Sharp is introducing a new range of solar-powered LED streetlights. These self-contained lights charge during the day, and switch on automatically when darkness falls. They can operate for 10 years straight without maintenance. They make use of new, high-intensity LED spotlights, which are ideal for public parks. The LEDs illuminate with a directed light and don’t send light into the sky (thus causing light pollution). The streetlights also feature a Seismic Motion Sensor that detects the occurrence of a major earthquake. If an earthquake is detected, the light turns on at full brightness during the night, to assist during possible power interruptions.

Via: Sharp Press Release

Motion-sensing LED lights — these lights are perhaps the most efficient lighting devices available today. They switch on whenever their infra-red sensors detect movement in a room — such as when someone begins to walk down a dark hallway. I’ve been testing them in my own home, and I’ve found them to be effective and non-obtrusive. At night, I’m able to go down two floors to the basement, without turning on any lights. The motion-sensing LEDs in the ceilings switch on as I move about the house.

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Last year, we featured a nightclub lit entirely by LEDs, but here’s an office building that is said to be the first to be lit by 100% LED light. The lighting was provided by the Netherlands-headquartered Royal Philips Electronics. To showcase the potential of LED light, Philips designed the lighting system to be warm and visually comforting. A total 422 LED fixtures were installed into the building’s false ceilings. The offices are lit with fixtures that incorporate 12-16 high power LEDs, each rated at 2.6 watts. LED spotlights are used to illuminate the corridors. (more…)

Koncept has released a new series of their I-Tower LED floor lamps. It’s good to see LED floor lamps becoming widely available. These lamps use the latest generation of high-power LEDs, which means they are brighter than the older I-Tower lamps, but they actually uses less power (8.8 watts). There are two models: a daylight version (~5500 Kelvin) and a warm white version (~3500 Kelvin). The lamps have a built-in 4 step dimmer. Koncept says the lifespan of these lamps is “at least 40,000 operating hours”. They are available from Amazon for $195.

The Geobulb is a 8 watt LED light that replaces a 60 watt incandescent bulb. It generates 800 lumens of light to be exact — either warm white light or cool white. This bulb has a sleeker design than some of the LED lights I’ve seen — check out that aesthetically pleasing heat sink. (more…)

This 13 watt bulb, the Evolux by EarthLED, is said to be first LED light to be able to replace a 100 watt incandescent. The lifetime of this bulb is rated at over 50,000 hours — which is five times longer than a compact fluorescent bulb. Other advantages of LED bulbs is their ability to brighten instantly, and be switched off and on rapidly without problems. They also contain no mercury. LED-based bulbs do, however, require more energy to manufacture that CFL or incandescents.

The Evolux uses a CREE light engine, and it contains a small fan to cool the circuit board. EarthLED has a video of the bulb in action, and also some photos showing the type of the light it renders. The Evolux bulb sells about $90 right now. If you are serious about energy efficiency, or if you’re using solar power, this might be the bulb for you.

Via: EcoGeek

OLEDs are thin, organic materials sandwiched between two electrodes, which illuminate when an electrical charge is applied. They’re so thin, that they could be applied to rooms as a type of wall paper to glow at the touch of a finger or when someone enters the room. Like LEDs they produce light very efficiently. But OLEDs also have to potential to be made at a very low cost, because they can be printed “roll-to-roll” like a newspaper. GE recently demonstrated the first OLEDs to be made in this manner — the researchers worked for four years on this project. See more at the GE Blog.

Via: Groovy Green

We just wrote about the new LED streelights in Ann Arbor. Now we find these self-contained streetlights that generate 100% of their power from the sun and the wind. During the day, solar power is stored in a battery at the base of the light pole. At night, they illuminate while continuing to generate power via a small vertical-axis wind turbine. The streetlights, dubbed “seagulls”, were spotted in Tokyo outside the Panasonic Center by Hyperexperience. Here’s a video clip of the wind turbine in action:

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This “Rotondo” rechargeable lamp uses LEDs for illumination — it will run for about eight hours before it needs a recharge. The lamp is also water resistant and is made with mouth-blown parnaterraglas with a frosted finish. It will cycle through a spectrum of colors, and can be stopped when the hue you desire is reached. It’s available from Lightology for $131.

This is a great innovation — the streets of Europe could soon be lit by "solar trees". These self-contained streetlights could save cities energy and money too. Unlike regular streetlights, they do not require costly underground wiring to install, and they are immune to blackouts. Designed by Ross Lovegrove, the lights have 10 solar panels arrayed at the top of tree-like branches, which charge built-in batteries. The batteries then power LEDs for illumination. Compared to conventional streetlights, they emit much less light pollution, because LEDs generate a very directed light. The trees also incorporate light detectors! So the lights automatically turn on sunset and off at sunrise.

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A handful of buildings in California are beginning to try a new kind of indoor lighting: sunlight without windows. It’s called hybrid solar lighting, and it is being marketed by a company called Sunlight Direct. During the day, sunlight is captured and channeled into lighting fixtures, then at night, the fluorescent bulb takes over. On the roof, sunlight is captured using a large dish that tracks the sun. The concentrated light is channeled through the building with bundles of optical fibers. (more…)

A start-up company is offering mercury-free, energy efficient, high-brightness LED lights to replace typical light bulbs in homes and offices. The EcoLED lights use 1/10th the electricity of incandescent light bulbs, and are estimated to last 50,000 hours before burning out (approximately a decade of normal use). Unlike compact fluorescent bulbs, these bulbs contain no mercury. Note that these bulbs produce a directional light, so they may not work in every place in your home.

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It’s a 1 watt LED lamp called the Havaleena by Tayo Design Studio. These lights only require three AAA batteries to run, and fully charged batteries provide 20 hours of illumination. Each light comes with four colored filters and they are priced at $59.

Even in these modern times, LED floor lamps are tricky to find. We, however, found one by Adesso, the Eternity Floor Lamp, which incorporates 20 white LEDs. So what can you expect from an LED floor lamp? Well, white LEDs will emit a concentrated, bluish-white light. So these lamps are great for accent lighting. As far as energy goes, these lamps use about 2 watts or 90% less power than an equivalent incandescent.

These lamps are available here at Amazon for $80.

Update: New high-power LED lamps have now been released.

Most modern buildings don’t take full advantage of daylight. Here, in the Plaza at PPL Center, a dramatic eight-story central glass atrium brings natural light deep into the core of the building, while extensive perimeter glazing provides abundant daylight.

Here’s a new LED Desk Lamp from Koncept. It features 66 “super bright” LEDs. The IceLight is about as bright as a 40–60 watt incandescent bulb. A single bright white LED puts out about 1.7 lumens of light, so 66 of them produce about 112 lumens. This 112 lumens is focused in a 50-degree viewing angle, compared to an incandescent which emits 500–800 lumens in a 360-degree viewing angle, thereby wasting much of the light backwards and sideways.

It comes in three colors and is priced at $139.95.

Icelight

Dimmable compact fluorescents are available, they are usually made with “cold cathode” technology. You can find dimmable bulbs here on Amazon. There’s a 12 pack available here, and a dimmable compact fluorescent spotlight here.

1000 Bulbs also sells a wide range of dimmable compact fluorescent bulbs

Not bad! Good marks on efficiency and portability. This spotlight has 20 LEDs on a rotating head. It runs up to 200 hours continuously on 3 D-size batteries.You can also plug it into a 12V DC lighter socket if you wish. It’s available from Amazon for $29.97

Who knew that compact fluorescents came in colored bulbs too? The yellow ones can be used as bug lights.

They also come in other colors too.

Available from: Save on Lighting ($9-$11)

LEDs are close to becoming metaefficient alternatives to regular light bulbs, but they are not quite there. Right now the brightest LED bulb is equivalent to a 25W incandescent bulb.

The bulb seen here has 36 LEDs and runs on 1W. That means it could run 10 hours a day for a whole year for less than two dollars. It will also last for at least 10 years. The drawback is the price: $18.95 each. The expense can be justified if they are used outdoors, in boats, or in off-grid homes.

Available from: Super Bright LEDS