The Efficiency Zone
LED Control IC Increases Efficiency, Simplifies Design
April 14, 2011 7:24 am | International Rectifier | Product Releases | CommentsInternational Rectifier today introduced the IRS2548D Switched Mode Power Supply (SMPS) control IC for energy efficient applications for high power Light Emitting Diode (LED) illumination including LED street lighting, stadium lighting and theatrical lighting.
U.S. Postal Service Consolidates Data Centers, Saves Energy
April 12, 2011 6:10 am | News | CommentsCompu Dynamics, LLC (www.compu-dynamics.com) today announces that it has been selected by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (USPS OIG) to consolidate four of its data centers into one new state-of-the-art facility.
Ensuring Optimal High Power LED Performance with Thermal Management
April 11, 2011 5:40 am | by Jon Domingo, Product Development Engineer, Lumex | Articles | CommentsDistinguishing quality high power LEDs from inferior technologies most frequently centers on identifying products designed with superior thermal management to avoid loss in efficacy, decreased life hours, and color degradation.
PV Incubator Pushes Solar Innovations
April 9, 2011 6:26 pm | by National Renewable Energy Laboratory | News | CommentsAggressive NREL program prods start-up companies to dramatically lower the cost of solar electricity through game-changing technologies.
Algorithm Positions Solar Trackers, Movie Stars
April 9, 2011 6:26 pm | by National Renewable Energy Laboratory | News | CommentsNREL researchers work out a way to predict the sun's position with unmatched precision over 8,000 years.
NREL Helping the Army Be as Green as it Can Be
April 9, 2011 6:26 pm | by National Renewable Energy Laboratory | News | CommentsNREL is helping the U.S. Army with a new program that will have installations across the country "greening" all the way to net zero.
Fuel Economy Fact and Fiction
April 9, 2011 6:25 pm | by Energy Savers Blog | Blogs | CommentsWith gas prices soaring higher than ever, there's a lot of information - true and false - floating around about fuel economy. From well-intentioned friends to salespeople trying to make a buck, everyone has an opinion on how you can use less gas. Thankfully, the Department of Energy has...
Sustainable Design Inspiration at Work
April 9, 2011 6:25 pm | by Energy Savers Blog | Blogs | CommentsI recently had the opportunity to get out of my regular work routine in DC to visit picturesque Golden, Colorado. Golden is the site of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory campus - one of ten National Labs across the country. While there I got to learn from scientists, engineers and...
What Steps Do You Take to Improve Your Fuel Economy?
April 9, 2011 6:25 pm | by Energy Savers Blog | Blogs | CommentsOn Monday, Shannon told you some facts about fuel economy and how you can use less gas and save money at the pump.
QA Graphics Helps Green McDonald’s Tell its Story
April 8, 2011 6:09 am | News | CommentsOwners of the latest green McDonald’s located in Riverside, California, are using an interactive display created by QA Graphics to show customers why the new restaurant is sustainable and energy efficient.
Variable Speed Technology Improves Power Factor, Boosts Grid Reliability
April 7, 2011 11:21 am | by Dan Schillinger, Business Development – Variable Speed, Danfoss VLT Drives | Articles | CommentsAir conditioning is responsible for approximately 20 percent of the total U.S. annual electricity consumption*. The introduction of variable speed drive (VSD) technology to residential air-conditioning and heat pump systems presents an opportunity for significant energy savings...
Universal LED driver for industrial control applications
April 7, 2011 10:36 am | by Alex Mednik, Applications Engineering Director, Supertex, Inc. | Articles | CommentsUsing light emitting diodes (LED) for automation equipment as indicator lights (lighted buttons and switches) often requires multiple modifications of the same control device depending on the available supply voltage. This approach severely complicates the logistics...
Today's Broadband ICs Address European Power Efficiency Requirements
April 6, 2011 10:55 am | by Scott Broughton, Analog Devices, Inc., www.analog.com | Blogs | CommentsTwo important factors driving future technology developments in the broadband chip industry revolve around government regulations and market forces. The "EU Code of Conduct on Energy Efficiency of Broadband Equipment" was written to
“SMT Lamps”: Merging Through-Hole and Surface-Mount LED Technology
April 6, 2011 6:09 am | by Andreas Pohl, Field Application Engineer, Avago Technologies | Articles | CommentsOver the last 15 years, through-hole LEDs have dominated the market of high-brightness LEDs for outdoor video wall applications. Because of their highly reflective design with primary optics, it was difficult to replace them with SMT LEDs...
United States Solar Photovoltaic Project Order Backlog Surpasses 12 GW
April 6, 2011 4:59 am | News | CommentsThe solar photovoltaic (PV) project order backlog for the United States market has now soared past 12 gigawatts (GW), according to the latest edition of the Solarbuzz United States Deal Tracker report. While the PV industry is facing the effects of large cuts in feed-in tariffs across Europe...
Solar Inverter Market Falls in Q4 but Makes a Record Year in 2010
April 5, 2011 5:14 am | News | CommentsGlobal PV inverter revenues reached $1.6 billion in Q4’10, 24% lower than the previous quarter, but 30% higher than in Q4’09, according to IMS Research’s latest quarterly report on the market. Factory-gate prices also fell in the quarter by 4%...
CFL with Incandescent Shape Arrives in April
April 1, 2011 5:02 am | News | CommentsGE Lighting’s latest customer-inspired light bulb—a hybrid halogen-CFL contained in an incandescent-shaped glass bulb—hits the target for homeowners who love the energy efficiency and long life of GE-quality CFLs but have yearned for more immediate brightness in an energy-saving bulb.
Ohio State University EcoCAR Improves Emissions Controls - The EcoCAR Spring Workshop
March 30, 2011 12:14 pm | by Eric Schacht | Blogs | CommentsThe Ohio State University EcoCAR team is one of 16 teams competing to build the best hybrid vehicle in the EcoCAR Challenge Competition. However, the EcoCAR Competition is not a simple “build the car and compete” type of competition. Each EcoCAR vehicle must
Engineered Conductive Materials to Exhibit DB-1541-X Series Adhesives at Intersolar Europe 2011
March 30, 2011 5:59 am | Product Releases | CommentsEngineered Conductive Materials will showcase its DB-1541-X Series Conductive Stringer Attach Adhesives in Hall A5, Stand 653 at the upcoming Intersolar Europe, scheduled to take place June 8-10, 2011 at the New Munich Trade Faire Centre in Munich, Germany.
Cutbacks in European Photovoltaic Incentives Set Stage for Reductions in Module Shipments in 2H’11
March 28, 2011 6:23 am | News | CommentsFollowing very strong growth of 139% in 2010, global solar photovoltaic (PV) demand is off to a weak start in 2011. Preliminary estimates of Q1’11 end-market demand in Germany show it running at less than 50% of its Q1’10 level. The gradual price reductions seen so far this year have been insufficient in energizing the market.
Dallas Partners with Lumetech and Lighting Science Group to Go Green with LED Lighting in its Parking Garages
March 24, 2011 9:29 am | News | CommentsLumetech Group and Lighting Science Group announced today the conversion of five downtown parking garages to energy efficient LED lighting, positioning Dallas as one of the first major cities in the United States to adopt this energy and cost saving technology.
Transphorm Advanced GaN Power Electronics Demonstration at APEC 2011
March 21, 2011 9:23 am | Videos | CommentsIn this video we see a booth demonstration of Transphorm's new GaN Power Electronics at APEC 2010.
An Introduction to Solid State Lighting: LED Selection and Optics
March 16, 2011 10:14 am | by Rob Rix, VP Lighting, TE Connectivity Ltd. | Articles | CommentsUnlike the incandescent/fluorescent lamp world of today’s electrical lighting fixtures, solid-state lighting is in the realm of electronics with multiple interdependent ancillary systems. The purpose of this series of articlesis to provide an informative summary...
Smart Grid and Alternative Energy: An Overview
March 14, 2011 12:35 pm | by Imad Mahawili, Ph.D., Chief Technical Officer, WindTronics | Articles | CommentsThomas Edison designed and built the first electricity generating plant in the United States. His Pearl Street plant in Manhattan started operating in September 1882. It initially supplied electricity to nearly 500 lamps for about 50 customers...
Power Transformers Offer Efficient Electronics Design Solution
March 10, 2011 4:16 am | Product Releases | CommentsFeaturing up to 97.4 percent power efficiency and a highly efficient design using nearly 30 percent less material, the new VPT Series Toroidal Power Transformers from Triad Magnetics provide an innovative green power electronics solution that is also smaller and lighter than traditional transformers.
