The head of Siemens AG-owned Osram Sylvania predicts that highly efficient LED lighting fixtures and other energy-saving illumination fittings are to become more popular as consumers learn more about all advantages of energy cutting options and the U.S. stimulus package program was launched.
The main part of lighting manufacturing companies, like General Electric Co, Osram, Cree Inc and privately held Nichia Corp forecast that light-emitting diodes or just LEDs are a future-oriented product, which is able to cut energy consumption and offers much longer services life compared to traditional lights sources as halogen and incandescent lamps.
But there is a difference of forecasts, Osram Chief Executive Rick Leaman supposes that LEDs need about 10 years to become popular enough, while so called ‘bridge technologies’ like compact fluorescent of halogen lamps will be on the top in 2010. They would help people to adapt to changes in the lighting industry replacing traditional incandescent bulbs mildly, which consumers should be replacing with power saving lamps beginning from 2012.
Leaman says that conventional light bulbs were the only light source for over 100 years. So, their appearance, light and properties have become very important for numerous consumers and the manufacturer should offer a number of different options so that consumers had a right to choose, whatever they want.
It should be mentioned, that Osram holds the second place among LED manufacturers by sales volumes. In 2008, the German conglomerate took 12% of the LED lighting fixtures sold in the world and earned 552 million Euros.
Leaman refers to the fact that LEDs, compact fluorescent lights and halogen lamps by Osram reduce power consumption by 85%, 75% and 25% respectively. It should be noticed that manufacturing technology is still too expensive, what doesn’t let light-emitting diodes to become a favorite light source of the current day. Taking into account the described factors, Leaman states that LEDs need five to ten years to become more affordable for the consumers.
40 Watt LED lighting fixture can be taken as an example, it costs 40$, while it should cost 10$ to address more customers. Though diodes win in the fight against traditional and less expensive lights, not all people can afford to purchase LED illumination products.
Osram obtains about 60% of all sales from power-saving lights this year and plans to achieve a level of 80% in this field by 2012. In 2010, the sales of power-efficient lights may rise 5% to 10%. The company has great expectation for the U.S. stimulus package for school districts, colleges, commercial buildings and other groups, which is planned to stimulate the consumers to install more and more LED lighting fixtures and to cut energy consumption with them.
Leaman predicts that LEDs are to be sold for $100 million with help of the stimulus package.
Christmas holidays have come and have caused grow of the LED lighting products as rope lights, strings and other attributes for Christmas illumination contain light-emitting diodes, what makes them more standard.
CEO of Osram, Leaman estimates sales of festive LED lights will increase by 2 to 4 times over the last year.
Posts Tagged ‘LEDs’
Osram Thinks LED Illumination Technology Is Still Too Expensive
16 April 2010 - 10:00LED-Beleuchtung kostet zu viel, sagt der Generaldirektor von Osram
16 April 2010 - 10:00Die Nachfrage nach der super-effizienten LED-Beleuchtung und anderen stromsparenden Leuchtmitteln wird das nächste Jahr steigern, weil die Verbraucherbewusstheit und das Konjunkturprogramm der USA den Absatz stark einspeisen, wie der Leiter der mit Aktiengesellschaft Siemens besessenen Osram Sylvania sagte.
Illuminations-Unternehmen mitsamt Osram, General Electric Co, Cree Inc und Privatunternehmen Nichia Corp. sind überzeugt, dass eine helle Zukunft auf die LEDs (Licht-emittierende Dioden) wartet, welche fähig sind weniger Strom zu verbrauchen und eine längere Brennzeit gegenüber den herkömmlichen Fluoreszenz- oder Glühlampen anzubieten.
Während der Hauptgeschäftsführer von Osram Rick Leaman denkt, dass von fünf bis zehn Jahre nötig sind, damit Leuchtdioden sichere Positionen nehmen könnten nimmt er an, dass sogenannte „Brückentechnologien“ (auf Englisch „bridge technologies“), wie Halogen- und kompakte Fluoreszenzleuchten, mehr an Bedeutung in Jahr 2010 gewinnen, welche helfen von der traditionellen Beleuchtung zu neuen Technologien überzugehen und diese schrittweise vom Markt in Jahr 2012 zu nehmen.
„Die Glühlampen dienten uns mehr als 100 Jahre. Die Verbraucher kennen diese Art der Leuchten, ihre Form, Gefühle die sie hervorrufen und ihre Eigenschaften,“ – sagte Leaman in Interview. „Wir sind davon überzeugt, das die Verbraucher eine reiche Auswahl haben sollen. “
Die Geschäftseinheit des deutschen Großkonzerns, welchen er leitet, ist nach Umsatz der zweite weltgrößte LED Hersteller. 2008 brachten Osram LED-Produkte 12% des globalen Umsatzes oder 552 Millionen Euro.
Osram´s Halogenbeleuchtung reduziert den Stromverbrauch um 25%, während kompakte Fluoreszenzleuchten und Leuchtdioden circa 75% und 85% des Stroms sparen, sagte Leaman, der Charlie Jerabek als Leiter von Osram im Oktober.
Trotz den anschaulichen Vorteilen von LEDs, ist diese Technologie zu teuer, was die weitere weltbreite Entwicklung des Markts nächste fünf bis zehn Jahre verhindern würde, sagte er.
„Der Preis ist ihr Nachteil, heute sind die Leuchtdioden ein teures Produkt…Eine LED-Lampe zum Ersatz der herkömmlichen 40-Watt Lichtquelle kostet $35,“ sagte Leaman.
“Um die konkurrenzfähige Leuchte anbieten zu können, sollen wir den Preis von $10 für den erwähnten Ersatz erreichen,“ fügte er hinzu. „Mit solchem Preis können wir den Wert unseres Produktes gegenüber der traditionellen Vergleichsglühlampe abgleichen.“
Das Unternehmen häuft ca. 60% seines Umsatzes aus den energieeffizienten Waren an und plant, diese Ziffer bis 80% zum Jahr 2012 zu vergrößern. Leaman sagt, der Firmenumsatz der stromsparenden Waren könnte auf 5% bis 10% im Jahr 2010 steigen.
Der Leiter denkt, große finanzielle Anreize werden mit dem Konjunkturprogramm der USA für kommerzielle Gebäude, Schulräume, Universitäten und andere Gruppen gebracht, die in Beleuchtung investieren werden, was einen heftigen Start für mehrere Installationen der stromeffizienten Beleuchtung bedeutet.
Nach Leaman hofft Osram, das Konjunkturprogramm der USA würde etwa $100 Millionen als Verkäufe mit sich bringen.
Die Weihnachtszeit ist auch eine prima Gelegenheit für LED-Beleuchtung, weil Produkte, wie künstliche Weihnachtbäume, die mit LED-Leuchten schon ausgerüstet werden, immer populärer werden, sagte Leaman.
Er schätzt ein, dass die Verkäufe der Weihnachts-LED-Produkte auf zwei bis vier Mal in diesem Jahre gegenüber der Vergleichsperiode des vorigen Jahres anwachsen würde.
Endlich Weihnachten – schell, günstig und unkompliziert LED-Weihnachtsbeleuchtung online bestellen!
You can now count ex-Seagate CEO Bill Watkins as another Silicon Valley executive who has made the jump to green tech.
9 April 2010 - 10:00LED lighting company Bridgelux on Wednesday is expected to announce that Watkins, who was ousted from disk drive maker Seagate one year ago, has joined as CEO. Bridgelux also said that it is in the process of raising a Series D round of $50 million.
After leaving Seagate, Watkins started investigating the green-tech area and concluded that the LED business has many of the ingredients to grow rapidly in the near term.
“There’s a $100 billion opportunity, a whole new disruptive technology with LEDs, and an installed base that owns the market but doesn’t have good solutions. You don’t see that very often, but that’s how new technology can make an impact,” Watkins said on Tuesday.
As CEO, he plans to grow the company by developing its manufacturing and expanding internationally, he said. At Seagate, Watkins was the president and chief operating officer before taking over as CEO from 2004 to 2009.
Bridelux has developed arrays of LED chips and substrates that can be fitted onto different lamps. The company sells the LED components to lamp and lighting fixture companies that sell to end customers.
Bridgelux’s LED arrays allows it to manufacture LEDs cheaper than existing processes and be used for general lighting applications, according to Marc van den Berg, a managing director at VantagePoint Ventures and investor in Bridgelux. It started shipping its first products this summer.
LEDs are far more efficient than incandescent or florescent bulbs—an LED bulb can consume about 8 watts and put out as much light as a 60-watt incandescent. They also last for tens of thousands of hours and don’t contain lead or mercury.
Watkins said he was drawn to the clean energy area to help the environment, but feels that LED lighting is an area that can make a broad impact quickly without having to rely on long-term government subsidies. Among venture investors and entrepreneurs, solid-state lighting has become a hot area as the technology has improved and costs come down.
Because of the low power use and lower maintenance costs, LED fixtures that use Bridgelux’s lighting can pay back the initial investments in less than two years, said Watkins, who was CEO of Seagate from 2004 to 2009.
LED lighting for electronics such as digital cameras and TVs are already well established, but Bridgelux is aiming for the general lighting market, such as street lights, businesses, and residential lighting.
“The whole world is basically going to embrace this technology. Every time you reduce cost, it opens up another part of the market. And when you get the (payback) to under a year, the whole thing flips over,” he said.
Philips Wins Hong Kong Design Award for Advanced LED Technology
26 March 2010 - 10:00Royal Philips Electronics announced that the Philips’ Led candle, from the Novallure series, has been recognized by the Hong Kong Designers Association with the silver HKDA Asia Design Award 09. According to Philips, advantages of the LED candle include reduced energy consumption, reduced carbon pollution, bright sparkle and similar ambient light effect at significant lower power wattage. The retrofit lamp is designed to be seen. Its performance is matched by a cool, streamlined styling. What makes the design of the LED candle innovative and different from other LEDs is the candle shape and its bright sparkling and ambient light effect. The LED candle is made specifically for chandeliers and kind-like luminaires. The HKDA Award originated in Hong Kong in 1975 and has become one of the biggest professional design competitions in the region. It is a comprehensive multidisciplinary award for professional design in the fields of graphic, product, spatial and new media. The Philips LED candle has been awarded for its product design.
OSRAM to Manufacture Ultra Slim OLEDs
19 March 2010 - 10:00OSRAM Opto Semiconductors has recently informed the mass media about newly invented absolutely transparent and extremely slim OLED prototypes. These tiny light sources are only a few hundred micrometers thick and do not require separate encapsulation, what makes their installation much easier and less expensive. The innovative OLEDs offer a 210 cm2 luminous area and feature a really giant potential, which is still not covered completely.
The new OLED panel is very thick, so when it’s switched off, it can be hardly seen. When switched on, it emits even light with its’ whole surface and offers great luminance.
The described prototypes have appeared due to TOPAS research project funded by the Germany Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF), which aims to create 1 m2 large transparent OLED modules and will finish by 2011.
The demonstrated 17×17cm2 modules are to be larger, but their properties are to stay the same. These innovative light sources are very thick and do not require any encapsulation that needed additional expenses. The substrate takes the main part of their thickness and makes from 300 and 700 μm.
Dr. Karsten Heuser, head of the OLED division at OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, says that the customers can find transparent and flexible organic light emitting diodes, which are to change existing lighting solutions in the better way. Designers obtain numerous new opportunities in design, as these OLEDs can be built in furniture, room dividers and even windows, what permits to make an illusion of natural light at night.
The described OLED panels can be manufactured completely transparent without application of detracting structures, what is possible due to achievements in electrode design and innovative approach to thin-film technology. Additional conductor path structures on the luminous surface are not required in this case, but the current goes evenly over the whole surface and transforms to light. The mentioned achievement simplifies and makes cheaper the manufacturing of these OLEDs. Presently, this technology is to be adopted practically.
The mentioned OLEDs could be found at PLDC (Professional Lighting Design Convention), which took place from October 29 to 31, 2009 in Berlin.
On the 10th anniversary of Lighting the Times Square Ball for New Year’s Eve, Philips Electronics is including more led lights in the ball and 2010 numerals, achieving a 78% energy savings.
15 March 2010 - 10:00In 2007, Philips converted the ball’s lights from incandescent and halogen bulbs to Led technology. This year, Philips custom designed 545 scalloped LED flood light bulbs for the 2010 numerals that use only 9 watts compared to 40 watts consumed by the older incandescent and halogen bulbs. The 2010 LED bulbs were designed for outdoor use and are expected to last for 25,000 hours in the Times Square application.
Sustainability of the celebration has been augmented by Duracell’s Smart Power Lab in Times Square, where the public was invited to pedal a Power Rover to generate energy that has been stored in giant Duracell batteries that will power the 2010 numerals when the ball drops at midnight on New Year’s Eve.
Scientists have been studying LEDs for decades. The foundations for LEDs were discovered in the early 1900s and commercial applications were created in the 1960s for use as indicator lights. Development of LED technology has propelled LEDs into a brighter, longer-lasting and more energy-efficient light source than conventional lighting.
The efficiency of Led lighting is touted in a December white paper by Cree Inc. Cree says results from several recent studies show that LEDs are likely the most efficient, greenest option for many high-volume lighting applications. At least one study has found that LEDs outshine incandescent light bulbs in lifecycle assessment.
One private company, LED Saving Solutions provides businesses of all sizes and types and property owners and lessees relief from exorbitant utility and maintenance costs associated with lighting. LED Saving Solutions provides lighting upgrades with LED lights that reduce electricity demand by up to 80 percent, allowing a business or property owner or lessee to reduce costs immediately as well as a means to reduce a facility’s carbon footprint.
The applications for LED lights are also evolving outside of commercial applications. For example, even LED wallpaper has been created by British firm Lomox. A coating containing LEDs on the paper can even be dimmed with a switch, according to elightbulbs.com. Scientists are even studying how to combat wrinkles using LED light and green tea.
Die berühmte Zeitkugel am Times Square wird mit LED-Leuchten ausgerüstet
15 March 2010 - 10:00Zur Feier des 10. Jahrestages des Leuchtens der Silvesterkugel am Times Square am Altjahresabend rüstet Philips Electronics die genannte Kugel und 2010 Ziffern mit mehreren Leuchtdioden aus, was die Stromeinsparungen von 78% ermöglicht.
In Jahr 2007 ersetzte Philips die Glüh- und Halogenkugellämpchen mit innovativen Leuchtdioden. In diesem Jahre schuf Philips 545 spezielle Scheinwerfer für 2010 Ziffern, die nur 9 Watt imgegensatz zu den alten Glüh- und Halogenbirnen, welche 40Watt verbrauchen. Die 2010 LED-Birnen wurden speziell zum Außeneinsatz entwickelt und sollten 25 Tausend Betriebsstunden am Times Square leuchten.
Die Feier wurde auch mit Duracell´s Smart Power Lab am Times Square unterstützt, wo jeder Interessierte ein spezielles Rad fahren konnte, um die Energie zu generieren, die in riesigen Duracell Batterien gespeichert wird. Diese Energie schaltet die Silvesterkugel und 2010 Ziffern am Times Square ein.
Die Wissenschaftler erforschen die Leuchtdioden schon lange Jahre. Die grundlegenden Kenntnisse erfuhr man noch am Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts, aber das erste Mal wurden die Leuchtdioden nur als Kontrollleuchte im Jahre 1960 kommerziell verwendet. Die Entwicklung der LED-Technologie verwandelte die LEDs in hellere, langlebigere und stromsparendere Lichtquellen als die konventionellen Beleuchtungsmittel.
Die hohe Effizienz der LED-Beleuchtung ist mit Weißbuch von Cree Inc. im Dezember 2009 bestätigt. Cree sagt, die Ergebnisse der einigen letzten Studien zeugen davon, dass die Leuchtdioden die effizienteste und grünste Option für viele kommerzielle Beleuchtungseinsatzbereiche ist. Wenigstens ein Studium stellte klar, dass die Brennzeit von LEDs die von Glühlampen wirklich übersteigt und die LEDs die Energie viel effizienter nutzen. Ein Privatunternehmen, LED Saving Solutions, bietet allen anderen Firmen jeder Form und Größe, die äußerst hohen Stromausgaben mit Hilfe von innovativen Illuminationslösungen zu vermeiden. Das Unternehmen ersetzt alle Leuchten mit LED-Lampen, was die Energieeinsparungen von 80% ermöglicht und dadurch nicht nur Stromverbrauch, aber auch Kohlendioxidemissionen bedeutsam reduziert.
Die Verwendungsgebiete von LEDs treten auch über den Rahmen des kommerziellen Einsatzes hinaus. Zum Beispiel, wurde sogar eine Tapete mit dem britischen Unternehmen Lomox entwickelt. Eine Decke aus Papier, die Leuchtdioden enthält, kann mit einem Schaltgerät gedimmt werden, wie elightbulbs.com sagt. Die Wissenschaftler erforschen auch, wie man Runzeln mit Leuchtdiodenlicht und Grüntee bekämpfen kann.
Lighting Class of LEDs to Be Improved with Cree
10 March 2010 - 10:00Cree, Inc., a leading LED lighting manufacturer, shifts expectation of lighting-class LEDs. It has developed new 100+ lumen XLamp® XP-C LEDs, which is ready to widen a XLamp LEDs production range of the company. So, Cree’s XLamp assortment of lighting-class LEDs is in the range of 100+lumens at 350mA current.
Paul Thieken, Cree marketing director, LED components, says that Cree gives a new definition to lighting-class LEDs again, so that customers can enjoy high-power volume 100 lumen parts, and the Cree XLamp production range delivers more than 100 lumens at the current of 350 mA. The addition of the described new XLamp XP-C LEDs makes the Cree XLamp complete.
XLamp XP-C LEDs can be found in cool white with light intensity of 107 lumens at 350 mA, while warm white XP-C LEDs offer about 80 lumens at 350 mA. XLamp XP-C light-emitting diodes are specially designed to be used in the places, where high performance and low price are the main requirements. The specified innovative lighting fixtures can be purchased in ANSI-compatible chromaticity bins for cool and neutral white and in the industry’s smallest ANSI-compatible warm white bins.
Cree erhöht die Erwartungen von Leuchtdioden als von der Leuchtenklasse bis zu 100+ Lumens
10 March 2010 - 10:00Cree, Inc., ein Marktführer in der LED-Beleuchtung, erhöht die Erwartungen von Leuchtdioden als Leuchten-klasse und erweitert seine Produktionspalette von XLamp LEDs mit neuen 100+ Lumen XLamp® XP-C licht-emittierenden Dioden. Diese Erweiterung ändert die Leuchten-klasse von XLamp Leuchten und setzt diese in die 100+ Gruppe unter 350mA.
„Cree erhöht die Leuchten-klasse von LEDs noch einmal“ sagt Paul Thieken, Cree´s Vertriebsleiter der LED Komponente.
„Die Kunden warten auf die 100 Lumen Großserienbestandteile und die Cree XLamp Familie bietet mehr als 100 Lumen unter 350mA, dank der Erweiterung mit den erwähnten neuen XLamp XP-C LEDs.“
XLamp XP-C LEDs sind in der kalt-weißen Farbe mit 107 Lumens unter 350 mA erhältlich . Warm-weiße XP-C Leuchtdioden haben die Leuchtstärke von 80 Lumens unter 350 mA. XLamp XP-C LEDs sind ideal für die Verwendungsgebiete geeignet, an welchen man eine hohe Leistung und einen vernünftigen Preis benötigt. Sie sind in ANSI-kompatiblen farbigen Filtern zum Erreichen der kalt- und neutral-weißen Farben und in den industriekleinsten ANSI-kompatiblen warm-weißen Filtern erhältlich.
Light as Data Transmitter Has Crushed Record Speeds of WiFi
6 March 2010 - 10:00Recently, the record for wireless data transfer was broken at Siemens research project, when light of white LEDs (light-emitting diodes), but not radio waves were used to transmit data. The previous record made 200Mbps and Siemens researchers managed to achieve speed of 500Mbps.
Ostar light-emitting diodes, one of the leading and brightest LEDs on the lighting market, ware used during the experiment. To achieve high speed required for data transfer, the mentioned lights were modulated at a special frequency. The researchers also used a photodetector to receive light signals and to transform them into electrical pulses.
Siemens named the innovative data transfer method as VLC or Visible Light Communication. The company says, such kind of communication would be a perfect solution where WiFi networks interfere with each other, for example, in a building with huge WiFi network.
Additionally, VLC data transfer can be extremely helpful to secure the data transfer as flow of light should be received with a photodetector opposed to radio waves, which can be easily caught by eavesdroppers.
More one application field includes transportation. Stoplights with integrated light-emitting diodes can transmit information to the going cars or trains. Also, Siemens informed that the company used five LEDs to transfer data over “longer distances” at rates up to 100Mbit/s, though the “longer distances” were not mentioned.
The company hasn’t informed about other important properties of the described data transfer method, like how other kinds of light sources can affect the transmitted data and how long distances affect the speed of data transfer.
