Welcome to "High Lights from the Heartland". A little humor plus news and observations on the LED / Solid State Lighting markets for your enjoyment. Feel free to share this with your friends!
A little humor: A man goes to his doctor and says, “I don’t think my wife’s hearing is as good as it used to be. What should I do?” The doctor replies, “Try this test to find out for sure. When your wife is in the kitchen doing dishes, stand 15 feet behind her and ask her a question, if she doesn’t respond keep moving closer and asking the question until she hears you.” The man goes home and sees his wife preparing dinner. He stands 15 feet behind her and says, “What’s for dinner, honey?” He gets no response, so he moves to 10 feet behind her and asks again. Still no response, so he moves to five feet–still no answer. Finally he stands directly behind her and says, “Honey, what’s for dinner?” She replies, “For the fourth time, I SAID CHICKEN!”
News & observations on the LED / Solid State Lighting markets:
Opinion: Just when you thought you had all of the significant LED die and component suppliers sorted out another one may pop up. TSMC, one of the world’s largest contract semiconductor die fabs, is looking at both LED die and solar cell programs. Spending $46 million on LED fab equipment may be a small project for TSMC but it is the more than what some LED lighting start-up companies have to spend over their 1st five years of operation. Toss in another $50 million for “possible” solar related products… this is a company that needs to be watched closely if you are in the LED or solar related industries.
In a separate news item, Cree has demo’ed a 969 lumen A19 at 9.5 watts. This would make them the 2nd company that could apply for the L prize but their lamp is still in the prototype stage. I would expect them to be in the running soon. That would leave another 3 unconfirmed suppliers (out of 5) that Jim Broderick at the DOE has mentioned in his e-mail newsletter as discussing interest in applying for the prize.
News:
TSMC looks at solid state lighting market - Silicon foundry giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) has taken a big step in the LED arena when they approved capital appropriations of $46 million to set up a production line and product development lab for solid state lighting. This implies that it is looking at LED production. It is unclear if TSMC (Hsinchu) will devise LEDs on a foundry basis. The company did not elaborate on its intentions. The company is looking at the energy sector for good reason. In August, TSMC approved the appropriation of $50 million for ''possible use'' in investment in solar energy-related areas. On Tuesday, TSMC approved capital appropriations of US$2.240 billion to expand advanced technology capacity for 300-mm wafer fabs, and increase 300-mm capacity for wafer level chip scale packaging process. It also approved capital appropriations of $254.6 million to expand 300-mm wafer fab facilities. http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=221601052
Cree Demonstrates Record-Breaking LED Light Bulb - At the annual Cree shareholder meeting, Cree CEO Chuck Swoboda demonstrated an A-lamp LED light bulb with the highest lumen output and efficacy reported in the industry. The bulb produces 969 lumens at an impressive 102 lumens per watt, which is the light output equivalent to a 65-watt incandescent bulb, yet it uses only 9.5 watts. The demonstration A-19-style bulb featured XP-G LEDs and TrueWhite Technology, a patented method of delivering warm-white light with superior color rendering and efficiency. It delivers a 2800 K warm-white light with a 91 CRI. All data was verified by third-party testing under steady-state operating conditions. "We are pushing the industry by demonstrating what's possible," said Swoboda. "With every improvement in LED components, new applications become achievable. We are excited to show the world not only what can be done, but what they should expect in an LED light bulb." http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/news.html?d=176929
Cree to Light Up 650 Wal-Mart Stores' Aisles With LEDs - Attention Wal-Mart shoppers: Cree LEDs will soon be lighting up the retail giant's stores in various aisles. Cree said that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. signed a deal with the company to buy two kinds of its LED lights, which the retailer will install in 650 of its stores in the first year. Although the companies wouldn't disclose the value of this deal for Cree, or exactly how many lights Wal-Mart bought, this move has larger implications for the LED lighting industry and Cree. "I think it's an important milestone in what we've been calling the LED lighting revolution," said Cree Chief Executive Chuck Swoboda in an interview with Clean Technology Insight. "It demonstrates that LED lighting really works in commercial lighting applications." Swoboda called this deal an "initial roll out," but he wouldn't say whether Wal-Mart has expressed interest in buying more LED lights. The adoption of LED technology, and Cree's products specifically, by the retail giant could soon bring other retailers knocking at their door. Swoboda said that once some municipalities started using outdoor LED lighting, others soon followed suit. The retail arena should be similar, Swoboda said he hopes, because he thinks that once some companies try LED lights and can show some positive results, others will be less gun-shy about switching to the technology. Wal-Mart bought Cree's LRP-38s, a spot light, to illuminate some of its products. This light lasts 50,000 hours, consumes 82% less energy than the 70-watt ceramic metal-halide bulbs it replaces and can last more than five years when kept on all the time. These lights also make products displayed under them look more vivid and they don't radiate heat down, helping delay product spoilage, as the company demonstrated at the Lightfair in May in New York. The deal also includes use of Cree's LR6 recessed can lights in some Wal-Mart new construction, but the companies wouldn't give further details on how many or where they will be used. The LR6 has similar specifications to the LRP-38, but it is a more general-purpose light, rather than a spot light. Theo O'Neill, an analyst with Kaufman Bros. LP, said in an interview that this initial roll out brings Cree about $4 million to $8 million in revenue. "It's obviously a plus for Cree," O'Neill said. "Plus it will help with industrial expansion of this business. There are five billion light bulbs in the U.S. and they are all going to convert to solid-state lights eventually. "It's also great to see Wal-Mart transition to solid-state lighting, as they did with refrigeration. Typically, they lead the market by one to two years." Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart has already installed LED lights in its refrigerator and freezer cases and is considering using LED parking lot lights, it said recently. http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091105-721567.html
Texas A&M selects Infinilux Solid State Low Bay light for parking structure - Solid State Lighting Design LED Lighting News / Company News Releases November 8, 2009: Texas A&M selected Infinilux, Inc.’s new LED low bay light for the university’s first SSL feasibility demonstration. The trial installation of the LB36 was selected to help Texas A&M meet energy conservation goals and lower the environmental impact of the campus-parking program. The demo installation is drawing less than 0.1W/sq-ft max, 68% below the ASHRAE target of 0.3W/sq-ft, and will provide a reduction in overall power consumption of over 65%. The improvement in lighting quality will increase driver and pedestrian safety by lowering glare and providing a more uniform light distribution over the legacy 150W HPS lights.
The reduction in maintenance cycles will also provide a tangible savings for the university as the Infinilux LED low bay units have an expected maintenance cycle exceeding 50,000 hours (70,000 hours to L70 at Ta=25°c). The driver section is UL listed and has integrated, auto-recovery over-voltage, transient (ANSI C62.41 Class A) and short/overload protection. The entire driver section of the LB36 is “plug and play” serviceable, and requires no special tools or fixtures for field service. “We are very pleased with what we are seeing so far in the demo-installation,” said Doug Williams, Associate Director, Transportation Services. “The installation took less than two hours, and the difference was immediate and clear with much better light quality and uniformity.” http://www.solidstatelightingdesign.com/documents/view/cldoc.php?id=118386#top
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