Local pages
How many people does it take
to change a lightbulb?
Illuminating the evolution of the lightbulb
by Michael Wilson
Since the early 1800s, inventors and engineers
have labored to design and enhance a discovery
called the lightbulb.
The first person to record experimenting on a
lightbulb was Humphry Davy in 1802. Davy passed
electricity through a thin strip of platinum, causing
the filament to produce light. This was the beginning on the incandescent lightbulb.
However, inventors worked for over 70 years
before discovering an incandescent bulb that could
be mass-produced and sold in the marketplace.
Thomas Edison was one of the first to do this. His
“long-lasting” bulb would produce light for almost
15 hours before burning out. Edison patented this
lightbulb in 1879, and for the next three decades,
inventors worked to improve incandescent lighting. But during that time, no new technology came
along to challenge the incandescent bulb.
Then in 1907, Henry Joseph Round reported
detecting a natural phenomena called electroluminescence. In a repost to Electrical World, Round
wrote, “With 110 volts [of electricity] a large number [of crystals] could be found to glow. In some
crystals only edges gave the light and others gave
instead of a yellow light, green, orange, or blue.”
This was the beginning of a new type of light.
It would take 55 years before electroluminescence was placed in a lightbulb. In 1962, Nick
Holonyak, a professor at the University of Illinois
and a consulting engineer for General Electric
Company, building on Round’s discovery, invented
the first visible light-emitting diode (LED).
Holonyak’s colleagues at GE nicknamed the device
“the magic one.”
This first LED was capable of producing only
red light. Nevertheless, “the magic one” was the
beginning of a new kind of lightbulb. This technology was exciting and promising, and over the next
10 years, other inventors began producing LEDs
that would emit yellow light and blue light.
As LED technology slowly advanced, a new
invention lit up the industry when, in 1976, Ed
Hammer, an engineer at General Electric, introduced a compact fluorescent lamp (CFL). These
CFL bulbs began to make their way into people’s
homes because they produced good light that was
long lasting and saved energy when compared to
the incandescent lightbulb. LEDs were no match
for the CFL, for the LED could not yet fill a room
with light.
That changed in the 1990s, when blue LED
technology advanced so that an LED light bright
enough to fill a room and cost-effective enough to
sell for commercial production was finally engineered. Over 50 years after Holonyak’s discovery
of the visible LED, his invention was primed to
revolutionize the lighting industry.
Today, “LEDs are literally everywhere,” says
Mary Beth Gotti, manager of the GE Lighting
Institute. “LEDs provide lighting in a variety
of electronic devices and indicators, including
elevator buttons, exit signs, cell- and smartphone
displays, TVs, PCs, tablets, computers, commercial
signage, full motion video screens in sports venues,
microscopic surgical equipment, railroad crossings
and airport taxiway lights. And they are now hitting mainstream lighting applications like parking
lots, roadways, accent lighting, general lighting
and more.”
LEDs are everywhere, and they are poised to
impact Logan County. To learn about their impact
continue reading on pages 24 and 25. 
OCTOBE R 20 15
•
COU NTRY LIVING
23
What impact is the LED poised
to have on Logan County?
“We are happy
we got it!”
exclaimed Lynn
and Ginny
Hughes. “It is
wonderful and
lights up nicely
where we need
to see.”
The Hugheses
are pleased to
Michael Wilson,
see by the light
Communications &
of their newly
Community Relations
installed LED
security light. However, during
an interview with Logan County
Electric Cooperative, they
expressed one regret concerning
the new security light: “We just
wish we would have gotten it
sooner.”
Logan County Electric
Cooperative is preparing to
implement a workplan to replace
every high-pressure sodium and
mercury vapor security light that
the co-op provides with an energy-saving, white-light producing,
long-lasting LED security light.
This workplan is a large task
to undertake. Currently, over 25
percent of LCEC memberships
24
C O UN T RY LIV IN G
•
OCTOBER 2015
have security lights that are provided by the co-op. That means
more than 1,000 lights need to
be replaced with LED security
lights.
Why replace security lights
The LED security-light
replacement workplan is a proactive measure LCEC is taking
to provide money-saving benefits
to its members in two important
ways:
The first money-saving benefit
is the LED security light saves
energy. The LED security light
offers energy consumption of
merely 42 watts. Compared to
the current mercury vapor security light that greedily consumes
175 watts, and the high-pressure
sodium security light that consumes 100 watts, the new LED is
very energy efficient. Using fewer
watts means purchasing fewer
kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy
to burn the lights. Additionally,
purchasing fewer kilowatt-hours
means the cooperative pays less
tax to the state of Ohio, which
saves all members money in
operating expenses.
The second money-saving
benefit of the LED security light
is that it is long lasting. The
LED light that will be installed
is rated to last over 11 years
running 12 hours per day. Such
a long life means less time LCEC
linemen spend repairing burned
out security light bulbs. Less
time, doing less maintenance, is
more cost savings.
The saying, “less is more,
becomes a reality as LCEC
strives to serve our members by
changing to LED security lights
in an effort to continue providing safe, affordable, reliable
electricity.
What is the plan?
The initial stages of the plan
involved cost analysis to ensure
this project would benefit members. Once it was determined
that the LED security lights
would save money and energy, a
decision had to be made regarding which security light to use.
The board of trustees decided to
order the Evolve LED roadway
light manufactured by GE. This
security light is produced in the
U.S. and specifically designed
for suburban developments and
An Evolve LED security light burns brightly in the backyard of LCEC member Margery Headings.
rural areas. Its cast-aluminum
housing weighs 8 pounds and
is engineered to withstand even
the harshest elements nature
provides.
The Evolve LED light has
been honored with numerous
awards, including Best-in-Class
award from the Next Generation
Luminaires Solid-State Lighting
Design Competition, the
LIGHTFAIR International
innovation award, and the
Architectural SSL Product
Innovation Award.
Installation of this award-winning security light begins fall
2015, with a projected completion time of fall 2016. LCEC
linemen will do all installations.
After installing the new Evolve
LED security light, linemen will
ensure the transformer for the
property has animal guards.
In 2007, LCEC made a concerted effort to install animal
guards on transformers, which
resulted in a significant decrease
in animal outages (see the
Animal Outage chart at right).
With over 1,000 security
lights to install, over 1,000
transformers will be checked,
and many new animal guards
will be installed to continue
increasing reliable electric
service.
You need to know
• The cost for this workplan
will be recovered in less than
five years through the savings of
fewer kilowatt-hours purchased,
less tax paid to the state, and
less maintenance needed on the
lights. The savings beyond five
years will allow LCEC to keep
the security-light rate stable.
An ideal utility company would
make changes to keep rates stable, and LCEC desires to make
the ideal the real deal in Logan
County.
• The Evolve LED security
light has zero up light. This
simply means the light emitted
from the Evolve™ is aimed at the
ground where you need it, and
the night sky is dark for you to
enjoy.
Conclusion
If you have a security light that
is provided by LCEC, it will be
replaced with an energy-saving,
white-light producing,
long-lasting Evolve LED
80
security light. Energy
70
savings an increased life
60
span will allow your secu50
rity light rate to remain
40
stable, while the white
30
light aimed to the ground
20
keeps the night sky free
10
from light pollution.
0
2006
If you are home when the
linemen come to replace the
security light, please feel free to
talk with them and ask questions
about the project. If you are not
home, the linemen will leave a
door hanger on your door so you
know they were there to install
the new LED security light.
This project demonstrates the
desire of LCEC to serve its members. Installation of the Evolve
security light and animal guards
is a proactive, creative step to
continue providing safe, affordable, reliable electricity.
“They are wonderful,” said
LCEC members Margery
Headings and Kathy Neer, who
both have a new LED security
light from LCEC.
If you do not have a security
light and would like to see by the
light of an LED, please call the
office at 937-592-4781 for more
information. 
Animal Outage
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
OCTOBE R 20 15
•
2012
2013
2014
COU NTRY LIVING
2015
25
2016
ACRE® Luncheon
presented by
Logan County Electric Cooperative
with special guest speaker
U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan
Monday, Oct. 5 at 12:00 pm
in the Community Room at Logan
County Electric Cooperative
1587 C.R. 32 North
Bellefontaine
Member Appreciation Day
Join us at Logan County Electric Cooperative on Tuesday, Oct. 20, for Member Appreciation Day! Enjoy free food,
register for a chance to win a $100 credit on your electric bill, and visit with LCEC trustees and employees. October
is National Co-op Month, and we can think of no better way to celebrate than by inviting members to spend part of
their day with us.
Are you interested in becoming an LCEC trustee?
As we approach the end of 2015, we will again be seeking candidates for the cooperative’s board of trustees. Being a
co-op board member can be a rewarding experience. At the same time, it can be very challenging as you delve into
the many industry issues and become acutely aware of the regulatory and political environment.
One of the strengths of electric cooperatives is the commitment that trustees, managers and employees make to
education and professional development. The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) offers a
multi-part training program for new electric cooperative trustees. The purpose of all NRECA training is to prepare
trustees to make wise business decisions in the boardroom. Online as well as classroom-based, the courses focus
on basic governance knowledge and the skills required of cooperative trustees. The NRECA curriculum provides
the important foundation needed to oversee the business of a cooperative and includes courses on strategic planning, financial decision-making, duties and liabilities. The second part of the trustee education program, the Board
Leadership Certificate program, consists of a series of courses covering areas like risk management, rate making and
policy development.
During the 2015 Annual Meeting, members of LCEC affirmed the appointment of a nominating committee to
present candidates for the trustee positions up for election. There are two ways you can be considered for candidacy:
1) contact President/General Manager Rick Petty; or 2) complete and return the member interest card that will be
included in the November bill mailed to every member in the districts up for election.
Upon expressing your interest, you will be asked to submit biographical and resume-type information and go
through an interview with the nominating committee. If you miss these opportunities, you may file a petition with
not less than 100 member signatures to have your name added to the ballot.
If you are interested in becoming a board member, please don’t hesitate to call the office at 937-592-4781 or send an
e-mail to [email protected].
Did you know
that we are
accessible?
Please contact
us with any
questions or
concerns you
may have!
26
MANAGEMENT
General Manager • Rick Petty
Finance & Accounting • Steve Drake
Operations & Engineering • Ryan Smith
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Board Chairman • Doug Comer
First Vice Chairman • Jerry Fry
Second Vice Chairman • Jim Rice
Secretary-Treasurer • Lanny Davis
OREC Representative • Warren Taylor
Trustee • Emerson Snapp
Trustee • Larry Park
COUNTRY LIVING • O C TOBER 2015
CONTACT INFORMATION
1587 County Road 32 North
Bellefontaine, OH 43311
Monday - Friday • 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Phone: 937.592.4781
Outage hotline: 855.592.4781
www.logancounty.coop
This institution is an equal opportunity
provider and employer.