Landscape 941
The pros at Landscape941 are the ones to call for landscape, irrigation, outdoor lighting and hardscape in the 941 area code of Manatee, Sarasota and Charlot...

By: Ryan Stoyles

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Landscape 941 - Video

The Emerald Coast beach line is the seasonal home not only to snowbirds and tourists, but also to several species of sea turtles, who take to the land each year from April through November. The animals come to shore long enough to nest on the sandy beaches and lay their eggs before returning to the sea.

In recent years however, development along the water line has led to trouble for the turtles. Often, when new hatchlings attempt to trek back to the Gulf, they are misguided by bright lights coming from the shore, as they mistake the lights for their honing beacon, the moon. In order to address this problem, the city of Destin has been working since 2013 to implement turtle-safe lighting along waterfront properties, and has now reached the final stages of accomplishing full compliance.

In our land development code there is a whole outdoor lighting section detailing the marine turtle conservation areas, said City Community Development Director Ken Gallander. We have a whole set of standards to improve the nesting habitat so that it is not polluted by lighting.

The code states that turtle-safe lighting requirements include; ensuring that light is not directly visible from the beach; that only low wattage bulbs of 50 watts or lower are used; that parking lot lights are shielded by directing light downward; and that reflective materials are removed from beach line-of-sight.

In late 2013, the city received a grant and began the West Destin Beach Nourishment Project. The grant, which included state and federal dollars, required the city to follow state regulations for all properties within marine turtle conservation zone.

Our code enforcement officers worked with a beach nourishment consultant and began with Holiday Isle on the west end of our beaches, said Gallander. The numbers that came out were 171 lighting violations, but all of those were brought under compliance by the property owners.

Once the west end of Destin was completed, city officials focused on the area from Pelican Beach east to the county line.

There were 121 violations when we started in the late summer of 2014. We have been whittling them down and now we have less than a dozen, said Gallander.

Although there is no set timeframe for the lighting changes to be met, Gallander said that every property owner so far has complied and he hopes to see the project finished soon.

Some properties have the whole South side of their property facing the Gulf so we work with property owners as much as we can, said Gallander. We are close to getting full compliance and hope to complete those before the turtle nesting season starts.

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Turn down the lights: Destin implements turtle-safe lighting

Spring is well on its way, which means backyard barbecues aren't far off either. Don't get left in the dark: Assessing your deck or patio and identifying your outdoor lighting needs is the first step to creating a welcoming atmosphere.

Take a look around your outdoor space. Are there practical spots that need to be well-lit, like your grill and dining areas? How about lighting for safety, like stairs and garden pathways? Lastly, think about aesthetics. What mood do you want your lighting to create? Do you have attractive areas that you want to highlight like stone waterfalls, landscaping or archways? All are important things to consider in your outdoor lighting plan.

One of the primary ways people light their decks and patios is with lighting fixtures attached to their home's exterior. And we're not talking visually shocking flood lights. Wall lights, lanterns and sconces are the perfect place to start, not to mention a great way to set the lighting style you are trying to achieve for your deck, whether mid-century modern, European, baroque or something completely different.

These lights are crucial to making your deck safe as well as enjoyable. With well-lit stair risers, you can easily ascend and descend while carrying trays of cocktails or appetizers to your guests.

Attaching LED lights to the tops of your deck's post caps is a very popular way to add functional lighting to your outdoor space. Be sure to opt for LEDs with warmer color temperatures like soft white to give your yard a welcoming glow. When you check the back of the bulbs' packaging, you'll find the color temperature scale; keep in mind that the farther left on the scale your choice falls, the warmer the light it will emit.

Rope lighting is a great deck option because it's extremely versatile and weatherproof. Consisting of a flexible, solid plastic rod with a series of tiny bulbs embedded in it, rope lighting can be run under virtually any surface length on your deck and attached with rope clips or a plastic rope light track.

This method of lighting works because it subtly illuminates the boundaries of your space and keeps your guests aware of trip hazards like elevation changes.

The final and most fun step to planning your deck lighting is choosing the decorative lighting that will serve to enhance the mood of your gatherings. Whether you want to get crafty and make your own Mason jar pendant lights, add funky flair with colorful paper lanterns, or stick with more traditional LED string lights for a romantic ambience, it's completely up to you. The sky is the limit!

Sarah Kellner provides online advice for The Home Depot on everything DIY, including topics like backyard lighting and what types of light bulbs to use. Visit HomeDepot.com to find the LED lights and bulbs that Sarah talks about in this article.

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Flip the switch: 5 places to install deck lighting for entertaining

Cree ( CREE ) added a newchip-on-board ( COB ) LED to its industry leading CXA LED array family. TheCXA2 LED arrays utilizes elements of Cree'sSC5 technology platform (introduced last quarter), which enables lighting designers to drastically lower system costs (by up to 60%) in the next generation of industry-leading lighting products.With the new CXA2 LED arrays, lighting manufacturers can achieve the same or better performance with a smaller LED compared to earlier products, enabling them torapidly deliver more innovative solutions for applications such as track, downlight and outdoor lighting.

Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs and LED lighting.Lower LED demand and margin pressure are two keys trends which have impacted Cree's growth prospects in the last few quarters. However, the company continues to see strong growth in its lighting segment, and it does not foresee any change in the trend as the segment still remains a largely untapped opportunity.

The LED lighting market is expected to grow 45% per year through 2019, driven by declining price points and rising interest on the part of the channel in pushing LEDs to consumers. LED lighting isexpected to account for 80% of the entire lighting market by 2020, creating a market that will be as big as $94 billion.

Cree isconfident that it is well positioned to continue to win in LED lighting.The company has a fully integrated vertical business model and is the market leader inboth LEDs and LED lighting products.Product innovation over the last few years has opened new applications and improved LED returns, in turn driving demand for Cree's products. Though the company has made significant progress, growingboth the volume and product base of itslighting business over the last several years, it believes that there is still a lot ofuntapped potential in terms of both revenue and profitability. It has a strong product pipeline and is building good sales momentum for the same.

Though the LED landscape remains highly competitive, Cree believes that its highpower LED technology positions the company for long term success in high performance LED lighting applications. The companyclosed its Lextar investment in Q2 2015 and is working with the team to supply LED chips as well as testing some initial lighting products. The collaboration with Lextar can help Cree expand its presence in the mid-power segment.Though the company is optimistic about its long-term prospects in the LED lighting segment, it admits that it will take time towork through the new products design cycles and current market conditions.

Rising Competition From Bigger Players Can Limit Growth Potential

Osram, Philips and GE are some of Cree's key competitors in the LED market. In terms of revenue, all these players are considerably larger than Cree.Philips and GE have been introducing a number of innovative products into the market at very low prices, although Cree bulbs are still one the cheapest available in the market. The sheer size of GE can help the companyachieve economies of scale if itchooses to create LEDs on a vast scale in the future. GE sells its LED bulbs throughWal-Mart, whichhas a hugenetwork of 11,000 stores spread across 27 countries. In comparison,Cree's retail partner Home Depot has around 2,300 stores.(( Why Investing In Cree Looks Like A Bad Idea , Seeking Alpha, December 3, 2014))

The rising competition can limit Cree's long-term growth potential, and the company clearly needs tofocus on innovation in order to capture the growing market. We expect CREE to continue growing, but project the growth rate to slow down over our review period. Cree is part of an industry that is still at a nascent stage of growth and a continuous focus on bringing new low-cost and more efficient product in the market can help it expand its revenue base in the future.

Our price estimate of $37 for CREE is almost in line with the current market price, and translates into market cap of $4.3 billion. We estimate the company will report revenue and net income of $1.95 billion and $120 million, respectively, for calendar year 2015. For fiscal year 2015 (fiscal year ends in June) we forecast non-GAAP EPS of $1.72.

See Our Complete Analysis for Cree Here

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Cree Adds New LED Arrays To Its Portfolio

Toronto, ON (PRWEB) February 25, 2015

Clear Blue Technologies Inc., the Smart Off-Grid company, announced today their new Illumience Cloud software for the remote management and control of off-grid devices such as outdoor lighting, security, telecom, mobile and environmental systems. With Clear Blues Smart Off-Grid Controller and Illumience, mission critical systems can be powered by the sun and wind while achieving an unprecedented level of performance and reliability and a reduction in maintenance costs of up to 80%.

A growing number of manufacturers are incorporating Clear Blues technology into their products to provide reliable off-grid options, drive down the cost of maintenance and differentiate themselves in the market. Illumience enables these vendors or their customers to remotely control, maintain and service their off-grid systems over the Internet from a computer or smartphone.

Key new features of Illumience include:

Clear Blues remote management and control software is unique in the industry, and delivers the high reliability, performance and cost reductions needed to make off-grid systems a real alternative to electricity-powered devices, said Mark Windrim, Chief Technology Officer of Clear Blue Technologies. The new Illumience software extends our capabilities with predictive intelligence, streamlined administration and control and other features that bring the power of Smart Off-Grid to an ever-growing list of products in the market.

About Clear Blue Technologies

Clear Blue Technologies, the Smart Off-Grid Company, combines green energy systems with the proven advantages of communications and cloud technology to power high performance off-grid lighting, security and mobile solutions. The companys hybrid controller harvests energy from solar panels and wind turbines and is designed to be easily integrated into a variety of products to deliver highly reliable off-grid alternatives. The Illumience cloud-based software provides real time monitoring and control over the Internet from any PC or smartphone, delivering unmatched reliability and performance. Clear Blues Illumient division delivers high performance off-grid lighting systems. Learn more at http://www.clearbluetechnologies.com

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Clear Blue Technologies Announces Illumience Smart Off-Grid Management and Control

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The MR16-centric driver ICs offer compatibility with electronic and magnetic 12-VAC transformers while Dialog's newest driver for line-powered retrofit lamps minimizes...

Osram Opto Semiconductors said that reductions in forward voltage in the blue pumps that underlie white LEDs are delivering a significant increase in efficiency with m...

Using elements of the Cree SC5 LED technology platform, the CXA2 series of COB LEDs will enable reductions in system cost and size.

Applications such as sterilization and purification will be enabled by the LEDs that were developed in part by Nobel-winning professors Akasaki and Amano.

Active-dimmer-driver technology eliminates flicker and Fairchild says the IC is compatible with more than 90% of the dimmers on the market.

Chip-on-board, or COB, packages contain a number of chips attached directly to the substrate, then packaged together by silica gel, epoxy resin, or other materials. COB assemblies improve package performance and are a preferred application by process engineers. This report looks at the COB packages that were specifically sold as COB, not simply manufactured in house and put into an end product.

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LEDs Magazine - LED Technology, Solid State Lighting and ...

7 hours ago Energy saving traffic lights in Japan are failing to melt snow covering them

Energy-saving LED traffic lights seemed like a cool way to cut back on electricity costs, but Japanese police said Monday they might just be too coolbecause they don't melt snow.

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) account for around 45 percent of all of Japan's stop-and-go signals and that proportion is growing as local authorities cotton on to their economising possibilities compared with regular incandescent lights.

But in wintery northern Japan the lights have encountered a problemdrivers can't see them because they don't get warm enough to melt accumulated snow.

Akira Kudo of Aomori Prefectural Police said snow has to be removed manually between December and mid-February during blizzards.

"We don't have enough staff members to remove snow as more and more LED lights are being introduced," he said.

LED lighting is becoming ever more popular in public and private spaces because of its lower energy consumption.

The technology has been big news in Japan since three local-born physicists won the Nobel Prize last year for the development of the blue LED, the breakthrough that led to the white LED now commonly used worldwide.

Explore further: Researchers find LEDs attract more flying invertebrates than conventional lighting

2015 AFP

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Japanese LED traffic lights just too cool when snow falls

Pablo Swell
Introducing the new Pablo Design Swell LED Lighting System for indoor and outdoor lighting applications.

By: MetropolitanDecor.com

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Pablo Swell - Video

JOLIET Will County Executive Larry Walsh cast a rare tie-breaking vote Thursday, killing a proposed rule change that would have regulated outdoor lighting deemed a hazard or nuisance.

The Will County Board voted 11-11 on the matter, with Walsh casting the tie-breaking vote.

The issue arose earlier this month during a Land Use & Development Committee meeting. Committee Chairman Tom Weigel, R-New Lenox, said he received a complaint about two upset neighbors shining lights onto each others property.

The breaking point was when one neighbor erected a lamppost and intentionally shined a floodlight straight into a neighbors bedroom window.

County Board member Jackie Traynere, D-Bolingbrook, was the first to speak out against the proposal, saying government was overstepping its bounds with the rule change.

The ordinance amendment states lighting shall not create a hazard or nuisance and that it should be shielded whenever possible to prevent light and glare spillover to adjacent property and abutting right-of-way.

From the other side of the aisle, Republican County Board Member Gretchen Fritz of Plainfield said she agreed, arguing theres no clear measurements that define whether lighting is hazardous.

What is hazardous? What is a nuisance? she said.

Neighbors should work things out on their own without government stepping in, said County Board Member Bob Howard, a Democrat.

Excerpt from:
Will County rejects changes to outdoor lighting rules

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) February 19, 2015

LED Lighting Inc. (http://www.ledlightinginc.com), a primary resource for custom illumination solutions, exhibits at LEDucations ninth annual event hosted by the Designers Lighting Forum of New York on March 5-6th, 2015 at the Sheraton NY Times Square hotel.

LEDucation 9 is one of the largest tabletop exhibitions and educational events solely dedicated to LED technology, hosting over 225 manufactures with an estimated 4,000 attendees.

LED Lighting Inc. will showcase its specification-grade, customizable LED linear lighting products and control systems at Booth C6. LED Lighting Inc. will share space with Blackjack Lighting, manufacturer of designer, award-winning decorative LED fixtures.

Industry leaders will hold 17 educational courses throughout the 2-day expo, exploring lighting trends and covering a variety of topics including: healthcare design, architecture, ecologically responsible outdoor lighting, LED controls, OLED technology, codes and much more.

Were excited to showcase our products at one of the largest shows dedicated to LED technology and education, says LED Lighting Inc. CEO William (Bill) Hood.

LEDucation will feature a variety of new events this year including: Docent Tours, private guided tours of the tradeshow floor; Mission Control, an interactive area for attendees to learn how a variety of controls, transformers, drivers and LED lighting products work as a complete system and Light It Up, a special reception where attendees can enjoy cocktails and d'oeuvres.

For more information, or to schedule an appointment contact Samantha(at)ledlightinginc(dot)com.

About LED Lighting Inc. LED Lighting Inc. continues to relentlessly expand and position itself as one of the only Custom Illumination Solution specialists in the marketplace, since 2004. As an innovator of LED lighting and technology, LED Lighting Inc. recognizes its uniqueness with providing custom applications and meeting detailed specifications. LED Lighting Inc. products are thoroughly tested and backed with strong warranties. For more information visit http://www.ledlightinginc.com.

About Blackjack Lighting Blackjack Lighting designs and manufactures high performance decorative lighting fixtures that are LED-like, not incandescent-like. A combination of engineering expertise, design ingenuity and artistry goes into Blackjack next-generation LED chandeliers, pendants, vanities, flush mounts, wall lamps, task lamps and table lamps. An award-winning LED specialist, Blackjack uses the highest quality materials, LEDs that are tightly binned and components that are all commercial-grade. Aesthetically, the Blackjack brand is contemporary at its core and our collections are ideal for a wide variety of commercial spaces.

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LED Lighting Inc. Exhibits at LEDucations 9th Annual Event & Expo in New York City