Germany Embraces LED Lighting for Carbon Credits

LEDs Integrated in European Energy Efficiency Program

Major German Utility Company Promotes Energy-Efficient, CO2 Offset-Certified Lamina LEDs to Consumers and Businesses as Replacements for Traditional Lighting Products

Lamina Lighting Incorporated (Lamina), an innovator of LED lighting systems and technologies, today announced that the company’s LED lamps will be utilized in an energy efficiency initiative launched by RWE Rhein-Ruhr, the major regional energy company of the RWE Group. RWE ranks among Europe’s leading integrated electricity and gas companies and is one of the largest electricity producers in Germany.

The program represents an effort by RWE Rhein-Ruhr to help commercial and residential customers conserve energy and reduce utility bills by replacing their current light sources with Lamina’s SōL™ MR16 LED product, the only LED in the world which carries a CO2 offset certification.

“We are very proud that our SōL MR16 LED has been chosen to play a relevant part in the RWE energy efficiency program in Germany,” said Frank M. Shinneman, President and CEO of Lamina. “Working together with RWE Rhein-Ruhr and our partner-distributor Richard Schahl GmbH in Germany, we are happy to help more people become familiar with Lamina’s unique product innovations and efficiencies, and how their use can have a positive effect on the environment in the long run.”

RWE is based in Essen, Germany, and through its various regional energy companies and subsidiaries supplies 20 million electricity customers and 10 million gas customers throughout Europe. The LED initiative involves public announcements in the company’s 38 showrooms across Germany, and the distribution of almost 3 million newsletters. The newsletters explain to residential customers the positive aspects of using LED replacements; 56,000 industrial customers will also receive special brochures. Plans are underway for RWE Rhein-Ruhr to work in partnership with Richard Schahl GmbH, the European distributor of Lamina products, to train RWE-certified electricians on the correct and professional installation of the Lamina LED lamps into businesses such as hotels and retail shops, as well as inform them about potential costs and energy savings. All major electrical wholesalers will carry stock for Lamina’s SōL MR16 throughout Germany.

Lamina’s SōL MR16 LED product uses less than 8 watts of energy and produces the same amount of light, for a much longer period of time, than a 20 watt halogen light bulb. Lamina labels its SōL product with a “green tag” which highlights the bulb’s energy consumption as compared to its equivalent in the form of carbon credits offset. For the SōL this amounts to approximately ½ of a carbon credit (a carbon credit is equal to the emission of one metric ton of carbon dioxide). SōL’s CO2 offset was certified by an independent third party: The Carbon Credit Company LLC – the U.S. subsidiary of Frankfurt-based 3C Group. Among other services, 3C helps companies like Lamina – and their customers – achieve “climate neutrality” with their products and operations. The concept of carbon neutrality dictates that organizations and/or individuals make a commitment to the option of compensating for unavoidable emissions by reducing or avoiding emissions elsewhere.

Certification of the SōL is just one aspect of Lamina’s Carbon Footprint Reduction Program™, a comprehensive, company-wide environmental initiative. Along with a growing list of partners, Lamina supports a web site, truthinlighting.org that provides a wealth of information about how companies and individuals can work toward achieving carbon neutrality. Interactive forums, blogs, and RSS feeds will establish the site as a source for concrete factual information in regard to lighting and energy consumption.

Lamina is also undertaking a plan that includes a carbon footprint reduction of its own with a goal of corporate carbon neutrality, also to be facilitated by 3C Group.

Lamina Unveils LED Replacement for Popular Halogen Bulb

It's amazing how far the industry has come in a few months.. Very Long-Lived Lamina SoL(TM) MR16 LED Offers Big Energy and Replacement Cost Savings

Lamina, developer of the brightest commercially available LEDs, today announced immediate availability of an LED-based replacement lamp designed as a direct, ready-to-plug-in retrofit for 20-watt MR-16 halogen and comparable compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). The first of its kind, the Lamina SoL™ MR16 LED integrates a high power light source, optical lens and thermal heat sink shell in a traditional MR-16 halogen form-factor. This innovative design, which fits most existing fixtures, produces as much light as the 20-watt halogen bulb it replaces, but consumes less than 8 watts of electricity

Lamina SoL MR16 LED replacement lamps are designed to provide the quality of light produced by traditional incandescent lamps. Warm color temperatures of 3050°K and color rendition index (CRI) values greater than 80 make these products ideal as halogen replacements. Higher color temperature lamp equivalents of 4700°K are also available. The products will be demonstrated at Lightfair International 2007, May 8-10, in New York City.

"Lamina's SoL MR16 LED light engine offers a significant return-on-investment," said Frank M. Shinneman, the company's president and CEO. "With a lifetime of more than 50,000 hours, the energy savings, replacement cost savings of traditional lamps and money saved in labor costs to replace burned out lamps can potentially add up to more than $700 per fixture." Adding to the value, Mr. Shinneman noted that the Lamina SoL MR16 LED emits no heat (infrared) or ultraviolet radiation in its light beam, is readily dimmable, and contains no mercury (as do fluorescent lamps) or lead. As are all Lamina LED light engines, the SoL MR16 LED is fully compliant with the EU's RoHS Directive restricting mercury, lead, cadmium and other hazardous substances. Pricing is expected to be less than $25 in OEM volumes.

Among many possible applications, Lamina SoL MR16 LEDs are ideal for:

-- Track lighting
-- Display case fixtures & cabinet lighting
-- Aerospace lighting systems
-- Bio-medical and medical applications
-- Elevator lighting
-- General, architectural and landscape lighting
-- Signage and back lighting
-- Industrial OEM equipment lighting
-- Retail sales display
-- Cruise ship and yacht lighting

Earlier this month, Lamina introduced new light engines with outputs as bright as many traditional bulbs used in home, office, retail, commercial and exterior applications. The TitanTurbo(TM) line represents the state-of-the-art in high-output LED light engines. It is immediately available to lighting application designers in 2 models that deliver more than 2,000 lumens in daylight white and more than 1,000 lumens in warm white light. The company demonstrated both versions to much acclaim in Milan, Italy, at Euroluce, Europe's premier lighting show. Along with Lamina's SoL MR16 LED, TitanTurbo also will debut in the U.S. at Lightfair.

All Lamina LED light engines are manufactured by combining high brightness LEDs from industry-leading LED manufacturers with the company's own proprietary packaging technology. This technology is a breakthrough in thermal performance for LED packaging, a key factor in determining LED life and reliability. Unmatched thermal performance coupled with package interconnectivity allows Lamina to densely cluster multiple LEDs to achieve exceptionally high luminous intensity in very small footprints.

Lamina also provides unmatched integration support. Experienced sales application engineers, knowledgeable in LED design integration, optics, thermal management and electronics, are just a phone call away.

About Lamina, Inc.

Lamina, Inc. defines the state of technology with the development and manufacture of high power LED light engines. Lamina's LED packaging technology provides unsurpassed thermal management and interconnectivity.

Lamina is the leading manufacturer of high power LED light engines and is leading the transition from traditional lighting such as incandescent, halogen and mercury vapor fluorescent to solid state solutions for general lighting. Lamina offers the brightest solid state light engines in the industry and is enabling this lighting evolution by delivering highly reliable and functional LED lighting solutions. The company is supported by an industry-leading global sales and distribution network.