Michigan LEED-Certified School Features LED Lighting

Michigan LEED-Certified School Features LED Lighting

I don’t know of many schools that are LEED certified, let alone LEED Gold certified.  But one area of my home state is now host to three, yes three such schools.  They’re in the Kalamazoo-Portage area and are the only ones in the state.

The latest school is the WoodsEdge Learning Center.  The center has been awarded the LEED Gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council in Washington, DC and is the first special education facility in the country to receive the designation.

The school was awarded WoodsEdge points in five categories, including water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality and innovation and design process.

WoodsEdge has many sustainable features, spotlighted by dimmable LED lighting that is programmable.  It’s not only energy efficient, but can be adjusted for children who are sensitive to light or at quiet times.  Like all LEDs I talked about to this point, they turn on and off without delay or flicker – which can negatively affect autistic students.

The 117,708-square-foot building opened in the fall of 2010 serves students, ages 3 to 26, with severe cognitive and physical disabilities.

http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2012/04/kalamazoos_woodsedge_school_aw.html

Conference in Singapore Points Out Importance of LEDs

Conference in Singapore Points Out Importance of LEDs

When I told someone I work with why exactly I was late one night, he chuckled and said “that happens sometimes.”  I woke up late – or just in time to get dressed and leave the house.  I added that I didn’t have any time to write my blog.  After telling me a bit about his own, I told him mine was about LED lighting.  He’s the first person who hasn’t said “what’s that?”  Instead, he said “LED is lights are so cool.  You can do so many different things with them.”  Yup.  That’s one of the things I love about them too.  We didn’t get into the nitty gritty of it all, but I could tell if we went any deeper he’d be able to keep up with the conversation.  If I would ever go to a conference, like SEMICON in Singapore, I’d meet plenty of people who probably know even more about it than I do.

At this year’s SEMICON Singapore, SEMI led a forum that brought the pioneers of the industry together with the world of academia to discuss state-of-the-art technologies and business opportunities with a future outlook.

One such matter discussed was that achieving energy-efficiency with lighting is more important than ever.  That’s because artificial lighting consumes about 19% of total energy generation worldwide.  A good solution?  LEDs, and by now, you know why.  Additionally, as one speaker – a professor at UC-Santa Barbara pointed out, the US Department of Energy has estimated that in 2030 the energy savings from LED lighting (in the US alone) would top $250 billion, or the equivalent of 50 Gigawatt-size power plants.

The energy consumption of artificial lighting can be reduced possibly but 50% with LEDs if new performance goals are met.  If that’s the case, then we could see an even greater reduction.

What’s this mean?  It means I shouldn’t be just saving money to move, but saving money to do a full LED makeover when we get there!

This year’s conference was held April 24^th.

http://www.ceasiamag.com/article/aixtron-asm-ntu-philips-lumileds-and-university-of-california-santa-barbara-share-insights-into-the-led-technologies-at-semicon-singapore/8462

Sources of Information are Everywhere

Sources of Information are Everywhere

The nice thing about family and friends that knows what you do is that they’re always keeping a lookout about news in your area of expertise.  I have a pretty good article coming up, but I just need the pictures of the product my mom will be taking once the product gets to her workplace.  Then the other day my husband was working at his part time job and noticed an article about the L Prize-winning Philips EnduraLED™ A 19 dimmable 60W replacement (10W) bulb.  I informed him that I’d already reported on this particular product, but thanks.  He still keeps out a watch for things though.  Then there are the other family members and friends who don’t know the first thing when it comes to LEDs (remember the bulbs that look like “curly fries”?)  So then I get to talk all about the attributes of LEDs and just why they should switch.

But today I’m holding off on that kind of talk.  Instead, I’ll be looking at the product I meant to discuss yesterday, but still had power issues.  And you don’t want me trying to type a 300-word blog entry on a cell phone with my thumbs, right?  Just the auto-correct would be a pain.

Today’s topic: the Philips AmbientLED™ 20W (3.5W) replacement MR11 flood LED bulb with GU5.3 base in soft warm white.  These bulbs are often used in open flood and recessed lighting, as well as track lighting fixtures and landscape flood lights.  The bulb  emits directional spot light which allows you to focus the light on whatever area you desire, whether inside or outside the home.

Like just about every Philips LED, the AmbientLED™ 20W replacement is at least 80% more energy-efficient than traditional incandescent bulbs while producing the same amount of light.  Additionally, there’s no delay in on/off switching and no flicker.  The bulb, like other LED products, lasts up to 25,000 hours.  For those who don’t know, that’s 25 times longer than a traditional incandescent bulb and 2.5 times longer than a fluorescent.

We will be moving soon, hopefully to a place with a bigger, nicer back and front yard.  Maybe we’ll pack some of these!

http://www.agreensupply.com/philips-ambientled-tm-20w-3-5w-replacement-mr11-flood-led-light-bulb-with-gu5-3-base-soft-warm-white/

LED Street Lights Won’t Leave You in the Dark (Unlike Other Products)

LED Street Lights Won’t Leave You in the Dark (Unlike Other Products)

Driving home from the store, I stopped at a traffic light.  The street lights were on, and when I pulled up, one went dim.  Not because it’s in a dim mode, but because it’s likely on its last legs.  I won’t be surprised if in the next few days we find it has been burned out.  All I could think was: this wouldn’t be happening if this were an LED street light!  But not every city has hopped on the LED street light and traffic light train.

I wish I could write more, but there's a storm coming and my Internet is already acting up.  I will have more on this tomorrow.

GE Energy Smart® LED light bulbs

Did you know that GE Lighting (one of the largest and longest-lasting lighting companies in the world) also offers LED light bulbs? Producing light using less power than halogen and incandescent technologies, GE LED light bulbs are surely efficient than the latter. They offer a wide range of LED bulbs that earned the ENERGY STAR® rating, and you can also expect up to 25,000 hours of rated life.That’s actually 12 hrs./day, each day of the year, for over a decade! Can you imagine that? I must agree that they’re indeed built to last. I’ve wondered about the components that create the light in a GE energy smart® LED bulb, and was surprised to find out that the answer is: small LED chips! And yes, they’re similar to what’s in a computer. What distinguishes a GE energy smart® LED bulb from a lesser bulb are the smooth integration and configuration of the chips into the bulb and the integrity of the whole system.Also, to bring out the features that you want from your bulb, the optics in a GE energy smart® LED distribute the LED chip’s light for a more uniform, soft, or focused light. GE engineers craft this component specifically to each bulb for better performance. GE energy smart® LEDs use (cooling) fins and heat sinks that are specially designed to properly circulate air and cool the LED system that will maximize the bulb life. The successful design and engineering of these fins are an example of the 125 years of lighting expertise that GE brings to its energy smart® LED bulbs. The  LED driver of GE energy smart® LED bulbs converts incoming electricity to the appropriate and steady voltages needed by the LED chips. Good design and engineering is critical because a poorly designed LED product can flicker, shift in color, look dim, offer uneven light, or even continue to use power when turned off. To ensure that every claim is supported, GE Lighting backs every single bulb with stringent, comprehensive testing. GE energy smart® LEDs are made to be compatible with your existing lighting fixtures so that means that they are available in regular (medium) as well as candelabra (and GU10 and GU5.3) bases in the popular sizes. They are also shaped to fit your fixtures, too! GE has been in the business of lighting for over 125 years, ensuring that their products are durable and useful.

We’re happy to be one of the resellers of the said GE Energy Smart® LED light bulbs. Click here for better deals:

http://www.agreensupply.com/ge-led-light-bulbs/