Cree, Inc.
Cree LED Revolution Blog
Cree and LED lighting are starting a revolution
February 4th, 2010
Dispatches from the front lines of an LED Lighting Rally
I marched (OK, technically, I walked) in a circle on a street corner in downtown Raleigh yesterday with a group of passionate LED supporters and chanted:
“Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, LEDs are here to stay!
One, Two, Three, Four, Kick Fluorescents out the door!”
That’s not all. We had signs. A lot of signs. Hand-painted signs. Signs that declared our love for energy-efficient LED lights.
You’re probably wondering if we lost our minds. But I can assure you, we had a plan. You see, at approximately 5:45 p.m., just as our toes started to go numb in the chilly temperatures, a group of 100+ people rounded the corner.
But this wasn’t just a random mob, they were folks who knew a lot about LEDs. The group was on an LED Lighting Walking Tour of downtown Raleigh as part of the Department of Energy Solid State Lighting Research and Design Conference (or DOE SSL R&D for short).
Seeing their shocked faces was all it took for us to spring to action. We hoisted our signs in the air and started our chant.
Within seconds, digital cameras, cell phone and video cameras were fixed on us as we continued to walk in our circle. I tried not to make eye contact with anyone because it’s hard to stay composed when you’re hollering a chant. But I couldn’t miss the smiles, the curious looks, the camera flashes—and even a smattering of applause.
So what the heck were we doing? We were showing industry professionals that we’re serious about the LED Lighting Revolution. We truly believe LED lighting is better than incandescent, fluorescent and other lighting technologies. We truly believe the energy savings that can be achieved by switching to LED lights is worthwhile.
And we wanted those conference goers — the very people who have the potential to help change the way we light the world – to know that we’re out there paving the way for LED lighting by raising awareness.
LEDs Rock! If you were at the conference and saw the rally, please let me know in the comments section. I would love to see your photos and video.
10 Responses to “Dispatches from the front lines of an LED Lighting Rally”
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I am SO proud of you all for doing this, and SO envious I couldn’t attend! I never committed because I thought I might get harrangled into a work project, and alas… but PLEASE, LET’S HOLD MORE! We have to really get momentum behind this, surprise people and get them talking LED, Baby!
Ashley Sue,
We would’ve loved to have you, but I understand how pesky projects can be when you’re trying to make plans. It was very neat to see the conference attendees smile at us and take pictures. I hope we can have another one on a larger scale!!
I heard recently that Cree broke the 200lm/W barrier with an LED that had an efficiency of 208lm/W. As I read, I couldn’t help but think, “so what? They were probably driving a high-end xp-g die at 10mA to get that efficiency.”
No news there, we all know the XP-G is a great breakthrough in reducing the droop in efficiency past a certain power. The larger area of the die coupled with most likely a more accurate or somehow more improved doping technique leads to higher efficiency. I don’t know why they were reporting that.
-BUT-
Further down in the press release, it states that the test involved an LED putting out 208 Lumens at a 1W drive current of 350mA!!!!!! I don’t put a lot of exclamation points for spam, this is big! This means that Cree has a white LED producing around twice what latest generation XR-E and XP-E were producing! Not to mention most white LEDs have a Vf of about 3.2-3.4V, while this new lab LED has a Vf of about 2.9V!!!!! (again with the exclamation points)
Anyways, this is big news hidden in a normal looking announcement. I can’t wait for a resulting product to hit the market. Any way you could hook up an enthusiastic kid with a sample, Ginny?
[...] means the LED Lighting Revolution really is gaining momentum, from a street corner of Raleigh, NC to a Tweetup at WRAL. Cree’s Ice Skating Tweetup has been rescheduled to Tuesday, Feb. 9. If [...]
What a great event… you guys are the best! On behalf of bystanders everywhere, I thank you for persuading me join your rally, carry a sign and promote better living through LEDs. I especially enjoyed the facial expressions on the crowd as they passed by.
I’m convinced LEDs are here to stay, and I look forward to tracking Cree’s progress as you eradicate from our planet the cursed existence of outmoded lighting technologies.
B-R-A-V-O!
[...] means the LED Lighting Revolution really is gaining momentum, from a street corner of Raleigh, NC to a Tweetup at WRAL. Cree’s Ice Skating Tweetup has been rescheduled to Tuesday, Feb. 9. If [...]
Patrick,
I love your enthusiasm, but at this time I can’t hook you up with a sample. But thanks for making us smile even bigger. Your enthusiasm is much appreciated and has not gone unnoticed.
Rich,
We’re so glad you could join in the rally! Thanks for coming out and being part of the LED Lighting Revolution!
I was one of the 100+ people and we were all excited! It was a big suprise for us. Thank you all..
Erhan,
I’m glad you enjoyed the Rally. Any chance you got some good photos? I still haven’t tracked down anyone who has pics.
I think you folks should do a night rally, bringing flashlights equipped with Cree LEDs to illuminate your signs and stuff. People will see these bright spots as if everyone has huge lanterns or something, but when they come closer, they will see that all of that light is coming from a tiny little flashlight! Only downside is that bright light can be distracting to drivers, so perhaps find a spot where pedestrian traffic is more common than automobile traffic. Just a thought =)