HID Laboratories Announces Industry's First High-Efficiency Smart Lighting Platform

SmartPod Luminaire Revolutionizes HID Lighting with up to 60-Percent Energy
Savings
MENLO PARK, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
HID Laboratories (www.hidlabs.com), a provider of intelligent high-intensity
lighting solutions, today unveiled the lighting industry's first
high-efficiency, high-performance smart lighting and control platform. The
company's new SmartPod Luminaire enables HID lighting solutions that are up to
60 percent more efficient, deliver superior lumen performance, and eliminate the
need for building owners and lighting engineers to replace or rewire existing
installations. Unlike traditional HID lighting solutions, the new SmartPod
incorporates intelligent lighting controls for further reducing energy use in
commercial buildings and lighting engineering applications.

In the average warehouse, outdoor venue, commercial building, or industrial
facility, lighting accounts for 30 to 60 percent of an owner's energy costs.
Lighting system maintenance and retrofits further drain facility management,
staff, and equipment resources. With current technology, the market replaces
itself on a recurring basis. Analysts project the market for new HID lamps to
grow from $4.9 billion in 2007 to $7.4 billion by 2011. Although energy
efficiency has become increasingly important, HID lighting has only seen minor
innovations in the last 70 years. As a result, the lighting industry has turned
to fluorescent technologies, among other solutions, to reduce energy costs.
However, fluorescent lighting has significant shortcomings for use in warehouse,
commercial, and heavy industry environments.

"Commercial and industrial enterprises, and public-sector agencies can't wait
for long-promised new technologies to help them address steadily increasing
energy bills and new lighting regulations," said Antonio J. Espinosa, chief
executive officer of HID Labs. "Our leading-edge approach to HID lighting
delivers significant efficiency and operational savings today, with superb
performance and unprecedented control for a wide range of applications."

SmartPod Luminaires deliver 15,000 more mean lumens per lamp than traditional
metal halide fixtures used commercially, which reduces the number of lamps
needed or allows use of lower-wattage lamps. By using less wattage, HID Labs
technology reduces energy consumption by up to 40 percent. Because it is
designed to be plug and play, the SmartPod can be easily integrated into
existing HID lighting systems to quickly begin reaping energy savings.

Unlike traditional HID lighting, intelligent controls are built into SmartPods,
which allow lighting engineers to precisely control lighting through advanced
dimming, motion sensing, daylight sensing, and zoning capabilities. Independent
endpoint controls can save an additional 15 to 20 percent while supporting
deployment of future lighting applications.

With the SmartPod, lamp life is double the average life of metal halide HID
lighting and up to 50 percent longer than fluorescents. This longevity reduces
replacement and operational costs by extending relamping schedules up to 4,000
hours. And unlike compact fluorescent lamps that contain mercury, SmartPod
fixtures contain no hazardous waste.

"A great-looking, customer-friendly store is always an advantage, but we wanted
to make a real difference in sustainability," said Joe Perkins, general manager
for Pet Extreme, a leading family-owned chain of pet stores, in Woodland,
California. "Lighting might not be noticed by our customers, but it is a huge
part of the shopping experience and our budget. Adopting the highly efficient,
cutting-edge SmartPod HID system makes us one of the first retailers to start
building `green` into our lighting."

SmartPod Luminaires are available through leading lighting channels, such as
Facilities Solutions Group, TNT Lighting and Solar, and Moss Electric.
Commercial customers have already begun to deploy SmartPod systems in
warehouses, distribution centers, factories, and retail stores.

"There are promising new lighting technologies on the horizon, but technology
such as the SmartPod represents smart innovation on an existing technology,"
said Susan Preston, general partner at CalCEF Clean Energy Angel Fund."With
rapid return on investment and significantly improved efficiency, HID Labs
SmartPod platforms enable customers to meet their goals today and begin saving
immediately."

HID Labs is funded by investors that include American River Ventures, California
Clean Energy Fund, Sempra Energy, Potomac Investment Fund, Greenhouse Capital,
and Big Sky Partners.

About HID Laboratories

HID Labs delivers innovative intelligent HID lighting solutions that enable
commercial and industrial customers to gain superior cost savings, increase
productivity, and reduce environmental impact. The company's SmartPod Luminaire
is the first HID lighting and control solution to reduce energy consumption by
up to 60 percent with unmatched lamp life, efficiency, and low total cost of
ownership. The company is funded by venture capital investors and is
headquartered in Menlo Park, California. For more information visit
www.hidlabs.com.

Corman Communications, LLC
Patrick Corman, 650-326-9648
patrick@cormancom.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009