It’s called the GreenPix Zero Energy Media Wall, and with 2,292 individual color LEDs, comparable to a 24,000 sq. ft. monitor screen, it’s said to be the largest color LED display in the world. The wall is solar-powered too — photovoltaics are integrated into the wall’s glass curtain, and it harvests power during the day, to illuminate the display at night. (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

LEDs really shine as reading lights and desk lights. I like LED reading lights, because they have a directed beam, so they do not disturb your bedroom companions. LEDs desk lamps are also efficient, because they do not get hot, so there’s no risk of burns, or excess heat in the summer. Because LED light is so focused, a 100 lumen LED desk lamp will seem quite bright. Let’s take a survey of what’s currently available:

The Night Reader light (shown above) comes in two versions: a “warm white” version and a “daylight” version. It consumes only 4 watts and outputs 100 lumens of light. It’s available from The LED Light for about $60. This online store tends to have the newest LED products available. (more…)

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.

Ann Arbor is on its way to being the first U.S. city to light up its downtown with 100% LED-based streetlights. The city expects to install more than 1,000 LED streetlights beginning next month. The city anticipates a 3.8-year payback on its initial investment. (more…)

LEDs lights are very efficient, but because of their structure, much of the light in standard LEDs becomes trapped, reducing the brightness of the light. Because of this, LEDs are only useful for “task lighting” in the home — as floor lamps and desk lamps. Now researchers believe they have found a way of introducing a new generation of LEDs into households that are brighter and use even less power than standard energy efficient light-bulbs.

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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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Here are some lanterns that can be charged via the sun or via human power. Freeplay’s Indigo is a well-designed, rugged lantern. It’s one of those products that, when you hold it, feels extremely solid. This lantern shines with a cluster of seven bright LED bulbs. It won’t brighten a room, but at full power, it provides good illumination. It has a built-in Ni-MH rechargeable battery. The battery can be charged via two power sources — AC  power, and by hand cranking it. A 60 second wind will provide up to 2 hours of light in the lowest setting or 5 minutes at maximum brightness. (more…)

LED Christmas lights use 90% less energy than incandescent bulbs. They are also brighter, less prone to breaking, and cool to the touch. One thing to note however, is that almost all Christmas lights are made in China, probably with questionable materials and labor practices, and then transported half-way around the world. You can find LED Christmas lights at Amazon. You can also find some snowflake-shaped and color-changing Christmas LEDs from Environmental Bulbs.

The Barcode nightclub was built in a disused brick Victorian railway arch in Vauxhall, south London. The entire nightclub is illuminated using only LED lights, and the sound system is also energy efficient. The architect, Woods Bagot claims that the system consumes “less electricity than the power used to boil a kettle”. If they could just give a watt hour figure I’d be happier! Still, this is a interesting example of all-LED lighting in a building, which I’m sure we’ll see more in the coming years. Because the LEDs give off very little heat, much less AC is required to cool the building in summer. See more pictures over the fold.

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The Canadian company Carmanah has introduced some new solar-powered LED road signs. The lights are completely self-contained and require no external wiring. The signs can often pay for themselves in a couple of years, due to the amount of energy they save.

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This durable spotlight comes with its own solar panel, and uses 16 LEDs to produce light. It can run for 12 hours on a single charge. It has a weathertight anodized aluminum housing, and impact-resistant hand-soldered circuitry. The result is a solar light that will perform year after year (many solar lights are meant to be replaced every summer). Available from Gardner’s Supply Company for $59.95

How many times have you seen a broken or flickering neon light? Durability is not one neon’s strengths. But now a new product, LED-Flex, has been introduced as a substitute for neon. The producer, Mule Lighting, has managed to make the flexible LEDs have the appearance and brightness of neon. The biggest advantage of this product is the efficiency level — it reduces energy costs by about 70%.

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This efficient LED Light was created by designers Marco Pulga and Luca Artioli for Lexon of France. It runs on only 4 AA batteries. The lamp is 5″ square in size. The intensity of the light can be adjusted, and you can also set the light to turn off after period of time. Available for $60 from Greener Grass Designs via Better Living Through Design.

We featured some LED candles from Phillips previously but these lamps are available for only $9.95. The LEDs inside this lamp simulate a real candle. It’s powered by three rechargeable or regular AAA batteries. Available from CB2. Found via Better Living Through Design.

LED grow lights are a good choice if you are interested in growing indoors without a lot of hassle. Traditional grow lights generate a lot of heat and use large amounts of electricity, which raises your monthly electric bill by noticeable amounts. These LED grow lights stay cool, and use only a minuscule amount of energy.

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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

This is a nice children’s headlamp for about $18. We like it because it uses three bright, energy-efficient LEDs. So the batteries will last hundreds of hours. It has three settings: high, low and flash. Available at Amazon.

See also this similar headlamp from Amazon.

Hold something in front of these lamps, and the lamp shade will change to the color of the object. There’s a standard light bulb inside, surrounded by a ring of LEDs which project the color onto the shade. These lamps will be released sometime next year by Philips. We also featured Philip’s interactive bulbs in a previous post.

It’s interesting to see more LED lamps being produced today, like this long neck Aeonic lamp, which uses 20 energy efficient, cool-running, white LEDs. It can be used as a bedside lamp — the 36-inch neck adjusts to any angle. The specs say the LEDs should last for a century before they need replacement. I’m guessing this burns at 1-2 Watts. It’s priced at $99.95, including shipping.

Available from CCrane