Midwest LEDers
The emerging Solid-State Lighting market can be intimidating and risk prone. The Midwest LEDers
program offers flexible, yet robust, assistance in quick-launching SSL initiatives, ensuring that your
first steps into solid-state lighting aren't missteps.
An Emerging Market
For those of us working in energy efficiency, there has
been no more exciting time to be working in lighting.
Lighting efficiency has long been a mainstay of utility
energy efficiency programs, and the past decade has
realized tremendous gains in lighting efficiency through
numerous advancements in lighting technology. The
lighting technology with perhaps the greatest potential for
revolutionizing the efficiency and design of light fixtures is
solid-state lighting (SSL). Boasting high efficiency,
controllability, and environmentally friendly components,
SSL is a technology with the potential to completely
reshape the ways we think about lighting our environment.
Proceeding with Caution
While SSL boasts large gains in both efficiency and design
flexibility, there is also ample cause for caution in moving
forward with the technology. By its very nature, SSL
introduces an entirely new set of questions,
considerations, and technical specifications and metrics.
As well, the presently emerging SSL industry is awash in
substandard products, fly-by-night manufacturers, and
exaggerated claims. MEEA realizes its members’ need for
clarity and caution as they take their initial steps in
adopting SSL. In response to this need, MEEA has
created the Midwest LEDers program, a solution for
MEEA’s regional partners in energy-efficient lighting.
Midwest LEDers gives its participants the tools needed to
adopt SSL technology by providing a variety of tools on
SSL training & education, site evaluation, proposal
solicitation & product vetting, and project evaluation.
A Credible Voice
MEEA has worked to become the authoritative source on
SSL in the Midwest, hosting several national conferences
on SSL, and presenting on the topic wherever our
expertise has been called for. MEEA sits on a number of
committees and programs focused on solid-state lighting,
including the U.S. Department of Energy’s Technical
Information Network for Solid-State Lighting (TINSSL)
program, L Prize competition, SSL Quality Advocates, and
the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership’s
DesignLights Consortium.
Through a U.S. DOE grant, MEEA has also been
developing an extensive online SSL resource to be hosted
on MEEA's website. This resource includes an SSL blog,
a case study repository, regional SSL survey results, and
newsletter. In addition, MEEA has lent support to several
SSL pilot installations in the Midwest, with many more to
come.
Each Step of the Way
As a participant in Midwest LEDers, no matter what the
scope or aim of your SSL work, you have a partner with
tools to streamline your efforts.
Training and Public Outreach – Half- or Full-Day
courses are available to provide the 'LED 101' training
necessary to newcomers in the SSL arena.
Site Evaluation – MEEA can assist in identifying SSLready sites, and the lighting applications that make good
sense in terms of performance and economics.
Vendor & Product Selection – MEEA works with
respected vendors to solicit quotes and proposals that suit
the appropriate applications. A 30-point checklist and
cost-effectiveness test ensures proper vetting.
Pre- and Post-Install Coordination – MEEA works with
vendors, installers, facilities managers, and engineers to
coordinate smooth installations, while providing staff with
the knowledge to maintain and replace SSL fixtures
Evaluation & Case Study – MEEA will craft a
comprehensive case study of your SSL installation,
delivering key performance, aesthetic, and economic
analysis
And as always, MEEA is able to draw upon its network of
over 100 members to locate the answers and resources
best suited to your needs. If we can't do it for you, we
know someone who can.
For more information on Midwest LEDers, contact Chad
Bulman at (312) 784-7275 or
cbulman@mwalliance.org.
*MEEA - Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.