Redwood Systems gets $4M for commercial building LEDs

Redwood Systems, a Danville, Calif.-based firm that wants to help businesses conserve energy by converting to LED lighting, has raised $4 million in first round funding, according to PEHub.

While compact fluorescent lightbulbs (or CFLs, as they’re more commonly known) are a major improvement over incandescents, most analysts and building experts believe LEDs are the future of energy-efficient lighting. And if VC investments are any indication, then it looks as though that transition could be coming sooner rather than later, as previously thought.

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Aside from its founder, former Cisco vice president Dave Leonard, little else is known about Redwood System (its website is as bare as it gets). In an interview with NetworkWorld, Leonard said his team was focused on bringing LED lighting to commercial buildings through the use of “energy control engines.” The company’s goal is to make workplaces more productive and reduce energy use for lighting by a factor of five.

This isn’t exactly a unique business model. The LED lighting industry has seen a recent spate of investments, with tech heavy-hitters like Sharp and Philips wading into the market. Other startups, such as Luminus Devices, Cree and Intematix, have also raised record sums to expand into the growing green building market and to begin tapping into the consumer sector.

Redwood’s investment round was led by Battery Ventures and US Venture Partners.