Cree accuses California e-retailer of counterfeiting, trademark infringement

By: Lauren Ohnesorge

Durham-headquartered LED giant Cree (Nasdaq: CREE) has filed a trademark infringement case against California e-retailer TomTop Group, accusing it of dealing in “pirated and counterfeit” Cree-branded products on sites such as eBay and Amazon.

“In light of the success of (Cree) … Its products have become targets for unscrupulous individuals and entities that wish to take a free ride on its goodwill, reputation and fame,” the complaint reads.

According to Cree's allegations, TomTop was never authorized to distribute Cree products or use its trademarks. But investigators from Cree purchased several flashlights from TomTop, receipts for which are included in the exhibits filed with the suit. Cree claims those transactions and the products it purchased – many of which Cree says carry an unauthorized “Cree” label and are falsely advertised as being Cree merchandise – are evidence of wrongdoing. Reproductions of Cree trademarks were copied onto products and product packaging in attempts to convince customers that the TomTop wares were made by Cree, the suit alleges.

“Defendants’ actions were committed in bad faith and with the intent to dilute Plaintiff’s marks, and to cause confusion and mistake,” the complaint reads. Cree is asking for relief and damages that include TomTop’s profits, triple damages for intentional infringement and reimbursement for its attorney fees.

The case, filed last Wednesday in the Central District of California, demands a jury trial. Xinhui Liao, a/k/a Mike Liao, TomTop founder, is also named in the suit as well as 10 unknown "Doe" defendants who Cree claims were involved in the wrongdoing.

Cree didn’t have an immediate comment on the suit and TomTop has not responded to a request for comment on the case.

Cree has been taking several recent steps to aggressively protect its intellectual property, filing suits against such companies as Feit Electronics and Kingbright Electronic Co.

"We've got a pretty simple strategy, right?" CEO Chuck Swoboda said in February. "We prefer people not to import infringing products and we'd like to get paid for our IP."

See original article at Triangle Biz Journal:  http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/blog/techflash/2015/12/cree-accuses-california-e-retailer-of.html?ana=yahoo&ref=yfp

LED lighting market growth to shrink in next five years?

By Srabani Sen, BizLED Bureau

Nov 30, 2015: LED lighting has become quite popular worldover, yet industry experts speculate itsgrowth to shrink in the next five years. Most of the countries have realized its benefits and are taking several initiatives to make it a household name. However, to make it a mass movement, industry experts feel that the prices of LED lighting products should come down even more. Governments are, therefore, making appeals to the manufacturers to cut down production prices to bring down the prices of LED lighting products and make it more affordable.

According to an industry estimate, the global LED lighting market will reach US$25.7 billion in 2015 and further expand to US$30.5 billion in 2016. The penetration rate of LED lighting will increase by 31% in 2015, which will increase to 36% in 2016.

READ ALSO: Vietnam is becoming a potential LED lighting market

Although high demands for LED lighting spurred the volume of its usage and increased the growth of the market in 2015, which will continue in 2016 as well, industry experts fear that the high priced LEDs and the neck deep competition in the global LED lighting market will see its growth shrink in the next five years. Ironically, the increasingly energy efficient LEDs will see a dip in its usage volume in the next five years if the prices do not dip further. As a result, manufacturers are under immense pressure to further lower the prices of LEDs. Research firms project that in the next five years, the LED industry’s compound annual growth rate (CAGR) will not increase by more than 10%.

Less scope for further price cuts

The demand for LED lighting fell short of expectations in 2015 because during the second half of 2015, LED chip and LED package prices dipped sharply, leading to losses incurred by many manufacturers. Manufacturers are immensely under pressure to lower the prices of LED production to bring down the prices further. However, LED market analysts point out that in the long run, there will be limited scope for further price cuts. Manufacturers would, therefore, need to look for other cost reducing solutions. Besides lowering LED chip prices, manufacturers would require to evaluate cutting down prices of components like LED drivers, and that of designing the products and the components.

READ ALSO: India’s LED lighting market to grow at 32.15% in the next six years

Manufacturers across the globe are also demanding that their governments should follow China’s LED policy, which provides high rate of subsidies to the LED manufacturers leading them to cut prices of LED productions. With the support of the Chinese government, the local LED industry has become the world’s largest LED lighting manufacturing hub.

In 2015, manufacturers were also hit by currency fluctuations. As a result, demands for LED lightingproducts in different countries have been much lower than expected. To add to this woe, LED pricescontinued to slide in 2015. Consequently, many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the LED industryhave been faced with financial losses, and were faced with negative cash flow. Industry analysts believe that if this trend continues many smaller manufacturers will be ousted from the LED industry. They also predict that the next bankruptcy wave in the LED industry will be most evident before the Chinese Lunar New Year.

LED lighting manufacturers have also started shifting their focus to professional lighting markets with tremendous growth potentials like commercial lighting, industrial lighting, architectural lighting, and automotive lighting. They have pinned their hope on the increase in government spending, especially in new public projects. They believe that new government projects will create new opportunities and help in faster penetration of LED lighting.

Original Article at Biz LED Magazine: http://bizled.co.in/led-lighting-market-growth-to-shrink-in-next-five-years/

More transparent and brighter LEDs soon

By BizLED Bureau

Nov 30, 2015: Researchers from University of California-Berkeley have discovered a simple way to make monolayer semiconductors, which are less than a nanometre thick, yet more efficient and defect free. This discovery will open the door to more applications of monolayer materials, such as MoS2, in devices like LEDs and high-performance transistors.

Monolayer semiconductors have become much talked about thing as they could be quite useful in the development of transparent LED displays, ultra-high efficiency solar cells, photo detectors and nano-scale transistors. But the films are riddled with defects, killing their performance. However, these researchers found a simple way to fix these defects through the use of an organic superacid.

The chemical treatment gives 100-fold increase in the material’s photoluminescence quantum yield–a ratio that describes the amount of light generated by the material versus the amount of energy put in. The greater the emission of light, the higher the quantum yield and the better the material quality.
Researchers enhanced the quantum yield for molybdenum disulfide, or MoS2, from less than 1% up to 100% by dipping the material into a superacid called bistriflimide, or TFSI.

This treatment also has revolutionary potential for transistors. When devices in computer chips get smaller and thinner, defects play a bigger role in limiting their performance.

Original Article at Biz LED Magazine: http://bizled.co.in/more-transparent-and-brighter-leds-soon/

Japan energy-efficiency plan to switch off all light bulbs, fluorescent tubes

The government plans to phase out all incandescent light bulbs and fluorescent tubes by fiscal 2020 and light up the nation with highly energy-efficient light-emitting diodes (LED), according to sources.

The policy was conceived ahead of the 21st Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change scheduled for the end of the month in Paris.

Replacing the light bulbs would reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions in Japan and promote the government’s efforts to develop a greener nation.

But the policy could also put a strain on households and businesses by depriving them of the option of buying inexpensive light sources.

A rapid shift to LED light sources is expected to occur when light bulbs and fluorescent tubes are no longer imported and domestic stocks run dry. That situation could lead to a reduction of costs amid increased demand.

The government has been controlling fluorescent tubes and LED lamps under the “top-runner system,” a policy that restricts production and imports of new merchandise unless it performs better than the most energy-efficient example in the same product category.

Incandescent light bulbs, fluorescent tubes and LED lamps currently have their own categories. But the three will be combined into a singular lamp category under an energy efficiency action plan expected to be established around summer 2016.

That move would effectively take light bulbs and fluorescent tubes out of the game because LED lamps are far more energy efficient than the two traditional light sources.

The government plans to make these changes through revisions of the Rational Use of Energy Law, commonly known as the energy conservation law.

(This article was written by Shinya Takagi and Keiko Nannichi.)

Original Article on Asahi Shimbun:  http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201511260040

Failure to report to the CPSC costs Philips Lighting North America millions

Photo source: CPSC

By James Limbach

Philips Lighting North America of Somerset, N.J., will pay a $2 million civil penalty to the government, settling charges that it  knowingly failed to report information to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) about a defect and an unreasonable risk of serious injury with EnergySaver (a.k.a. “Marathon” or “Marathon Classic”) compact fluorescent lamps.

After numerous complaints about glass separating from the body of the lamps and striking people and objects, and attempting multiple design changes to fix the problem, Philips failed to report the matter to the CPSC. The incidents resulted in ten reports of lacerations and seven reports of property damage.

In addition to paying the $2 million civil penalty, Philips has agreed to implement and maintain a compliance program to ensure compliance with the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) and a related system of internal controls and procedures.

Compliance program

The compliance program requires written standards and policies and written procedures to ensure that all information regarding the firm’s compliance with the CPSA, including reports and complaints, whether an injury is referenced or not, is conveyed to the firm’s responsible employees. The compliance program also must address:

• confidential employee reporting of compliance concerns to a senior manager;
• effective communication of compliance policies and procedures, including training;
• senior management responsibility for, and board oversight of, compliance; and
• requirements for record retention.

The lamps were recalled in August 2011 after Philips had manufactured about 1.86 million units. Grocery and home center stores, online retailers, and professional electrical distributors sold the lamps from March 2007 through July 2011 for between $11 and $24 each.

Philips does not admit to the CPSC staff’s charges.

Original Article on Consumer Affairs: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/failure-to-report-to-the-cpsc-costs-philips-lighting-north-america-millions-112715.html

CALIFORNIA ENERGY COMMISSION PROPOSES NEW REGULATIONS FOR LED LAMPS

The CEC is holding a webcast on the new rules today, November 18, and will accept public comments on the proposed regulations through November 30. Under the new rules, MR16 and other small-diameter directional lamps will get heightened efficacy requirements while omnidirectional lamps will get new beam-distribution guidelines, and standby power limits for smart lamps. For both types of LED lamps, the CEC plans to offer the option of lower efficacy for high-CRI products. The new regulations for directional LED lamps will require efficacy of 80 lm/W by January of 2018. Or alternatively, the sum of efficacy and CRI must be 165 or greater. That means a 95-CRI lamp would meet the guidelines at 70 lm/W. http://www.energy.ca.gov/calendar/index.php?com=detail&eID=2502

By Bill Attardi at Energy Watch News.

Original Post at Energy Watch News: http://energywatchnews.com/california-energy-commission-proposes-new-regulations-for-led-lamps/

Target's IoT trial expands to 100 stores

There's more cookies than meet the eye in Target these days: Indoor LED ceiling lights that can 'spy' on customers and send promotional messages to their smartphones - such as those that Target is trialling - could turn brick-and-mortar shopping into an online-like experience. Cookies and pop-ups can follow you, even in the physical world.  Photo is from Rob Wilson via Shutterstock

American retail giant Target has revealed that 100 of its stores are now deploying LED ceiling lights to track in-shop customers and guide them to relevant products via their smartphones, a nascent practice which could become the biggest thing in brick-and-mortar retail technology since the barcode. 

The $73 billion chain told Lux that the scheme uses wireless signals that travel between LED lights and shoppers' Android gadgets. The 100 locations mark the largest known deployment of 'spy lights' by any retailer, and could spur broader uptake.

Read full article at LUX Review.com: http://luxreview.com/article/2015/11/target-s-spy-lights-trial-expands-to-100-stores

Osram Investor Against New Investment in LED Chips

News Source:

Reuters

Following Osram’s announcement last week that the company is to invest EUR 1 billion in a new Malaysia-based plant for LED chips, a leading investor in Osram expressed opposing opinions about Osram’s latest strategy, reported Reuters.

Michael Muders, fund manager at Union Investment, Osram’s fifth- largest shareholder with nearly two percent of the company’s share, stated that the new strategy caused disappointment among shareholders and increased their distrust of Osram’s management team.

Investors hope the company would invest in profitable niches, including automobile and streetlight products rather than focusing on the production of LED chips for lights in Malaysia.

Osram has restructured in order to compete with Asian manufacturers.  

Osram’s share dropped by a quarter after the company released its latest plan last Wednesday. And it barely recovered on the day.

According to Muders, the strategy is very unlikely to be altered and he would take disapproval stance from Osram’s boards at the next shareholder meeting if the company’s strategy remained unchanged.

Original Article on LED Inside:  http://www.ledinside.com/news/2015/11/osram_investor_against_new_investment_in_led_chips

Orion's Losses Continue

added by EdEdison 

Orion Energy Systems announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2015.

Financial Highlights:

• Quarterly net sales of $15.7 million as compared to the prior quarter of $16.5M
• Quarterly operating loss shrank to $3.56M from $3.60M in the prior quarter

Original post on Edison Report: http://www.edisonreport.net/lighting-industry-news/orions-losses-continue/

New technology makes cost of LEDs production cheaper

By BizLED Bureau

Nov 19, 2015: A group of industrial and manufacturing engineers has worked on a new solution to bring down the cost of production of LEDs. The finding could help increase the adoption of LED lighting solutions in homes and factories, thus lowering energy usage and preserving the environment. The new technology uses both inorganic and organic materials that can be applied like paint. Traditional methods require about four to five layers of the material for making of the product whereas this technology reduces the quantity of layers to only one.

The development results into lower expense for manufacturing LEDs. Till now the expense of LEDs has been the biggest deterrent in the broad reception of the LEDs. But the new material could help lower production costs because manufacturers would not have to deal with multiple layers of LED materials. As a result, LED lighting would be more affordable.

The use of LEDs is being preferred everywhere throughout the world. LED lighting is used for external as
well as internal application. It has been observed that the residential lighting that uses LED technology
brings down the energy utilization by about 75%.

To see original article by BizLED Bureau click here: http://bizled.co.in/new-technology-makes-cost-of-leds-production-cheaper/

ACUITY BRANDS INTRODUCES BYTELIGHT SERVICES FOR RETAILERS

Precise Indoor Positioning creates connected shopping experience

ATLANTA – May 4, 2015 – Retailers eager to more effectively communicate with in-store shoppers can now use LED lighting to do so, as Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI) today announced the commercial availability of its lighting-based ByteLight™ Services for indoor positioning. 

Lighting-based indoor positioning services take advantage of LED lighting as a vehicle for embedded technology that can assist in the delivery of digital content to shoppers at a retail location who opt into a retailer’s loyalty app. These new services support a variety of applications that can boost customer loyalty and revenues for a retailer, while reducing operating expenses. Acuity Brands’ new ByteLight Services are currently being piloted with several customers, including a large, national retailer. 

“Retailers are seeking better uses of technology to engage consumers at the point-of-purchase location, and indoor positioning services are proving to be the best approach,” said Steve Lydecker, Acuity Brands Lighting Senior Vice President of Applied Integrated Solutions. “Our ByteLight Services, together with our LED luminaires powered by our award-winning eldoLED® drivers, will deliver the full LED promise of quality of light and energy-savings as well as provide retailers with the ability to connect digitally with their customers.” 

The ByteLight Services for indoor positioning have allowed the addition of Bluetooth® low energy (BLE) technology to the recently licensed capability of the Lumicast™ Visible Light Communication (VLC) technology from Qualcomm Atheros, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated. 

“Qualcomm Atheros’ mission to deliver ubiquitous location in all environments aligns with the services platform developed by Acuity Brands,” said Dr. Cormac Conroy, Vice President of Product Management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “Acuity has clearly demonstrated its leadership and commitment to LED-based indoor positioning solutions, and we are pleased Acuity has incorporated the Lumicast technology in its solution.”

Retailers, Shoppers Benefit from Indoor Location-Based Services 

Mobile devices are vastly popular in-store shopping tools, as over 83 percent of shoppers¹ are using them while in the store to compare prices, look for best offers, or even search for product ratings. 

ByteLight Services help make the mobile-enabled shopping experience even more tailored, by allowing the retailer to provide offers, product information and assistance into the hands of shoppers based upon their location. These benefits, along with a shopper’s ability to be able to quickly navigate to all of the items on their list, can lead to a more satisfying customer experience. In addition to the potential for increased revenue and shopper loyalty, retailers can also benefit from operational savings by using the Services to obtain information that allows them to optimize staffing, efficiently replenish out-of-stock locations, and assess the impact of marketing and merchandising strategies. 

“ByteLight Services leverage our investment in eldoLED driver VLC technology which, as part of a complete indoor positioning solution, help deliver a mobile device’s indoor location within four inches horizontally, as well as providing the height and degree-level orientation,” said Lydecker. “With fixture-embedded Bluetooth® low energy technology, from our recent acquisition of the intellectual property assets of ByteLight, Inc., users with the retailer’s app can opt-in to receive signals from beacons to accept digital content during a personalized shopping experience. And unlike with other beacon solutions, retailers can deploy without concerns related to battery life.” 

Lydecker continued, “Combining the precision of VLC with Bluetooth low energy technology and hosted services delivers the most complete indoor positioning solution. Retail customers will want to take full advantage of the ByteLight Services by integrating our technology into their apps and stores, and our retail-focused Corporate Account Managers are prepared to support them during every step of that process.”

This week in New York City, Acuity Brands is showcasing ByteLight Services with embedded VLC and BLE technology at LIGHTFAIR® International, the world’s largest annual architectural and commercial lighting trade show and conference, in Acuity Brands booth #1640 and eldoLED booth #1139. 

Click here for more information on lighting-based indoor positioning services, and other Acuity Brands lighting solutions. 

¹ Survey of US Retailers’ Use of Indoor Location; Opus Research; August 2014 

2 Lumicast is a trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated. All other trademarks referenced are the property of their respective owners. 

About Acuity Brands 

Acuity Brands, Inc. is a North American market leader and one of the world’s leading providers of lighting solutions for both indoor and outdoor applications. With fiscal year 2014 net sales of $2.4 billion, Acuity Brands employs approximately 7,000 associates and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with operations throughout North America, and in Europe and Asia. The Company’s lighting solutions are sold under various brands, including Lithonia Lighting®, Holophane®, Peerless®, Gotham®, Mark Architectural Lighting™, Winona® Lighting, Healthcare Lighting®, Hydrel®, American Electric Lighting®, Carandini®, Antique Street Lamps™, Sunoptics®, RELOC® Wiring Solutions, eldoLED® and Acuity Controls. For more information, visit www.acuitybrands.com. 

http://www.acuitybrands.com/solutions/-/media/files/acuity/solutions/services/bytelight%20services%20indoor%20positioning/bytelight%20services%20lfi%20news%20release.pdf

DOE LED Linear Lamps and Troffer Lighting: CALiPER Report Series 21

Video about CALiPER Report Series 21 on LED Linear Lamps and Troffer Lighting, featuring interviews with Tracy Beeson and Naomi Miller of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

LEDinside：LED Lighting Market to Reach US$30.5 Billion in 2016 and Professional Lighting Markets to See Explosive Growth

The scale of the LED lighting market is growing steadily, according to 2016 Global LED Lighting Market Trends Report by LEDinside, a division of TrendForce. LEDinside estimates that the scale of the LED lighting market will reach US$25.7 billion in 2015 and expand to US$30.5 billion in 2016. The penetration rate of LED lighting is also projected to climb from 31% in 2015 to 36% in 2016.

 

Joanne Wu, LEDinside assistant research manager, stated that sharp price declines have severely impacted the margins of replacement products such as LED light bulbs and light tubes. Consequently, lighting companies begin to shift their focus to professional lighting markets and hope that increases in government spending, especially in new public projects, will create new opportunities. Sectors with tremendous growth potentials include industrial lighting, commercial lighting and architectural lighting.

See full article at LEDinside: http://www.ledinside.com/node/view/24054

The inventor of Philips Hue is concerned by ‘crap’ smart lighting rivals

Philips Hue launched in October 2012, "marking a new era in home lighting" according to its makers. Back then, it was almost impossible to dispute its claim of being "the world's smartest bulb".

Fast forward three years and Philip's is still, without doubt, leading the way in LED smart lighting. That said, there is an ever-growing army of rivals to its crown. The likes of Misfit, Belkin, MiPow, Sony and LIFX all have Wi-Fi connected lighting in their armoury and, with smart home systems such asBrillo and HomeKit making it easier than ever to connect traditional household items to the net, the pressure is well and truly on.

See the full story at Wareable.com: http://www.wareable.com/meet-the-boss/this-little-light-of-mine-63538

Fast Track Training: Evolve LED Scalable Area Light | GE Lighting

Meet the GE Evolve LED Scalable Area Light. The EAS is scalable because of its many available optical packages, from a 5000 lumen fixture to a 38,000 lumen fixture, with increments of about 2000 to 3000 lumens in between. The Evolve EAS Scalable Area Light comes with dimming functionality, occupancy controllers and daylight harvesting sensors.

OSRAM TO INVEST ROUGHLY $3 BILLION IN FUTURE GROWTH PROSPECTS

The shift in the lighting market toward semiconductor-based technologies is creating new growth opportunities. To this end,Osram will invest around €3 billion ($3.2 billion) in new technologies and applications by 2020. Of this amount, approximately €2 billion ($2.15 billion) will be spent on research and development in order to further strengthen Osram's technological leadership and to expand into new markets. Additionally, Osram has planned another €1 billion ($1.1 billion) for the construction of a new LED chip plant in Malaysia. This is to unlock additional growth potential, in both the dynamic, technology-driven general lighting markets and niche markets, where Osram is already in a good position today. "With a focus on profitability, flexibility, and entrepreneurship, following a phase of strategic realignment, we are now launching the 'Diamond' innovation and growth initiative. This means we are switching the focus to sustainable growth, benefitting even stronger from the potential offered by semiconductor-based technologies," said Olaf Berlien, Chief Executive Officer of OSRAM Licht AG.

Read the entire article at TED Magazine: http://www.tedmag.com/News/manufacturer-news/Osram-to-Invest-Roughly-3-Billion-in-Future-Growth-Prospects.aspx

Osram Shares Tumble as 2016 Outlook Disappoints Investors

Osram Licht AG shares fell the most since a spinoff from Siemens AG more than two years ago after analysts said the lighting company’s outlook for 2016 was worse than they expected.

Comparable revenue will decline next year, while adjusted earnings will suffer from increased spending on research and development, Munich-based Osram said in a statement released after markets closed on Tuesday. The company expects to pay a dividend of at least 90 euro cents per share, the amount issued this year.

Read the entire article by Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-11/osram-shares-tumble-as-short-term-outlook-disappoints-investors?cmpid=yhoo.headline

Ephesus Lighting and Controls Demo in a Hockey Arena

Ephesus Lighting and Controls demo. Arena lighting. Lighting effects.

Design Lights Cartel—“It’s like Printing Money”

by EdEdison edisonreport.com

The IES Progress Report put on their annual presentation at the IES Annual Conference in Indianapolis.  The report typically interjects humor to break up the excitement of the new products. Their goal is to report on the progress of the art and science of lighting.  Past IES President, Fred Oberkircher said it was the best progress report he has seen.

The committee featured 116 items and for the first time ever, there were no HID, Fluorescent, or Incandescent products.  In addition, the submission of control items doubled.  

Your humble editor will leave it to LD+A to report on the products, I'll report the humor:

StarWars skit.  One of the best produced skits we have seen from the Report.  They talked about the old guard, and flashed black and whites of Bill Hanley and Rita Harrold, as well as the new guard, Tim Licitra the new IES Executive VP.  In addition, they spoke of the big threat to the old guard.  As they were talking in their StarWars costumes, a huge planet comes out of nowhere and dominates the screen.  "That's just Acuity Brands," said one of the actors.  The presentation mixed video from old StarWars movies with current Progress members and the visual affect was quite stunning.  Our sources agreed that the skit was clever and very well done.

For humor to be effective there must be an element of truth and judging by applause, the DLC shakedown skit seemed to accurately reflect what many in the audience felt. It started with a large menacing mafia-looking character sitting at a desk.  He is approached by a luminaire manufacturer with a large saddle of money. Upon turning over the cash, the DLC characters says in his burly voice, "The fee went up!"  When the OEM complains about not being notified, the DLC character asks, " We sent you an email at 12:33 a.m., don’t you read your emails?"  The OEM throws a wad of cash to the DLC man and storms out.

The next scene has the same DLC character in St. Petersburg, explaining the process to a few Russian entrepreneurs.  He boasts, "We charge to put them on a list; we delay, and we charge more money."  He goes on to say, "First we start with luminaries and once they are hooked we slide in controls."   One of his Russian friends asks how successful the program is in America.  He responds,  “It works perfectly, it’s like printing money.”

There was a Dancing with the Stars skit with Andrea Hartranft and a hairy chested Kaitlyn Jenner that was quite timely.  There was a great basement shopping skit featuring the DoobieLED grow fixture,  for four easy payments of $69.95. The medicinal marijuana infomercial was hosted by Mary Jane and Bud.  While this can be a sensitive subject, I thought it was in fairly good taste and no one I talked to was offended.   The skit ended with a parody of KodaChrome, changing the words to "Don't take my DoobieLED away."

The last skit was a Top 10 list by Indiana native David Letterman.

Not funny. The most important part of the Progress Report focused on member, Kathleen Packard, who was recently diagnosed with ALS.  The speaker did a nice job transitioning to the subject of ALS and the recent success of the Bucket Challenge.  Kathleen's husband Brett has left his job to provide care.  You can help the Packards by going to VENMO and searching Progress Report.

As always, the IES Progress Report's hard work paid off and they provided a great report on the progress of the art and science of our industry.  The report seemed to be well received by the audience.

Original Article: http://www.edisonreport.net/lighting-industry-news/design-lights-cartelits-printing-money/

Internet of Things for Dummies

Photo:

lixuyao/iStock/Thinkstock

Internet of Everything

By Tom Zind

Often used interchangeably with the Internet of Things, IoE is perhaps more exhaustive, referencing the entire interconnected world that includes mobile devices that no longer constitute an unexplored frontier. Invoked to reference the seemingly unstoppable march to a fully connected world and the changes that implies, it may reference the whole mash-up of people, data, things, devices, and processes that are connected and networked.

Read the full Article at ECMWeb.com: http://ecmweb.com/computers-software/internet-things-dummies#slide-0-field_images-128001

Los Angeles boosts mobile network via streetlights

luxreview.com 

Los Angeles is the world’s first city to deploy Philips’ SmartPole streetlighting with built-in 4G LTE wireless technology from Ericsson. The move will see 100 SmartPoles used to improve network performance in dense urban areas.

Read the entire Article: http://luxreview.com/article/2015/11/los-angeles-boosts-wi-fi-network-via-streetlights

Osram starts sales process for lamps business

The logo of lamp manufacturer Osram is pictured at the headquarters in Munich February 26, 2014.

REUTERS/MICHAELA REHLE

German lighting maker Osram (OSRn.DE) has started the sales process of its lamps business and plans to separate it operationally from the rest of the group by next April and legally by July, a spokesman said on Friday.

Read more at Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/06/us-osram-licht-lamps-idUSKCN0SV17M20151106#Ki2J6ZBkGM6KcV4i.99

Leading Lighting Industry Organization Recognizes, Showcases LED Lighting Products by GE

Five GE products demonstrated for designers, architects and others around the world with interest in lighting innovation

EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio (Nov. 9, 2015)—Innovation in LED lighting has earned GE high industry acclaim yet again: Five recently launched LED products from GE will be showcased today at the annual conference of The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES).

The IES Progress Committee, per its 2015 yearly review of achievements, accepted 10 GE products for the IES Annual Conference, held this year in Indianapolis. There, professionals will explore, present and exchange best practices in the art and science of lighting. The IES comprises 8,000 members worldwide in a range of roles, including lighting designers, architects, engineers, distributors, researchers and educators.

Today, five of GE’s standout selections have been recognized for advancement in the art and light of science and will be demonstrated on stage. These include:

• Lumination™ EP Series Circular Pendant: A high-performing decorative LED pendant with efficacy up to 105 LPW with 4000 lumens.
• Lumination™ TS Series Track: Best-in-class LED track head series with up to 16,000 CBCP (spot) and up to 90 LPW efficacy.
• Lumination™ IS Series LED Luminaire with reveal® TriGain: Award-winning phosphor technology in this indirect fixture allows for high efficacy, high CRI and high R9, a combination not previously achieved in the market.
• LED TriColor Signal: One-of-a-kind rail wayside, all-in-one, tri-color LED railway indicator light.
• 50/100/150 W 3-Way LED A-21 Lamp: First 3-way LED 150W equivalent, A21 replacement lamp with 100 LPW.

Acceptance in the IES Progress Report is based on an impartial judging process to evaluate each submission on its uniqueness, innovation and significance to the lighting industry. The 2015 report also will include the following GE products:

• Albeo™ ABR1 LED Luminaire: High efficacy, LED high bay fixture for use in demanding industrial environments with high ambient temperatures and wet applications.
• Albeo™ ALC5 LED Linear Luminaire: High efficacy, high lumen package (14,800 Lm) LED linear low bay luminaire rated at 55C.
• Evolve™ Canopy EC Series Luminaires: Best-in-class LED canopy luminaire with high efficacy and lumen packages.
• Fully Enclosed Rated LED A-21 Lamps: First LED 75W equivalent A-lamp rated for fully enclosed luminaires at high temp of 158°F.
• LED PAR 30 Lamps with reveal® Whiter White Technology: First PAR30 LED lamp with 90+CRI , 90+ R9, and 85+ R10-R12, enabling energy efficiency and vivid color rendering.

Visit gelighting.com to discover how LED innovation—and imagination—can shape a brighter future for your business.

About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) is the world's Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. GE is organized around a global exchange of knowledge, the "GE Store," through which each business shares and accesses the same technology, markets, structure and intellect. Each invention further fuels innovation and application across our industrial sectors. With people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for customers by speaking the language of industry. www.ge.com.

Original Article: http://pressroom.gelighting.com/news/leading-lighting-industry-organization-recognizes-showcases-led-lighting-products-by-ge#.VkDQyrerRhE

Daintree Enterprise Internet of Things (E-IoT) Discussion

Join Daintree Networks for a peer group discussion that will provide insights on the Enterprise Internet of Things™ (E-IoT™) and the actions you can take now that will future proof your efforts. You'll hear what building energy management and E-IoT experts have to say and share issues, thoughts, experiences and lessons learned.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLHCDeuJ4GA

GE to develop lights that detect gun shots

GE Lighting has teamed up with a specialist firm to bring gunshot detection to light fixtures. The arrangement will add gunshot detection sensors and software to GE’s intelligent LED streetlights.

Credit: LuxReview.com
http://luxreview.com/article/2015/10/ge-to-develop-lights-that-detect-gun-shots?cmpid=LUXproducts10292015

GE Lighting disappears in radical restructure

Looks like a streetlight, acts like a computer: GE LED streetlights in San Diego, where intelligent, connected lighting could monitor things like traffic and crime. The new 'Current' services group embraces CEO Jeff Immelt's industrial internet strategy, treating LEDs as computers that route information. The conventional lighting group -no longer called GE Lighting- keeps the old stuff. It's possibly for sale.

CREDIT: LuxReview.com  http://luxreview.com/article/2015/10/will-the-breakup-of-ge-lighting-work-

ConTech 2A 2" LED Adjustable Downlight

ConTech 2A 2" LED Adjustable Downlight series is now available with eldoLED drivers and with a Crisp White LED! eldoLED drivers capable of dimming down to 0.1%;  0-10V and DALI protocal options. ECOdrive dimming to 1% and SOLOdrive dimming to 0.1%. At 3000K, the Philips Crisp White LED delivers 90+ color rendering with additional violet wavelengths that enhance white visibility. More information on this product can be found here.

ConTech Lighting - LED Stealth Wall Lighter

ConTech Lighting is proud to introduce our new  LED Stealth Wall Lighter! The Stealth Track Fixture family delivers industry leading performance with best-in-class output and efficacy. At 5,951 delivered lumens, the 57W Stealth LED fixture delivers over 1400 more lumens than the next closest competitor while consuming less watts. With an efficiently designed optical system, the Stealth LED provides best-in-class uniformity and delivers up to 47% more foot-candles on the wall surface in a traditional wall lighting application.

Available in four (4) wattage/lumen packages, four (4) color temperatures and two CRI options, the Stealth Wall Lighter utilizes a high output COB LED array with a custom designed reflector, which provides a wide, smooth, uniform beam.