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NEW REGULATIONS, ENERGY COST SAVINGS MAKE LIGHT-EMITTING DIODES GLOW
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BY LORALEE STEVENS
STAFF REPORTER
SAUSALITO - Light-emitting diodes, glowing from your watch dial or guiding you to the theater exit, may soon be lighting your porch or company lobby and saving you money.
The technology is maturing rapidly, partly in response to strict new energy-saving measures imposed by federal law and coming into play in California on October 1.
Illuminex Systems, a Marin-based startup developing next generation lighting solutions, wants to be ahead of the curve. Its LED fixtures offer a whopping 90% energy savings over incandescent and fluorescent lighting, and don't require lead or mercury to manufacture. The bulbs can burn continuously for 12 years.
"For California and beyond, LED is the future," said David McManus, Illuminex vice president of marketing. "The manufacturing process is clean; the light is powerful; and it's inexpensive to use. We believe architects and the entire building industry will embrace it."
Federal Title 24 requires cuts
Embracing LED, even in limited applications, will stand them in good stead once the latest federal Title 24 requirements for new residential building arrive. At least 50% of installed wattage must be from high-efficacy lighting fixtures.
"For the most part that means compact fluorescent bulbs," said Rob Schlichting, spokesman for the California Energy Commission. "But we're in favor of LED when it can be used. LED traffic signals and exit signs may be mandatory in the future. But the technology has more potential than widespread applications right now."
Charles Graham, the electromechanical engineer who founded Illuminex, agrees that LED isn't ready to light a Safeway store or a Macys, but that's where it's headed.
"Retail will be the first big market. Retailers like brightly lit merchandise," he said. "LED highlights colors brilliantly, and it's so close to sunlight in composition that adjusting to it is easy for the eye."
Meanwhile, he and his team are finding markets in overnight display windows, landscape lighting, track lighting in galleries, and wine caves.
Jimmie Schein and his wife run Schein & Schein, an antique print and map shop at Grant and Union in San Francisco. The Scheins installed Illuminex LED lighting in their display windows.
"It's ultimately the all-night lighting of the future, when Title 24 expands its residential requirements to commercial establishments," said Mr. Schein. "Right now, we're the only shop in the city to use it, and it's been stunning - discernibly different. You can pick out our store windows a block away."
LED emits neither ultra violet nor infrared rays, which can be destructive to art and antiques. "We shield our merchandise from the sun with filmed windows, so it's ironic we would endanger it during the night. Also, it costs less than three cents a day to light with LED," said Mr. Schein. "On the downside, it'll probably need to be color-filtered in many cases. We think the radiant blue makes a good contrast to our mellow-hued merchandise, but you might not want that in another setting."
Palo Alto looks at alternatives
The City of Palo Alto is considering LED for nighttime usage on porches and walkways. According to utilities marketing engineer Virginia Waik, she and city officials will be meeting with Illuminex in several weeks to discuss proposals.
"Cities, especially cities near an observatory, need to be mindful of the night sky," said Ms. Waik. "We're always trying to fight light pollution, narrowing the band of night lighting to make it easier to screen out. LED is definitely a consideration, because it doesn't leak light into the surrounding atmosphere." The Palo Alto might launch a rebate program to encourage the use of LED among utility customers, she said.
LED shines brightest where there is no competing ambient light, Mr. Graham said, making it particularly suitable for wine caves. Wine cave construction, more and more popular among winery developers in Napa and Sonoma counties, can result in high-energy usage.
"We don't worry about heat from lighting, but we are concerned with power usage," said John Shook, general manager of Nordby Wine Caves, a division of Nordby Construction in Santa Rosa. "We have to answer to Title 24, which limits the amount of energy we can expend on lighting. The more lumens that can be generated the better.
"I would be very interested in a LED fixture, if someone was making them, both for new caves and for retrofitting old ones. It could represent a large cost savings over fluorescent. But for retrofits, the bulb would have to go into existing fixtures."
According to Mr. McManus, Illuminex has such a bulb. "We expect retrofits to be a great market for us," he said.
Illuminex has been approached by Genentech for office lighting and is in talks with several retailers, according to Mr. Graham. He's currently developing an LED track lighting system, the first of its kind, which should be ready to demonstrate by October.
Not seeking venture capital
Illuminex is raising $250,000 but is not seeking venture funding. "VCs usually won't sign nondisclosure statements, so we're looking at private investors," Graham said.
He and his partners, who are currently seeking an office location in south Marin, don't think funding will be a problem.
"The timing is exactly right, and the technology and need for it are coming together beautifully," said partner and co-founder Bente Mirow. "Competition will drive improvements, and costs will come down. Growth of the LED industry will match or surpass the solar industry, in my opinion."
For more information, visit www.illuminexsystems.net.
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