IN THE NEWS
Solid State Lighting Tops R&D List at DOE
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: April 1, 2008
CONTACT: Sue
Rose/ Rose Public Relations 303.674.3459 Sue@SueRosePR.com
Boulder, CO—At a recent gathering of supporters for Albeo Technologies, a Boulder-based solid-state lighting (SSL) manufacturer, Mary Colvin Werner spoke about the emphasis on solid state lighting at the Department of Energy (DOE). “Of all the building efficiency technologies the DOE is looking at, solid-state lighting is receiving the most research dollars—by far”, Werner stated. Werner is the technology manager for the building technologies program at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden.
Werner pointed out that buildings account for 71% of total electricity consumption in the United States, and for commercial buildings, the largest portion of energy consumption is from lighting (25%).
The DOE is pouring 60% of its buildings R&D budget for emerging technologies into SSL. The remaining funding is directed at building envelope (22%), space conditioning and refrigeration (9%) and analysis tools and design strategies (9%).
According to Werner, the US DOE's solid-state lighting research activities represent an essential component of the Department's strategy for achieving Zero Energy Buildings — buildings that produce as much energy as they use. The development of highly efficient, cost-effective solid-state lighting technologies, along with advanced windows and space heating and cooling technologies, can help reduce total building energy use by 60 to 70 percent. This improvement in component and system energy efficiency, coupled with onsite renewable energy supply systems, can result in marketable net zero energy buildings.
Albeo Technologies’ SSL products last ten times longer than fluorescent, are not breakable and do not contain mercury. Albeo estimates that the use of SSL in the industrial/commercial market will save billions of dollars in maintenance and energy costs; reduce carbon emissions by 28 to 40 million metric tons annually; and potentially reduce spending on electricity by $125 billion over the next 20 years.
For more information visit www.albeotech.com; www.energy.gov; and www.nrel.gov.
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