http://www.lightbeaminc.com

My point is, ther are definitely technologies out there coming that can reduce CFL usage, utlize the power of LED’s and help reduce emissions at the same time.

sj

Only useful for mood lighting. In fact, here’s used by some movie theatres for stair ledges inside the theatres when lights are out.

Looks like this thread will disappear soon, but I’ll try to get some photos tomorrow.

Light pollution wastes billions of dollars annually in the United States. 5 to 10 billion depending on whose numbers you want to use.

Agreed that shielded and properly aimed LED lighting would be a large improvement.

http://www.starrynightlights.com/lpIndex.html

In test deployments in places like parking lots and garages people polled said they felt much more secure because they could see colors. In a monochrome light environment something almost has to move before you notice it becuase many of the contrasts we require for visual cues are absent. Streets look healthier when all of the colors of the signage and people and vehicles are color-accurate.

24,

You can get dimmable LED lamps. Here’s one from 2004:
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2004/Oct/1088474.htm

It is only the most recent generations of LEDs that are good enough for incandescent-replacement lamp applications, so I understand if there is a lot of misinformation out there. However, the emitters are now bright enough, efficient enough, and if deployed in volume cheap enough to now move into the mainstream.

When I had the in ground cement pool built two years ago, I asked for a special mix for the bull-nose around the pool.

If you mix powdered glass instead of powdered rock, you get a semi-translucent cement that’s just as strong.

Then with a single underground light source (or two) you light up the entire rim of the pool. Or even make the entire pool out of this glass cement.

Well, didn’t happen. The pool maker thought this was so funny, we was still chuckling half an hour later, and the next day . . .
(I still think it would be cool)

http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=11825

BubbaRay, LED light sources are highly directional with up to 40% less backscatter. They would actually improve the nighjt sky as they would significantly reduce stray light.

19,

You wouldn’t use transformers, you’d use much smaller and lighter switching power supplies. SSL will require an entirely new way of thought in lighting design. (Not to mention the advantages of having light as an addressable instant-on/off facility subsystem.)

As far as price goes, you can now get a 100+ lumen LED now for ~$2 in OEM quantities.

A centralized cheap light source, easy to replace.
Distribute light with fiber optics.

Imagine a cheap 0.99$ 100w bulb lighting up an entire house.
With the other post about using sunlight as a daytime source.

Better than EL strips, but not in the market yet.

Remember that with daily use, EL strips won’t last past 5 years.
For that matter, neons and compact neons won’t either.

The newer LED’s are better in this respect, the problem is power distribution. Easy to distribute 120v or 240v AC, not so easy with 12v DC.

Putting transformers for LED’s at the point-of-use greatly increases cost, better to have one larger transformer with wiring just for a group of LED lamps / fixtures.

At cost price, a 1 watt Luxeon LED is roughly 8$, so a screw-in bulb that can replace a 100watt lightbulb would cost over 50$ (5x1watt).

Whereas CFL’s cost 8$ / 10$ for a 40 / 60 watt bulb remplacement.

The market for LED light bulbs are tiny, where it has to be cost effective within five years to surpass neons.

For astronomers, this is a really bad thing. Light pollution is a major problem. Bet you can’t see many stars in NYC, and most folks don’t even know that a real dark night sky exists — they’re used to that garbage gray glow that permeates the sky in large cities. At least with mercury and sodium lamps that emit light in specific narrowband wavelengths, one can purchase a narrowband filter to get rid of the junk. With broadband emissions, such as SSL or incandescent lighting, no filter will work. Might as well just turn the beauty of the night sky off, so people can ignore it as they have been for the last 50 years.

Here’s a picture of earth skies at night::
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap061001.html