Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq:CREE) has expanded its $1.5 million commitment to provide LED lighting for new Habitat for Humanity homes built in the United States. Building on the company’s 2010 pledge to provide Cree® LED downlights, Cree is now offering Habitat for Humanity affiliates the New Cree LED Bulb, making whole-home LED lighting possible for Habitat homeowners.

“As part of our mission to drive 100 percent adoption of energy-efficient LED lighting, Cree’s goal has always been to deliver LED solutions that save energy and fundamentally improve the overall lighting environment,” said Betty Noonan, Cree chief marketing officer. “The addition of the Cree® LED Bulb portfolio to our collaboration further supports Habitat’s efforts to create affordable, sustainable homes, while enabling homeowners to greatly reduce their energy usage for decades without sacrificing the light quality.”

Since 2010, more than 3,000 new Habitat homes used the Cree ENERGY STAR® qualified CR6™ downlights, designed to last for 50,000 hours while consuming 85 percent less energy than incandescent downlights. The New Cree LED Bulb 60-watt replacement looks like an incandescent bulb, emitting warm, omnidirectional light and is designed to use 85 percent less energy over a 25,000-hour lifetime.

“We are grateful to partner with companies like Cree that are helping Habitat serve families in need of affordable housing through product donations that can lower homeowners’ daily living expenses,” said Jonathan Reckford, CEO, Habitat for Humanity International. “Extending Cree’s current commitment to include the Cree® LED Bulb furthers our efforts to build sustainable communities across the country.”

About Cree

Cree is leading the LED lighting revolution and making energy-wasting traditional lighting technologies obsolete through the use of energy-efficient, mercury-free LED lighting. Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting and semiconductor products for power and radio-frequency (RF) applications.

Cree's product families include LED fixtures and bulbs, blue and green LED chips, high-brightness LEDs, lighting-class power LEDs, power-switching devices and RF devices. Cree® products are driving improvements in applications such as general illumination, electronic signs and signals, power supplies and solar inverters.

For additional product and company information, please refer to www.cree.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated. Actual results may differ materially due to a number of factors, including the risk that actual savings will vary from expectations; the risk that we may be unable to manufacture these new products with sufficiently low cost to offer them at competitive prices or with acceptable margins; the risk we may encounter delays or other difficulties in ramping up production of our new products; customer acceptance of LED products; the rapid development of new technology and competing products that may impair demand or render Cree’s products obsolete; and other factors discussed in Cree’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 29, 2014, and subsequent filings.

Cree® is a registered trademark and CR6™ is a trademark of Cree, Inc.

ENERGY STAR® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

About Habitat for Humanity International

Habitat for Humanity International’s vision is a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Anchored by the conviction that housing provides a path out of poverty, since 1976 Habitat has helped more than 5 million people through home construction, rehabilitation and repairs and by increasing access to improved shelter through products and services. Habitat also advocates to improve access to decent and affordable shelter and offers a variety of housing support services that enable families with limited means to make needed improvements on their homes as their time and resources allow. As a nonprofit Christian housing organization, Habitat works in more than 70 countries and welcomes people of all races, religions and nationalities to partner in its mission. To learn more, donate or volunteer, visit habitat.org.