General Electric Co. expects most light bulbs, including the incandescent invented by founder Thomas Edison, to be replaced within a decade by light-emitting diodes that can last from a child's birth through college.
"People are starting to talk about LEDs for general lighting for indoors," Maryrose Sylvester, who was appointed head of the lighting unit in March, said in an interview in New York. "By 2020, about 70 to 80 percent of the general lighting market is going to be enabled by LEDs."
Siemens AG's Osram unit and Royal Philips NA, GE's traditional rivals, have both predicted similar growth rates as new regulations combine with declining LED prices to make the lighting systems more attractive to individual and commercial buyers.
To take advantage of that, GE's lighting unit has doubled its research and development spending on LED technology over the past five years, Sylvester said without providing a specific figure.
Munich-based Siemens is expecting the market to grow to $13 billion by 2013 and rise another 44 percent by 2016. Philips, based in Amsterdam, predicted in September that 45 percent of the market will be LED-based by 2015.
Because LED systems are more expensive on the front end, demonstrating to customers how the investment pays off with lower maintenance costs and energy savings is critical, Sylvester said.
"As we go into this technology shift, we're seeing customers much more aware today about energy consumption, much more interested in terms of improving their energy bills, whether they're a commercial building owner or business owner or a consumer," Sylvester said.
Though LEDs remain more expensive than other bulbs, prices have dropped as environmental regulations target less energy- efficient lamps. In the U.S., a 2007 law phases out 100-watt incandescent bulbs starting next year by setting efficiency standards they don't meet, followed by 75-watt lamps in 2013 and 40- and 60-watt bulbs in 2014.
Edison's 19th-century invention won a reprieve under a spending deal reached last week by Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress that would block the Energy Department from enforcing the law. GE said it's still obligated to comply with the legal standard, which remains on the books.
An LED bulb's efficiency is directly related to how it generates light. With an incandescent bulb, electricity heats a filament for illumination, with some energy spent on unwanted heat.
With an LED, connecting an electric power source to a lamp stimulates electrons in a semiconductor chip so that they move, giving off light.
Because efficiency lies in the LED package and how it's configured, GE is concentrating on system designs for its commercial customers rather than making the LED equivalent of an incandescent bulb. It's relying on suppliers such as Cree Inc. for the semiconductor chip.
"Our expertise is in how you put the whole application together and configure it for a key application," Sylvester said.
In the commercial lighting segment alone, LED illumination may make up 52 percent of the market by 2021, Pike Research forecasts. The market may reach $42 billion this year and peak at nearly $54 billion in 2012 before gradually declining to about $30 billion by 2021 as usage of the longer-lasting systems increases.
2011年8月30日星期二
Move over NZ, we have our own extreme sport capital
I'm on a bicycle hurtling down a steep and winding hill in the middle of a rainforest, heart pumping and mouth dry as I narrowly avoid roaring Mack trucks and sudden cliff drops.
Ever the huge wuss, my hands linger on the brakes, but I'm going fast enough that the shadows of the tall trees flicker like strobe lights as I whiz past waterfalls, rock faces and thick bushland.
This is what a real adrenaline rush feels like and you don't have to cross the Tasman to the extreme sports capital of Queenstown to experience it.
With beaches, rivers and rainforests the NSW Coffs Coast is Australia's own place to get plenty of action and adventure.
I'm doing the Dorrigo Free Fall bike ride which winds down Waterfall Way in Dorrigo National Park, near Bellingen, from 746 metres above sea level.
It takes less than half an hour to reach just five metres above sea level, but about two hours for my heart rate to return to normal.
This downhill mountain bike ride was created by Gary Eagles, who was inspired by a similar bike tour he discovered while travelling in Maui, Hawaii.
Gary, a burly and enthusiastic man who has lived and travelled in Antarctica, Asia, Europe and in the outback, humbly describes his thrillseeker level as "slight".
But I'm not sure I believe him as he leads the ride, barely touching the brakes.
His swift headstart doesn't mean other riders have to rush though, with Gary encouraging me and my travel companions to ride at our own pace - and to avoid looking at the steep ledges on the left.
A ute follows the pack of bicycles down the hill to ensure cars stay well away, allowing for thrills without any spills.
Ever the huge wuss, my hands linger on the brakes, but I'm going fast enough that the shadows of the tall trees flicker like strobe lights as I whiz past waterfalls, rock faces and thick bushland.
This is what a real adrenaline rush feels like and you don't have to cross the Tasman to the extreme sports capital of Queenstown to experience it.
With beaches, rivers and rainforests the NSW Coffs Coast is Australia's own place to get plenty of action and adventure.
I'm doing the Dorrigo Free Fall bike ride which winds down Waterfall Way in Dorrigo National Park, near Bellingen, from 746 metres above sea level.
It takes less than half an hour to reach just five metres above sea level, but about two hours for my heart rate to return to normal.
This downhill mountain bike ride was created by Gary Eagles, who was inspired by a similar bike tour he discovered while travelling in Maui, Hawaii.
Gary, a burly and enthusiastic man who has lived and travelled in Antarctica, Asia, Europe and in the outback, humbly describes his thrillseeker level as "slight".
But I'm not sure I believe him as he leads the ride, barely touching the brakes.
His swift headstart doesn't mean other riders have to rush though, with Gary encouraging me and my travel companions to ride at our own pace - and to avoid looking at the steep ledges on the left.
A ute follows the pack of bicycles down the hill to ensure cars stay well away, allowing for thrills without any spills.
2011年8月23日星期二
State Controller to audit Hercules' books
Hercules is the target of an audit by the State Controller, becoming the third California city to garner that dubious distinction since the Bell financial scandal broke last year.
The state office audited Bell, a Los Angeles suburb, last year. An audit of nearby Montebello, announced in April, is ongoing. Hercules' latest financial reports raise significant concerns, Controller John Chiang said in a letter to Hercules interim City Manager Liz Warmerdam last week announcing his decision to investigate.
Montebello is the city where former Hercules City Manager Nelson Oliva worked before he became a consultant to Hercules in 2003. He was appointed Hercules city manager in April 2007 and stepped down in January 2011.
Oliva is widely blamed for Hercules' current financial crisis, although he has said that elected and administrative city officials during his tenure were privy to everything he did.
Oliva's stint in Montebello did not factor in the Controller's selection of Hercules as his next audit, said agency spokesman Garin Casaleggio.
"Since the city of Bell, the controller has received more than 100 requests to audit local agencies," Casaleggio said. The requests came from the general public, community groups and public officials, he said. With limited resources, the office could take on only one more city, Hercules, at this time, he said.
Hercules, with a population just shy of 25,000, faced a $6 million deficit in its general fund at the beginning of the current fiscal year that it pared down to about $800,000 while laying off more than 30 percent of its workforce, and a $1.9 million gap in the redevelopment agency budget that it hopes to make up this year with the sale of surplus property and by drawing on a special reserve that will be down to less than $1 million by the end of the fiscal year.
The state office audited Bell, a Los Angeles suburb, last year. An audit of nearby Montebello, announced in April, is ongoing. Hercules' latest financial reports raise significant concerns, Controller John Chiang said in a letter to Hercules interim City Manager Liz Warmerdam last week announcing his decision to investigate.
Montebello is the city where former Hercules City Manager Nelson Oliva worked before he became a consultant to Hercules in 2003. He was appointed Hercules city manager in April 2007 and stepped down in January 2011.
Oliva is widely blamed for Hercules' current financial crisis, although he has said that elected and administrative city officials during his tenure were privy to everything he did.
Oliva's stint in Montebello did not factor in the Controller's selection of Hercules as his next audit, said agency spokesman Garin Casaleggio.
"Since the city of Bell, the controller has received more than 100 requests to audit local agencies," Casaleggio said. The requests came from the general public, community groups and public officials, he said. With limited resources, the office could take on only one more city, Hercules, at this time, he said.
Hercules, with a population just shy of 25,000, faced a $6 million deficit in its general fund at the beginning of the current fiscal year that it pared down to about $800,000 while laying off more than 30 percent of its workforce, and a $1.9 million gap in the redevelopment agency budget that it hopes to make up this year with the sale of surplus property and by drawing on a special reserve that will be down to less than $1 million by the end of the fiscal year.
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