The objective of the contract is to develop and market a family of high performance, flexible and robust SSL engines that would enable outdoor lighting manufacturers to adapt their conventional fixture product lines to SSL technology more quickly and economically.
The “engine” technology will include the LED light source, optics, drive electronics, thermal management and appropriate packaging for the intended environment.
This should lead to broader SSL use in commercial and residential outdoor/exterior lighting applications and ultimately lower costs and reduce energy demand nationwide and particularly in New York State.
LED Specialists will solicit input from outdoor lighting manufacturers on SSL product design requirements to benefit the widest possible range of manufacturers and luminaire product lines. "We welcome suggestions and recommendations on items such as light output, form factor, packaging and methods of integration," says Mike Fusco, LED Specialists' president.
US government studies indicate that incandescent bulbs consume 42% of the nation’s electricity used for lighting but only deliver 12% of the lumen output. In commercial facilities, 32% of the energy is consumed by incandescent light sources, increasing to 90% for residential. In addition, 6% of commercial lighting energy consumption is for outdoor/exterior applications and 13% for residential.
Today’s LED technology offers the potential of 50% - 70% savings in energy usage over incandescent bulbs. Successful migration to LED technology in just these outdoor/exterior applications could save New Yorkers almost $2 billion over the next 15 years and almost $30 billion for the US. Though LED technology is today more expensive than incandescent, it offers 25 times the service life. This translates to a 30% reduction in life cycle cost when energy, bulb replacement and maintenance costs are considered over a 5-year period.
Lighting manufacturers are invited to participate in the “requirements phase” of this program by calling Mike Fusco or Mary Mosca on (631) 269-0841, or alternatively contact LED Specialists by email.
