Start-Up Hopes To Upend Complacent Lighting Controller Market

May 3, 2010

A Toronto start-up hopes it has turned the fluorescent lighting controller market on its head

And it boasts that with potential contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars under negotiation with European utilities, it has its sites set on an IPO inside one and half years.

Cavet Technologies says the low-cost chip-based controller can save 30 percent of enrgy costs

Cavet Technologies believes it has a better way of reducing lighting energy demand. The company on Monday launched its LumiSmart controller , a $2,000 product it says can be installed in 40 minutes. Older controllers are larger and more cumbersome to deploy.

With this greater simplicity, “we are going to piss them off,” says CEO Albert Behr, referring to competitors such as Lutron, Panasonic, Osram and Leviton.

Cavet says the product take a novel approach to power reduction. It inserts on and off pulses in the electrical stream, but never enough to turn off a light, only enough to replace some of the electrons flowing down the wire. The result can be 30 percent energy savings. At the heart of the system is a custom ASIC semiconductor managing the current.

The 12-percon company struck a deal with contract manufacturer Celestica, which made a strategic investment in the company in exchange for exclusive manufacturing rights. No money changed hands.

Behr says Monday’s launch in 15 countries is a line in the sand. “We are bound and determined to be the worldwide standard. It’s one product for all markets.”

Obviously, larger, more powerful rivals will have a different explanation. It will be interesting to see whether big words from Cavet translate into big deeds.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

LEDs Still Not Ready To Take On Compact Fluorescents

October 9, 2009

Replacing incandescent and halogen lights with next generation LEDs is a no brainer. But compact fluorescents are hard target to topple.

The payback to replace a compact fluorescent with an LED light can be 4.5 to 12.9 years.

The payback to replace a compact fluorescent with an LED bulb can be 4.5 to 12.9 years.

The results of a recent study of commercial and residential lighting costs suggest LED bulb makers still have a distance to go before becoming the obvious choice for businesses and consumers hoping to save money and cut greenhouse gases through lower energy use.

The study from Cleantech Approach found LEDs modestly improve upon compact fluorescents with lower power consumption, longer bulb life and better optical control. LEDs also don’t require the use of mercury in manufacturing. But they cost four to eight times more, making the payback period about five years or longer.

The observations illustration the challenges facing LED light makers as they continue to improve their products, lower their costs and hope to find a beachhead in the massive lighting market. Lighting consumes up to 25 percent of the nation’s electricity and accounts for $389 billion in energy spending. Buildings account for about 40 percent of the total.

LEDs get a hands-down go-ahead against incandescent bulbs. LEDs last 20 times longer and electricity costs are four to six times less. Payback occurs in 1.7 to 3.4 years.

But compact fluorescents are a difficult foe. LEDs last only six to nine times longer and the energy costs of a compact fluorescent are only 10 to 40 percent greater. This means the payback period can be as short as 4.5 years but also as long as 12.9 years.

As LED development continues, obviously this will change. But for now, LEDs are a market opportunity yet to arrive.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

12 Hot Lighting And Green Buildings Startups

September 16, 2009

The next generation lighting and green buildings markets are huge.

Here are 12 hot startups hoping to mine the space.

They come from the Cleantech 100 list of privately held companies. The list, with 55 startups from the United States, 13 from the United Kingdom, 10 from Germany, five are from Israel and three from India, is meant to identify companies with the potential to grow rapidly. No Chinese companies made the cut.

Here are three companies developing high efficiency lighting:

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Saving The Energy Of Millions Of Light Bulbs

August 24, 2009

Millions of light bulbs burn daily throughout the United States (and around the world), even though sunlight is often available to provide the necessary illumination.

How does a nation – and a world – harness the power of conservation to battle energy waste and expected global warming?

Tubular skylights are one options, so are timers, dimmers and sensors.

Tubular skylights are one options, so are timers, dimmers and sensors.

I tapped into an online discussion this morning and was impressed by the simple creativity being offered. There was a common sense that is often missing from environmental discussions. I finished reading shocked to think that approaches like these aren’t being implemented despite the known hazards of greenhouse gas accumulation.

Perhaps discussions like these should be more widely publicized so the remaining disbelievers get the point.

So here are the suggestions. They are down to earth and readily accessible. Nothing fancy, something gained:

Timers and motion sensors are pretty cheap these days and would be easy retrofits, said John Eldon, an electronics and environmental consultant.

What about combine light sensors and motions detectors into a single package? adds Joel Balbien, CEO of Adiabatic Biosciences. Or setting national efficiency standards?

Tubular Skylights, a method of channeling the light from a skylight to an interior light fixture, is another alternative, offers a promotional Doug Black, director of sales. They can be used in conjunction with electric light dimmers, he says.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Bridgelux Sees Huge Market For Environmentally Sensitive LED Lights By 2012

January 27, 2009

Silicon Valley startup Bridgelux said Tuesday that a roughly $10 billion annual market for low-power LED lights should exist by 2012.

Bridgelux introduces a LED arrays for lighting

Bridgelux introduces LED arrays for lighting

If true, this massive opportunity could spawn several large manufacturers of this next generation lighting and the chips that power it.

The Sunnyvale chipmaker obviously hopes to be one. On Tuesday the startup introduced a new family of light-emitting diode arrays with improved energy efficiency. Lights made with LEDs will become increasingly attractive to industry and consumers as costs per lumens, or light output, continue to come down.

The chips also don’t require the hazardous materials, such as mercury and lead, found in other lights.

“Lamps and luminaires that incorporate LED lighting sources will play an increasingly important role in our effort to reduce overall carbon footprint by minimizing energy consumption and eliminating the use of hazardous materials,” said Bridgelux CEO Mark Swoboda in a statement. Some government already ban traditional bulbs, he said.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Green Tech Startup Weathers Downturn By Sticking To Its Business Plan And Seeking New Money

October 30, 2008
Bridgelux sees higher performing LEDs by the end of the year

Bridgelux sees higher performing LEDs by the end of the year

Bridgelux may be more fortunate than many Silicon Valley startups.

The Sunnyvale maker of LED chips for the commercial lighting market has a substantial sum of money in the bank after raising $30 million in March. It also has products in the market, announcing in June volume shipments of its latest NLX-5 energy-saving diode.

So even as the downturn ripples through a worried venture community, Bridgelux will stick to its business plan to break even in the fourth quarter of next year, says CEO Mark Swoboda.

“We won’t build a factory anytime soon,” Swoboda concedes. Instead the company will rely on partnerships to expand production capacity if necessary.

But “we won’t derail the progress we have made up to now,” he says.

Underlying Bridgelux’s confidence is the likelihood of an explosive market for high-efficiency LED lighting fixtures – a market that should find LEDs increasingly attractive as costs per lumens, or light output, continue to come down.

The NLX-5, Bridgelux’s fifth generation chip, offers a 15 to 20 percent performance improvement over its predecessor, and another 10 to 15 percent improvement is expected before the end of the year.

Swoboda says the promise of a 1 to 2 year payback for LED lighting should make it popular in the commercial market even if up-front costs for the equipment are higher. LEDs also have none of the mercury found in compact fluorescent bulbs.

Bridgelux says in its established technology is leading the company back to the fund raising market with the goal of raising another $25 million to $30 million between November and January. Many investors may see it as the last opportunity to put money into the company, Swoboda says.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

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