Innovation

The first of the two innovations that were awarded the Sapphire Award, the Red Cap, is a tubular LED lamp designed for safety and emergency reasons. The LED tube has a battery inside of it that charges itself when the tube is being powered normally. If the power were to go out, the battery inside the tube turns on allowing it to still create light. Additionally, the Red Cap can be taken out of its fixture and the battery will allow it to be used portably, allowing people to use them in emergency situations. The circuitry for the charging and emergency lighting is internal. According to Janna Mino, the Marketing Manager at Energy Focus, similar lighting products have very large battery packs that are both expensive and take up an unnecessary amount of space. The design allows the redcap "to be used like a torch" in emergency situations, allowing for a better approach to emergency situations.

The second of the new LED tubes to receive the LED Magazine Sapphire Award was the Network Ready Tubular LED (TLED). The Network Ready TLED is designed to be a universal LED, meaning that it can work with any lighting controls that are already set. Examples of this include occupancy-sensing and daylight harvesting. The Network Ready TLED was designed to maximize energy savings with its ability to adapt to any controls already in place. The ability to "work with any lighting controls that you set" makes the Network Ready TLED a great fit for mass installations of LEDs.

Inspiration

Marketing manager Janna Mino proudly stated that constantly innovating LED market has created an exciting work environment. “Being part of the LED lighting revolution” gives a lot of meaning to both her and everyone else at Energy Focus, pushing them to continuously innovate and strive for more efficient lighting solutions. Janna also stated that the health benefits provided from the LEDs create "a strong sense of purpose" at the company, with "high morale" created from the direction the company is heading.

Overall impact

The Red Cap and the Network Ready Tubular LED offer energy savings and health benefits on a commercial and public scale. Janna stated that of all the lighting areas in America, the “residential only makes up a small section”, while the commercial and public levels are the largest. Examples of areas in the commercial and public levels are businesses, streets, schools and gyms. The new LED products will sufficiently lower the costs of lighting on a massive scale across the country.

Business benefit

The benefit of both of these products are the lower initial costs compared to their competition, as well as the low energy and maintenance costs provided by them. Energy Focus products are 100% produced in America, benefiting other American businesses producing the components for the LEDs.

Social and environmental benefit

There are several social and environmental benefits of the Red Cap LED and the Network Ready TLED:

· Lower energy consumption from the usage of LEDs on a commercial level creates less pollution.

· Energy Focus products provide very low optical flicker, which is the fluctuation of brightness over time. High flicker is invisible to the human eye, but the amount of stress it puts on the brain is a known cause for headaches and eye pain. Those with autism and epilepsy are more at risk from the effects of high flicker. And so, Energy Focus products provide a health benefit by lowering the risks from high flicker. Janna also stated that "Energy Focus is a sponsor of Autism Speaks, which we are very proud of."

· All LEDs from Energy Focus have an aluminum backbone instead of plastic like their competition, allowing for higher quality products, as well as lowering many of the environmental issues in using plastic.

· All the parts contained in Energy Focus LEDs are produced in the United States of America, creating jobs for local communities.

Interview

Janna Mino, Marketing Manager