bridgelux

The lights over your head are about to get smart

Take a walk through the labs of Bridgelux (PDF) in Livermore, Calif., and you see a lot of LED lighting modules being made on a more affordable platform: disused factories that used to make silicon chips. But while you'll see lots of lights, you'll hear mostly about connectivity. Bridgelux CEO Bill Watkins envisions a new array of smart, connected sensors, cameras, and other devices integrated with LED lighting over our heads.

The challenge is formidable: Most lighting consumers, large and small, think of lighting as a cost to be contained, not an opportunity to be maximized. So job … Read more

Bridgelux-Chevron deal brings LED streetlights to cities

LED producer Bridgelux has teamed with Chevron in a project to highlight the benefits of LED streetlights in cities.

The two companies today announced a program that allows municipalities to upgrade their streetlights to more efficient, long-lasting LED lighting with little or no up-front cost.

The LEDs use about half as much energy as traditional street lighting and require lower maintenance, providing monthly savings that will allow municipalities to pay for the switch, the companies said.

So far, the cities of Dublin, Calif., and Livermore, Calif., where Bridgelux is based, have signed on to test the service.

"Through this … Read more

Inventing a new socket for LED lighting

Thomas Edison surely did a good thing when he developed the screw-in socket for light bulbs. But the rise of LED lighting lets designers start from scratch with new connectors.

LED light source maker Bridgelux in a partnership with Molex early next year plans to start producing a new lighting component that dispenses with the classic screw base. Whether it becomes a de facto industry standard remains to be seen, but the product offers a glimpse into the design possibilities and technical challenges of solid-state lighting.

Rather than screw in, the disk-shaped Helion lighting module snaps into a base and … Read more

Bridgelux hits LED efficiency mark in move to silicon

Bridgelux expects to begin making LED chips on silicon wafers in about two years, a technology transition which promises to slash LED lighting costs.

The company today announced it has met performance targets for the new process which it projects could lower the cost of end-user lighting products by roughly 20 percent to 30 percent.

Bridgelux manufactures LED light sources, or chips, which are fitted into lamps and fixtures made by lighting companies. LEDs are more energy efficient and last longer than other lighting technologies, but the higher cost remains a barrier to mass adoption, particularly in the consumer market. … Read more

To cut LED lighting costs, Bridgelux rides silicon

To get the same economics of the computer semiconductor industry, the LED lighting world needs to start manufacturing on the same equipment, says Bridgelux CEO Bill Watkins.

The LED light source maker said today that it demonstrated the production of LED light chips on silicon, a transition that will cut production costs by 75 percent and ultimately result in cheaper, energy-efficient light fixtures. Bridgelux intends to start making LEDs, which will be fitted into bulbs made by other companies, with the process in two or three years.

Light fixtures with LEDs use semiconductors made by growing Gallium nitride (GaN) on … Read more

Start-up develops snap-in LED light

LED lighting company Bridgelux says out with the Edison screw-in bulb and in with the snap-in lighting module.

The Livermore, Calif.-based start-up said Wednesday it has designed a lighting module called Helieon that combines Bridgelux's LED lights and a snap-in interconnect system made by Molex, which is based in Lisle, Ill.

The interconnect system will make it easy to install LEDs and upgrade them when more efficient or brighter lights come out, the companies said.

The Helion system, which will be available in May for $20, is aimed at lighting manufacturers that build actual lighting fixtures. The Helion … Read more

LED maker Bridgelux targets general lighting

At the current rate of technology development, it's possible that LED replacements for 60-watt incandescent bulbs could drop below $10 by the end of this year, said Mark Swoboda, the president of LED maker Bridgelux.

Although technically feasible, that six- or eight-fold price drop is not likely to happen. Swoboda figures that price could only be reached in the case of a lighting company selling directly to a customer.

Still, prices are falling and efficiency is improving. Bridgelux on Wednesday is set to introduce a line of LED arrays which can be used in different applications, such as household … Read more

Ex-Seagate CEO to head LED maker Bridgelux

You can now count ex-Seagate CEO Bill Watkins as another Silicon Valley executive who has made the jump to green tech.

LED lighting company Bridgelux on Wednesday is expected to announce that Watkins, who was ousted from disk drive maker Seagate one year ago, has joined as CEO. Bridgelux also said that it is in the process of raising a Series D round of $50 million.

After leaving Seagate, Watkins started investigating the green-tech area and concluded that the LED business has many of the ingredients to grow rapidly in the near term.

"There's a $100 billion opportunity, … Read more