Cree LED Revolution Blog

Cree and LED lighting are starting a revolution

Archive for the ‘Cree’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

ENERGY STAR program helps spread word about energy-efficient lighting

Monday, November 7th, 2011

Today’s guest blog post is by Timothy Henning, Cree’s ENERGY STAR program manager.

If you go shopping for lighting or appliances, it’s hard to miss the blue ENERGY STAR® logo that’s displayed on many of the most efficient products. By now, many people have come to know it as the symbol of energy efficiency. But ENERGY STAR is more than just a sticker recognizing energy efficiency, and Cree is pleased to be an active participant in the lighting program.

What is ENERGY STAR? 

The ENERGY STAR program is a joint effort between the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) focused on providing consumers with energy-efficient products that save money and protect the environment at the same time.

By using ENERGY STAR approved products, ENERGY STAR reports that Americans have saved nearly $18 billion on utility bills and avoided greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 33 million cars in 2010 alone! 

ES_CTW_GraphicFINAL9L_rgb

Partners Help Promote Efficiency

It takes a lot of effort to educate the world about the importance of choosing products that reduce energy consumption, so ENERGY STAR works with partners to help spread the word about energy-efficient products. This week, several Cree employees will be traveling to Charlotte, NC, in support of the 2011 ENERGY STAR Products Partner Meeting.

ENERGY STAR regularly hosts meetings for partners to gather to discuss new program initiatives, product specifications or other outreach activities. These meetings offer ENERGY STAR partners the opportunity to network with others to develop relationships and collaborations to promote ENERGY STAR. 

Cree Passed the Tests

While the ENERGY STAR program applies to a wide variety of products across a number of industries, Cree is an active participant of the lighting program. In order for Cree’s lamps and luminaires to earn the ENERGY STAR certification, our products must meet very strict photometric, electrical performance and regulatory requirements. 

Additionally, there are on-going program requirements and random product audits by the EPA to ensure the continued quality and integrity of the program.  To date, Cree has qualified 35 unique model numbers with more approvals anticipated before the end of the year! At Cree, we believe it’s important to meet ENERGY STAR’s requirements because it’s a key step toward getting good quality LED lighting in the market.

Simple Steps to Get Involved

Seeking out ENERGY STAR-qualified products isn’t the only way to help conserve energy. There are simple steps we can all take at home, work and in our communities to save energy, money and protect the environment. Currently, there’s a national campaign encouraging all Americans to take protect the climate.

Participating in the “Change the World, Start with ENERGY STAR” campaign is simple. Just take a moment to take a pledge to conserve energy by following some of the many steps outlined on the site.

And the next time you go shopping for energy-efficient LED lighting, be sure to look for the ENERGY STAR label.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Cree, Energy Efficiency | 4 Comments »

How to Calculate Light Loss Factors When Comparing LED Lighting to Conventional Systems

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011

Today’s guest blog post comes from Gary Trott, a product development innovator for Cree LED Lighting focused on developing solid state lighting products for general illumination. Gary holds numerous patents covering some of the most significant new product releases in the past ten years and has played an instrumental role in helping Cree develop some of its award-winning LED lighting products.

One of the most rewarding parts of my job is traveling the world and meeting other people who are passionate about lighting. And, just as you might expect, they ask A LOT of great questions.

The most commonly asked question and the one that receives the most varied response is: “What light loss factor (LLF) should I use for lighting calculations?” 

This is a hyper-critical question because you really need to get this right.  If you don’t you will either:

  • Significantly over-light a space and waste energy. OR
  • You can under-light a space, and the folks who occupy that space may not have enough light for their basic tasks a few years from now.

To definitively answer this question, we enlisted the help of renowned lighting designer Jim Benya. Jim wrote a white paper entitled, “Lighting Calculations in the LED Era,” that set out to answer this Light Loss Factor question and many others.

In it, you can learn:

  • Differences in photometry for traditional and solid state lighting solutions
  • Lighting calculation methods
  • Descriptions of LLF components for both technologies
  • LLF recommendations for SSL and fluorescent lighting
  • In-application comparisons of SSL to fluorescent lighting in schools and office

You can download the paper here and read it when you have some extra time to dive into the interesting data.

I enjoy meeting fellow lighting professionals and answering their questions because it allows me to understand the interests and concerns in our community. By sharing critical knowledge, I get to help people become more comfortable with adopting energy-efficient LED lighting.

So what is the answer to the LLF question for typical offices? For T8 troffers, use 0.76 and for SSL troffers use 0.73.  

Anyone else find it ironic that the answer is almost the same as the 0.75 LLF many designers and manufacturers have used as a standard for years?

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Cree | 4 Comments »

Energy Awareness Month 2011 Blog Series Wrap-Up

Monday, October 31st, 2011

Energy Awareness Month isn’t a Hallmark celebration (yet) but for us energy-efficiency gurus, it’s a great excuse to shout from the rooftops the importance of conserving energy. This year we decided to celebrate with a month-long blog series focusing on the ways Cree’s products and employees are working to help improve energy-efficiency.  

But sometimes life gets in the way of Energy Awareness Month, which means you may have *gasp* missed some of our posts. Well, don’t despair. We’ve rounded up all of our posts from this month and summarized them in a nice, neat little package just for you.

Cree Energy Awareness Month

WEEK ONE

In our first week we highlighted some of the utility companies that are offering rebates for Cree’s energy-efficient LED lighting products, as well as the EcoSmart LED Downlight we make for Home Depot. We broke down the types of rebates utilities offer, and we showed off some of the best including programs in Illinois, Long Island and New Jersey.

REBATE

Oct. 4 – Utility Companies Offer Rebates for Cree LED Lighting

Oct. 5 – ComEd Offers Illinois Customers Major Rebates on Cree LED Lighting

Oct. 6 – LIPA Brings LED Lighting Rebates to Lucky Long Island Residents

Oct. 7 – Fist Pump! Rebate Gives New Jersey Residents Opportunity to Buy EcoSmart LED Downlight for $24.97

WEEK TWO

Typically this blog focuses on LEDs and LED lighting, but we couldn’t pass up the chance to teach you a little about another side of Cree’s business: Our energy-saving power products! We were honored to have Cree Co-founder John Palmour explain how silicon carbide-based diodes can make power supplies and electric motors more efficient. And we offered a great intro to our Silicon Carbide MOSFETs.  We also slipped a power post into week three because we’re wild like that (see below).

power plant

Oct. 12 – The Power to Do More: Cree Silicon Carbide-Based Diodes Improve Efficiency of Power Systems

Oct. 13 – Cree’s Silicon Carbide MOSFETs Help Improve Efficiency of Electronics

WEEK THREE

In week three, we primarily focused on Cree LED lighting, showing you a couple examples of ways our LED lights are saving energy in places you might not think of such as Kentucky’s State Capitol rotunda and gas stations throughout the country. We reiterated the importance of knowing the difference between lumens and watts when shopping for LED lighting. And we had to a leftover post from our Power week about solar panels that we couldn’t let you miss, so we slipped it in.

petrol1

Oct. 17 – Get Il-lumen-ated with Lighting Facts: Knowing the Difference Between Lumens and Watts

Oct. 18 – Making Solar Panels More Efficient with Silicon Carbide Schottky Diodes

Oct. 19 – Kentucky State Capitol Rotunda Shines with Cree LED Lighting

Oct. 20 – Energy-Savings Surprises at Gas Stations

Oct. 21 – Spotlight on One of Cree’s R&D Engineers

WEEK FOUR

In week four, we focused on Cree LED components, showing you a variety of special places you can find them (from a solar-powered car to the University of Michigan’s Big House). We also told you about our investigative applications engineers and how Cree EasyWhite technology can make it easier for you to design with LEDs. And, our senior director of components marketing did an outstanding job explaining why Cree is completely rethinking lighting.

Photo by Andreas Peña Doll

Photo by Andreas Peña Doll

Oct. 28 – Why We Push for Revolution, Not Evolution

Oct. 27 – Solar Race Takes Cree LEDs “Down Under”

Oct. 26 – Get Your Game Face on with Cree LEDs

Oct. 25 – Cree Applications Engineers Investigate LEDs

Oct. 24 – Bye Bye Binning, Hello EasyWhite: How Cree’s EasyWhite Technology Simplifies Designing with LEDs

We hope you learned something about our commitment to making products that help conserve energy. Now don’t leave without checking out our LED-lit pumpkin carving contest.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Cree, Energy Awareness Month, Energy Efficiency | No Comments »

Vote For Your Favorite Pumpkin Lit with Cree XLamp LEDs

Monday, October 31st, 2011

Cree’s Applications Engineers are always cooking up some kind of contest. To celebrate Halloween, they decided to have a pumpkin carving contest using Cree LEDs. Fellow Cree employees got to vote on the winner. You can see the pumpkins up close and learn what LEDs are inside on our Facebook page.

pumpkin contest

We’ll reveal who Cree employees selected as the winner later this afternoon. In the meantime, head over to our facebook page to get your vote in!

Tags: , ,
Posted in Cree, Energy Awareness Month, For Fun | 1 Comment »

Guest Blog Post: Why We Push for Revolution, not Evolution

Friday, October 28th, 2011

All month long, Cree has celebrated Energy Awareness Month. Through a series of blog posts, Cree has brought to you information about ways our products and our customers and partners are helping save energy. Today’s final guest blog post is by Cree’s senior director of marketing, LED components, Mike Watson.

Revolution. It’s a popular word these days. Much of the current revolution discussion is politically or socially motivated (the Middle East, Occupy Wall Street, etc.). Here at Cree, we talk about the energy revolution and more specifically, the LED lighting revolution every day.

Many countries outside North America know that to meet future economic demands, they must fundamentally change the way they consume power and they must do it now.

Instead of talking about change, they are making it, via policy directives and government mandates to encourage innovation and implementation of energy-efficient products. Just look at China – it recently completed its largest highway lighting upgrade with more than 10,000 street lights and more than a million Cree LEDs!

Cree Energy Awareness Month

When we look back at the last 100 years of lighting, precious little has changed in terms of technology, performance or form factor.  Lighting technologies haven’t evolved as demand has increased.

This type of evolution isn’t going to work for LED lighting, nor will it happen fast enough for us to address ever-increasing energy consumption.   

The much lauded (and much maligned) CFL has been heralded for more than thirty years, but market penetration has stalled at just about 10 percent. Yes, stalled, despite massive promotions at big box hardware stores, continued rebates from power companies and technical and quality improvements over several decades. 

That’s scary, especially to those of us in the lighting biz. Could that same slow adoption curve curse LED lighting?

We can’t wait thirty years for the widespread adoption of a technology that is ready now—ready to change the way we light streets and parking lots, grocery stores and offices, homes and even our cars.

So I’m talking about a revolution. The kind of revolution where we throw out preconceived notions, we cast aside things that don’t work anymore and we step into the brave, new, well-lit world.

That’s why we’re completely rethinking lighting.

It’s not about watts, it’s about lumens. It’s not about bulbs and fixtures. And it’s not about cost per bulb.

It’s about cost over lifetime and getting better light, for longer, with bigger bang for your buck.

It’s time to demand better, more efficient lighting. Don’t you agree?

Tags: , ,
Posted in Cree, Energy Awareness Month | 1 Comment »

Solar Race Takes Cree LEDs “Down Under”

Thursday, October 27th, 2011

Last week, students at Stanford University put their engineering skills to the test at the 2011 World Solar Challenge, a solar-powered car race which covered a remarkable 1,877 miles (!) through the Australian Outback, from Darwin to Adelaide.

The Stanford Solar Car Project (SSCP) brings students together to design, build, test and race solar-powered vehicles – pretty cool, huh?

Well the SSCP, a student-run, donation-funded organization, has been building and racing solar-powered vehicles since 1986. This year, their mission was to be the first American team to win the World Solar Car challenge since General Motors’ Sunraycer in 1987!

Cree Energy Awareness Month

This year’s car, named Xenith, was unveiled on Aug.11 and is a 23-percent efficient solar array featuring a three-wheel steering system, glass encapsulated solar panels and a high-efficiency electric motor. The Xenith can travel at 55-60 mph under sun power alone, and can reach higher speeds when using the reserve battery pack. Also on board are Cree’s components – XLamp MC-E LEDs are used for the Xenith’s headlights while XLamp XP-E Amber LEDs are used for sidemarker lights.

Photo by Andreas Peña Doll

Photo by Andreas Peña Doll

 

xenith21

Photo by: Andreas Peña Doll

The Xenith isn’t likely to appear at a dealership any time soon, however the Stanford Solar Car Project provides a real-world chance to test innovative cutting-edge ideas — which could eventually boost the efficiency of everyday autos.

Unfortunately for the Xenith team, while trekking across the Australian Outback, they ran into some gray skies and clouds, preventing them from finishing the solar race. But they weren’t the only ones – this year, only seven of the 37 competing teams were able to cross the finish line. Great job, team and best of luck next year!

To keep up with the SSCP team as they prepare for next year’s race, check out their blog: http://solarcar.stanford.edu/blog. You can also follow the team on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/susolarcar.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Cree, Energy Awareness Month | No Comments »

Get Your Game Face on with Cree LEDs

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

It’s that time of year in North America – the leaves are beginning to fall, it is almost sweater weather and Saturday’s are all about college football. Given the theme of this month’s blog, it’s also the time of year when we think about energy efficiency. So, how does energy-efficiency, particularly LED lighting, relate to college football?  Allow us to elaborate.

Say you’re at home on your comfy couch watching your favorite team play a friendly game of pigskin on your high-definition TV. Or say you’re at the stadium, checking out live in-game action, stats and most importantly, the score. Well guess what – that vivid game day action may be powered by energy-efficient LEDs. From your LED-backlit HDTV to the high-res screen in the stadium, LEDs are a fan’s best friend.

Cree Energy Awareness Month

In fact, in stadiums around the U.S. and the world,  high-brightness LEDs, particularly Cree’s Screen Master® high-brightness LEDs, can be driven at a lower power to save energy and extend the lifetime of indoor and outdoor video screen and billboards. With industry-leading water-resistant packaging, Cree’s versatile 3-in-1 LEDs feature superior color quality and contrast, as well as the high-intensity output and wide viewing angles needed for optimal fan viewing.

If you’re a University of Michigan Wolverine fan, you might have noticed the newly upgraded scoreboards in “The Big House.” The largest stadium in the United States, The Big House consistently boasts game day crowds of more than 100,000 fans.

IMG_2008

Well those new scoreboards are courtesy of Lighthouse Technologies and feature more than three million Cree Screen Master CLV6A LEDs in these state-of-the-art LED video displays and scoreboards. Positioned in each of the end zones, these massive high-resolution LED video boards are 40 percent larger than the previous system, providing in-game broadcast capability, instant replay, animation and dynamic promotional content in vivid color and ultra-sharp detail – all while saving energy.

IMG_1989

And the University of Michigan isn’t the only one getting in on this high-bright action. The American Airlines Center, the Dallas home to both the NBA’s Mavericks and NHL’s Stars, installed 25 Lighthouse LED video screens as part of a large-scale renovation project in 2010. It even included the first 1080×1920 high-definition video screen in any NBA or NHL facility.

So whether you’re enjoying game day updates at home or at the stadium, don’t forget that the high-resolution action is being brought to you thanks to high-quality, high-performing Cree LEDs.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Cree, Energy Awareness Month, LED Components | 2 Comments »

Bye Bye Binning, Hello EasyWhite: How Cree’s EasyWhite technology simplifies designing with LEDs

Monday, October 24th, 2011

Cree is celebrating Energy Awareness Month with a series of blog posts about ways Cree and our products are helping save energy.

Halloween is quickly approaching…the one time of year where it’s completely appropriate to dress up as your favorite SpongeBob characters and scare yourself silly with horror movies and haunted houses. One thing that’s not okay this Halloween? Being scared of LEDs.

For too long, lighting manufacturers and designers have been spooked by LEDs. Sure, hearing the terms black body locus, flux and ANSI (what?!) are enough to make even the toughest of us shake in our stylish yet affordable boots.  One of the most bloodcurdling words to LED-phobes? Binning.

More than two years ago, thanks to EasyWhite technology, Cree removed the evil-ness of binning, which can simplify LED system design and improve LED-to-LED color consistency.

Cree Energy Awareness Month

Before EasyWhite, lighting and fixture manufacturers had to play “mad scientist” and manually mix multiple LED bins to achieve the desired color consistency using recipes. Not only can this be complicated and time-consuming, sometimes it’s just plain impractical. Like when you’re designing those tiny MR-16 bulbs (track lighting) where you just can’t cram multiple LEDs into that small form factor to get that ‘just right’ color.  

With EasyWhite, all you, Mr.-or-Ms.-Lighting-Designer, need to know is what color temperature (2700K, 3500K, etc.) and light output you want…and voila! Not at all scary, right?

The following Cree LEDs are currently available with EasyWhite color mixing technology: XLamp XM-L, MC-E, MT-G (perfect for that MR-16 bulb!) and MP-L LEDs (directional lighting), the easy-to-use CXA2011 LED array and the LMR4 LED module, which is hands-down, the easiest way to design with LEDs.  For even more information on Cree’s EasyWhite technology, check out http://www.cree.com/xlamp/easywhite.asp.

2-step MacAdams Bin MP-L MC-E

At Cree, we’re constantly trying to remove the obstacles to using LEDs to create more energy-efficient fixtures.  We believe the fewer challenges associated with LED-based fixtures, the more widespread the adoption of LED technology…which is a win-win for everyone.

So this Halloween, as you go door-to-door for sweet treats, you can be rest assured that Cree has taken the fear out of LEDs.

Posted in Cree, Energy Awareness Month | 5 Comments »

Spotlight on one of Cree’s R&D Engineers

Friday, October 21st, 2011

Cree is celebrating Energy Awareness Month with a series of blog posts about ways Cree and our products are helping save energy.

How does a wannabe-law student end up designing LED lighting products? For Elizabeth Rodgers, Cree’s newest R&D optical engineer, it started with an impulse decision to take a physics optics lab, which prompted an interest in lighting. A smart college professor pointed her in the direction of University of Colorado Boulder’s Buildings Systems Program, which provided Elizabeth with a degree in architectural engineering, specializing in lighting and electrical design.

Sidenote: CU-Boulder offers the largest undergraduate educational program in lighting and illumination engineering in the country, preparing about 20 students per year for careers in the lighting industry.

“I never really thought much about LEDs, or lighting in general, until I went to school for it,” explains Elizabeth. “Once I started studying lighting, I realized the extraordinary amount of energy wasted by traditional technologies like incandescent bulbs…and I knew that I wanted to be involved in using a technology like LEDs that delivers better quality light while saving energy.” 

So what does an R&D optical engineer do? Pretty much everything, according to Elizabeth.

Typical responsibilities including designing optical products and systems, conducting computer-based engineering analysis on new products that are in development and working daily with various Cree teams on current projects and future prototypes.  Elizabeth participates heavily in design reviews and product meetings, working to improve the overall optical design process.
Cree Energy Awareness Month

“No day is the same, which is awesome, since I enjoy variety,” said Elizabeth. “My job is really challenging and that’s one of the things I love about it – it’s so different. Working in the SSL industry is very exciting because we, both Cree and the industry as a whole, are advancing so quickly in terms of the products we are putting out and the technology we’re working on. It’s incredibly gratifying to be a part of a company that has the ability to help shape how the lighting of the future is going to look.”

Elizabeth is one of the newest members of Cree’s team of innovators, pioneers and dreamers, all working to rid the world of antiquated, inefficient lighting. If you’re thinking about a career the sustainable energy movement, make sure to check out @CreeCareers all the latest and greatest jobs working with Cree LEDs.

Posted in Cree, Energy Awareness Month | 3 Comments »

Energy-Saving Surprises at Gas Stations

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

Cree is celebrating Energy Awareness Month with a series of blog posts about ways Cree and our products are helping save energy. Today’s guest post comes from Chris Ruud, president of Ruud Lighting, Inc., a Cree company.

There has been and will continue to be major growth in consumer interest in green cars – hybrids, clean diesel, plug-in hybrids and pure electric – according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 US Green Automotive Study. That same study also shows that 10 percent of sales by 2016 will come from vehicles with these fuel-efficient technologies.

This is great news. However, that four-fold increase in sales numbers compared to 2010 numbers still means that there will be millions upon millions of traditional, combustion engines cars out on the roads that need petrol (gas, diesel) fuel.

Cree Energy Awareness Month

A great many of us will probably be counted among the millions that haven’t made the switch to hybrid or electric vehicles, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t doing our part to conserve energy. If you’re reading this blog, you’ve probably installed or considered installing LED lighting (one of the most energy efficient lighting sources on the market) and you have probably adopted at least one of the countless other energy savings initiatives recommended by the U.S. Department of Energy.

The same holds true for petroleum stations. Yes, gas stations may represent energy consumption in your mind, but station owners all across the country already have and are continuing to take steps to help the environment. This market was an early adopter of LED lighting as a standard and it is truly transforming the industry. While still serving a need for energy consumption, station owners are realizing that they can achieve significant energy cost savings by retrofitting the lighting with energy-efficient BetaLED luminaires and other Cree LED lighting products.

BetaLED lights illuminate this gas station in Farmington, CA.

BetaLED lights illuminate this gas station in Farmington, CA.

With a reduction in energy consumption in island canopy lighting reaching an astounding 80 percent at some installations and a payback realized in just three years, station owners are taking the lead in creating a sustainable future in this market. And with more than 150,000 gas stations around the country, the opportunity is there for some serious energy savings.

Energy savings isn’t the only reason for the installations and retrofits. Imagine it is late at night, you are low on fuel and need to fill up. Ahead, you see signs for a few filling stations. Which one would you choose?

petrol1

33 THE EDGE canopy fixtures from BetaLED were installed at this gas station in Plano, Texas, helping reduce energy costs from lighting by 31 percent.

If you’re anything like me, I’m choosing the one that looks like the one on the right – the one that is well lit. Thanks to BetaLED and Cree, this station and others across the country have sustainable illumination that creates a safe and inviting atmosphere.

Posted in BetaLED, Cree, Energy Efficiency | 2 Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »