General Nutrition Centers Benefits from LED bulbs

Recently, General Nutrition Centers (GNC) has adopted high-performance and ultra-efficient LED bulbs at its corporate owned locations across the USA.

It’s said that the ENERGY STAR® qualified LED bulbs now lighting GNC retail display shelves are approximately 80% more efficient than the halogen bulbs they replace, are fully dimmable and have approximately 50% more lumens than competing products.
Asides from that , the stores will also save money on maintenance and cooling costs, since the company's bulbs will last 50,000 hours and give off very little heat unlike the halogen bulbs that they replace.

As such, GNC estimates that the lighting upgrade will pay for itself in one to two years—with energy and maintenance savings continuing to shave costs from the retail chain's bottom line for many years.

LED modules bring new light to Boise YMCA aquatic center

Custom LED retrofits rejuvenated a Boise, Idaho aquatic center while reducing energy usage by 80 percent.

The YMCA in Boise, Idaho is open 20 hours a day. And up until several weeks ago, a midnight swim had begun to look like just that. Lighting levels had deteriorated. The metal-halide fixtures, designed to reflect light off a white ceiling, had burned out in several cases. Chlorine from the water had caused the ceiling to turn brown.

“Really, almost from day one the lighting solution was not what we had hoped for. But fifteen years into operation, the lifeguards couldn’t see as well as they needed to and it was heading toward a safety issue,” described Jim Everett, CEO of the Treasure Valley Family YMCA. Everett had other issues as well: maintenance on the lighting fixtures tended to be difficult because of the high ceiling and having to work around the pools.

Finally, an elaborate truss system held the existing 66 lighting fixtures and tearing it out was cost-prohibitive. “If we had to replace all those fixtures it would not have been cost effective,” said Everett.

After weighing several options, including blanket replacement of the metal-halide luminaires and several different LED vendors, the YMCA decided to work with a provider of task-specific LED lighting, and LED array provider. Together, they provided a drop-in replacement for each of the 66 fixtures, keeping the still functional and attractive truss system intact.

LED replacement modules

The replacement kit for each fixture consists of 4 LED modules and two power supplies, which consume 150W. This kit compares to two 400W metal-halide bulbs with ballasts, which consumed approximately 920W each. Energy savings is 770W per fixture or 80 percent.

One of the YMCA’s main requirements was a rapid ROI. “We wanted something that was socially responsible with a reasonable return-on-investment,” said Everett. “By retrofitting the existing fixtures with an LED solution, we saved a considerable amount of money”. Each fixture had a changeover time of approximately 20 minutes to remove the metal-halide light engine and ballasts and install the LED modules and reflector.

The design team chose aluminum reflectors to direct the LED light to the pool level. They experimented with various reflector shapes, finally settling on a gull-wing type design for optimal lighting effect.

A further design criterion involved adapting the LEDs to the caustic pool environment. High humidity and chlorine levels dictated that the LED modules be hermetically sealed. “We leveraged a technology from a company that makes LED marker lights for aircraft, described Deely. The LEDs are sealed in a water- and air-tight module. Epoxy adheres the polycarbonate lens to the LEDs and to the heat sink. The only wires (to the LEDs) exiting the heat sink are wrapped in heat-shrink tubing. The wires go through a silicon rubber grommet lined in silicone paste. The power supply is IP67 rated. Both the modules and power supply have a 5-year warranty.

The light output per fixture is now approximately 13,500 lm at 150W or 90 lm/W efficacy. Although the total lumen output is lower than with the metal-halide bulbs, SimplyLEDs was able to increase light output levels on the pool by 50 percent by taking advantage of the beam angle of the LEDs and the custom-designed reflector (see photo). A CCT of 5000K, very close to that of daylight (5500K), was chosen.

Beyond the savings in energy cost of approximately $20,000/yr, the removal of the metal-halide lamps also eliminated the fire hazard associated with these lights. In addition, whenever there was a power outage, the YMCA had to wait approximately 30 minutes until the metal-halide lamps cooled and could be restarted. This inconvenience no longer exists. Moreover, because the maintenance cost of the LEDs is nearly zero, Everett estimated a maintenance savings of $5000 per year.

Other advantages to the LED installation include increased lighting uniformity in the pool area and reduced glare off the water. “The quality of the light is really fantastic. I play a lot of water polo, and I really notice how much better I can see in the pool now,” said Everett.

Everett said the strong drivers for adopting LEDs were really the terrific energy savings, fast installation and reasonable ROI. “Also, we don’t have much tolerance for interruptions, since we’re open twenty hours a day, seven days a week. The willingness to work after hours and work quickly made a big difference on this project. We needed people who understood our business model and could work within our constraints,” he said.

The World Bank Encourages Asian Firms to Light up African LED Market

According to a local industrial group, Asian companies are encouraged by the World Bank to pursue commercial opportunities in the African LED lighting market in support of the group's program to light up the continent.

Rodd Eddy, an International Finance Corp. (IFC) consultant, disclosed that,because the island was among the world's largest LED and photovoltaic goods makers, the World Bank hoped Asian companies would participate in the "Lighting Africa" program. The IFC also expected Asian producers would provide cutting edge LED lighting technology to the region.

As a member of the World Bank Group, and the World Bank jointly run Lighting Africa, IFC is expected to generate about US$10 billion (NT$289 billion) in business for suppliers, including those in Asia.

According to IFC, the program is mobilizing the private sector to build sustainable markets to provide safe, affordable and modern off-grid lighting to 2.5 million people on the continent by 2012 and to 250 million people by 2030. and IFC provides investment and advisory services under to help the private sector in developing countries.

Besides, the program will assist Asian companies in getting their lighting products certified and serve as a bridge between them and African dealers.

So far, two Asian firms have sought certifications for their products ,expecting to become part of the supply chain under the program.

New LED Bulbs Show Bright Light, High Efficiency

Research has found LEDs are comparable not only in brightness to the old incandescents, but much more efficient than even compact fluorescent lights.

LEDs are also built to last 15 years, compared to five years for CFLs and one for incandescents.

The LEDs are costly now, but the price is dropping very rapidly. So we have a very bright and cool and thrifty future.

Supporters say saving $10 to $11 a year in energy costs more than makes up for the initial outlay.

Analysts expect LEDs to drop to $20 a bulb within two years, which is about what you'll save in energy costs if you buy one now.

Glow of LEDs begins to lure investors

It may seem like one of the most boring investment pitches going. But Credit Suisse and Canaccord Genuity are both convinced that high tech lights made using LEDs are poised to become the next big thing, according to recent reports by the firms.
“Our bullish stance on the market and our belief that the field is relatively open suggests there can be room for several companies to define their niches,” Credit Suisse said in a recent research report on the sector.

When is the best time to upgrade to LEDs Lights?

Remodeling, especially in the kitchen, is an ideal opportunity to upgrade basic components of a room to make it less expensive to light and more environmentally friendly, on top of improving comfort and aesthetics. Although LEDs don’t require special fixtures or rewiring a room, they can be hardwired into the electrical system, and a remodel is an easy time to set this up and plan ahead to be sure that the LEDs will work in the most desirable location. Also, because LEDs produce more light with less wattage, a plan to remodel using them may make it possible to change the lighting scheme and locations of lights while still facilitating a significant decrease in electricity and replacement.

One of the drawbacks of installing LED under cabinet lights is that LEDs tend to cost more per unit than their CFL or incandescent counterparts, which can be difficult when added to significant remodel costs. But overall they are far less expensive per lumen of light produced, as well as safer and more environmentally friendly. So, a little extra upfront cost will easily be recouped in energy savings over the next few years.

China aims to be LED market lesder by 2015

Korea, Japan, and China appear to have the solutions to see steady and positive proliferation of LED lighting products, key price points could trigger real commercial demand.

“The rapid increase in the market for LEDs used in various applications such as notebook backlights and automobile headlights is spurring heavy capital investments by LED makers”, noted Robert Castellano, president of The Information Network. “LEDs are creating a niche market for conventional suppliers of semiconductor processing tools and a lucrative market for MOCVD suppliers.”

High brightness LEDs will reach nearly 135 billion units shipped in 2011 from less than 100 billion in 2010. Backlight LEDs will reach 30 billion units shipped, up from 20 billion in 2010.

In China, the Central Government’s objective is to end up with five to six major Chinese players, who can compete globally, including 3 to 5 flagship companies. The report says that not only will China become a powerhouse in low-cost manufacturing by 2015, it will also be the largest consumer of LEDs. Currently there are 50 large indoor and outdoor lighting projects already in place.

The Information Network says that the Chinese domestic SSL value will reach US$ 74bn by 2015 and that a business-to-government deal with central and local governments is imminent. Continued investments in the Chinese LED value chain between 2010 and 2015 will see 75% going into the supply chain and 25% into vertically integrated players.

By 2015, China intends for its manufacturing standards to be globally viable for the volume production market and its LED lighting products to be 40% below the market price.

Apart from their global commercial aspirations, they are also greatly motivated by the high potential internal benefits that will arise from having access to energy efficient lighting and consequently, LEDs are a very prominent target technology in China’s latest five-year plan.