www.RenewableEnergyStocks.com
November 2005 

In North America, issues such as rising oil prices, hurricanes, and environmental crises are raising the awareness of renewable energy and the value of conservation. The benefits to both consumers and corporates of energy efficient lighting are gaining importance as executives from General Electric, Philips Lighting B.V. and Cyberlux Corporation discuss this sector in the following report. 

If each family in the United States were to exchange just one normal light bulb with a compact fluorescent “Energy Star” rated bulb, the savings in energy costs would equal $600 million. The resultant energy savings from this one simple act would equal enough energy to light 7 million homes as well as the prevention of greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 1 million cars. Lighting costs account for about twenty percent of typical North American households’ energy bill.  

Commercial Benefits

Companies investing in the development and manufacturing of products and technologies compliant with current energy efficiency initiatives can expect to benefit not only from tax incentives and other forms of government funding, but also from a consumer base that is facing skyrocketing energy costs in the very near future. Global issues will also affect the renewable energy sector: China’s energy consumption demands are projected to double within the next 20 years, and America’s dependence on foreign oil accounts for one third of the country’s deficit. 

This year, due to hurricanes and rising oil prices, the typical North American home energy bill could rise by up to 50%. President Bush recently requested that Americans drive less and increase their efforts to conserve fuel. Government organizations like the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “Energy Star” program promotes conservation through home weatherization, gasoline savings, and the use of efficient appliances. 

In 2004, the use of products branded with the “Energy Star” seal, saved $10 billion in money terms and the energy equivalent of powering 24 million American homes. In environmental terms, “Energy Star” products helped to avoid greenhouse gas emissions corresponding to that of 20 million cars.  

Steve Goldmacher, Director of Corporate Communications with Philips Lighting B.V. told RenewableEnergyStocks.com that the market for sustainable products has shown significant steady growth where the financial benefits derived from the product are tangible and with short payback. “While energy efficient lighting products have been available in the market for many years, there always seems to be a crisis that brings lighting efficiency to the forefront.  Hurricanes, oil embargoes, blackouts and utility brownouts underscore the need to reduce energy.”   

“The easiest and quickest way to achieve these goals is to change light bulbs. Current events only underscore the problem, but Philips Lighting has been working on developing alternatives to existing lighting since its inception. We recently introduced a replacement for 60, 75, and 90 watt PAR lamps, typically used in retail applications with a 25 watt integrated ceramic metal halide lamp that produces beautiful white light with tremendous energy savings that can retrofit into any existing PAR38 fixture. In this case the lamp has a life of 10,500 hours and far outlasts the bulb it replaces, thereby reducing maintenance as well as providing energy savings.” 

Greater Energy Efficiency

Traditional lighting companies are obviously aware of the energy efficient trend and are working to develop solutions that fit into the nation’s renewable energy initiatives. “GE’s compact fluorescent light bulbs are poised to drastically reduce energy consumption compared with traditional incandescent bulbs for residential and commercial customers” said GE’s Joseph G. Howley. “Over 85 percent of GE’s compact fluorescent light bulbs are Energy Star qualified. Compact fluorescent light bulbs offer energy savings of 70 to 75 percent and last up to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs. Because they turn on flicker-free, fit in most fixtures and produce excellent color rendering, GE’s compact fluorescent light bulbs are products that any household can appreciate.” 

 “Energy-efficient GE products save customers money,” continued Howley. “Customers are willing to pay more for these products because they get a quick payback from the energy savings. For businesses, the overall cost of light, not the cost of the bulb, is what counts: bulbs can represent as little as 4 percent of the overall life-cycle cost; maintenance and labor costs such as installation represent as little as 8 percent of the overall life-cycle cost; and energy costs over the life of a bulb can represent as much as 88 percent of the overall cost of light. The financial benefits to the customer and GE drive the development of energy efficient products.” 

Light Emitting Diodes

A decrease in cost coupled with an increase in the performance of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) is positioning this not so new technology as an economically viable product at the forefront of many diverse sectors – homeland defense, in store/emergency/transportation signage, emergency lighting, as well as a general illumination product that is being utilized by the homebuilding sector. 

A report completed in 2001 for the Department of Energy (“Energy Savings Potential of Solid State Lighting in General Lighting Applications” by Arthur D. Little, Inc.) stated that, “similar to the conventional lighting technologies, we would expect solid state lighting (SSL) to follow the generally recognized model of technology advance over time. In the case of SSL, small gains will be achieved in the coming few years, followed by massive improvement as many companies realize the potential of the technology and invest heavily.” 

General Electric’s LED Developments

The company that is best known for manufacturing light bulbs is currently working diligently to develop energy efficient lighting solutions in the form of Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs). Researchers at General Electric (GE Global Research) are working on roll-to-roll sheets of paper-thin flexible plastic (polymers that illuminate when an electric current is applied) similar to “wallpaper that lights up”. The GE website states that while OLEDs are becoming conventional in commercial applications such as displays (cell phones and laptop screens), their goal is to develop the technology for use in general lighting applications.   

“Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are some of the energy-efficient lighting products in development at GE,” said Joseph G. Howley, Manager, Industry Relations & Environmental Marketing at GE Consumer & Industrial. “Compact fluorescent lamps, halogen-IR reflector lamps, energy-efficient linear fluorescent lamps, electronic ballasts, and ceramic metal halide lamps are other new energy-efficient technologies that continue to be developed. At GE, improvements are made every year in one or more of these product lines. All of these technologies are available now but continue to improve. For GE, energy-efficient product development is really a continuous improvement process.” 

Cyberlux’s LED Innovations

Cyberlux Corporation (OTCBB: CYBL), based in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park, develops, manufactures and sells general lighting, long-term interim emergency lighting and other special lighting products which use solid-state diodal lighting elements (that utilize Gallium Nitride LEDs - Light Emitting Diodes) in place of traditional bulbs or tubes.  

"The capability of solid-state lighting technology has advanced significantly, at a 'Moore's Law' pace. Our products harness this capability and give home builders, residential designers and home buyers a new, energy efficient alternative to traditional lighting technologies," said Mark Schmidt, chief operating officer and president of Cyberlux. 

Among the suite of products developed by Cyberlux, many are designed to address emergencies such as power outages, critical security lighting needs as well as other products which bring “heatless” light into the home for closets, cabinets and counters. The solid state semiconductors, trademarked by Cyberlux as diodal™ lighting elements, consume 92% less energy than conventional incandescent lighting elements and perform for more than 20 years in contrast to 750 hours for traditional light bulbs.  

"The response we have received indicates a remarkable appetite for energy- efficient, maintenance-free lighting products,” said Don Evans, chief executive officer of Cyberlux Corporation. “Using our patented, solid-state lighting technology, we have introduced the first products that provide heatless, white lighting for kitchen and bath applications, which include a breakthrough 55 lumens per watt brightness performance of the Aeon Pro product which exceeds the 40 lumen per watt requirement of California’s Title 24 mandate for kitchen and bath lighting." 

Recently, the nonprofit Sustainable North Carolina organization that promotes business practices which boost the state’s economy and communities as well as natural resources, named Cyberlux as a finalist for the “Clean Technology” category in its annual awards program. 

Old and New Technologies with Increased Efficiency

“At Philips we believe sustainable development is imperative,” said Steve Goldmacher, Director of Corporate Communications with Philips Lighting Company. “It is our way of doing business - an investment that will create value and secure the future. And in the end, it’s the right thing to do.”  

Goldmacher explained that Philips Lighting is constantly seeking better alternatives to energy-efficient sustainable lighting products. More than ten years ago the company developed the ALTO fluorescent lamp technology combining long life, energy efficient lighting with the lowest mercury per lamp for the industry. Virtually all Philips fluorescent lamps now incorporate this technology.   

“We invented the compact fluorescent lamp as well as Ceramic Metal Halide technology,” said Goldmacher, “all designed to meet critical energy-efficiency demands while retaining light quality. Philips is a founding member of The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) and also a founding member of the Alliance for Sustainable Built Environments, (greenerfacilities.com) a group of like minded companies devoted to sustainability.” 

“I think that developments in energy efficient lighting will not only come from new technologies like LED/OLED but from the improvement of the established base in existence today,” continued Goldmacher. “Take, for instance, the fluorescent market, where about 600 million tubes are sold annually. Philips has just brought out the ‘Energy Advantage’ lamp, a 25 watt T8 replacement for lamps in use today that range in wattage from 28 to 32 watts.  

“By simple mathematics, if you exchange a 32 watt lamp for a 25 watt lamp you save 7 watts of power. However, multiplied by the potential market (hundreds of millions) the energy savings is much more dramatic. If the payback on LED's becomes more attractive additional products will find their way into the professional market, certainly in sign lighting and other significant markets but as far as their availability, it’s a work in progress.” 

The Energy Policy Act of 2005

As President Bush said in his speech when he signed into law the Energy Policy Act of 2005, “We need to conserve more energy; we need to produce more energy; we need to diversify our energy supply; and we need to modernize our energy delivery.” The Bill, which was signed in August, includes: measures to set higher efficiency standards for energy and fuel utilization; funding authorization/tax incentives for corporate R&D into energy saving technologies; tax incentives for consumers to install and utilize more energy efficient appliances; tax credits for wind, biomass, landfill gas and other renewable electricity sources including geothermal energy and residential solar power systems. 

The bill also includes government commitments to environmentally optimize the usage of coal, nuclear power, oil, natural gas, biodiesel, ethanol and hydrogen fuel cells. President Bush stated that the government would be providing tax incentives for the creation of new natural gas pipelines, as well as to oil refineries for increasing their capacity. 

GE’s Ecomagination Initiative

GE recently launched ecomagination, an initiative whose mandate is to aggressively bring to market new technologies that will help consumers meet pressing environmental challenges including: solar energy, hybrid locomotives, fuel cells, lower-emission aircraft engines, lighter and stronger materials, efficient lighting and water purification technology.  

“We define ecomagination as a commitment to imagine and build innovative solutions that benefit our customers and society at large,” said Howley. “By combining the strengths of our technologies and the collective imagination of our 300,000 worldwide employees, we can create solutions that are as economically advantageous as they are ecologically sound. By listening to our customers and leveraging our imagination to provide them with solutions, we can create a prosperous, cleaner future for our customers and our company.”  

High Profile Advocate

Senator Hillary Clinton took today’s inefficient lighting scenario to its extreme conclusion during a speech to the CleanTech Venture Capital Forum in Washington; she proposed that, “If every American home replaced its incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones, which use one third the electricity and last ten times as long, the electricity we use for lighting would be cut in half. Even with the higher cost of the efficient light bulbs, consumers would save 25 to 40 percent per year.” 

During her speech she also suggested the creation of a temporary “Strategic Energy Fund” through which oil companies would contribute windfall profits for investment into renewable and alternative energy solutions. Companies that already fund renewable energy research and development would be exempt from contributions to this fund.  

As Philips Lighting’s Steve Goldmacher said, there is always a natural disaster or environmental crisis that focuses attention on the need for energy conservation, but as the major lighting companies know, it makes good business sense to continue to develop and manufacture lighting solutions that agree with the environment. 

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