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Power Integrations has released an 92% efficient LED streetlight power supply reference design, reports our Technology Editor Steve Bush. For streetlights up to 150W, the supply has a fixed output voltage of 48V at up to 3.125A.
This story caught my eye recently - LED lighting will be used in the fountains in Trafalgar Square as part of the 2012 London Olympics.
What posts are your peers reading? Here is a chance to view the ten most popular posts in the month of May.
Two Scottish companies claim to have made a breakthrough in the development of very thin LED backlights for large area displays.
Details of the 'breakthrough' seem to be secret until next week in Texas.
Don't miss a new LED feature on the webiste - How to choose an LED for lighting
LEDs are being used to change the way art is viewed in China. Specifically, exhibits at Da An Art Gallery in Zhongshan City, China, are spotlighted by Z-Power LEDs from Seoul Semiconductor.
Standard cars will have LED headlights in the next 18 months, according to headlight maker Hella.Makers of washing powder ads always used advertise that the latest version - produced whiter whites, and that you'd be crazy to use any other old rubbish. Sadly, these days I don't watch day time TV (university days long gone), so i don't know if this still goes on.
However - developing LED products can be a very similar experience. No sooner have you finished a design, then, somebody introduces a new and improved version - higher efficacy, better binning - you'd be crazy to even think about using any other old rubbish. The electronics industry rule that old boards never die, they simply fade away is especially true in lighting.
Standardisation of device packages such as we've known for a long time in the wider electronics industry makes life a lot easier - same pcb dimensions, mounting arrangements etc - We ain't there yet - but a I feel we are getting closer.
Osram has just introduced the OLSON.
Someone asked me this the other day, so I'll share my answer as it involves some pretty impressive figures.
London has over 5000 traffic intersections, each one comprising an average of 10 traffic signals, making about 50,000 signals. If those were to be converted to LED lights, the resulting saving in electricity alone (assuming a cost of 6 p per unit) turns out to be almost £1 million a year, with an annual reduction in carbon emissions of more than 9500 tonnes.
Presently, light bulbs in conventional traffic lights are changed every year, so as LEDs can be expected to last up to 10 years they would avoid up to 8 maintenance visits over their lifetime. That's a lot of cherrypickers out of work.
Another LED development story, from the News index:LEDs are further challenging incandescents as LED maker Cree has announced a lighting product with a colour rendering index (CRI) of 92, putting it amongst incandescents for colour quality.Read the full article >>
Not sure where the time has been going the last few months but all we hear is the downturn in business and business closing down, well I have to say that from my side I see that the LED market did take a dip in the first 2 months this year but since then we have been going flat out. The orders and enquires are pouring in and times look to be really good going forward.
We at Carclo have re-organised ourselves and the LED team is now a standalone group within Carclo and this has meant changes in the way we work with the group as now they are our suppliers of the moulded optics, this means we are in the process of increasing our capacity and will have a number of production sites worldwide manufacturing our optics.
This will be a benefit to our customers in we will have even better local support and supply.
We have also been busy at shows with Strategies in Light being the start of the year and LightFair next month closely followed by EuroLED in the UK.
Inlustra Technologies, a spin-out from the gallium nitride (GaN) research laboratories at the University of California at Santa Barbara, said it has started to fill orders for its nonpolar and semipolar GaN substrates. The company's materials are aimed at the blue and green light-emitting diode (LED) and laser markets.Read the full article >>
Gordon Routledge
Gordon Routledge is one of the original pioneers in LED illumination having worked with LEDs in illumination applications since 1996. Currently VP of Illumination at Dialight, Gordon founded Lumidrives in 2001, having previously been managing director at ACDC Lighting Systems. Gordon has a degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from university of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology.
Alistair Winning
Since graduating in Electronic Systems from the University of Paisley in 1997, Alistair has worked in the electronics design publishing industry. He has held various jobs in both journalism and PR/marketing including editor of Electronic Engineering Design and Embedded Systems Engineering and Account Manager at JDK Marcom. He is now working as Editor for Premier Farnell and recently launched its in-house technical magazine, Technology First.
Ian Bryant
Ian Bryant is Business Development Manager LED Division at Carclo Technical Plastics. He has worked on and off at Carclo (Formerly Combined Optical Industrial) since leaving school. He has worked through the company from Toolmaking to starting the company on the road of LED optics business some 6-7 years ago, starting with a standard range and more in line with the business of custom optics. In between all this he has worked in engineering and as a works Director for a hydraulics company but kept getting pulled back to the optics industrial. We are able to offer the full solution from idea to parts so have a very good understanding on what is needed. You will see some posts from our design team also under my name.
Oliver Sowerby
Oliver Sowerby studied Product Design and Technology at Brighton University before starting work for the lighting design consultants SKK Lighting in February 2008. His most recent achievement was being nominated for the Young Designer Award by House and Gardens.
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