small retailers who are committed to reducing the energy costs

The hysteretic control function of the HV9918 maintains a constant output current to the LED string at all times, regardless of input voltage fluctuations. LEDs are proven to be far more reliable and long lasting when driven by a constant current than by a direct voltage source. It drives loads of up to 1.0A at over 90% efficiency with +/-5% current accuracy from input voltages of 4.5 to 40V. The IC also features an embedded FET for cost and parts count reduction in solid-state lighting applications.

“Supertex’s HV9918 provides fast transient load response and eliminates the need for feedback-loop compensation,” states Ahmed Masood, Vice President of Marketing for Supertex. “With its built-in switching FET, this device reduces overall system cost and board space while delivering accurate current control for LED lighting applications.”

The Wal-Mart Superstore, the first retail store to feature light-emitting diode (LED) parking lot site lighting, based on specifications developed by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Retailer Energy Alliance, will reopen on July 15, 2009, in Leavenworth, Kansas. The Superstore will serve as a test site to determine the viability of expanding LED parking lot lights at Wal-Mart stores nationwide.

Wal-Mart is one of 43 retailers that are actively engaged in DOE's Net-Zero Commercial Building Initiative (CBI) as members of the DOE Retailer Energy Alliance (REA). REA members work with DOE and the national laboratories to advance the development and market adoption of net-zero energy commercial buildings. The alliance has attracted large and small retailers who are committed to reducing the energy costs, greenhouse gas emissions, and overall operating risks of retail businesses. The primary aim of DOE's energy alliances is to create specifications for promising energy efficiency technologies, test their viability in order to encourage use, and drive down costs.