Press releases

LED Lighting: A Primer to Lighting the Future

Sebastopol, CA—We're on the brink of a lighting revolution with light-emitting diodes—the tiny LEDs you've seen in electronic devices for years. "It might not be a transition that everyone is thinking about actively," says author Sal Cangeloso (@salcan), "but it has major implications for energy use and environmental initiatives. It's also a really interesting example of how technology changes over time and results in a noticeable change in our lives."

With LED Lighting (O'Reilly Media, $6.99 USD), you'll go behind the scenes to see how and why manufacturers are now designing LED devices to light everything from homes and offices to streets and warehouses.

"Lots of companies are making the switch to LED lighting," says Cangeloso. "Some of the most notable include Facebook's use of 'smart lighting' by Redwood Systems in one of their data centers, and Walmart's transition to LED retrofits. New York City is testing out LED street lamps in some areas, and the Empire State Building switched to Philips LED fixtures earlier this year."

Cangeloso shows you the working parts of a "simple" LED bulb and explains the challenges electronics companies face as they push LED lighting into the mainstream. You'll learn how you can use LEDs now, and why solid state lighting will bring dramatic changes in the near future.

• Explore the drivers, phosphors, and integrated circuits in a typical LED bulb
• Understand the challenges in producing LED bulbs with acceptable brightness, color temperature, and power consumption
• Learn about non-bulb LED applications, including lamps, street lights, and signage
• Discover the market forces driving—and impeding—the adoption of LED lighting
• Compare LEDs to compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and electron-stimulated luminescence (ESL) bulbs
• Gaze into the future of intelligent lighting, including networked lighting systems