City Hall Park in Los Angeles Switches to LED Lights

As proof of how aggressive LED lighting has been in the medium-scale to large lighting projects sector, another lighting project has just been completed, this time in the City Hall Park of Los Angeles.

The park surrounding Los Angeles City hall has just been outfitted with multiple LED lights, as part of a medium-scale renovation project that’s estimated to cost around 1 million USD, with the goal of making City Hall more energy efficient.

China’s LED Lighting Market Driven by Desire to Save Money and Energy

According to the China Securities Journal, China’s market for light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for commercial applications, such as lighting up establishments like malls and offices, is continually opening up in the country, this despite a number of problems affecting the industry.

Guangzhou Hongli Opto-Electronic Co., Ltd. chairperson Li Guoping, notes that the promotion and adoption of LED lights has so far been the strongest for commercial buildings, malls and business offices. Not surprisingly, this follows a worldwide trend of offices and malls being the first to recognise LEDs for their benefits, despite being more expensive than conventional light sources.

3M Company Joins the LED Craze

Conglomerate 3M Company is joining the LED revolution, coming out with its first consumer LED light bulb, which it promises to be better than any other LED on the market.

As is the trend with most LEDs on the market these days, 3M’s high-tech bulb is designed to look just like a regular incandescent light bulb on the outside. 3M Company claims the bulb has a 25-year lifespan, provided the bulb is used 3 hours per day. And once more, like most LEDs on the market, 3M’s LED bulb comes with a $25 price tag, which might not be all that appealing for the conglomerate’s customers.

LED Lights Shows Positive Results for Poultry Production

Here’s one thing about lighting you may not know: it has a huge impact on how chickens behave. In fact, lighting is so important to the poultry industry that it’s been observed that too much light during brooding and grow-out can lead to diminished performance, which in turn leads to reduced profits.

While new poultry barns featuring solid sidewalls and tunnel ventilation systems have been designed to be more energy efficient to run, using artificial lighting in them can be a bit of a problem—with these barns, artificial lighting is the only way to go. The traditional use of 60-watt incandescent light in a typical poultry barn can account for as much as 30 to 40 percent of the total electrical costs of that barn, and that could still rise on its size and flock age.

Seoul Looking to Make the Switch to LED Lighting

Seoul, Korea’s capital, is planning on investing more resources in LED lighting retrofit projects for the benefit of public areas and to spurn Korea’s public sector to install light-emitting diodes in their facilities and establishments.

Seoul Metropolitan Government recently announced its plans to replace the conventional lights found in public areas such as city government offices, streets and major roads, and subway stations with LED lighting before the end of 2018.

Streetlights in Wiltshire, England may be Shut Down amidst Energy Saving Project Debates

Close to half of all streetlights in the South West England county of Wiltshire may be switched off, as council chiefs in the community debate on the best projects to save energy and money. At least 20,000 lights are at risk for being shut down, leaving many streets all over the county in the dark—that is, if council is unable to find a more sustainable lighting solution.

Lights in Wiltshire may be switched off between the hours of 12 midnight and 5:30 in the early morning in towns and rural areas all over the county. If no solution to this drastic measure is found, Wiltshire stands to become the first local authority in South West England to go from trail switch offs of lights, to a grand-scale shut down of streetlights. For many people in the area, it’s a gloomy return to the pre-Victorian days of total darkness.

India Looks to Provide Incentives for LED Light Buyers

Move over compact fluorescent lamps—there’s a new darling in town.

The Delhi government is currently promoting light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as a competing lighting product against compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), which have been shunned by some consumers due to their toxic components. Touted by the government as a superior alternative, LEDs are praised not just for being more energy efficient than CFLs, but for also being easy and safe to dispose and recycle since they contain no traces of mercury.

The high prices of LEDs in India have stifled efforts for consumers to seriously consider them as viable lighting solutions at home (they cost up to 5 times more than the average CFL in India) but the government is looking at offering tax breaks to consumers in an effort to entice them to buy LEDs.