EPA releases draft 4 of the Energy Star Lamps V1.0 specification
The new Energy Star draft specification loosens the requirements for uniform beam distribution in omni-directional lamps and updates flicker and lumen-maintenance requirements.

WEBCAST: The NECTOR S Power System – Showcase Your Genius
Attend this free Webcast, presented by Future Electronics Inc. and TE Connectivity, and familiarize yourself with the innovation and the intelligence of the NECTOR S Power System that will enhance your SSL luminaire and lighting control design experience.

Understand RGB LED mixing ratios to realize optimal color in signs and displays (MAGAZINE)
LEE BOON HOOI explains that color ratios held over from the CRT world won’t deliver optimal color with RGB LEDs, but simple calculations can determine a proper mix.

Accelerated 2D optical simulation of LEDs allows quicker validation of architectural improvements (MAGAZINE)
Finite-difference time-domain simulation in 3D is necessary to verify the light extraction efficiency of LED architectural enhancements, but a faster 2D method can allow for quicker iterations for testing new ideas during product development, write Chenglin Xu and Dan Herrmann.

WEBCAST: Tear down and analysis of LED retrofit lamps, and examination of optimum approaches to SSL
The presentation will include an explanation of a methodology that product developers and lighting designers/specifiers can employ in their own LED-based product design, or SSL projects, to realize optimal results.

Aluminum extrusions match SSL thermal management needs in many applications (MAGAZINE)
Steve Jackson explains that design teams working on LED-based lighting products must consider aesthetics, cost, and quality when considering thermal elements of a design, but thermal performance is paramount.

LED optics intellectual property can foreshadow winners in SSL products (MAGAZINE)
A look back at patent activity in the LED optics space could have predicted some of the strong players in SSL products today, explains Kathryn Paisner, and recent activity could correlate with future winners.

Lighting industry progresses on DC-power grids that pair well with LEDs (MAGAZINE)
DC-power grids offer the potential of even greater energy efficiency when combined with LED-based lighting, and several options for implementing DC grids are either available or coming soon, reports Maury Wright.

New standards will enable lumen maintenance projections for SSL (MAGAZINE)
JIANZHONG JIAO explains that LM-84 and TM-28 will enable long-term lumen maintenance projections beyond the LED light source level, similar to how LM-80 and TM-21 are used with LEDs.

AC drivers gain traction even as AC-LED moniker needs to go (MAGAZINE)
So-called AC-LED manufacturers no longer introduce products that even closely resemble the term, but AC-driver ICs for LEDs are coming to market from a number of companies, says MAURY WRIGHT.

Five rules for designing roadway lighting (MAGAZINE)
Effective use of LED sources and emerging knowledge of human visual systems guide best practices for SSL roadway lighting, says DON PEIFER.

What’s inside a solar-powered LED light
The design of Nokero solar-charged battery-powered LED lighting for developing countries comes with certain dimming and microcontroller choices.

LEDs Magazine April 2013 issue
The April 2013 issue of LEDs Magazine is now available

WEBCAST: LED media integration into the architectural environment
The webcast will educate lighting designers and SSL product developers that want to compete in the quickly accelerating world of dynamic media-rich architectural/faced projects using LEDs and adaptive-control technologies.

Equalize pressure to ensure reliable LED-based outdoor luminaires (MAGAZINE)
Dealing with pressure differential is a hidden design challenge for robust LED luminaires, reports Gary Chan, although preventing moisture ingress and venting products properly can deliver long, reliable lifetimes.