We are excited to announce that more retail stores are making the switch to LED lighting! It seems a new business announces they are installing LEDs every day. We are glad company and business owners are seeing the ecological and monetary benefits of LED lighting at other stores, and if this trend continues, hopefully there will be a day that all retail locations will install solid state lighting. LED lighting is the best possible choice in retail stores because they create a pleasing and inviting atmosphere for customers and employees alike. The light isn’t harsh on the eyes, nor does it emit ultraviolet rays on customers. The directionality and conformity of light illuminates products and has even increased sales at some locations. Two retail stores have recently announced their plans for LED lighting.

The Timberland Company, a footwear and apparel retail store, partnered with Eco-Story, an LED company, and replaced 150 of their 50-to-90 watt halogen spotlights in each of its 50 stores in the United States with 10-watt PAR30 LED lamps. The expected lifetime of the lamps is six to ten years. Al Buell, store planning and construction project manager at Timberland, said Timberland decided to install LEDs because of the impact the lighting will have on the environment by reducing carbon emissions, lower electricity bills, federal tax incentives, and the financial savings advantages. The company also didn’t have to spend any money on installing the new lamps because the employees were able to switch out the old lights with the new lights. The company is expecting to save $100,000 from the LED installation!

Bassett Home Furnishings, a furniture showcase retail store in Fife, Washington, replaced their current lighting with Energy Star rated lighting. In order to be an Energy Star rated product, the lamp must be evaluated by Energy Star for light quality, energy efficiency, and lifetime. The store qualified for a utility incentive, and is planning on their monthly electricity bill to decrease by more than their monthly payment to finance the lighting. The new lighting is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emission by 311,000 pounds, sulfur dioxide emissions by 1,217 pounds, and nitrogen oxides by 772 pounds. We hope to keep seeing more LED lighting installations!

General Electric celebrated World Lighting Appreciation Day on October 21^st, marking the 131^st anniversary of Thomas Alva Edison testing the first incandescent light bulb. In observance of this monumental day, GE took photos of Edison around its headquarters in Niskayuna, New York, and held a Lighting Redefined Symposium. At the symposium, GE made an announcement about a new breakthrough technology related to LED lighting.

As part of a two-year solid state lighting program with the United States Department of Energy, scientists from GE Global Research, GE Lighting, and the University of Maryland, scientists from these groups have constructed a 1,500-lumen LED bulb that uses one-third of the amount of energy, but produces the same amount of light equivalent to a 100-watt halogen PAR38 lamp.

You might be asking, “How does this work? How does a lamp that consumes so little energy give off the same amount of light?” Scientists working on this project have developed a new cooling technology fueled by tiny air jets blowing air on the LED chips in the lamp. LED chips do get warm, but not necessarily the LED lamp itself. With high speed winds coming from the jets onto the chips, the chips are able to run more efficiently. Scientists also say this will allow them to use less LED chips in the lamps, which will bring down the price of LEDs!

Mehmet Arik, the mechanical engineer at GE Global Research and principal investigator on the LED project, said the new cooling system will help increase efficiency and performance of LED lighting in the future. The technology will enable engineers and other scientists create more powerful lamps without sacrificing efficiency of the lamps or decreasing lifespan. Although these lamps won’t be on the market anytime soon, it’s crazy to think that the most energy efficient lighting available is still being modified to become even more efficient! We are eager to hear about more new developments from GE in the future.

Purdue University in Indiana recently received a $4.88 million grant to study LED lighting in greenhouses. The United States Department of Agriculture Specialty Crops Research Initiative Award for $2.44 million and equal contributions of equipment and services from industry partners will help researchers from Purdue, Rutgers University, University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Orbital Technologies Corporation to develop and improve LED lighting in greenhouses. “Developing LED Lighting Technology Practices for Sustainable Specialty Crop Production” will be a four year project in which researchers will tour greenhouses to figure out a way to make the lighting more efficient and produce more products. They are planning to test LED lighting on high wire tomatoes, which can grow taller than 20 feet. Because current lighting in greenhouses usually doesn’t reach the bottom of the plant, it will not grow to its full capacity. Researchers think future developments of LED lighting will shine light all over the plant, helping it grow and increasing the amount of tomatoes grown on the plant while reducing energy costs!

LED lighting is an optimal choice for greenhouse owners. LEDs give off light similar to sunlight and their bright light can shine on all parts of the plant instead of just the top. They also consume less electricity. Statistics show that greenhouses can save 75% on electricity costs with LEDs. LEDs also give off a cool light, which most plants need to grow. The heat from fluorescent lamps is too warm for greenhouses, causing plants to wilt. Fluorescent lighting also has a buzzing sound when the lamps are turned on. Greenhouse workers can have a more comfortable working environment with quiet LED lamps. Most LED greenhouse lighting claim to have a lifetime of 100,000 hours, which is six times longer than CFLs. According to Robin Khan, an LED lamp with a 100,000-hour lifespan that is only used half a day will last 22 years!

We hope the researchers in the project at Purdue University make great discoveries that will help encourage all greenhouse owners to switch to LED lighting!

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, which means the holiday season will be upon us in no time. Many retail and craft stores have been stocked with holiday supplies and decorations since before Halloween! One of the fun parts of the holiday season is decorating your home with various lights and other illuminations. When heading to the store to buy holiday lights, don’t overlook LED string lights. Though a little more expensive than incandescent holiday lights, you’ll save a bundle on electricity and most likely won’t have to purchase new lights next year.

LED lighting is the best possible choice for holiday lighting this season when it comes to saving money and reducing your carbon footprint. LED lighting uses only 10% of the amount of electricity that incandescent holiday lights use and do not produce carbon emissions. In a statement by Christmas Décor,  “According to the U.S. Department of Department of Energy, if all conventional Christmas lights were replaced by LED lighting, annual energy savings would total two billion kilowatt-hours – enough energy to power nearly 200,000 homes. “ LEDs also have a longer life compared to incandescent holiday string lights. Incandescent lighting lasts 2,000 hours while LEDs last at least 50,000 hours, which amounts to 20 years of use. LED string lights are built better and are more reliable than incandescent lights. There is no filament in LEDs, just a chip, and because of the epoxy coating, they are less likely to break in shipping and storage. Incandescent string lights are also a safety hazard because they get warm after a few hours of use, which increases the chance of a fire. LEDs do not give off heat and can make for a safer and happier holiday.

Make this the most environmentally friendly holiday season yet and pick up LED holiday string lights!

LED lighting has benefits other than saving electricity, money, and reducing carbon emissions. Colored and color-changing LEDs can spruce up any decorative hotel or resort. W Hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona, is becoming known for its LED lighting display throughout various areas of the hotel. Located on Camelback and Scottsdale roads, the all-glass exterior hotel features a pool area set up similar to a beach, various dining areas and lounges, a sunset beach bar, and a breath-taking view of Camelback Mountain. When brainstorming the lighting schemes of the hotel, designers ran into many budget, technical, and regulatory problems, from not having enough money to not having support from politicians who weren’t familiar with the technology they wanted to use.

Once Retina Lighting and Transport, LLC got involved, the LED lighting scheme ideas became a reality. In the elevator, the “W” logo of the hotel is displayed on LED wall panels when a customer enters the elevator. When the doors close, the customers are treated to a stunning LED light show. When the customer reaches their destination floor, the LED panels return to the “W” logo. The outdoor pool area is also decorated with LED lighting. Four four-ton LED light sticks illuminate the Grand Lanterns around the wetdeck. The lanterns change colors with the 360-degree mobile bar that floats around the pool. A 24’ aquarium in the hotel is also lit up with LEDs.

The W Hotel is probably also saving thousands of dollars each month on its remarkable lighting displays because of the incredible efficiency and long life of LEDs! If you are around the Phoenix/Scottsdale area, you should check it out!

March Foods, a United Kingdom based food warehouse system, spent a few years looking for ways to reduce energy in its warehouses. Paul Cope, Managing Director of March Foods, had a few issues with the current lighting in his 35,000 square-foot warehouse he was looking to solve with new lighting. He had 84 450-watt high pressure sodium lamps in the warehouse that operated 24 hours per day, six days per week. Cope also said the workers aren’t in every area of the warehouse all the time, but if he shuts the warehouse lights off, they’d take 10-15 minutes to come back on. The HPS lighting hung 4-5 feet off of their 15-foot ceilings, which were in the way of extended pallet trucks, and the height of the lamps made them impossible to replace without a cherry picker. The company used to wait until 4-8 lamps burned out so they could rent a cherry picker for the weekend to replace them, which cost the company over $2,700 annually.

Paul Cope’s solution? LED lighting! March Foods replaced every HPS lamp with a 150-watt LED lamp, which are 66% more energy efficient than the HPS lamps. The instant-on feature of LEDs saved the food warehouse company another 72% on energy and reduced carbon emissions by approximately 98 tons annually. Tom Klimes of Interior Control Ltd. sold Cope the lamps and said the lamps come with a five-year warranty, but could last more than 10 years if they aren’t used 24-7. The LEDs also only hang two feet from the ceiling as opposed to four or five feet, so they are less likely to be hit by pallet trucks. Cope also plans to see a return on his investment in less than three years, but it may be six months sooner than projected once electricity prices are taken into account.

Even the workers approve of the new lighting. Cope said the HPS lamps were dim and looked “old,” and he was ready for something new. “One of them [March Foods workers] even says that now he feels noticeably less tired at the end of a night shift,” said Klimes. The energy and cost savings are endless with LEDs! Retrofit your warehouse today!

Wal-Mart, one of the largest and most popular retail providers, is about to get an LED lighting retrofit that will save the company millions of dollars and have a substantial impact on the LED market. Cree recently announced in a press release that 650 Wal-Mart stores will be replacing the ceramic metal halide lighting in their produce and electronics departments with Cree LRP-38 LED light bulbs. In new construction projects, Wal-Mart will be installing Cree’s popular LR6 recessed downlights.

The LRP-38 LEDS are 82% more efficient than the 70-watt metal halide lighting currently used. One of the reasons the lamps were chosen is because their expected lifespan is 50,000 hours, which lasts more than five years when turned on 24 hours a day. The lights also reduce glare on items and helps focus customers’ attention on Wal-Mart products. Neal Hunter, Cree co-founder and president of Cree’s LED Lighting Division, said the LED lighting will be “…making food and merchandise attractive, which we believe enhances the customer’s experience.” Not only is the installation benefiting Wal-Mart, but it will also have a big impact on Cree. Though we couldn’t find any information about financial details, we did find that Michelle Murray, spokeswoman for Cree, said it will be an important milestone for the company.

Wal-Mart has also made many other changes in their stores to be more “green.” They have mounted refrigerated units on top of some stores that reduce refrigerant charge by 90% and use waste heat to heat water used in bathrooms and kitchens. A Wal-Mart store in Santa Ana, California, installed solar panels on the roof that supply 20-30% of power needed to operate the store. The store’s dual-mode diesel-electric trucks increase efficiency by 25%. Fifteen trucks in Phoenix run off of fuel made by waste brown cooking grease, which could also increase efficiency by 2%. The store also has a “Home Efficiency Center” that offers customers LEDs, CFLs, Energy Star washers and dryers, and high efficiency toilets.

We look forward to seeing how Wal-Mart’s installation of LED lighting impacts the market and the company! Continue to keep going green, Wal-Mart, and we hope others will do the same!

According to National Grid, an international electricity and gas company, typical grocery stores in the northeastern portion of the United States spend $460,000 annually on energy, 78% of which is spent on lighting and refrigeration. Energy costs are probably similar in the rest of the U.S and around the world. These high costs typically equal the grocery store’s profit margin. One way that many grocery chains can  save energy and increase profits is by switching to LED lighting!

One popular place to replace lighting in grocery stores is in freezer cases. In Eugene, Oregon, Albertson’s Grocery installed LEDs with occupancy sensors in their freezer cases. They were impressed with the increased color uniformity on products in the cases. Albertson’s Grocery will save 2,659 kWh annually per five-door case, and combined with maintenance savings, will see a return on investment in 5.4 years. The sensors will also reduce electricity consumption by an additional 12%, making the new LED lighting 73% more efficient than previous lighting!

In Puerto Rico, the SuperMax supermarket chain will be saving over $170,000 annually by switching to LED lighting. They are replacing over 1,000 lighting fixtures in their stores, including ceiling lights, lighting in prep areas, and cooler, freezer, and display cases. The new LEDs are said to have a 50,000-hour lifespan and will save SuperMax more than $1 million over their lifetime! Most conventional lighting used in grocery stores only lasts 12-18 months before needing to be replaced, and also need to be cleaned periodically.

Another benefit of LED lighting in freezer cases is that LED lighting doesn’t give off heat, so the lighting does not have to compete with the refrigeration system to keep freezers cold, therefore conserving even more energy. Also, it takes less LED fixtures than incandescent or fluorescent fixtures to illuminate a grocery store because of their bright, uniform light. The lighting also enhances displays and makes for a better customer and employee experience while saving energy. Even installing LED exit signs can save $60 per fixture each year! We hope more grocery stores make the switch to LED lighting.

Our CEO, Daniel Henderson was asked to be on a great local radio program called Your Triple Bottom Line. The show is about sustainability and as it relates to people, the planet and profits. Daniel shared valuable information about the company and LED Lighting with the hosts, Derrick and Angelo.

A link to the podcast can be found here: http://bit.ly/your3bl14

If you would like to learn more about the radio program, Your Triple Bottom Line, you can visit their website here: http://your3bl.com/