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Archive for December, 2011

Illinois Medical Center Parking Garage Achieves Energy Savings with Cree LED Luminaires

20 Dec

For more than a century, Advocate BroMenn Medical Center in Normal, IL, has been in the business of adding days to the lives of its patients. These days, the hospital is even extending the life of its parking garage lighting, with help from local utility company, Ameren Illinois, ActOnEnergy® program and CREE® LED luminaires.

Like most parking garages, the six-deck garage serving Advocate BroMenn is lit around-the-clock for safety reasons. This heavy energy usage makes it an area ripe for efficiency improvements. “The lighting in our parking garage operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” says Dwight Hill, Director of Facilities Management. “To make matters worse, our metal halide lighting was expensive to operate and maintain, so I saw an opportunity for a lighting upgrade.”

To make the most of that opportunity, Hill turned to a powerful combination: high-efficiency BetaLED lighting technology and the ActOnEnergy program.

The estimated annual energy savings of 325,000 kilowatt-hours helped justify the project’s $180,000 costs. Nearly $23,000 in cash incentives from the ActOnEnergy program sealed the deal and shaved six months off the project’s payback period. Hill applauds the ActOnEnergy program and credits Springfield Electric, an ActOnEnergy program ally, as a helpful resource throughout the process.

With the help of Springfield Electric Advocate BroMenn replaced more than 250 metal halide (MH) fixtures with 304 Series™ luminaires in early 2011. The upgrade reduced energy consumption from 205W per fixture to 71W per luminaire, an estimated 65 percent reduction in energy!

As an added benefit, the CREE® luminaires produce a more attractive, natural light and superior uniformity than the previous metal halide (MH) lighting solution. The LED lighting provides near-maintenance free, reliable performance in even the most extreme conditions. As Hill says, “They perform well in extremely cold temperatures and the quality of light is better – it’s a whiter light.”

Equally attractive is the effect the LEDs will have on the hospital’s bottom line. The kilowatt savings alone will translate into dollar savings of roughly $32,000 every year. Plus, the long-lasting LED lighting will save more than $13,000 every year in reduced maintenance costs. “We were replacing our metal halide bulbs as often as twice a year,” says Hill. With more than a decade of expected near-maintenance free performance, the LED lighting will lighten the load on hospital maintenance staff.

“Everybody loves savings,” says Hill. “I actually look forward to getting power bills now to see how much we’ve saved.”

Benefits:

• 325,660 kilowatt-hours saved annually
• $32,000 annual reduction in energy costs
• Estimated 65 percent reduction in annual energy consumption
• $13,000 annual reduced maintenance costs

 
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Posted in Technology and Advantages of LED Lighting

 

Tips on Choosing LED Light Bulbs for Home Lighting

20 Dec

You’ve probably used LED light bulbs already, but you may didn’t recognize it. They are contained in everyday tools such as TVs, different watches, remote settings, DVD players, and calculators. Right now LED light bulbs are finding their purpose into homes, due mostly to ascending energy expenditures. Irrespective of its ubiquity, however, LED light bulbs meant for general home illumination are still fairly new.

Most of the American homes have traditional incandescent and fluorescent bulbs, and pay about 25% of total power consumption on lighting alone. As emphasized by the US Department of Energy, the introduction of new lighting technologies may reduce lighting electricity use in family homes by 50% to 75%. A greener and more cost-effective approach is to use LED light bulbs, the most recent advancement in home illumination.

LED or light-emitting diode is a type of semiconductor. LED bulbs have been first commercially offered in laboratory test equipments, and only soon after in radios and satellite mobile phones. The main designs of LED lights are little, high powered, and custom designed.

Numerous advantages comes with using LED bulbs. In comparison with fluorescent and incandescent light bulbs, LED bulbs just about 1/10 less power consumption. LEDs also keep going 50 times longer as opposed to standard bulbs, or give 50,000 hours’ use compared to 10,000 hours for CFLs or compact fluorescent lighting. LEDs are much more compact in size and are more durable. Because they are made from solid state equipment, LEDs are hard to deteriorate, unlike breakable CFLs and incandescent bulbs.

Despite the fact that LED bulbs for residence lighting are relatively too expensive, you can lay aside dollars eventually because of greatly reduced maintenance costs (a CFL bulb costs almost $2, while an identical LED bulb can cost up to $100). LEDs also have the advantage over CFLs by not using mercury.

A plethora of LED light bulb makes and versions are available in the market today, so how do you know which to buy? Here are some things to consider to bear in mind when shopping for LED bulbs:

Wattage. LED light sources use much less electricity than its fluorescent and incandescent lighting bulbs. It implies LEDs give more light with reduced wattage. Just to illustrate, a 12.5 Watt LED bulb is equivalent to a 60W incandescent bulb. The packaging lists the brightness level.

Warm vs Cool Light. LED lamps are now accessible in many colors. Decorated lights look festive and brighten up a deck. For general home lighting, “cool” whitened LED bulbs are wonderful for task lighting. “Warm” LED bulbs are well-matched for accent lights.

Dimming Capabilities. Unlike compact fluorescents, LED bulbs are usually dimmable. These are excellent for the bedroom, hallways, or wherever you want softer or maybe mood lighting.

Base Type. Pin and the standard outlet are two forms of LED light bulb bases. Pick a base type depending on intended use.

Quality. You can perhaps find less costly LED light bulbs on websites or discount shops, but it’s advisable to buy from well-established dealers to ensure your LED bulbs last longer. High quality LED bulbs make use of high quality chips and materials.

Certifications. Try to find LED light bulbs certified by the FCC and UL.

 
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Posted in Main Topics about LED Lights

 

Advanced LED Lighting Solution Balanced with Its Unexpected LED Light Bulb Price – Calculate First

09 Dec

One can barely fail to notice the change from incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescent lights. Perhaps very essential is the development of LED lighting which is less hazardous for the environment and considerably less expensive over the life of the bulb. LED bulbs last longer than any other type of lighting and they use up only a fraction of the electrical power which other forms of illumination perform.

Investigation funded by the US Army Research office has learned a way to improve both lighting and stability. LED lights employ a gallium nitride film in creating the diode that produces the light. A completely new technology, developed in North Carolina, lessens the defects in the film substantially. Additionally, the new film enables the diodes to produce more lighting – up to twice as much.

The deficiencies are removed by deliberately setting a void within the film. Defects in the crystalline composition of the GaN film are drawn to the voids, avoiding them from running through the overall thickness of the product. Including the voids decreases the quantity of defects by 90%.

The Future Looks Bright

This invention is expected to help trim down the price of LED bulbs in the next 5 years. By strengthening production, waste will be diminished; less waste equals greater profit potential for fewer supplies, and a commensurate reduction of cost.

It is a bit tough to swallow the idea of paying close to $20 for a single light bulb, especially after ages of seeing incandescent bulbs maintain $1 a piece. CFL bulbs are cheaper, but they aren’t problem free either. The mercury within each bulb may be minimal, but crack one in your home and clean up is a trouble, and those that make it by way of trash collection inevitably break in landfills, making a potential ecological disaster. LED lights may cost you more up front, but the pay off is crucial.

Looking at the Overall Costs

When you look at the price of a light fixture you have to think about bulbs and electrical power. Breaking down the costs of incandescent light bulbs, CFL bulbs and LED bulbs, you obtain the following analysis, based upon an anticipated cost per KWh at $0.13 – the nationwide average.

Expecting 6 hours of service daily for a single 60 watt bulb or its counterpart and estimating 60,000 total hours of use, and an acceptable lifespan for a LED bulb, the numbers are as follows. Operating and supplying incandescent bulbs would charge $482.61, the CFL bulbs $119.52 and then the LED bulb, $96.80. Imagine how those financial savings would add up if you convert the majority of your bulbs from incandescent.

Ways to Get a Bit More for Your Money

The price differential is clear; LED bulbs are the most cost effective, although CFL bulbs are a relatively close second. LED bulbs have the advantage of not containing any mercury, which makes them worthy of serious consideration. To get the best LED bulbs start by selecting Energy Star products.

Purchasing Energy Star compliant bulbs will reduce your energy use per light bulb by at least 75%. The bulbs work on standard dimmable switches, don’t split easily, are guaranteed for three years and expected to last up to 22 years with continuous application.

Call your local power company and ask if they are offering any refund programs to people who buy LED bulbs.

Get on the web and order bulbs directly from the makers if you can. They are often more affordable than those sold at home supply stores or supermarkets and the assortment is more complete. Finally, try to remember that acquiring LED lights is a long term investment – it will eventually pay off.

 
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Posted in Technology and Advantages of LED Lighting

 

LED Light Bulbs – Breaking Latest Improvements

02 Dec

Wanting to produce the very least environment effect, many people and also companies are coming up with suggestions to utilize really advanced items that have been launched in the marketplace with the pledge of a lower environmental effect. Among these is the change from conventional incandescent illumination to a more rewarding technology – LED lighting. LED is an acronym for Light Emitting Diode which is basically a bulb with a distinct technology to discharge light.

The normal light bulb used the heating action of the tungsten filament and the surrounding mercury gas in the glass chamber to produce a glowing light which was poor in intensity and also got heated to very high temperatures. With LED, the use of toxic chemicals and metals is voided and it uses electronic circuitry in the form of a semiconductor chip to convert electrical energy to a light energy.

LEDs change nearly all of the electrical power into illumination as well as there is very little heating. The power is not really dissipated and gets directed into offering a gradual illumination output. This makes LEDs extremely economical as well as effective a lot more than the incandescent lighting.

The lifetime of the LED bulbs is more significant than the Compact Fluorescent Lamp or even the lamps. Compact Fluorescent Lamp have the added risk of chemical substance exposure to individuals if the housing unintentionally breaks. Though Compact Fluorescent Lamp are useful in terms of appropriate illumination output they are not superior to LEDs. LED systems was so far employed only in sign lights as well as other such little things. But with difference in technology as well as style, several associations have started producing LED lighting to be utilized in homes or other bigger spaces for illumination.

LEDs are versatile and have found uses in several areas. Depending upon the usage and the type of illumination required, the different arrangements to give the right kind of ambiance can be made. The cost effective nature may need some time to be realized since the upfront investment amount may be on the higher end of the price range. But, since the life of the LED lights range from anything between 50, 000 to 75, 000 hours based on the consistent use, they may never need to be changed frequently especially in households where the consumption is definitely lower than in commercial establishments.

The common wear and tear of the LEDs is likewise lower than other types of lighting. There is no flickering as well as irritation to the eyesight with these lighting because they provide a constant light strength regardless of how old they are till their life runs out.

 
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Posted in Main Topics about LED Lights

 

LED Light Bulbs: Prepare to Measure Home Light Bulbs in Lumens, Not Watts

02 Dec

Replacing a burned-out light bulb might be a bit confusing for many U.S. residents this year. As the United States transitions from the once ubiquitous incandescent light bulb to more energy-efficient forms of lighting – such as LED bulbs – the Federal Trade Commission is changing the way light bulbs are labeled. Lumens will replace watts as the primary indicator of a bulb’s brightness, which means consumers will need to relearn how to shop for replacement bulbs.

To prepare for the incandescent phase-out, the FTC has worked with manufacturers of LED lights and other types of lighting to develop a label that will allow consumers to easily compare different types of bulbs. Resembling the nutrition labels on food products, the new light bulb labels will include information such as:

Brightness (in lumens)
Estimated yearly energy cost
Estimated life expectancy of the bulb
Color and appearance of the light produced
Energy used (in watts)

Why Lumens Instead of Watts?

Watts measure a bulb’s energy consumption, whereas lumens measure its actual light output, or brightness. When incandescent bulbs were the standard, consumers became accustomed to gauging a bulb’s light output by the amount of energy it produced. As more energy-efficient options such as LED light bulbs are becoming widely used, however, watts are no longer a reliable measurement of a bulb’s brightness.

To get a rough idea of how many lumens to look for in the newer LED bulbs and other energy-efficient options, here’s a look at the how many lumens are produced by incandescent bulbs with common wattages:

40 watts = 450 lumens
60 watts = 800 lumens
100 watts = 1600 lumens

So, for example, if you’re looking for LED light bulbs that are equivalent to 60-watt incandescent bulbs, look for those that produce 800 lumens.

Why Use LED Bulbs?

Here are some of the advantages of using LED lights in the home:

Cost: LED bulbs can operate for up to 11 years continuously, versus an incandescent bulb that lasts only 5,000 hours. This means you won’t need to buy as many replacement bulbs in the long run. Additionally, because LED lights use far less energy to produce the same amount of illumination, homeowners often see immediate savings in their energy bills.

Fixtures: You can find LED bulbs to fit most fixtures in your home, from recessed lights to floor and table lamps to outdoor fixtures.

Colors: It’s a common misconception that LED lights only come in bluish or cool hues. In truth, LED light bulbs are available in a wide range of colors, from cool to warm.

 
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Posted in Technology and Advantages of LED Lighting

 
 
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