Times Square Ball Highlights Growing List of Landmarks Using Philips LED Lighting for Energy Efficient Holiday Celebrations

From the World-Famous Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball to Saks Fifth Avenue and landmarks around the world, Philips Lighting Provides LED Holiday Solutions for Everyone

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI), through its Lighting business, is delivering a special gift to consumers and the environment at year’s end: a brighter and more energy-efficient holiday season. As the world’s leader in lighting technology, Philips’ range of LED innovations are brightening holiday applications, ranging from global landmarks like the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball to Saks Fifth Avenue and Toronto’s CN Tower, proving that high-performance and sustainability are not mutually exclusive.

“this year's ball will be like a jewel in the sky over Times Square.”

This New Year’s Eve, Philips Lighting will light a brand new Times Square Ball which incorporates 100 percent LED lighting, demonstrating that global icons can be optimal applications for LED technology. In commemoration of its landmark 100^th anniversary, the world-renowned Times Square Ball has been overhauled with Philips Lighting’s high-power Luxeon LEDs, ensuring a far brighter and more energy-efficient experience than ever before. The LED technology incorporated into the new ball enables it to use the power equivalency of just 10 toasters or one oven/range, while also delivering twice the brightness of previous years’ balls.

"With their high-power and energy-efficient design, Philips Lighting’s LEDs will allow the ball to stand out against the heavily-lit Times Square environment like never before, truly enhancing the experience for New Year’s revelers around the world,” says Jeffrey Straus, president of Countdown Entertainment, the company that co-produces the annual New Year’s Eve event. Concludes Straus, “this year's ball will be like a jewel in the sky over Times Square."

Philips LEDs have also dazzled holiday shoppers with a luminous LED snowflake display in the windows of the Sak’s Fifth Avenue flagship store in New York City. This high-tech light show combines holiday tradition and advanced technology by using 40,400 upgraded LEDs to create 50 8-foot and 20-foot illuminated snow flakes that reach 10 stories high, and will feature a snowflake LED-light show choreographed to a modern version of “Carol of the Bells.”

Toronto’s CN Tower, the world’s tallest freestanding tower, is illuminated by a Philips LED lighting system and its grounds now feature a 50-foot holiday tree that incorporates the same technology. The tree is wrapped with 1,250 tri-color LED nodes that are individually programmed to produce dynamic lighting sequences. Each 50-node strand of light consumes just 50 watts of energy at full intensity, whereas a comparable strand of 50 conventional C9 lamps would consume 350 watts.

“Because so much decorative lighting is used during the holiday season, there is a growing trend towards implementing green practices to create a more energy-efficient holiday experience,” says Kaj den Daas, Chairman of Philips Lighting North America. “The LED systems used to create the new Times Square Ball, the Saks Snowflake spectacle and the CN Tower are outstanding demonstrations of Philips’ mission to promote sustainability and deliver innovative, energy-efficient lighting solutions to the world.”

Consumers not watching the ball can also experience the benefits of Philips’ broad range of bright, energy-efficient, and long-lasting LED products right in the comfort of their homes. Ranging from tree lights to LED Twinkling Lawn Stakes, LED decorations are the smart accessory for creative homeowners desiring to brighten their homes this holiday season. Philips LED lighting technology for the home was also showcased in the holiday film “Deck the Halls,” where it created one of the biggest and brightest home holiday displays on film. Encompassing 14,300 LED nodes, it drew just 7,150 watts of energy – the equivalent of four average hairdryers.

About Royal Philips Electronics

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is a global leader in healthcare, lighting and consumer lifestyle, delivering people-centric, innovative products, services and solutions through the brand promise of “sense and simplicity”. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips employs approximately 128,100 employees in more than 60 countries worldwide. With sales of EUR 27 billion in 2006, the company is a market leader in medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring systems, energy efficient lighting solutions, as well as lifestyle solutions for personal wellbeing. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.