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35 At the end of his first day working for us Kassim confided that, in addition to being an electrician, he also had another, more exotic skill. “I drive out demons,” he said matter-of-factly. Actually, not so much demons as djinns. He told us that he had been motivated to acquire this unusual expertise as a result of his wife being possessed. We were fascinated to hear about how he had helped rid many unfortunates of their uninvited guests. We learned that djinns can take different forms - male and female - and hail from many different places. Apparently a single person can host multiple demons simultaneously. Kassim recounted one occasion during prayers in a mosque when he purged an infested individual of no fewer than half a dozen malign interlopers. All very interesting, but what we really wanted was for him to rid us of the legacy of one pernicious spirit — our previous electrician, Manuel.
Oddly enough, we also ended up with color-changing lights in one unspecified area, our kitchen cabinets. The lights came with a snazzy little remote controller that enabled you to alter their brightness and color temperature. Unfortunately, instead of being installed, as requested, under the cabinets to illuminate the kitchen counter, they were installed by mistake in the cabinets. The supplier agreed to rectify the error but left the originals in place, so we ended up with two sets of lights. The problem was that since the driver now had to provide power to eight lights instead of four, it lacked the oomph to dim or tune them. Rather than pay extra for a more powerful driver, we decided to live with the lights fixed on one setting. (We probably would not have used this feature much, even if it had worked properly.)
The range hood above the stove in the kitchen came with two halogen lights pre-installed. This was annoying since our goal had been to have all-LED lighting, but a solid-state option was not available. I note grimly that both halogens have since had to be replaced, the only bulbs to have failed.36
A small problem that rapidly became apparent was that the dimmers in the living room were not properly matched with the spotlights on the I-beams. The lights did not come on instantly, there was about a one-second lag, which was tolerable. When dimmed low, they tended to flicker, which was not. Another unanticipated problem derived from what was in principle a clever idea. A timer switch in the corridor that turned on the heated towel-rail in the bathroom shone a blue light when off; then, when you pushed the button, the light turned red to indicate that the rail was on. But the blue light is so bright that, when our bedroom door is left open, it keeps my wife awake at night. (I think this is known as overkill.)
36 In fact, we did have one LED bulb that failed. But since that was a freebie given to me at a trade show, I am inclined not to count it. In an ideal home, much of the lighting would be automated, as it is in cars. You open your car door, the light comes on; same thing with the headlights when it gets dark. It would also be nice to have lights that come on instantly, then dim gently before going off. We have two infrared sensors in our loft, one just inside the front door, the other in the windowless corridor that connects the living-room with the bedroom and the study. The problem with the front door sensor is that, in addition to turning the lights on, it also turns them off after a specified time. But in our case, the lights it switches off include one in the living room and another in the study. Sometimes you want these lights to stay on, which means you need a manual override in the form of a remote controller. I think the sensor system should be more intelligent, able to judge when people are present, where they are, and adapt the lights accordingly. The sensor-driven light in the corridor is handy at night, but why is the light also turned on during the day, when there is enough sunlight to see by? Obviously, what is needed is a more sophisticated sensor that responds to the amount of ambient light.
Good lighting design has improved our daily lives. Functionally, it puts the right amount of light where it is needed, including places where it would have been hard to put using conventional bulbs. Esthetically, it makes our space more enjoyable to inhabit. LEDs are of course economical to run and more or less maintenance-free (just as well when you have thirteen-foot high ceilings). Overall, I am delighted with our LED lights. But as my wife is not slow to remind me, this has been an expensive experiment. Few home owners would be prepared to replicate it. In future responsibility for improving the way homes are lit must lie with the schools where architects, builders, and electricians learn their skills. Also with the lighting industry: if companies want consumers to buy their super-duper new solid-state products, then they will need to do a much better job of explaining the benefits that they bring.
A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S I started work on this book in mid 2010 and finished writing it in early 2017. The reason for this longer than usual gestation period was that, having done much of my research, I was obliged to postpone the writing for almost two years while my wife and I underwent a lengthy and disruptive relocation. Though frustrating at the time, this delay turned out to be a blessing in disguise. When I began my research it was still by no means a foregone conclusion that LEDs would ultimately triumph as the one light to rule them all. By the time I resumed work in late 2014, the fog had lifted. It was clear that there would be no stopping solid-state lighting from supplanting conventional sources.
A book like this depends on gaining access to the leading actors in the drama. I am deeply grateful to the many busy individuals who gave up their valuable time to allow me to interview them. Especially those whom I interviewed multiple times, like Terry Clark, Michael Siminovitch, Gary Flamm, Brent York, Kevin Dowling, and Steve Paolini. Alas, Roland Haitz, whom I interviewed on numerous occasions and visited at his beautiful home in Portola Valley, is no longer around to thank. Happily, I was able to go over drafts of the early chapters in detail with him. It was a privilege to have known one of the pioneers of Silicon Valley, a truly extraordinary man. Some of my interviewees are not mentioned by name in the book. My apologies to them, but they may rest assured that their insights informed my writing.
As a non-specialist writing about a technical subject it was imperative to have a reliable guide. In this case, the guide was my friend Bob Steele, to whom I owe a great deal. Bob has long been the preeminent analyst in the LED field. He published his first market research report on LEDs back in 1994. Since 2000 Bob has chaired Strategies in Light, the solid-state lighting industry’s annual forum. Though recently retired from Strategies Unlimited, what he does not know about LEDs is not worth knowing. Bob encouraged me to write this book, suggested topics that it should cover, and made introductions to the most appropriate people to interview. He was always available to discuss recent developments with me and listened sympathetically to my ideas, no matter how scatterbrained. Bob read through my first drafts and made comments and corrections. Needless to say, all remaining errors are mine.
I also want to express my gratitude to Louis Lerman, CEO of QuarkStar, for his generosity in many things. In particular for allowing me an up-close-and-personal look at the tricky business of getting a startup company off the ground. It is hard to be an entrepreneur in an industry that is as resistant to change as lighting. A happy side-effect of spending extended periods of time with the QuarkStar crew was making new friends, notably Wilson Dau and Peter Stormberg, and reengaging with old ones, like Brent York.
My research took me to many locations that were familiar - like Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, and Washington DC - and some that were new to me - like Eindhoven, Portland, and Troy, in upstate New York. In Troy Jan Moyer, the doyenne of landscape lighting, and her husband George Gruel were kindness itself. I shall never forget their exemplary hospitality.
S O U R C E S
Chapter One
15. Interview with Ton Begemann, October 19, 2011 19. For the history of LEDs, see inter alia LEDs: Two decades of glorious growth, Bob Steele, Compound Semiconductor, 5 October 2015; The life and times of the LED — a 100-year history, Nikolay Zheludev, Nature Photonics, Vol 1, April 2007; In Pursuit of the Ultimate Lamp, George Craford, Nick Holonyak, and Frederick A. Kish
, Scientific American, February 2001; and We Were Burning, Bob Johnstone, Basic Books, 1999, pp 289-323
20. Interview with Roland Haitz, March 3, 2015
20. Light of Hope — Or Terror? Harlan Manchester, Reader’s Digest, February 1963
21. Interview with Roland Haitz, September 13, 2005
22. Interview with Bob Gardner, December 22, 2012
23. Interview with Roland Haitz, May 9, 2011
24. HP: Let There Be Light, Lindsay Riddell, San Francisco Business Times, March 11, 2011
25. Interview with Berry Kock, December 1, 2015
25. Interview with Gerard Harbers, February 4, 2015
26. Traffic Signals Get a Better Green, Bob Pool, Los Angeles Times, August 14, 2001
27. LED traffic signal modules as an incandescent lamp alternative, Randell H. Iwasaki, ITE Journal, April 2003
27. Interview with Ray Deese,, October 26, 2010 28. When Giants Fail, Larissa MacFarquhar, New Yorker, May 12, 2014
29. Interview with Jim Leising, July 7, 2013
31. Interview with Roland Haitz, August 5, 2011
Chapter Two
33. Interview with Roland Haitz, August 11, 2011
36. Interview with Karen Owyeung, August 2, 2011
36. Interview with Bob Gardner, December 22, 2012
38. Interview with Jeff Tsau, September 7, 2010
39. The Case for a National Research Program on Semiconductor Lighting, http://www.sandia.gov/~jytsao/hpsnl_sand_report_2000.pdf
41. Vision 2020: The Lighting Technology Roadmap http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy00osti/27996.pdf 43.
Solid-State Lighting: Why it will succeed, and why it won’t be overtaken http://www.haitzs-law.com/uploads/7/6/3/6/76362633/2011-lighting__haitz_tsao_optik_photonik.pdf
Chapter Three 45. US Senate Committee on Energy & National Resources, Hearing on S
398 and S 395, March 10, 2011
https://www.energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/hearings-andbusiness-meetings?ID=737AB0A6-A123-8DF7-46F0-992CCD071A5B
46. How Many Congressmen Does It Take to Change a Lightbulb?, Eric Wesoff, Greentech Media, July 7, 2011
46. Incandescent stupidity: Washington outlaws 100-watt lightbulbs, Michelle Malkin, michellemalkin.com, December 19, 2007
47. The Art of Energy Efficiency: Protecting the Environment with Better Technology, Arthur H. Rosenfeld, Annual Review of Energy and the Environment, Vol 24 pp 33-82, November 1999
http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.energy.24.1.33
47. You can thank Art Rosenfeld for energy savings, Mark Lifsher, Los Angeles Times, January 11, 2010 48. A Brave New Source: Physicists Discover Energy Efficiency, UC Davis Energy Efficiency Center seminar, December 22, 2008
http://www.uctv.tv/shows/A-Brave-New-Source-Physicists-DiscoverEnergy-Efficiency-15588
49. For the history of fluorescent lighting and electronic ballasts, see inter alia The History and Technical Evolution of High Frequency Fluorescent Lighting, John H. Campbell, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, December 1977
http://escholarship.org/uc/item/99f8b419
Commercializing Government-Sponsored Innovations, Brown et al, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, pp 34-42, January 1, 1989
https://www.osti.gov/accomplishments/documents/fullText/ ACC0020.pdf
51. Interview with Carlile “Steve” Stevens, March 8, 2011
54. Interview with Sam Berman, February 16, 2011 55. Court Case Sheds Light on Major Danger for Inventors, John M. Emshwiller, Wall Street Journal, October 27 1994; Two inventors hope they will finally win compensation for a device that was squelched, Teresa Riordan,
New York Times , July 21, 1997
Chapter Four 57. How California Created Energy Efficiency for the World, UC Davis Energy Efficiency Center seminar, October 14, 2008
http://www.uctv.tv/shows/How-California-Created-Energy-EfficiencyPolicy-for-Itself-and-the-World-15587
58. The Fixer, James Fallows, The Atlantic, June 2013
59. Interviews with Gary Flamm, May 10, 2010 & 21 March, 2016 60. Father of the compact fluorescent bulb looks back, Michael Kanellos, Greentech Media, August 16, 2007; Light bulb factory closes, Peter Whoriskey, Washington Post, September 8, 2010
61. SL*18 Compact Fluorescent with Integral Ballast, Museum of Electric Lamp Technology
http://www.lamptech.co.uk/Spec%20Sheets/ D%20FLCi%20Philips%20SL18.htm
62. The Efficiency Dilemma, David Owen, New Yorker, December 20 & 27, 2010
63. Incandescence, Yes. Fluorescence, We’ll See, William L. Hamilton, New York Times, January 7, 2007 65. History of the Compact Fluorescent Light: The World’s Poster Child for Energy Efficiency, UC Davis Energy Efficiency Center seminar, April 17,
2009
http://www.uctv.tv/shows/History-of-the-Compact-Fluorescent-LightThe-Worlds-Poster-Child-for-Energy-Efficiency-16779
65. Power-Sipping Bulbs Get Backing from Wal-Mart, Michael Barbaro, New York Times, January 2, 2007
66. As CFL Sales Fall, More Incentives Urged, Leora Broydo Vestel, New York Times, September 28, 2009
66. GE Is Ditching Those Twisty Light Bulbs in Favor of LEDs, Marcia Breen, NBC News, February 2, 2016
Chapter Five 67. President's News Conference, August 12, 1986
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=37733
Memorandum of Disapproval of the Appliance Energy Conservation Bill, November 1, 1986
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=36683
67. The Art of Energy Efficiency: Protecting the Environment with Better Technology, Arthur H. Rosenfeld, Annual Review of Energy and the Environment, Vol 24 p45, November 1999
http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.energy.24.1.33
67. The Politics of Plunder, Doug Bandow, Transaction, 1990, p214
68. Does Industrial Policy Work? Lessons from Sematech, Katie Harper, New York Times, November 7, 1993
69. Interview with Jeff Bingaman, June 26, 2013 69. The Promise of Solid State Lighting for General Illumination
http://www.lightingassociates.org/i/u/2127806/f/tech_sheets/ Solid_State_Lighting_For_General_Illumination.pdf
69. U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman: The quiet diplomat, Steve Terrell, The New Mexican, December 22, 2012
70. Supporting the Next Generation of White Lighting Technology, Jeff Bingaman, Issues in Science and Technology, Spring 2002
72. President Bush visits Sandia, signs sweeping energy bill, Bill Murphy, [Sandia] LabNews, August 19, 2005 73. Kleisterlee is reinventing the inventive Dutch firm Philips, David Teather, Guardian, April 2, 2010
73. Interviews with Peter van Strijp, April 20 & October 18, 2011
75. Philips to buy Color Kinetics in $791 million deal, Tim Whitaker, LEDs Magazine, August 27, 2007
75. Green light for energy savings, System Administrator, the Engineer, December 8, 2006
76. A U.S. Alliance to Update the Light Bulb, Matthew Wald, New York Times, March 14, 2007
77. Interviews with Randy Moorhead, March 12, 2011 & May 16, 2012
80. Light bulb dispute darkens contest in House, Stephanie Kirchgaessner, Financial Times, November 18, 2010
81. Why Republicans are fighting to save the 30-cent light bulb, Mark Clayton, Christian Science Monitor, July 11, 2011 81. US Senate Committee on Energy & National Resources, Hearing on S
398 and S 395, March 10, 2011
https://www.energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/hearings-andbusiness-meetings?ID=737AB0A6-A123-8DF7-46F0-992CCD071A5B
81. Light Bulb Saving Time, Penelope Green, New York Times, May 25, 2011
82. As Government Bans Regular Light Bulbs, LED Replacements Will Cost $50 Each, Fox News, May 17, 2011
Chapter Six
84. Interview with Mike Carr, May 18, 2012
86. Interview with Simon Kuppens and Rob Tousain, October 21, 2011
89. Interview with Kevin Dowling, August 14, 2010
90. Build a Better Bulb for a $10 Million Prize, Erica Taub & Leora Broydo Vestel, New York Times, September
25, 2009
91. Bulb In, Bulb Out, Andrew Rice, New York Times, June 3, 2011
91. In L Prize Competition, Everyone’s a Winner, James Brodrick, NEMA electroindustry, February 2012
93. Interview with Mark Swoboda, May 5, 2011
93. Government-subsidized green light carries costly price tag, Peter Whoriskey, Washington Post, March 8, 2012
94. Interview with Jim Brodrick, May 17, 2012
95. Interview with Chuck Berghoff, August 10, 2012
97. Compact Fluorescent Lighting in America: Lessons Learned on the Way to Market, Sandahl et al, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, June 2006
98. Interview with Marc Ledbetter, April 29, 2011
98. Interview with Bob Steele, 25 August, 2010
99. Interview with Marci Sanders, April 28, 2011
100. Jim Brodrick Puts Solid-State Lighting in Perspective, Residential Lighting, April 29, 2015
Chapter Seven
101. The Great Lightbulb Conspiracy, Markus Krajewski, IEEE Spectrum, September 24, 2014
102. Interview with Klaas Vegter, October 21, 2011
104. Interview with Leon van de Pas, October 21, 2011 105. Interview with Rogier van der Heide, December 6, 2011
107. How Philips Altered the Future of Light, Jon Gertner, Fast Company, February 10, 2014
109. Philips comes full circle with massive bet on lighting and health-tech, Luke Westaway, cnet, October 10, 2014
111. Philips: A long goodbye to lighting?, Lux, September 4, 2014
111. Philips sells 80 percent of lighting components unit for $2.8 billion, Reuters, March 31, 2015
112. Interview with Gerard Harbers, February 4, 2015
112. Interview with Brent York, September 9, 2015
112. Interview with Kevin Dowling, September 4, 2015
113. Rah-rah: China’s lighting wunderkind Opple officially opens for business in Europe, Lux, 14 November 2014
113. China’s Queen of Lighting is a billionaire, Mark Halper, Lux, January 7, 2015