NREL Finds a Way to Give LEDs the Green Light

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.nrel.gov/features/20100405_leds.html

NREL Finds a Way to Give LEDs the Green Light

April 5, 2010

Light bulbs that last 100 years and fill rooms with brilliant ambiance may become a reality sooner rather than later, thanks to a National Renewable Energy Laboratory discovery.

NREL scientists found a way to generate a tricky combination of green and red that may just prove to be the biggest boost for illumination since Edison's light bulb.

Green isn't just a symbol of environmentalism, it is a real color, and a desperately needed one for researchers looking for a way to light homes, streets and buildings at a fraction of today's costs.

LEDs — light-emitting diodes — are the promise of the future because unlike tungsten bulbs or compact fluorescent bulbs, they deliver most of their energy as light, rather than heat. An extra plus is that they don't contain dangerous mercury.

The era of LEDs is fast approaching. The U.S. Department of Energy expects to phase out tungsten bulbs in four years and compact-fluorescents in 10 years. That will leave LEDs with virtually 100 percent of the market.

To make an LED that appears white, researchers minimally need the colors red, green and blue. The white light from the sun is really all the colors of the rainbow. Without at least red, blue and green from the spectrum, no lighting device will be practical for home or office use.

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[JPerz]

1. Economic Stimulus

The measly few hundred dollars stimulus attempts in the past will pale in comparison to everyday Americans keeping an extra $50.or more a month from electric bills. Then if we could also get off fossil fuels the better!

"And, by the way, the move toward all LEDs all the time will save some $120 billion in electricity between now and 2030, the Department of Energy forecasts. Not to mention tens of millions of tons of greenhouse gases."

[ixion]

2. I'm using LED's in several places now. They're awesome.

I'm a fan.

[NYC_SKP]

4. I just received two new LED arrays, one's a 24V 48W 5,000 lumen unit. One chip.

I'm a huge fan, similar but smaller 12V arrays light up my saltwater aquarium, the corals love it.

One needs to be very careful not to look directly at them.

The 5000 lumen bridgelux is like looking at the sun.

I won't even glace sideways at it, I keep welding goggles handy and plan to use a translucent dome over it.

Bridgelux:



:hi:

[LiberalAndProud]

5. So pricey still, though.

How long have you been using the LEDs in your aquarium? We're unhappy with our current aquarium lighting, and would spend the $ to change to LED if we were certain of a good result. It's a lot of money to spend for a less than stellar outcome, so we haven't taken the leap yet.

[NYC_SKP]

6. Maybe two months.

I just have two Fluval Edge Nano tanks, little investment, big light output in a small package.

Marineland makes some nice blue/white led hoods, but not bright enough.

I replaced two MR-11 halogens with 3W MR-16 LEDs, but it's the 12V 1320 lumen bridgelux LED array in the middle that really does the trick.

Cost: $14.70 http://www.newark.com/bridgelux/bxra-c1200-00000/cool-white-led-array/dp/45P5610

The heat sink is mandatory, but you can find these for free, and I had the power supply I needed.

Pictures at this link:

http://www.cvreefers.org/showthread.php?t=14707

Water has been splashed on this fully exposed chip, no problems.

My friend is an engineer at the Sunnyvale Bridgelux labs, I let him know all about how I'm abusing his babies!

:hi:

[LiberalAndProud]

7. Fluval Edge would be 6 gal?

[BrklynLiberal]

3. That is so awesome!!