The intention is to place newly commercial state-of-the-art LED lighting products into real world applications across several sites, to clearly demonstrate their performance and cost-effectiveness.

The demonstration is being coordinated by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and will include several teams, each consisting of a product manufacturer (or team of companies, perhaps combining an LED maker with a lighting fixture company), an energy-efficiency organization or utility, a host site, and PNNL.

A list of willing utilities, energy-efficiency organizations and host site agencies has already been started, with the latter including diverse organizations such as several branches of the US military, the Smithsonian Institute, the Federal Aviation Administration and the US Postal Service.

PNNL expects to establish between two and five demonstration projects in the first round, although the effort is intended to span multiple years rather than being a one-off.

After product installation, PNNL will evaluate the results, including energy and cost savings and related economic analyses, as well as qualitative responses to the LED lighting fixtures.

DOE says that it is interested in products that will become economically justifiable and that can impact a large segment of the lighting market. Residential downlighting is a preferred application, due to its prevalence in US homes and because the directionality of LED lighting lends itself to this application. Other applications will, of course, be considered.

Full details of the program can be downloaded via this link (PDF file).

DOE hosts "Voices for SSL Efficiency"

On April 23-24, 2007 in Pasadena, California, DOE and Southern California Edison will host a two-day workshop entitled "Voices for SSL Efficiency: Opportunities to Partner and Participate". This will provide a forum for lighting industry leaders, trade associations, efficiency organizations, utilities, designers, and others to share insights, ideas, and updates. Highlights include:

• Emerging SSL markets for general illumination - timing, niches, and regional factors
• Lessons learned from market introduction of compact fluorescent lighting
• Case studies on early SSL applications
• DOE’s five-year commercialization support plan, including ENERGY STAR®, testing, standards, demonstrations, competitions, and opportunities to participate
• SSL product rollout scenarios - priorities and potential roles for government, industry, efficiency organizations, utilities, and others
• SSL essentials - technology, applications, advantages, disadvantages