a special thanks to the US DOE

As a United States citizen, I express my deep personal thanks to the entire team at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solid State Lighting program for their vision, courage and tenacity in driving forward the entire lighting industry for the past 12+ years. The US DOE SSL recognized early in the technology cycle of LED’s — when white light LEDs barely yet existed — that they could have a tremendous impact on lowering the United States’ energy consumption.  The DOE team provided a steady hand and plenty of common sense in their approach to the nascent technology, talking with numerous … Continue reading a special thanks to the US DOE

U.S. DOE releases new fact sheet on light + health

Check out the new fact sheet published by the DOE.  It helps to clarify and dispel some of the myths surrounding LED lighting and its impacts on health. I think this paragraph is the perfect summary: What may be beneficial for an occupant during the day may be harmful at night, and may vary significantly between indi­viduals in a given space. Complicating things even more is the need to balance the desire for alertness with preservation of normal circadian rhythms among night-shift workers, for exam­ple. Therefore, even if a prescription for effective nonvisual stimulation is developed, implementing the solution may … Continue reading U.S. DOE releases new fact sheet on light + health

U.S. DOE SSL releases 4 SBIR grants

As part of my ongoing effort to track innovative small companies in the lighting world (see this post and this post for some more ventures), here is a release from the U.S. DOE on their latest Small Business Innovation Research grants: Four SBIR Grants Awarded for SSL Technology (FY14 Release 2 Phase I) The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science has awarded four Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants targeting advances in solid-state lighting (SSL) technology. The FY14 Release 2 Phase I awards will explore the technical merit or feasibility of an innovative concept or technology. The SBIR and … Continue reading U.S. DOE SSL releases 4 SBIR grants

US DOE SSL R+D Workshop

I recently presented at and attended the US Department of Energy’s Solid State Lighting 2014 R+D Workshop in Tampa, Florida.  A terrific event, the US DOE’s SSL group uses this input from key industry participants to help guide their long-term funding programs with the goal of promoting the adoption of energy-efficient LED and OLED lighting technologies. You can find my slide deck here:  20140106_BK_DOESSL_2014 Workshop_Tampa_V3_extra annotations We need to find ways to reduce the total costs of advanced lighting systems.  And as big a fan as I am regarding digital lighting technologies, I want our industry to leave behind a positive … Continue reading US DOE SSL R+D Workshop