The latest lighting innovations help newly-enlarged Times Square Ball save up to 20 percent more energy than 2007. Philips will once again deliver energy-efficient LED lighting in its role as official lighting partner to the world-renowned New Year’s Eve Times Square Ball. The result of these advancements will mean the Ball, which is twice its previous size, will incorporate more than three times as many Philips Luxeon LEDs as last year’s version and deliver a brighter, greener and more beautiful experience.

To commemorate the Ball’s 100th anniversary in 2007, Philips helped usher in a new era of lighting technology by converting the Ball’s incandescent and halogen lighting to LEDs for the first time in the event’s history. In doing so, New Year’s revelers around the world enjoyed a bright and energy-efficient Ball that delivered 16 million vibrant colors and special effects never before possible.

In 2008, the Ball has been doubled in size to 12 feet in diameter and contains 32,256 LEDs – more than three times as many as last year. This increased volume of LEDs will deliver a significantly brighter but also greener experience on New Year’s Eve, as the LEDs used in this year’s Ball are as much as 20 percent more energy-efficient than in 2007. This year’s LEDs consume about the same amount of energy per hour as it takes to operate just two conventional home ovens.

“The Times Square Ball allows Philips to showcase the power, beauty and energy-efficiency of LEDs as well as the range of benefits LED technology can deliver not only to iconic installations like this but to a broad range of consumer and professional applications,” said Kaj den Daas, Chairman of Philips Lighting North America. “While New Year’s Eve occurs only once a year, the LED technology on display in the Times Square Ball will soon evolve into a very real energy-efficient lighting alternative for consumers around the world, and will help drive a more bright and sustainable future for generations to come”

In addition to lighting the Ball, Philips also is lighting the Times Square Numerals (2-0-0-9) using Philips Halogena Energy Savers – a family of bright and long-lasting halogen bulbs which are 30-47 percent more energy-efficient than equivalent incandescent lamps. These are readily available to consumers through national retail outlets.

Quick Facts:

Number of LEDs on Ball: The ball contains 32,256 Philips Luxeon LEDs, more than 3 times the number used in last year’s Ball. Each and every LED can be digitally controlled to create visual effects (Note: not all LEDs will be illuminated at any given time).

Colors: Red, green, blue and white LEDs will create a palette of more than 16 million colors as well as billions of possible lighting effects.

Times Square Ball Lighting: The Times Square Ball lighting system is designed to operate in excess of 30,000 hours based on application factors (compared to previous incandescent and halogen solutions, which were only expected to operate for about 1,000 hours). The long life of the LEDs will be a key benefit to this iconic application, as this year’s Times Square Ball will be perched atop 1 Times Square for year-round enjoyment for the first time ever.

Efficiency of LED Light Source Relative to the Times Square Ball Lit by Previous Incandescent and Halogen Light Sources: Overall, it will take a total of only 22 Watts of power for Philips’ red, green, blue, and white LEDs to produce the equivalent amount of light output generated by 180 Watts of incandescent light bulbs in previous years. This represents a 158-Watt, or 88%, reduction in electricity consumption per four-color series.