Sensus FlexNet Manages Chattanooga's New Smart Municipal Lighting

The city council of Chattanooga, Tenn., has approved a contract proposal to replace existing municipal lights with high efficiency lighting fixtures that incorporate FlexNet(TM) wireless remote monitoring and control capabilities from smart grid infrastructure provider, Sensus.The city will replace existing high-pressure sodium lighting (HPS) fixtures with 26,000 induction and LED lamps pre-configured with FlexNet wireless endpoints by local manufacturer Global Green Lighting (GGL) over the next sixteen months. The full system roll-out was approved after a smaller scale demonstration of GGL's product to light a city park proved successful in 2011. The foundational licensed spectrum wireless technology of the Chattanooga lighting project is identical to FlexNet systems deployed by electric, gas and water utilities to manage smart grid applications. Existing utility deployments of FlextNet can accommodate outdoor lighting control with minor configuration.
The Sensus-GGL combination includes a complete replacement light assembly that uses either an energy efficient induction lamp and ballast or light-emitting diode (LED) lamp with an integrated FlexNet radio, providing complete two-way communication with each lamp in the service territory. Four base stations and antennae will provide the requisite signaling capability. Sensus will host Chattanooga's network via remote servers from a secure data center, thus alleviating any additional personnel or resources required by the city to manage the system.
A recent study done by the City of Chattanooga and GGL determined that the city can expect $1M in average annual energy savings over the first ten years by switching to passive LED and induction lighting. Combining LED and induction lighting with the FlexNet technology, the city's new lighting system is expected to generate an average annual savings in energy and maintenance costs of up to $2.7M."The Chattanooga pilot program has clearly shown the remarkable efficiencies gained by retrofitting municipal lighting," said Charlie Nobles, marketing manager for lighting at Sensus. "When you can gain performance, improve public safety and yet cut expenses by up to 70 percent with a FlexNet radio-equipped assembly, the savings impact on a community budget can be dramatic." GGL's induction and LED lamps require substantially less current to operate effectively, generally require less maintenance and have a longer life than more traditional HPS lights. HPSs or any other type of lighting fixture that is controlled by photo-electric sensors, poses additional maintenance issues and costs. The new FlexNet lighting control system will allow officials to maintain precise operation of each lamp from one location to determine the appropriate output for the area and time of day.

GE LED Lighting Brings New Radiance, Energy Savings to Marriott Headquarters

The installations have enriched lighting quality, heightened employee security and improved energy efficiency. Following its corporate campus-wide lighting update, Marriott will use 860,000 fewer kilowatt hours of electricity and save more than $120,000 in combined energy and maintenance costs a year.
Enhancing outdoor security while saving money -- Security and energy savings were top priorities when considering new lighting to cover the nearly 2 million square feet (45 acres) of parking and garage space at Marriott headquarters. After testing competitive exterior garage fixtures, parking lot lights and contemporary post tops, Marriott selected GE's family of high-efficiency Evolve LED lighting systems."We preferred the exceptional output and uniformity of GE's Evolve LED lighting," says Jim Young, vice president, corporate facilities for Marriott International, Inc. "GE performed a comprehensive lighting audit of our existing system, provided photometric analysis with 3D renderings of the new system, and forecasted our energy and maintenance savings. GE excelled as both a trusted strategic consultant and solutions provider."
More than 230 Evolve LED Area Lights now illuminate Marriott's outdoor lots, while inside the parking deck nearly 400 Evolve LED Garage Light fixtures and several Evolve LED Tunnel Light installations—as well as more efficient GE T8 fluorescent lamps—help light the way for associates to and from the headquarters offices.LED lighting fixture maker Ephesus developing prototype chip with Group4 Labs.Collectively, a 280-watt reduction per outdoor lighting fixture will cut electricity use by 580,000 kWhs a year, equating to $70,000 in utility cost savings."GE's considerable portfolio of exterior lighting products includes many aesthetically attractive fixtures offering long life, durable construction and an assortment of beam spreads to suit a wide variety of applications," notes Steve Briggs, vice president of product management and marketing for GE Lighting Solutions. "Our LED area lights consume between 97 and 220 watts and were designed to replace traditional 400- to 1,000-watt high-intensity discharge systems that can spill and waste light."
According to General Electric Company, Marriott also gained the functionality to dim its new garage lighting with GE's ProSys Lighting Control system incorporating motion sensors. Light output is reduced to 40 percent while the garage is vacant and adjusts to 100 percent when motion is detected. Alone, this precise control will produce nearly $11,000 in energy savings each year. And, the control system will interface with Marriott's video surveillance center, alerting guards to after-hours movement in the deck and focusing the nearest security camera to where motion is detected.

LED lighting fixture maker Ephesus developing prototype chip with Group4 Labs

Ephesus Technologies LLC of Syracuse, NY, USA (a firm founded in June 2010 by former Lockheed Martin employees that designs and makes LED lighting fixtures for commercial and municipal markets) has partnered with Group4 Labs Inc of Fremont, CA to engineer and manufacture its own prototype LED chip as it aims to become vertically integrated.With a manufacturing facility at the University of Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) Smart System Technology and Commercialization Center of Excellence (STC) in Canandaigua, NY, Group4 Labs develops and supplies 'extreme materials' that aim to improve the performance of gallium nitride (GaN)-based devices. The firm's technology enables epitaxial GaN layers to be atomically attached (regardless of lattice mismatch) to a free-standing, proprietary chemical-vapor-deposited (CVD) synthetic polycrystalline diamond substrate, providing GaN-on-diamond epiwafers.
Ephesus initially resided in Syracuse University's Center for Advanced Systems and Engineering (CASE Center). The firm now has 16 staff and is based in the Syracuse Technology Garden (with a manufacturing location at Ansen Corp in Ogdensburg, NY), but plans to re-locate to Baldwinsville in Central New York as it expands.The EG4 is reckoned to be the first LED to be completely developed and manufactured in New York State. Ephesus says that development was aided by upstate New York's research and manufacturing strengths in the regional innovation cluster related to clean technologies and through collaboration with upstate New York academic institutions and several New York Centers of Excellence (CoE).
In February, Ephesus received a $50,000 grant from the SyracuseCoE Commercialization Assistance Program (CAP), which was established in partnership with Syracuse-based CenterState CEO (Corporation for Economic Opportunity, formerly the Metropolitan Development Association) and Empire State Development (ESD) with grants received under the auspices of New York Assemblyman William Magnarelli. The firm also received a $1m tax incentive from the ESD. STC provided support and infrastructure to enable Group4 Labs to produce demonstration LEDs as a first step toward the development of super-bright LEDs.Existing Ephesus LED lighting products target a broad range of applications, including warehouses, manufacturing facilities, parking lots/garages, roadways, stadiums, tunnels and bridges. Currently, fixtures are produced in New York State using LED chips from third-party companies, and the LED array comprises over 47% of the cost of the entire Ephesus lighting fixture. By developing its own LED chip, Ephesus aims to cut the cost of its LED fixtures by 30%.

Pakistan avalanche shines light on 'futile' war

An avalanche that has buried more than 120 soldiers in a Himalayan region close to India has put a spotlight on what critics says is 1 of world's most pointless military deployments: two poverty-wracked nations engaged in a costly standoff over an uninhabitable patch of mountain and ice.Since Saturday morning when the massive wall of snow engulfed a Pakistani military complex close to the Siachen Glacier, rescue teams have been unable to dig up any survivors. There is now very little hope that even a small number of people will come out alive.A team of U.S. military experts was expected to arrive at the site Monday to assist in the rescue efforts, according to an American official. The team flew in from Afghanistan after the Pakistani army asked for help, the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.
The U.S. military helped Pakistan after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and floods in 2010, ventures that Washington used to bolster efforts to strengthen its ties with Islamabad, vital in the fight against al-Qaida. The current mission is far smaller, and comes amid a near-breakdown in relations between the two countries.Swap to greener street lights LED by Sydney.The missing soldiers form part of the Pakistani military deployment to the Siachen Glacier, which forms the northern part of Kashmir region, disputed between Islamabad and India and the main source of tension between the nuclear-armed rivals who have fought three wars since 1947.
The conflict over Siachen began in 1984 when India occupied the heights of the 78-kilometer (49-mile) long glacier, fearing Pakistan wanted to claim the territory. Islamabad also deployed its troops. A 2003 cease-fire largely ended skirmishes on the the glacier, where troops have been deployed as high as 6,000 metres (20,000 ft), but both armies remained camped out there.Neither side releases information on troop numbers in the region, but they are beleived to be in the hundreds or low thousands.
Of all the problems plaguing the two countries, Siachen is often described as 1 of the easiest to solve but it is hostage to general mistrust and hard-liners on both sides, who don't want to give up their claim on territory, however strategically insignificant."This absolutely futile, useless fiasco has been going on since 1984," said Pakistan-India peace activist Tahira Abdullah. "It is a one-hour job to agree on a solution, but it is now an ego problem between the two armies. Both armies should pull back from the heights. Soldiers are dying and my heart bleeds for them, but it's for nothing."Temperatures as low as -60 C (-76 F), vicious winds and altitude sickness - the region is just east of the world's second-highest peak, K-2 - a have killed far more than the artillery fire. Casualty figures are not released by either military, but hundreds are beleived to have died there.

Hydroponic Tomato Grow-Off in the SuperCloset Deluxe Grow Boxes

HPS lights are the most utilized grow lights in indoor gardening growboxes because they enhance the fruiting and flowering process in plants, have a long usable bulb life and possess six-times more light output per watt than incandescent lights. HPS bulbs emit an orange/red light, 2200K to be exact, which produces larger harvests of higher quality herbs, fruits and vegetables. Because HPS bulbs increase usable end product, all SuperCloset grow boxes and grow rooms ship standard with HPS lighting systems including Lumatek ballasts and bulbs.
LED lights are Light Emitting Diode arrays that consume less electricity compared to other grow lights and less heat. Because of these features, LED lights can be placed closer to the plants' canopy than HID lights. They are a great alternative for indoor growers that have a problem controlling their indoor air temps. LED lights ship as upgrades to the Deluxe hydroponic grow box systems.
The SuperCloset Deluxe hydroponic grow box system is the perfect venue for the HPS vs. LED hydroponic tomato grow-off. It stands 72" tall, 36" wide and 24" deep encased in 16 gauge steel. It is harbors the perfect environment of 76 degrees F and will allow the Black Krim tomato plants to reach up to 34" tall inside the growing chamber. Since all Deluxe grow boxes are designed with adjustable lighting systems, the grow lights can be moved up and down according to plant height. The plants in each grow box started out at 5" tall as they were moved up from their SuperCloner grow chambers as clones.
Prior to Noribachi's illumination upgrade, CANBERRA's facility had suffered a reduction in their parking lot light levels after moving from 400W to 250W HID bulbs to save on energy expenses. Noribachi was able to ameliorate this condition by retrofitting all 26 of the 250W HID bulbs with custom crafted Noribachi LED bulbs that draw only 100W while generating light output equivalent to the 400W bulbs that CANBERRA had previously used.
Noribachi's success in retrofitting CANBERRA's parking lot extended to the rest of the facility's outdoor areas as well. Weary walkway lights that had emitted a ghastly orange glow found new life with Noribachi LED WALLPACK.L fixtures which produce a much whiter, clearer light and require three-quarters less energy to operate. To top off the upgrade Noribachi also furnished 8 new LED bollard fixtures for CANBERRA's entrance, ensuring proper illumination is the first impression visitors have when coming to the facility.

Swap to greener street lights LED by Sydney

SYDNEY is about to become the first city in Australia to be lit by energy-saving LED lights, with 6450 bulbs to be replaced in streetlights over coming months.The use of LEDs - light-emitting diodes - is expected to halve the amount of electricity required to keep the city lit at night, cutting the City of Sydney's power bill by about $800,000 and saving 2861 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year.The first stretch of new lights have now been installed outside the town hall on George Street, in time for Earth Hour, which begins at 8.30pm tomorrow night.
''Sydney will be the first city in Australia to install the new LED street and park lights across its entire city centre, and joins other major cities such as Berlin, Barcelona, Los Angeles and San Francisco,'' said the Lord Mayor, Clover Moore.Along with London, New York and Hong Kong, Sydney has been trialling the lights for 18 months, as part of an experiment by think tank The Climate Group to test public reaction to the slightly different light qualities of LEDs.
The lights have been installed at Circular Quay, Martin Place, Kings Cross and Alexandria Park.Anderson, PG&E partner to replace 105 streetlights with low-cost LED fixtures.The City of Sydney said its surveys showed 90 per cent of respondents supported the switch to the new lights.There are about 22,000 streetlights in the council area, of which 13,500 are managed by power utility Ausgrid, and the rest by the council.Public lighting is responsible for about a third of the council's energy use and 30 per cent of its greenhouse emissions, the council said.For Earth Hour, lights in most council buildings will be switched off for an hour from 8.30pm.The event started in Sydney in 2007, but has since caught on around the world. Governments in 130 countries have agreed to participate, and more than a billion people are expected to join in."Sydney will be the first city in Australia to install the new LED street and park lights across its entire city centre, and joins other major cities such as Berlin, Barcelona, Los Angeles, and San Francisco," Ms Moore said.
According to the City of Sydney, the council previously participated in an international trial of LED lighting with London, New York and Hong Kong with international environment organization, the Climate Group.GE Lighting Australia and New Zealand managing director, Nathan Dunn said the lighting will save up to 75 per cent of energy compared to incandescent light sources, while lasting up to 25 times longer.

Anderson, PG&E partner to replace 105 streetlights with low-cost LED fixtures

The City of Anderson and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) partnered to recently replace all 105 city-owned streetlight fixtures with new, energy-efficient light-emitting diode (LED) streetlights.The new streetlights, located along North Street, Stingy Lane, Pleasant Hills Drive, Oak Street, Nathan Street are providing brighter, more natural light to improve nighttime illumination and lowering the city's energy costs. Lights on stretches of State Route 273 were also replaced in a joint partnership between Anderson and the California Department of Transportation.
As a result of this project, the city will annually save $5,716 in energy costs paid by the city's General Fund. The project also earned more than $10,500 in PG&E incentives and moved the city to a lower energy rate, he said. The project will also remove the equivalent of 23,000 pounds of greenhouse gases from the environment, PG&E spokesman Paul Moreno announced."LED lights will offer significant long-term savings," said Jeff Kiser, who also serves as the city's public works director. "The money we save from these LED streetlights will allow us to invest in other important city projects."Hopefully, this is only the first step towards converting all the city's streetlights to LED to further reduce operating costs and advance the city's sustainability goals," said Kiser. "City staff will look for future partnering opportunities with PG&E to make a city-wide conversion a reality."
"PG&E is proud to work with the City of Anderson to upgrade existing street light fixtures with energy-efficient lighting," said Lia White, PG&E's executive manager of energy solutions and services in the northern Sacramento River Valley. "We will continue to collaborate with the city to provide Anderson residents with energy-efficient lighting that improves public safety and helps reduce Anderson's carbon footprint."
Since late 2009, more than 45 northern and central California cities have enjoyed the benefits of PG&E's LED Street Light Turnkey Replacement Service, White said. The program provides a one-stop solution for local communities that want to take advantage of the LED Street Light program to save energy while minimizing the public cost of managing and implementing lighting retrofit projects, she added. By participating in the program, customers are eligible for new, lower energy pricing and utility-provided energy efficiency incentives, White noted.