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Often viewed as being at the forefront of modern energy efficient lighting, it may come as a surprise to learn that the LED has a history stretching right back to the early 1960s. In October 1962, a scientist working for the General Electric Company, Nick Holonyak Jr demonstrated the first Light Emitting Diode (LED) capable of producing visible light. Prior to this, LED light bulbs could only emit invisible infra-red light similar to those used in modern TV remote controls. The new deve …

Some laws are not acts passed by parliament. They are predictions. Murphy’s Law, for example, says anything likely to go wrong will go wrong. This is a humorous comment on life in general, but other laws are more serious and precise. A few years ago, Haitz’s Law said LED light bulbs would become the most popular source of artificial lighting by 2020.Dr Roland Haitz first proposed the law at the Strategies in Light conference held in the year 2000. At the time, the lighting industry accounted for …

Around 1900, Queen Victoria is reputed to have said ‘we are not amused.’ Whether she did of course is a matter of conjecture. But what would her reaction have been to lighting as we know it today? It’s probably fair to assume Victoria and her subjects would have been tickled pink by LED light bulbs. After all, the Victorians were extremely design conscious and it was a very elegant era. The ethos of improvement was strong in Victorian Britain and LED light bulbs represent significant imp …