LED lighting is popping up in unusual places all over the world.  Because of its range of colors, long life, and energy efficiency, LED technology is becoming more and more popular for use in art and architecture.  Fountains seem to be particularly well suited to LED lighting, and the Crown Fountain in Chicago’s Millennium Park is a complex and beautiful example.

The fountain is made up of two glass towers that are fifty feet high and separated by a reflecting pool.  The towers glow from the massive LED lighting display that is housed within them.  The LED lights change color and provide a moody glow to the fountain and pool.  Each tower has about seventy LED units.  Each of the towers shows the light through three sides, and on the fourth has an LED display screen where giant faces appear and even shoot water from their mouths.  These are random close-ups of resident Chicagoans, and they add a whole new dimension to the fountain.  The faces last for about five minutes each, making various expressions and finally culminating in spitting water from their mouths.  The fountain changes at night and instead of the faces shows nature images intermingling with simple solid colors.

The display’s designer, Jaume Plensa, had used LED technology before, and perhaps this is why he was able to so effectively use it to the utmost of its capabilities in this piece.  The team putting the piece together knew that LED was the way to go because if its low need for maintenance.  It wasn’t an easy job, however, since the lighting systems had to be waterproof, and also the designer wanted the glass towers to remain open and light.  The team may have had their work cut out for them, but the smiling faces of the people enjoying the final creation say it all – job well done!

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Over the past few years it has become more common for people to consider environmental issues, and more specifically, how their actions are impacting the world around them.  In particular, many people are starting to look at energy use, and where their energy comes from.  When most people plug an appliance into their wall, the power comes from coal, nuclear energy, or hydroelectricity.  Some of these are cleaner than others, but all have their problems.  That’s why many are now turning towards cleaner energy sources such as wind or solar.  These are also renewable energy sources, and are a must for anyone who wants to live “off the grid”, or, not hooked up to mainstream power.

When using wind or solar energy, it is necessary to have a strong awareness of how the electrical items in your home are drawing on your power.  Because all your electricity is generated right in your home, you’ll want to make sure that you aren’t using too much.  Using LED lighting in your solar or wind powered home is an excellent solution, since LED lighting uses far less energy than incandescent bulbs, and even compact fluorescents.  This will limit the drain on your power, and their long life will limit the number of burnt out bulbs heading for the trash.  Many homes that are “off the grid” also rely on battery backup power, so installing LED lights is also smart for those times when relying on the limited resources of a battery.

Additionally, there are many LED lighting products that come in solar powered versions.  Many outdoor lighting systems, such as motion lights, landscaping lights, or even flashlights, can be solar powered.  This is a great way to further reduce energy costs and reduce your environmental footprint.

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Trafalgar Square is a popular spot in London, both for tourists and locals.  With a number of historic statues, as well as the popular Trafalgar Square Fountains, the square is a commonly photographed area for tourists, and for locals, it is often the scene of festivals, cultural events, concerts, and sporting events.  The fountains dominate the square, and operate daily.  Built in 1844, they were remodeled in the 1930s, and the current lighting system was installed in 1992.  Over sixteen years old, the lighting system needs to be replaced, and the Greater London Authority is looking at using LED technology instead of the existing halogen bulbs.

Each fountain currently has twenty-eight waterproof lights, which when replaced with LED bulbs, would provide the city with significant cost savings.  The carbon footprint has been estimated to drop by 16,400 kilograms of carbon dioxide per year.  Additionally, because LED light bulbs are so long lasting, there will be fewer instances of bulb outages, creating a better experience for visitors.  With LED technology being largely low maintenance, it will also save the city on money and manpower, and will hopefully lower the number of times the fountains have to be turned off to for the lighting system to be cleaned and maintained.  LED lights will also allow for colored lighting that can be used at events and concerts.

The GLA is now accepting proposals from companies interested in working on the project, and hopes to have the new lighting system in place for the annual Christmas festivities in December.  The job will prove to be a big one, since all the existing cables will need to be replaced, and a new lighting control system developed.  However, once completed, the project will be an important step towards energy efficiency, a decreased environmental footprint, and increased visitor satisfaction.
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According to a study conducted by Harris Interactive in October 2007, American consumers are becoming more comfortable with the idea of using LED light bulbs in place of traditional lighting sources.  The cost issue, with LED light bulbs typically higher in price than traditional light bulbs, seems to be diminishing as well, with consumers more willing to pay a bit more for the better technology.  On average, consumers indicated that they were willing to pay about $4.70 for an LED light while traditional incandescent bulbs run at about $0.50 each and compact fluorescents are about $3.00.

Overall, 87% of respondents were willing to use LED technology to replace some or all of their home lighting.  Energy efficiency was the top reason for consumers interested in making the switch, with 82% indicating that the energy cost savings were the primary motivation, while 53% also indicated that environmental benefits were important as well.  Seeing LED lighting in action continues to be a big motivating factor, with 58% indicating that if a friend or family member used LED lighting, they would be more willing to give it a try, and 45% if LED lighting was used by their employer.  Energy cost savings, more natural light, and fewer replacements are all factors that lead consumers to pay more initially for LED light bulbs.  Still, a large number (40%) of respondents indicated that the short term savings of purchasing an incandescent bulb is more important than the long-term energy savings.

The survey also looked at how average consumers are attempting to be more energy efficient in their light use.  The most popular method was turning lights off in unused rooms and using compact fluorescent bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs.  Consumers are attempting to save overall on energy by lowering the thermostat and using Energy Star appliances.

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Home and business owners both know that keeping their properties safe is an area of much concern.  A popular security technique is to provide lighting to dark areas where intruders could enter the building without being seen.  Motion lights are extremely popular ways to light up vulnerable areas while at the same time alerting the occupants and neighbors to movement on the property.  They can also be used for identification lighting at entranceways, so that occupants can quickly see who is at the door.  LED light bulbs are increasingly being used in motion detector lights, since they are both energy efficient and long lasting, and because they provide bright, white light.  When purchasing a motion detector light, try getting a battery-powered or combination battery/solar powered system so that your lights will continue to work in power outages.  It is also a good idea to consider your local weather conditions, and purchase an appropriate fixture.  If you live in a harsh climate, you’ll need a weatherproof and heavier duty system.  Emergency lighting is also important to keep your home or business from becoming vulnerable during power outages.  Battery powered backup lighting can be used both indoors and outdoors for security and safety.

Personal security is also important.  Professional security personnel might want to use LED powered flashlights while on the job.  These flashlights are battery powered, rechargeable, and also solar powered.  There are even LED light bulbs made to fit into your existing flashlight, making it easy to convert to LED technology.  LED flashlights also come in various colors and in a UV variety.  For the average user, an LED flashlight attached to a keychain can be useful to have on hand to light up small areas and to quickly find the lock on a car door.

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Staying safe at nighttime requires good quality and reliable lighting.  Because LED lights are both strong and long-lasting, they make excellent options for emergency and safety lighting.  Personal safety is particularly important on roadways.  An easy addition to your vehicle’s emergency kit is an LED traffic baton, which can be used to indicate your presence to other drivers should you find yourself on foot or working on your vehicle.  Of course, traffic batons are excellent for directing traffic at night as well.  Another great item to keep on hand is a flashing LED light that is similar to a traditional flare.  These flashing lights can be placed on the top of your vehicle and can be seen up to three miles away.  They are ideal for attracting attention if your vehicle breaks down at night.  There are also powerful LED strobe lights available for use on boats, which can be seen for miles around.

LED emergency lighting is also growing in popularity.  These powerful backup lights can provide hours of light when the power goes out.  Because LED lights operate on such low power, they can last for a very long time on battery power.  Some emergency systems can be hooked up to your existing wiring, and provide plenty of light for occupants to exit the building, particularly in earthquake or fire situations.  LED lanterns are also popular items, both for emergency kits as well as for campers.  Some can be dually used as a flashlight or a lantern, and some models give two hundred hours of lighting on just a couple of AAA batteries!  There are many types of LED flashlights available, most of which operate in the same manner as traditional flashlights.  However, there are LED flashlights available that are specifically designed for hazardous situations and can even provide light in smoky environments.

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Because of their energy efficiency and long-term cost savings, many businesses are switching from neon and other lighting technology to LED light bulbs.  Because LED works on a similar principle as neon, it is becoming more and more popular to replace neon signs with LED technology.  From “open” signs in the window or door to flashing outdoor road signs, using LED technology can help you to attract more customers.  Because LED lighting is more visible than other forms in daylight, they are an excellent choice for these types of signs, and are useful during all times of day and not just at night.

Floodlights are often used in business landscaping to accent trees, signs, and walls.  Using an LED light bulb will give you a longer lasting light source and will ultimately save you money.  If you have been thinking about adding light accents to your property but were unsure about costs, look no further!  LED lights allow you to add bright, broad spectrum projection lighting without adding much to your monthly electricity bill.  Different colors of lighting are available, and can also be used to light up pathways, lawns, murals, or even flags.

In addition to floodlighting and spotlighting, simple landscape lighting can be an effective way to make your business property look more professional while at the same time providing enough visibility to keep customers safe in times of low light.  LED lighting is available in many shapes and sizes, and can be used as markers along a pathway, to more strongly light up outdoor areas, or to provide accent lighting to particular plants or bushes.  Many LED light fixtures are now waterproof, making them perfect for use in outdoor gardens or fountains.  Some of these lights can even be used in pools or ponds, up to three feet in depth.

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Growing hothouse flowers and plants can be a time-consuming and expensive task.  Whether you are the owner of a commercial greenhouse or are simply an avid hobbyist, you might want to consider switching your grow lights from fluorescent or HID to LED light bulbs.  LED grow lights are safe for use with heat and UV sensitive plants and allow you to utilize multi-tiered gardening techniques.  Additionally, when compared to HID lights, they are lower in noise and voltage and also can be used in spaces that are difficult for HID lights to fit.  Like all LED light bulbs, LED grow lights are cooler and more energy efficient than other forms of lighting, making them safer and inexpensive.  If you choose to keep your existing HID lights, adding LED grow lights to your operation can provide a boost in growth without adding a lot to your power bill.

Typically you can purchase red or blue grow lights or full spectrum lights.  These will affect your plants in different ways.  Specifically, the balance of red and blue light will affect how the plants grow, how quickly they flower, and how fast their fruit develop.  Adding blue light can be beneficial for young plants and also if you find your plants are ‘leggy’.  Blue light can also create more compact growth, preventing plants from spreading over your growth area in too short a time.  Red and blue lighting should not be placed closer than twelve to twenty-four inches from your plants.  Full spectrum lights, on the other hand, can be placed up to three inches to your plants.

Where you place your lights is important to their growth.  Simply reducing the distance between the plant and the light by one half will increase the energy by four times.  Blue lights can be used in place of HPS lighting, and are also great for seedlings.  Red lights can be used instead of sunlight or MH lights.  Red lights are also excellent for use on leafy crops, particularly at the end of the growth cycle.

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To really appreciate the wonder and beauty of LED technology, you need to visit the largest LED display in the world today, located in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada.  The Fremont Street Experience is a 5-block pedestrian mall encompassing the western end of Fremont Street in the oldest part of the city.  Covering this area is a huge LED display canopy, rising 90 feet in height at the peak, stretching over 1,500 feet (457 meters) in length, and held up by 16 columns weighing 26,000 pounds each.  This canopy is so huge that the world’s largest electric sign would only take up 1/50 of its size.

Light and sound shows are presented on the canopy periodically each evening after dusk.  Before the show begins, all outdoor casino lights are shut off and crossing streets are blocked to vehicle traffic.  Pedestrians gather in the mall and look up to watch the show on the canopy ceiling.  Several shows have been presented over the past few years, featuring famous Las Vegas icons, American patriotism, race car driving and alien invaders, among other topics.

When the Fremont Street Experience was created in 1994, the initial display contained 2.1 million incandescent light bulbs controlled by 32 computers.  It also featured a 350,000 watt sound system with speakers suspended over the pedestrian mall.  In 2004, $17 million was spent on upgrades, and the incandescent lights were replaced with a 12.5 million LED display, showcasing more color combinations than the original.  The whole project, now including a 550,000 watt sound system and 220 speakers, is managed through a central control room with 10 computers.

Central to the success of this massive light display is the use of individually mounted LEDs.  Red, green and blue diodes are combined to form full-color pixels that are spaced evenly apart and measured from center to center for absolute pixel resolution.  This worked great for still images, but further developments were necessary to display moving images that looked real and didn’t blur.
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While it may seem that LED lights have just come into fashion in recent years, they have actually been in existence for several decades.  In fact, the first light-emitting diode was discovered in 1907 by a British experimenter, Henry Round of Marconi Labs, who first realized a semiconductor junction could produce light.  Subsequently, in the mid 1920s, a Russian named Oleg Vladimirovich Losev invented the first actual LED light and published his achievement in Russian, German and British scientific journals.  These were important initial steps in LED’s growth, but were ignored for several more years.  Additional relevant findings were noted in the 1950s and early 1960s but it wasn’t until 1962 that the first practical visible-spectrum LED was actually developed by Nick Holonyak Jr., who is often regarded as the “father of the light-emitting diode” for this invention while working for the General Electric Company.

By the late 1960s, the first LEDs were available in commercial markets, but only in red. They were initially used solely as replacements for incandescent indicators in laboratory and electronic equipment, but soon became widely recognized on household and office appliances such as TVs, radios, telephones, calculators and wrist watches.  Since the initial light output of these red LEDs was very low, at that point they could only be used as indicators rather than actual sources of light.  Soon, however, more colors were created and overall efficiency was improved.

In 1972, M. George Craford, a former graduate student of Holonyk, created the first yellow and red-orange LEDs, as well as a new red that was 10 times as bright as the original.  In later years blue LEDs were created by a Japanese corporation, which eventually led to the development of white LEDs so commonly seen today.  Along the way, materials technology advanced significantly, stimulating rapid improvement in light output, efficiency and reliability, allowing LEDs to finally become bright enough for illumination.

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