New Year’s Eve: Better cable, more efficient power, lighting inside countdown ball

Florham Park, NJ—Lapp USA will supply the cable to help light up the New Year's Eve sky in New York City in the upgraded lighted globe that descends during the final countdown to 2008. On its 100th birthday, the New Year’s Eve globe received a high-tech renovation, touting energy efficient, multi-colored light emitting diodes (LEDs).

By Control Engineering Staff November 20, 2007

Florham Park, NJ —

Lapp USA

supplied the cable to help light up the New Year’s Eve sky in New York City in the upgraded lighted globe that descends during the final countdown to 2008. On its 100th birthday, the New Year’s Eve globe received a high-tech renovation, touting energy efficient, multi-colored light emitting diodes (LEDs).

This New Year’s Eve, the sky over Times Square will shine brighter than ever before.Can’t wait? Check out this short

Lapp video showing the New Year’s Eve countdown ball

running through some of its colors.

Energy efficiency, industrial ruggedness, and additional capabilities are part of an upgraded the New York City New Year’s Eve globe for its 100th birthday, thanks, in part, to Lapp USA.

Originally built out of wood and iron and adorned with 100 25 W light bulbs in 1907, it has adapted, in 2007, the latest technologies to increase brightness, energy efficiency, and color capabilities. It includes 672 Waterford Crystal Triangles combined with 9,576

Philips Luxeon LEDs

to produce more than 16 million vibrant colors and billions of patterns. Remarkably, it uses only the amount of electricity it takes to power ten toasters.

But, what looks spectacular on the outside also needs support from the inside. Lapp USA has provided the specially designed Olflex FD 855 P power supply for the LEDs and the animation for the New Year’s Eve Ball. Some of the most important features are the smaller outer diameter and the ability to withstand colder temperatures and high winds.

Olflex FD 855 P, designed for extreme mechanical stresses, provides environmentally friendly, low-halogen materials that feature an expanded temperature range. The insulation and jacketing materials are mechanically and chemically resistant to many environments, and the polyurethane jacket is flame retardant.

In keeping with the “green” philosophy, the cable provided conforms to the new RoHS standard. The Olflex FD 855P cable will be lowered with the ball to power the Philips Luxeon LEDs.

For a prior upgrade, read the following, from Control Engineering : Olflex wires New Year’s Eve ball in Times Square Control Engineering News Desk( Register here and scroll down to select your choice of eNewsletters free .)