and HD images with outstanding clarity. In addition to the Ultra Clear Panel, the TV is the first to offer Micro Dimming Plus technologies to provide the richest, most lifelike pictures with deep blacks and pure whites.

The D8000 Series comes with Samsung’s new 3D glasses and Samsung’s innovative Touch Control that can also stream TV programs to its built-in 3″ LCD screen, almost like a second TV, even while a Blu-ray disc is being played on the TV.

The D8000 has a built-in Wi-Fi connection and many convenient ways to manage and display content through Samsung’s Smart Hub portal. The set can connect to other devices using DLNA or Samsung’s patented One Foot Connection technology.

Sharp 3D Quattron LED TV Range Extended

The impressive range from Sharp has had some amazing new models added…

The technology that Sharp uses within its range of TVs is some of the best LCD technology out there today, and its 3D technology is up there with the best too.

The Quattro range has been extended with three new models to the Aquos Quattron LE835 range which is available in sizes 60, 52, 46 and 40 inches. To ensure the ultimate in 3D viewing is achieved, Sharp has included edge-lit LED back-lighting, AquoMotion 240 image processing. They are also well connected with web based apps such as Facebook, Twitter and Flickr along with on-demand movies such as Netflix.

Sharp’s flagship model LE935 3D TV, also includes the Sharp X-Gen Panel and Quad Pixel technology.

Look out for the above new models, hitting stores in the Spring.

Philips enters new decade of sustainably lighting Times Square Ball

New York, USA – In 2010-2011, Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) enters a new decade of energy efficiency, celebrating its 11th anniversary as the official Lighting Partner to the world-famous Times Square Ball, a beacon of LED innovation. Both the Times Square Alliance and Philips share a commitment to sustainability, reflected in the Ball’s ongoing upgrades with Philips energy-efficient lighting products, culminating in the recent upgrade to LED lighting, which have reduced its energy usage by 88 percent over the halogen technology it replaced.

Originally lighting the Ball with specially designed halogen “Millennium” bulbs to mark the century passage from 1999 to 2000, Philips converted the Times Square Ball to all Philips LUXEON® LEDs (light emitting diodes) in 2007-2008 to mark the Ball’s milestone 100th anniversary. The Ball was upgraded to higher-power, more energy-efficient LUXEON LEDs yet again in 2008-2009 when the ball was doubled in size. Today’s Ball is lit all year round and uses just 12 percent of the energy that would have been required to light it with the original technology.

The Ball benefits from Philips’ unmatched investment in LED technology, with its modules lasting about 30,000 hours and using just 22 watts of electricity. If the Ball were still lit with Halogen lamps, it would use 1.1 million KWh, whereas the new LED Ball uses just 140,000. In addition, these LED modules will last years, compared with months for the halogens which they replace, drastically reducing the amount of maintenance and re-lamping required by the Ball. This same LED technology is available to consumers through Philips’ AmbientLED line, which includes such innovations as the world’s first 60 watt LED equivalent lamp, the Philips AmbientLED 12 watt.

At a Glance: Times Square Ball Lighting Facts

* As a result of being lit by Philips LEDs,
- The Ball will consume only the same amount of energy per hour as it takes to operate just two traditional home ovens. (Source: U.S. Department of Energy – Consumer Appliance Energy Use)
- The numerals will consume the same amount of energy per hour as it takes to operate just one 40 gallon home water heater. (Source: U.S. Department of Energy – Consumer Appliance Energy Use)
* The Ball is lit by 32,256 Philips LUXEON® LEDs, each of which can be digitally controlled to create extraordinary effects.
* Red, green, blue and white LEDs in the Ball create a palette of more than 16 million vivid, vibrant, and highly-saturated colors as well as billions of possible lighting effects.
* The LED lighting in the Ball has a rated average life of 30,000 hours, compared to the roughly 1,000 hour life span of previous incandescent and halogen solutions. This is especially important as the Ball is now lit year-round.
* The light source in the Ball is 88% more energy efficient than in previous years, requiring only 22 watts of power for Philips’ red, green, blue, and white LUXEON LEDs to produce the same amount of light output as it took 180 watts of incandescent light bulbs to produce in previous years. This represents a 158-watt (or 88%) reduction in electricity consumption per four-color series.
* The Ball features waterproof modules and connections as well as the ability to passively dissipate heat. Each LED in the ball has its own specific address, enabling a level of two-way communication and digital controllability never before possible.
* LEDs demand far less electricity than incandescent or halogen technology by delivering an equivalent level of light output with significantly fewer watts of power. This reduces the amount of electricity that utilities will have to generate, which helps avoid the airborne emission of such hazardous pollutants as CO2, mercury and sulfur dioxide – all by-products of the electricity generation process.
* Whereas incandescent and halogen bulbs may be subject to failure if dropped or bounced, LEDs can withstand vibration and shock, delivering superior durability.
* Philips LEDs are lead and mercury-free as well as RoHS-compliant (a European standard known as “reduction of hazardous substances”).

+ Backgrounder “Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball”

About Royal Philips Electronics

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is a diversified health and well-being company, focused on improving people’s lives through timely innovations. As a world leader in healthcare, lifestyle and lighting, Philips integrates technologies and design into people-centric solutions, based on fundamental customer insights and the brand promise of “sense and simplicity”. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips employs more than 118,000 employees in more than 60 countries worldwide. With sales of EUR 23 billion in 2009, the company is a market leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as lifestyle products for personal well-being and pleasure with strong leadership positions in flat TV, male shaving and grooming, portable entertainment and oral healthcare.

Wining and dining this weekend

End 2010 and start 2011 with great food and drinks this weekend in Beijing. Friday night has lots of dinners: Mosto has a five-course dinner with a Champagne toast. Brasserie Flo is offering a four-course meal with a great lucky draw. TERRA’s throwing a party with a four-course meal and free-flow bubbly. Celebrate New Year’s Eve the Spanish way, by eating 12 grapes at midnight, and drinking lots of cava, at Olé. Or, toast the new year overlooking Tian’anmen Square after a seven-course dinner at Capital M.

The next day, as well as on Sunday, there are several brunches around town to help you recover from the party the night before. Sip on bloody Marys at SALT or hit up the buffet at the Rennaissance Beijing Capital Hotel’s BLD Cafe. Alternately, check out our recommendations for Beijing’s best hangover-cure meals, including fresh, healthy smoothies and greasy, alcohol-absorbing breakfasts.

Also, to celebrate New Year’s, the Wine Republic is offering 15 percent off Champagne and 20 percent off sparkling wines through the end of January.

Happy New Year!