DURHAM, N.C., April 16, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq:CREE), a leader in LED lighting, announces that University of Alaska at Anchorage (UAA) is joining the LED University(tm) program, an international community of universities working to accelerate the adoption of energy-efficient LEDs across their campuses.
UAA began converting lighting applications to LEDs five years ago, starting with signage, specialty lighting, aisle lighting in lecture halls and theater stairway lighting. The university recently completed a parking lot pilot with seven fixtures from BetaLED, and is evaluating 14 BetaLED(tm) fixtures for parking garages and covered walkways. UAA is reducing its energy consumption for the parking lot and garage by approximately 60 percent, as compared with the high-intensity discharge (HID) lights that were replaced. The university is also evaluating LED lighting for recessed lighting in stairwells and mechanical rooms, walkway bollards and parking lot lights for the new Health Science Building.
"Today we are celebrating Earth Day at UAA, and we're excited about expanding our LED installations for even greater energy and maintenance-cost savings," said Chris Turletes, UAA associate vice chancellor for facilities and campus services. "We're achieving better visibility and significant energy savings and anticipate significantly reduced maintenance costs for the life of the LED fixtures, which can be 25 years. We are standardizing on LED lighting in the applications where we can achieve these dramatic benefits."
"Lighting at UAA is a major focus for visibility and safety, especially during Anchorage's long winter nights," said Deb Lovig, LED programs manager at Cree. "UAA joins a prestigious group of progressive institutions that are promoting and deploying LED lighting as each works toward increasing energy savings, protecting the environment, reducing maintenance costs and providing better light quality."
University of Alaska at Anchorage
Located in the heart of Alaska's largest city is the University of Alaska Anchorage, the state's largest post-secondary institution. The campus is nestled in the middle of a greenbelt, surrounded by lakes, ponds and wildlife, and is connected to a city-wide trail system perfect for students' active lifestyles.
UAA is comprised of six teaching units at the Anchorage campus: the colleges of Education, Health and Social Welfare, Arts and Sciences, Business and Public Policy; and the Community and Technical College; and the School of Engineering. There are four community campuses: Matanuska-Susitna College, Kenai Peninsula College, Kodiak College and Prince William Sound Community College. The University offers many career pathway programs featuring associate's, baccalaureate and master's degrees, as well as vocational and professional certificates in more than 150 major study areas, including arts, sciences, business, education, human services and health sciences.
About LED University
The LED University initiative is a growing international community of universities working to evaluate, deploy and promote LED lighting across their campus infrastructures to save energy, protect the environment, reduce maintenance costs and provide better light quality for improved visibility and safety.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 22 percent of electricity used in the U.S. powers lighting. In a world with soaring energy prices based on the availability and control of fossil fuels, and with growing concern about sustainability of the environment, a revolution in lighting is long overdue.
Participating institutions are evaluating and deploying LED lighting in areas such as offices, student housing, parking garages, walkways and streets across their campus infrastructures and include: University of Miami, North Carolina State University, Marquette University, University of California at Santa Barbara, University of Arkansas, Madison Area Technical College, Notre Dame, University of California at Davis and Tianjin Polytechnic University in China.
Details of each university's LED lighting pilots and installations are available on the LED University web site: www.leduniversity.org.
About Cree
Cree is leading the LED lighting revolution and setting the stage to obsolete the incandescent light bulb through the use of energy-efficient, environmentally friendly LED lighting. Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting retrofit solutions, and semiconductor solutions for backlighting, wireless and power applications.
Cree's product families include blue and green LED chips, high brightness LEDs, lighting-class power LEDs, LED recessed down lights, power-switching devices and radio-frequency/wireless devices. Cree solutions are driving improvements in applications such as general illumination, backlighting, electronic signs and signals, variable-speed motors, and wireless communications.
For additional product and company information, please refer to www.cree.com
The Cree, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=3529
This press release contains forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated. Actual results may differ materially due to a number of factors, including the possibility that actual energy savings may vary from expectations; customer acceptance of LED products; the rapid development of new technology and competing products that may impair demand or render Cree's products obsolete; and other factors discussed in Cree's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 29, 2008, and subsequent filings.
LED University is a trademark and Cree is a registered trademark of Cree, Inc.
BetaLED is a trademark of Ruud Lighting, Inc.