First LED competition recognizes eight manufacturers

In October, more than 30 entries were judged by a panel of six lighting experts. Winners will be displayed during the U.S. Department of Energy’s annual SSL workshop Jan. 31-Feb. 2 in Phoenix as well as other important lighting industry events.

Lighting for Tomorrow solicited lighting fixtures that use light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as the sole light source. A separate 2006 Lighting for Tomorrow competition for compact fluorescent-based fixtures was held earlier this year and the winners were announced in September.

The winning entries in the LED competition were produced by American Fluorescent, Lucere Lighting, Lucesco Lighting and Progress Lighting. In addition, io Lighting, Albeo Lighting, American Lighting LLC, and Osram Sylvania received honorable mentions. American Fluorescent and Progress Lighting have both been honored in past Lighting for Tomorrow competitions for their CFL-based fixtures. Lucere and Lucesco are relatively new companies that focus solely on LED lighting products.

Lighting for Tomorrow judges rated the fixtures according to: 1) application efficiency, 2) overall lighting quality, 3) aesthetic appearance, 4) innovation and 5) thermal design.

At their current stage of technology development, LEDs are appropriate for a small number of niche lighting applications. Nonetheless, the technology continues to improve quickly, and currently offers the following benefits:

• For directional lighting applications, such as task lighting, LEDs can be very energy efficient.
• LEDs are durable and resistant to damage from vibration.
• LEDs can have markedly longer lives than incandescent lamps and CFLs.

This initial competition was geared to facilitate learning about effective use of this new light source in appropriate applications. LEDs are still significantly more expensive than traditional light sources, but prices are decreasing rapidly, and more applications are expected to become costcompetitive in the near future.

THE WINNERS:

Figure 1:

American FluorescentDiode 28
Type: Under-cabinet
Description: Ultra-thin and provides superior light distribution with low glare. It can equal or surpass the performance of similar-sized fixtures.
Manufacturer: American Fluorescent, a Waukegan, Ill.-based manufacturer, has been specializing in energy-efficient fixtures for more than 65 years. 

Figure 2: 

Lucere Lighting
Linear
Type: Under-cabinet
Description: 18-watt linear fixture provides high light levels on countertop and vertical back-splash.
Manufacturer: Lucere, based in Madison Heights, Mich., produces only LED lighting products.

Figure 3:

Lucesco Lighting
Halley
Type: Portable desk/task
Description: Dimmable 20-watt light output is equivalent to a 35-watt halogen bulb.
Manufacturer: Based in New York and Palo Alto, Calif., Lucesco produces only LED lighting products.

Figure 4:

Progress Lighting
Lakeland
Type: Outdoor
Description: With warm-white, 3,000K color temperature light output, this collection features straightforward styling in a Brushed Nickel finish.
Manufacturer: Based in Spartanburg, S.C., Progress Lighting offers 3,000 fixtures in its catalog, making the company the largest single source for residential and commercial lighting.

HONORABLE MENTION:

For innovative design:
io Lighting Luxrail handrail light 8 Watts/foot
Albeo Javelin under-cabinet light 5.8 Watts

For LED application:
Osram Sylvania HF2Eye in-cabinet light 1.2 Watts
American LED Bullet in-cabinet light 1.2 Watts
Lighting LLC

JUDGES:
Ian Ashdown, TIR Systems, Wendy Davis, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Steve DenBaars, University of California-Santa Barbara, Ian Lewin, Lighting Sciences
Terry McGowan, American Lighting Association, Michael Siminovitch, California Lighting Technology Center

ABOUT LIGHTING FOR TOMORROW
Lighting for Tomorrow (www.lightingfortomorrow.com ), launched in 2002, is a lighting fixture competition organized by theAmerican Lighting Association, the U.S. Dept. of Energy (represented by Pacific NorthwestNational Laboratory) and the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE). DOE and about two dozenenergy-efficiency organizations nationwide combined to pledge more than $350,000 to sponsor
the 2006 competition.