14 DAY TRIAL // On December 6, the US Department of Energy announced that it had decided to spend $10 million (€7.31 million) on research projects intended to help further reduce lighting energy use in American households and office buildings.
In a press release on the matter at hand, the US Department of Energy details that the money will serve to promote the development of LED (light-emitting diode) and OLED (organic light-emitting diode) products.
The development of new generations of such products is expected to help cut American families' and businesses' lighting energy consumption in half.
“As part of cutting energy waste and doubling energy productivity by 2030, the Energy Department today announced nearly $10 million to support research, development, and manufacturing of solid-state lighting (SSL) technologies across the country,” the Department of Energy says.
Furthermore, “This funding will help accelerate the development of high-quality light-emitting diode (LED) and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) products with the potential to reduce lighting energy use for American families and businesses by one half and enhance U.S. global competitiveness.”
The $10 million are to be split among industry, academia, and national labs projects focusing on three research areas: core technology research, product development, and US manufacturing.
The Department of Energy clarifies that research projects in the first of these areas are to come up with ways to develop better energy-saving technologies and focus on meeting efficacy, performance, and cost targets.
The ones in the second areas are supposed to roll out new or improved commercially viable SSL materials, devices, or systems, whereas the ones in the third area are to focus on bettering manufacturing processes, reducing costs, and enhancing quality and consistency.
“Based on the Energy Department’s recent report on the adoption of LEDs, Department-supported research and development over the past 10 years has helped accelerate SSL technology deployment, yielding an energy savings of $675 million [€493 million] in 2012.”
“Today, available LED technology is about 150 lumens per watt; the Energy Department’s target is 250 lumens per watt – a 75% increase. Higher performing LEDS will help further reduce overall costs and increase lighting efficiency,” the Department explains.
Those wishing to apply for part of the $10 million the US Department of Energy has made available need only visit the EERE Funding Opportunity Exchange website to learn more about this initiative.