manuellynch

Am I missing something? Bernanke comes out and says the US market is in trouble and inflation is happening...are energy efficient CFL bulbs going to be the same price as a $100 LLF LED product anytime soon...if so, I am getting out of this country...that would be well over 50X increase in price! And if inflation and cost are going up how are LED prices going down? Is it the one technology that is immune from global pressures? I want to walk on the same water that LLF can if this is true.

RF is on its way back into lighting!!! Good stuff. Has a lot to do with the guy in Canada that developed a way to use RF energy to convert water into fuel....a lot of the same principles apply.

Some interesting info I learned recently - The power and energy to recycle a CFL takes more energy than the CFL saves over incandescent. So the Net Net is a losing proposition. We are either going to wind up with a lot of mercury in landfills or being losing energy in the long run....hmm. Our CCFL has 1/2 the mercury and 3X the lifetime so it fairs much much better in the recycling world. I have told some people at PNL, Calif Energy Commission, and the DOE that this report is coming out and they all DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO SAY. Maybe SDGE can comment on this thread.

Very well put Eric. Agreed 100% Title 24 was a law that was affecting all of us in California. I did something odd and decided to start visiting the guy that wrote the law on a frequent and regular basis and found that your are ABSOLUTELY RIGHT - he incorporated changes into the next version of the law that came from items we raised to his attention. I introduced Jim Richards from UL, the one who does the Sign Accessories Manual, to the guy from California Energy Commission. I will tell you that sharing information on all these different levels made the future iterations of the law make a bit more sense and opened it up to other technologies. I agree with you about people lurking in the shadows and logging on anonymously and never posting - it is not a very straightforward way of conducting yourself in an open forum of thoughts, ideas, and experiences. Tomorrow is the Democratic Convention for Nevada in Las Vegas - my fiancee is a democratic delegate for Obama - I think that those open events would be pretty odd if people just sat in the shadows and didnt stand up and speak their peace. Eric - you might post a little video or tutorial on how to post - I know some of the people have asked me how to do it. Lets educate them so they have no reason not to post. And...thank you for writing this...I like Gary am now beyond your age range but have believed through my entire career that it is not new blood in terms of age but new blood in how progressive and forward people are...

A large sign company in So Calif (Orange County/Long Beach/LA area) is looking for an experienced production manager. If anyone is interested or knows of anyone have them PM me and I will put you in touch with the company.

Randall Whitehead is a great guy...but he discusses a $10 MR16 from GE that the article places in the LED section - anyone know about this? I think it is a halogen bulb

Thank you. Going horseback riding in Red Rock Vegas today.

Our AXRRL fixture which is currently offered in CCFL at $25 and soon in LED (using Nichia) at $30 with same performance as LLF will be out this year.

Wouldnt be horrible to issue a dividend to shareholders?

This is so ridiculous http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080208/cree_acquisition.html?.v=1 So a company buys a company for 100X revenues - $1mil in revenue purchased for over $100mil - this is as bad as buying a $500K home in Las Vegas that is now worth $250K...if you could sell it. And - this is for a company that makes a $75.00 fixture that is largely dependent on having a white LED made by CREE that has a greenish tinge to the phosphor (or products that cannot be used by anyone else in the industry - these are failures) and then they add a red LED to make it warmer white and better CRI. I think GE's announcement that they are going to introduce an energy efficient incandescent bulb is more interesting.

This is such a joke. Neal Hunter steps down from CREE as Chairman. He copies what I did at Permlight and raises a bunch of money to fund a group of people (some who use to work for me) and then gets bought back by CREE, his supplier, and his friends. THis is just an exploitave way to make Wall Street put money back into Neal's pocket. This is also a reaction by CREE not to let Philips dominate the LED space. Beware that Lighting Science Group is run by an ex-Philips executive who is doing the same thing as Neal Hunter - setup a business and then get Philips to buy it back. Having been in these circles for so long I can guarantee you the rest of the LED companies will be bought by GE....Permlight will probably be bought by GE is my best guess. ALL OF THIS FOR $75 light bulbs!!!! We will be introducing a better performing product than LLF's LED recessed light that will cost under $30. And our CCFL will be under $15.00 in 2008 - expect to see almost all major homebuilders moving to this product in 2009. And FYI - CREE LED performance for sign customers is absolutely one of the worst - I think we all know that Nichia dominates this space.

I will be in New Zealand and Australia, not going.

We are looking for someone who can do very tight bends on 2-3mm type high CRI tubes. TUbe length would have to be 1.8meter long. Call me if you want to discuss this 702-430-8917 Volumes would be very very high.

Gary - we sell both CCFL and LED and I have posted in the past that LED IS NOT THE SOLUTION FOR EVERYTHING!!! THIS IS A LONG RESPONSE - SORRY In fact, the carbon footprint of some LED systems is higher than CCFL - so ultimately some LED system put more mercury into the environment. Also, some older red LED systems use arsenic - and that is a whole other problem. I posted the article because I like Sushi and saw a special on Blue Fin Tuna recently that makes the info in the article pretty damaging to Japan that is the largest user of tuna in the world. Also - I just learned from someone yesterday that fluorescent recycling for mercury recycling actually takes more power than the CFL bulbs save!!! So the recycling systems in terms of energy used put more mercury back into the environment. California lead the charge in the USA on switching to CFLs - does anyone know why? Does it seem odd that they recently announced the building of a massive desalinization plant in Carlsbad, CA and that Nevada is very concerned about Lake Mead water levels falling too fast and unable to support California needs in the future. Here is what I was told by an undisclosed party in Calif government - the push to CFLs and other energy efficient lighting was to free up power from the existing grid to pave the way for the power needed by the desalinization plants that will produce water. California is quietly more concerned with water shortages. Also - I learned yesterday that there is a paint that can oxidize mercury when it passes over surfaces coated by this material...similar to annodizing aluminum...what is up in the air is if oxidized mercury particles could protect you from harmful neurological effects of mercury. And this is not an LED plug but I will plug our AXRRL CCFL fixture which according to the National Institute of Health would put 90% less mercury into the environment than a conventional CFL because of 1) its lifetime compared to CFL, 2) has lower mercury content than conventional CFL. wOB14I57ERM http://www.axiompowercorp.com/education/AXRRLvideo.htm We are also finding that if the decision maker on "green" technologies is a female with kids they will always always always choose an LED system over any mercury product due to their understanding of how it affects them and children. It would be great if there are any women on this board that would comment. And, yes, I am very familiar with mercury issues - have spent years and years focused in this area.

Tuna is the most popular sushi. Article: If six pieces exceeds the EPA's guidelines, and the EPA is currently headed by a pro-corporate Bush shill, then the levels are probably fucking deadly. Recent laboratory tests found so much mercury in tuna sushi from 20 Manhattan stores and restaurants that at most of them, a regular diet of six pieces a week would exceed the levels considered acceptable by the Environmental Protection Agency. Sushi from 5 of the 20 places had mercury levels so high that the Food and Drug Administration could take legal action to remove the fish from the market. The sushi was bought by The New York Times in October. ³No one should eat a meal of tuna with mercury levels like those found in the restaurant samples more than about once every three weeks," said Dr. Michael Gochfeld, professor of environmental and occupational medicine at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway, N.J. Dr. Gochfeld analyzed the sushi for The Times with Dr. Joanna Burger, professor of life sciences at Rutgers University. He is a former chairman of the New Jersey Mercury Task Force and also treats patients with mercury poisoning. The owner of a restaurant whose tuna sushi had particularly high mercury concentrations said he was shocked by the findings. ³I¹m startled by this,² said the owner, Drew Nieporent, a managing partner of Nobu Next Door. ³Anything that might endanger any customer of ours, we¹d be inclined to take off the menu immediately and get to the bottom of it.² Although the samples were gathered in New York City, experts believe similar results would be observed elsewhere. ³Mercury levels in bluefin are likely to be very high regardless of location,² said Tim Fitzgerald, a marine scientist for Environmental Defense, an advocacy group that works to protect the environment and improve human health. Most of the restaurants in the survey said the tuna The Times had sampled was bluefin. In 2004 the Food and Drug Administration joined with the Environmental Protection Agency to warn women who might become pregnant and children to limit their consumption of certain varieties of canned tuna because the mercury it contained might damage the developing nervous system. Fresh tuna was not included in the advisory. Most of the tuna sushi in the Times samples contained far more mercury than is typically found in canned tuna. Over the past several years, studies have suggested that mercury may also cause health problems for adults, including an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and neurological symptoms. Dr. P. Michael Bolger, a toxicologist who is head of the chemical hazard assessment team at the Food and Drug Administration, did not comment on the findings in the Times sample but said the agency was reviewing its seafood mercury warnings. Because it has been four years since the advisory was issued, Dr. Bolger said, ³we have had a study under way to take a fresh look at it.² No government agency regularly tests seafood for mercury. Tuna samples from the Manhattan restaurants Nobu Next Door, Sushi Seki, Sushi of Gari and Blue Ribbon Sushi and the food store Gourmet Garage all had mercury above one part per million, the ³action level² at which the F.D.A. can take food off the market. (The F.D.A. has rarely, if ever, taken any tuna off the market.) The highest mercury concentration, 1.4 parts per million, was found in tuna from Blue Ribbon Sushi. The lowest, 0.10, was bought at Fairway. When told of the newspaper¹s findings, Andy Arons, an owner of Gourmet Garage, said: ³We¹ll look for lower-level-mercury fish. Maybe we won¹t sell tuna sushi for a while, until we get to the bottom of this.² Mr. Arons said his stores stocked yellowfin, albacore and bluefin tuna, depending on the available quality and the price. At Blue Ribbon Sushi, Eric Bromberg, an owner, said he was aware that bluefin tuna had higher mercury concentrations. For that reason, Mr. Bromberg said, the restaurant typically told parents with small children not to let them eat ³more than one or two pieces.² Koji Oneda, a spokesman for Sushi Seki, said the restaurant would talk to its fish supplier about the issue. A manager at Sushi of Gari, Tomi Tomono, said it warned pregnant women and regular customers who ³love to eat tuna² about mercury levels. Mr. Tomono also said the restaurant would put warning labels on the menu ³very soon.² Scientists who performed the analysis for The Times ran the tests several times to be sure there was no mistake in the levels of methylmercury, the form of mercury found in fish tied to health problems. The work was done at the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, in Piscataway, a partnership between Rutgers and the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

Very true - I introduced one vendor to a customer that is taking a new product of ours into HOME DEPOT and the vendor subsequently raised his prices on something they had been supplying for some time. I truly think there is a market for products that are smartly engineered and designed such that they can be built anywhere in the world cost effectively.

Very true - maintaining a consistent supply chain in China that makes the same thing "to spec" over and over is a challenge. It sounds a bit crazy but the difference between quality from Taiwan to China is incredibly different. My bet is the next "China" is Vietnam.

Commercial Buildings Energy Efficiency Tax Deduction (SEC. 1331) COMcheck, a software tool developed by DOE, can be used to assist commercial building owners demonstrate compliance with building energy codes. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has agreed that the software can be used to help determine eligibility for lighting tax credits by calculating the percentage reduction in a project's lighting power density (LPD) compared to a code building as defined by Standard 90.1-2001. This helps owners plan improvements and claim credit as these interim rules permit. Owners can qualify for a tax credit between 30 and 60 cents per square foot off the cost of purchasing an energy efficient lighting system. The full range of credits will be available when the IRS finishes its final rules. The COMcheck tool is available for download at http://www.energycodes.gov/comcheck/ez_download.stm a web-based version is also available.

I have been involved with a lot of technologies that have moved to China to reduce cost of manufacturing but am starting to see it turn back around. The biggest problem is shipment time, communication, and interest in working on USA products. One vendor told me that there is a much bigger market for them in CHINA so they are going to focus on that first. I think it is time the USA focus back on developing technologies that are intelligently engineered so that they could be made in the USA, keep more jobs in the USA, etc. So I wanted to throw this out to the group - if you could purchase a technology that was MADE IN THE USA, cost the same as the other technologies, and you could get within 1-3 days of when you ordered it - wouldnt that be a bit more compelling?

I could not agree more. Green is Yesterday, Sustainable technologies are today and tomorrow. A lot of "green" technology companies took the momentum to capitalize on a market move to the "new". It seems ridiculous to me that most all the LED technologies that are available to replace neon are much much more expensive. As I have stated before, if you can make a product that is more efficient, easier to install, can bypass the needed mark up of distributors, and can save companies not only money in power useage but in the cost of material and the cost to install - it is a no brainer. For example - Pulte Homes has taken our surface mounted CCFL light and discovered that by eliminating the recessed cans in a home they can now offer recessed lighting in every room of a home now and actually save $1800-$3000 over the low cost incandescent recessed cans they use to use. So in these rather bleak times for the residential construction market, any technology that is "green" and saves you money - it is a no brainer. Some of our new AXIOM LED systems for signs (white) are also the same performance as neon, lower cost than neon per linear foot, and are now almost 10X lower power so that means you use less power supplies - in a recent study one sign company estimates that they will save $500K per year by the switch they made to our systems. So I agree - lets use this board to share information about technologies that can make us all more money. TEASER - a new clear overcoat paint that cost $0.15 per square foot, when exposed to daylight it is a self-cleaning system (for up to 20 years) so it reduces maintanenance and service and keeps signs always looking brand new....but it also is the GREENEST technology I know because it breaks apart CO2!!!

We make a dimmable 18Watt CCFL PAR38 Style Lamp and we also make a "recessed" downlight system that does not use a recessed can but uses a standard blue plastic 2 hour fire rated Carlon outlet box. See the PAR38 at http://www.axiompowercorp.com/Bulbs-CCFL/C...Bulbs-PAR38.htm See the "Recessed" product at http://www.axiompowercorp.com/Fixtures/RRLCCFL.htm Manuel

Agreed 100% on No Calif - I was very involved with that. It is the trendy way to be. I really think the GREEN phenonmena is just a fashion craze that will be replaced with more meaningful and sustainable technologies. For example - I think you will see new technologies entering the market that not only save energy, put produce energy and make you money while using them, and at the same time are environmentally safer. There is an article in a magazine I read recently that discusses some of the untold harmful implications of going Green. As always - new technologies that are fashionable shake out and the meaningful ones persist. But then again - that is just my opinion.

At New Years the new ball that is probably lit for a few minutes or maybe even a few hours is upgraded to an LED system for $1.1million!!! Lets see - next time they will use it will be next year....so they run it for a few hours and how much power do they really save??? Lets not forget the power of all the controllers that change color etc. Dont get me wrong - there are applications for LEDs that make sense, but not everywhere. The $1.1million light bulb. NY Times Square ball 'goes green' The New Year's Eve ball in New York's Times Square is celebrating its 100th birthday by going green, after being revamped with energy-efficient lights. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7165467.stm Or better yet, how about the DOE's challenge to lighting companies to make a 110 Lumen Per Watt light bulb and they will get $10million prize. Nowhere in the DOE proposal does it say how much the light bulb can cost....I though about using a few hundred of Nichia's highest output LED and only running it at 1/10th the rated power so I could get 120 Lumen Per Watt rating and meet the spec....it would also cost about $250 to replace the 60 Watt bulb. Lets see - the economy might be headed for a recession and America is leading the world in using products made in China because we want everything to be low cost. So who will read the story above and decorate their Xmas tree next year with $1.1mil in LEDs or who will walk down the aisle at Home Depot and buy a $250 LED light bulb sitting next to a $0.50 incandescent. Or more importantly - will Home Depot even buy a product like that and stick it on the shelf? From experience, no. Why cant people focus on making a new whiz bang great energy efficient product that cost the same as the products the inefficient products they replace? It seems Green is going a little overboard. This just doesnt make sense to me - any comments on this???