Light Emitting Diode

Replacing old traffic lights with energy-saving light emitting diode traffic signals, known as LEDs, has earned the city a $507,500 rebate, officials said Tuesday. As part of a program established by the state Public Utilities Commission that encourages the replacement of incandescent traffic lamps, Southern California Edison presented a check to Huntington Beach. where The City Council approved funding in March to buy 4,800 LEDs.

The gig: Pervaiz Lodhie, 66, is the founder and chief executive of LEDtronics, a manufacturer of LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs. LEDs burn cooler, use significantly less energy and last tens of thousands of hours longer than traditional incandescents. Lodhie's LEDs can be found in spacecraft, robots, traffic lights and other products in which reliability is crucial. His clients include Northrop Grumman Corp., IBM Corp. and Caterpillar Inc. More than 300 employees work at the privately held firm, which is headquartered in Torrance and has an additional plant in Pakistan.

Imagine having the fountain of youth as close at hand as the bathroom. We're not there yet — but there's a burgeoning number of at-home, high-tech beauty gadgets that claim to smooth wrinkles, whiten teeth and remove hair without the need to invest in pricey beauty treatments at the spa, dermatologist or plastic surgeon's office. Some of these gadgets are so high-tech the Food and Drug Administration considers them medical devices, so approach the world of cosmetic gadgetry with caution.

It's the green economy, stupid. It was hard not to think of this twist on his long-ago campaign slogan as former President Clinton toured the Los Angeles area on Monday, making the case that the quickest way out of the country's latest economic morass lies in the wonky topic of energy efficiency.

The energy crisis couldn't do it. It's taking something called indium gallium nitride to give Los Angeles-area motorists the green light for conservation. That's the tongue-twisting name of the material that is finally letting engineers retrofit traffic signals throughout Southern California with electricity-saving light-emitting diode lamps.

Light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, are almost as old as transistors. But technological advances in recent years have paved the way for a new generation of high-powered LED headlamps that will change auto styling and possibly improve safety. Lumileds Lighting, a Silicon Valley firm that has pioneered high-intensity LEDs, announced last month that it would provide LEDs for daytime-running lights in the new Audi A8.

The gig: Pervaiz Lodhie, 66, is the founder and chief executive of LEDtronics, a manufacturer of LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs. LEDs burn cooler, use significantly less energy and last tens of thousands of hours longer than traditional incandescents. Lodhie's LEDs can be found in spacecraft, robots, traffic lights and other products in which reliability is crucial. His clients include Northrop Grumman Corp., IBM Corp. and Caterpillar Inc. More than 300 employees work at the privately held firm, which is headquartered in Torrance and has an additional plant in Pakistan.

Two British companies announced plans early today to merge to become a world leader in the technology of so-called glowing plastics. Cambridge Display Technology announced the acquisition of the research activities of rival Opsys, giving it control of another major method to create organic light-emitting diodes (OLED). Financial details were not disclosed. The two closely held companies sell their know-how to major electronics manufacturers, such as Seiko Epson Corp., Philips, DuPont Co.

It's the green economy, stupid. It was hard not to think of this twist on his long-ago campaign slogan as former President Clinton toured the Los Angeles area on Monday, making the case that the quickest way out of the country's latest economic morass lies in the wonky topic of energy efficiency.

They've always had the run of the streets, dictating who should stay and who can go. The authority of the traffic light is rarely questioned--but who knew they were quite so power-hungry? In fact, a standard traffic light run by an incandescent bulb gobbles up 10 times more electricity than longer-lasting devices called light-emitting diodes, best known as those tiny red lights that alert people that their stereos are on.

Light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, are almost as old as transistors. But technological advances in recent years have paved the way for a new generation of high-powered LED headlamps that will change auto styling and possibly improve safety. Lumileds Lighting, a Silicon Valley firm that has pioneered high-intensity LEDs, announced last month that it would provide LEDs for daytime-running lights in the new Audi A8.

Two British companies announced plans early today to merge to become a world leader in the technology of so-called glowing plastics. Cambridge Display Technology announced the acquisition of the research activities of rival Opsys, giving it control of another major method to create organic light-emitting diodes (OLED). Financial details were not disclosed. The two closely held companies sell their know-how to major electronics manufacturers, such as Seiko Epson Corp., Philips, DuPont Co.

The energy crisis couldn't do it. It's taking something called indium gallium nitride to give Los Angeles-area motorists the green light for conservation. That's the tongue-twisting name of the material that is finally letting engineers retrofit traffic signals throughout Southern California with electricity-saving light-emitting diode lamps.

Replacing old traffic lights with energy-saving light emitting diode traffic signals, known as LEDs, has earned the city a $507,500 rebate, officials said Tuesday. As part of a program established by the state Public Utilities Commission that encourages the replacement of incandescent traffic lamps, Southern California Edison presented a check to Huntington Beach. where The City Council approved funding in March to buy 4,800 LEDs.

They've always had the run of the streets, dictating who should stay and who can go. The authority of the traffic light is rarely questioned--but who knew they were quite so power-hungry? In fact, a standard traffic light run by an incandescent bulb gobbles up 10 times more electricity than longer-lasting devices called light-emitting diodes, best known as those tiny red lights that alert people that their stereos are on.

The Federal Trade Commission has sued longtime bulb manufacturer Lights of America Inc., charging that some of the company's energy-saving LED bulbs don't burn nearly as brightly or as long as advertised. Light emitting diode bulbs made by the Walnut company are sold at major national retailers, such as Home Depot, Wal-Mart and Costco. The suit alleges that Lights of America made false claims about the performance of some bulbs on its packaging and marketing materials beginning in 2008.

Of the 90% of Americans who have used LED or CFL light bulbs to save energy and cut costs, most use CFLs, according to a Consumer Reports study released Thursday. Almost 75% of consumers who have switched from incandescent bulbs currently use CFLs. About 25% use LEDs, or light-emitting diode bulbs,  even though LEDs use 75% less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs, last as long as 25 years, brighten immediately and often offer better light quality than compact fluorescents. Price is the biggest consumer complaint about LEDs and CFLs, according to the study, which tested 744 light bulbs to determine which ones performed best.