JUNE 2015

LEDsmagazine.com

Interview
Philips Eric
Rondolat P. 25

Outdoor SSL
London adopts
LEDs P. 49

TECHNOLOGY AND APPLICATIONS OF LIGHT EMITTING DIODES

Dimming drivers
Understand hidden
costs P. 63

Horticulture
industry
pursues LED
standards and
metrics P. 39

1506ledsDIG_C1 1

5/22/15 11:00 AM

Affordable Performance.
T8 and T5 LED Lamps from Forest Lighting.
+,-.

 
 
 
-.
.
.
,

-

,,

,-,.

,- 
,
.,.-
,  !"#$%
,- ,.
 &.,-.',-.(
-.
-,

,-.



,
.).-,-,-',&.
 .,-
,-
&. 
 
 
-.
,*,
!"#$

 
"#
$
 
$  #$

  www.forestlighting.com

1506leds_C2 2

5/22/15 11:00 AM

1506leds_1 1

5/22/15 10:45 AM

1506leds_2 2

5/22/15 10:45 AM

ISSUE 79

2015

June

Cover Story
Horticultural industry needs metrics for
SSL performance relative to how plants
use light (see p. 39; photo courtesy of
Urban Harvest).

features

25 Q&A
Philips Lighting charts independent course to SSL
success Maury Wright

LIGHTING
29 INDOOR
Hands-on testing of popular LED T8 lamps and linear
fixtures reveals promises and pitfalls Margery Conner

39 Stakeholders make progress on LED lighting

STANDARDS

horticulture standards Jianzhong Jiao,

Osram Opto Semiconductors

ON
43 FOCUS
LED and SSL technologies make strong showing with

49

columns/departments
4

COMMENTARY Maury Wright

NEWS +ANALYSIS

Packaged LEDs: Cree, Osram, Luminus

OUTDOOR LIGHTING

Linear Technology announces DC/DC

LED driver IC for 80W SSL applications

Transport for London revamps the bright lights of the

UK capital Caroline Hayes

Business: Royal Philips and

OLEDWorks, Osram
Outdoor lighting: GE Lighting, Hubbell
Lighting, US Architectural Lighting
Networks and controls: Samsung,
Marvell, LED Engin, CSR, Avi-on,
Jasco Products, Bridgelux

designs Jason Chen, Maciej Slotwinski, and Gerry DiBattista,

Porex Corp.

59 LUMINAIRES
Battery-powered LED-based products target
mainstream residential lighting applications
Maury Wright

63 Understand the hidden costs of free 010V LED

DEVELOPER FORUM

dimming drivers Roland Ledyard, Lutron Electronics

Philips Lighting LEDs will light New

Yorks new Tappan Zee Bridge

21

FUNDING + PROGRAMS
DOE updates outdoor lighting study
in the harsh Arizona desert
EPA publishes Energy Star Luminaires
V2.0 final draft for effect June 1, 2016

LAST WORD

EPA releases Draft 2 of the Energy

Star Lamps specification V2.0

controls Philip Smallwood, Strategies Unlimited

LightingEurope documents monetary

benefits of human-centric lighting

68 LightFair exhibits send mixed messages on SSL

1506leds_3 3

Tunable lighting comes to LEDbased linear fixtures from

Architectural Lighting Works

Sapphire scores Maury Wright & Carrie Meadows

MATERIALS
53 SSL
Use microporous vents for reliable LED luminaire

LEDsmagazine.com

LED light quality takes bows off

Broadway in the Big Apple

JUNE 2015

3
5/22/15 10:45 AM

commentary
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT/ Christine Shaw
PUBLISHING DIRECTOR cshaw@pennwell.com

LED light quality takes

bows off Broadway in
the Big Apple

eve published a lot of material originating with LightFair International

(LFI), which took place recently in New
York City, and we have a feature on the
exhibits coming next month. Controls
were a big story, and Philip Smallwood
from Strategies Unlimited sums that technology sector up nicely in our Last Word
column (p. 68). Given time to reflect, I
think the quality of light produced by LED
sources was the biggest story that emerged
near the lights of Broadway this year.
Light quality is a multifaceted subject and specific to an individual application. Mark Rea, director of the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute, has championed
the need for benefit metrics to truly define
the value proposition of solid-state lighting (SSL), and he is correct (http://bit.ly/
MXrc0s). It would be convenient to have
a comprehensive but short list of metrics
for lighting destined for retail, medical,
or hospitality usage. Still, LED manufacturers, and even lighting manufacturers,
demonstrated compelling light sources at
LFI that target specific applications.
One issue is the need for great color
rendering for retail and similar applications while delivering the full energyefficiency benefits of LED sources. Some
of the best lamps on the market in terms
of color quality still trail the mainstream
efficacy curve by a wide margin.
There are many approaches to high
CRI and good R9 performance for saturated reds. Red is often the stumbling
block to good efficacy because sources
with good red performance typically emit
wasted energy in the infrared spectrum.
GE Lighting plans to address the redrendering need with its new TriGain

4
1506leds_4 4

JUNE 2015

phosphor (http://bit.ly/1Am3AcU). Of
course, GE will have to work with an LED
manufacturer that will make LEDs specifically for GE Lighting products using
the phosphor. TriGain can deliver what
Jerry Duffy, general manager for global
product management of GE Lighting,
calls a red line phosphor in describing
a narrow emission band in the red wavelengths (http://bit.ly/1SdnXPm).
Cree is bringing its TrueWhite technology, which mixes off-white and red LEDs,
to the LED array or light-engine level for
easy integration into luminaires. The
demo at LFI showed that for equivalent
lumen output, the TrueWhite approach
delivered almost a 25% efficacy advantage over 90-CRI LEDs and a greater efficacy advantage over legacy ceramic metalhalide sources (http://bit.ly/1EXZ9B2). But
the two-channel approach adds cost.
Broader light quality goes beyond great
CRI and reds. Osram has a new mid-power
LED designed for linear lighting fixtures
(p. 10). Light distribution is a key quality metric in such an application, and the
volumetric-phosphor approach of the new
LED emits on five sides for a broad beam.
Even as the industry approaches
endorsement of a new set of color metrics (http://bit.ly/1LlOWn9), Reas call
for benefit metrics rang true across the
exhibit floor at LFI. We will welcome new
color metrics. But we call on the industry
to develop metric suites for critical applications, especially as technologies such
as human-centric lighting emerge.

Maury Wright,
EDITOR

mauryw@pennwell.com

EDITOR Maury Wright

mauryw@pennwell.com
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Carrie Meadows

carriem@pennwell.com
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Caroline Hayes

caroline.hayes@ruivamedia.com
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Ken Marrin

kmarrin@cfl.rr.com
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Laura Peters

lpeters40@gmail.com
Kimberly Ayer
Kelli Mylchreest
Mari Rodriguez
Christopher Hipp
AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Debbie Bouley
MARKETING MANAGER
ART DIRECTOR
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR
SENIOR ILLUSTRATOR

EDITORIAL OFFICES PennWell Corporation,

LEDs Magazine
98 Spit Brook Road, LL-1
Nashua, NH 03062-5737
Tel: +1 603 891-0123
Fax: +1 603 891-0574
www.ledsmagazine.com
SALES OFFICES
SALES MANAGER Mary Donnelly
(US EAST COAST) maryd@pennwell.com

Tel. +1 603 891 9118

SALES MANAGER Allison OConnor
(US WEST COAST) allison@jagmediasales.com

Tel. +1 480 991 9109

SALES MANAGER Mary Donnelly
(UK/REST OF EUROPE) maryd@pennwell.com

Tel. +1 603 891 9118

SALES MANAGER Johann Bylek
(GERMANY/ johannb@pennwell.com
AUSTRIA/SWITZERLAND) Tel. +49 89 90480 143
SALES MANAGER Masaki Mori
(JAPAN) mori-masaki@ex-press.jp

Tel: +81 3 3219 3641

SALES MANAGER Mark Mak
(CHINA & HONG KONG) markm@actintl.com.hk

Tel: +852 2838 6298

SALES MANAGER Rebecca Tsao
(TAIWAN) rebecca@arco.com.tw

Tel: +886 2 2396 5128 ext: 203

SALES MANAGER Young Baek
(KOREA) ymedia@chol.com

Tel: +82 2 2273 4818

SALES MANAGER Dan Aronovic
(ISRAEL) aronovic@actcom.co.il

Tel: +39 972 9899 5813

CORPORATE OFFICERS
CHAIRMAN Frank T. Lauinger
PRESIDENT/ Robert F. Biolchini
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER/ Mark C. Wilmoth
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT
TECHNOLOGY GROUP
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT/ Christine A. Shaw
PUBLISHING DIRECTOR
SUBSCRIPTIONS For subscription inquiries:

Tel: +1 847 763-9540;

Fax: +1 847 763-9607;
e-mail: LED@halldata.com;
ledsmagazine.com/subscribe
We make portions of our subscriber list available to carefully screened
companies that offer products and services that may be important for
your work. If you do not want to receive those offers and/or information
via direct mail, please let us know by contacting us at List Services LEDs,
98 Spit Brook Road LL-1, Nashua, NH 03062.
Copyright 2015 PennWell Corp (ISSN 2156-633X). All rights reserved.
Contents of this publication may not be reproduced in any form without
prior written consent of Publishers.

LEDsmagazine.com

5/22/15 10:46 AM

1506leds_5 5

5/22/15 10:46 AM

FEATURED

| web exclusives
Webcast

events

International LED Expo 2015

June 2326, 2015
Seoul, Korea
SEMICON West
July 1416, 2015
San Francisco, CA

Understand the process

of specifying and testing
automotive LED lighting

OLEDs World Summit 2015

September 1618, 2015
Berkeley, CA

http://bit.ly/1RKKIKl

LED China 2015

September 1719, 2015
Shanghai, China

White paper

Shanghai International Lighting Fair

September 2325, 2015
Shanghai, China

The bright new outlook

for LEDs: New drivers,
new possibilities

IES Street & Area Lighting Conference

October 47, 2015
Savannah, GA

http://bit.ly/1CsGgoc

Light Middle East 2015

October 68, 2015
Dubai, UAE

LEDs Magazine Suppliers Directory

Get all your vendor information
from one 24/7 online resource

Strategies in Light Europe,

co-located with LuxLive
November 1819, 2015
London, UK

MORE: www.ledsmagazine.com/events

http://bit.ly/1K8evYF
For more online exclusive resources, go to: ledsmagazine.com/resources

ADVERTISERS

index

CD-ADAPCO ................................................61

Instrument Systems GmbH .........................17

Shat-R-Shield ..............................................46

Citizen Electronics Co. Ltd. ..........................15

Inventronics (Hangzhou) Inc...........................1

Cree Inc. ...................................................CV4

Ledlink Optics Inc........................................38

Shenzhen Ledfriend
Optoelectronics Co. Ltd. ...........................65

Dongguan Thailight Semiconductor

Lighting Co. Ltd. .......................................11

LG Innotek ..................................................48

ebm-papst inc. ..............................................7

Ellsworth Adhesives ....................................51
Forest Lighting ..........................................CV2
Graftech International .................................26
Green Inova Lighting
Technology (Shenzhen) Limited .................40
Guangzhou Hongli
Opto-Electronic Co. Ltd. ............................27

Linear Technology .....................................CV3

Lumens Co. Ltd...........................................37
Lumileds .......................................................8
Mean Well USA Inc. .....................................52
MR LED ......................................................23
Ophir-Spiricon Inc. .......................................19

Shenzhen OKT Lighting Co. Ltd....................24

Shenzhen Refond
Optoelectronics Co. Ltd. ...........................28
Silego Technology .......................................20
The Bergquist Company ..............................33
Underwriters Laboratories ...........................42
Up-Shine Lighting Co. Ltd. ...........................31

ORB Optronix ..............................................41

Wisdom Optoelectronics
Technology Co. Limited.............................35

Proto Labs Inc. ............................................55

Yuyang DNU (Korea) ........................34, 57, 67

Hangzhou HPwinner Opto Corporation ...........2

Seoul Semiconductor Co. Ltd. .....................47

Zemax LLC ..................................................13

Imigy Lighting Co. Ltd. ...................................5

Sharp Devices Europe GmbH ......................16

6
1506leds_6 6

JUNE 2015

LEDsmagazine.com

5/22/15 10:46 AM

The spotlight shines on efciency.

In order to reach the desired lumen values in a small form factor, active cooling
may be required to effectively dissipate the heat produced by the LED components.
Active cooling technology offers thermal capabilities with inaudible noise thats
superior to passive heat sinks and raises performance while reducing the size of
the lighting xture. With an industry-leading, German-engineered compact fan and
an American-designed assembly, ebm-papst can provide the most reliable solution
for your LED cooling problems. To nd out more about custom Active Cooling
Solutions, visit info.ebmpapst.us/ActiveCooling.

1506leds_7 7

The engineers choice

5/22/15 10:46 AM

We create light so we can lead

while guiding those that follow.
See more.
Your commitment to innovation and collaboration has made Lumileds
the worlds leading creator of light engine technology. Thats why were proud
 

   
      

of light and helping our customers illuminate the world.

2015 Lumileds Holding B.V. All rights reserved.

1506leds_8 8

5/22/15 10:46 AM

news

views
TUNABLE LIGHTING

Tunable lighting comes to LED-based linear

fixtures from Architectural Lighting Works
Architectural Lighting Works (ALW) has announced a suite
of new LED lighting products and technology that it calls
Four to Explore, which includes new tunable linear light
engines that enable user-selectable white point. The suite
also includes three new linear fixtures with sleek round and
diamond cross-sections that offer indirect, direct, or wallwash patterns at installation time.
The ALW Tunable White LED technology is implemented
in a linear LED light engine that is offered as a lamping
option in a variety of different linear fixtures. The option
will be available in the new Noventa and Lightplane 3 Round
fixtures, and in around 20 existing linear fixtures that are
already a part of ALWs portfolio.
The tunable light engines can be set to any CCT between
page 10
2700K and 5700K, allowing lighting designers/

PACKAGED LEDS

DRIVERS & ELECTRONICS

Cree launches high-intensity

packaged LEDs, plans
TrueWhite array release

Linear Technology announces

DC/DC LED driver IC for
80W SSL applications

Cree has made two LED-centric announcements targeted at solid-state lighting (SSL) product developments in vastly different application areas. The company has announced the XLamp XP-L HI (High
Intensity) packaged LEDs that target applications ranging from indoor
tracks to stadium lighting. Meanwhile, the company is
demonstrating a new TrueWhite LED array or
modular light engine, which will enable
high-CRI, high-efficacy lighting products
that can effectively replace ceramic metal-halide (CMH) lamps and later expand
to serve other applications.
The new HI product series represents yet
another way that Cree is positioning its packaged
LEDs based on targeted application. Many of the announcements
that Cree has made in the past year have featured what the company
called high-density LEDs (http://bit.ly/1Dp6yKl), whether
page 10

Linear Technology has announced the LT3744 LED driver

IC designed for DC/DC single-stage, synchronous, stepdown topologies. The IC can be used in drivers that
achieve 95% efficiency and that achieve current regulation within 3% of nominal. Target applications include
SSL designs that use red, green, and blue (RGB) LEDs.
The new LED driver IC can drive as many as three different LEDs or strings from the constant-current output
while pulsewidth-modulated outputs and external MOSFETs control the separate LEDs over a range of 3000:1 for
precise color mixing. Developers can also use the IC to
deliver three different regulated current outputs to a single LED with the ability to swap levels in less than 2 sec.
Linear said the driver IC is ideal for architectural lighting, DLP projectors, and industrial inspection.
The driver IC, however, utilizes a
page 12

LEDsmagazine.com

1506leds_9 9

JUNE 2015

9
5/22/15 10:53 AM

news+views
Tunable lighting from page 9

Array from page 9

specifiers to match the white point to

demanding applications such as high-end
retail. Our Tunable White LED boards provide all the same color temperatures of all
the major legacy sources incandescent,
fluorescent, and metal halide all from
one luminaire, said ALW product manager
Alex Schlemer. So a designer, building manager, or even an end user can set and adjust
those white values as conditions and lighting objectives change.
ALW said it will soon offer a wall controller that simplifies the CCT settings in an
application. But the products will also work
with DMX and DALI (digital addressable
lighting interface) controls from other vendors. Controls and commissioning complexity remain a concern with tunable lighting,
although there are simple examples such as
the Cree SmartCast tunable technology on
the market (http://bit.ly/1Jd19eO).
Meanwhile, the three new fixtures from
ALW, with the Lightplane 1 Round filling out the Four to Explore offering, are all
sleek designs intended for upscale applications. The Lightplane 1 Round offering has
a scant 1-in. round cross-section. The small
size is likely the reason that the tunable CCT
is not offered in the product family. But specifiers can buy the fixture in 2- to 8-ft lengths
and install the luminaires in continuous
runs either suspended from the ceiling or
mounted to a wall.
The round linear design can be adjusted
with set screws to direct the beam. Lightplane 1 Round can be aimed in any direction, giving designers the freedom to illuminate any surface or plane from this sliver of
a lighting instrument, said Schlemer. And
building owners neednt be locked into those
initial settings. By simply loosening a set
screw, the luminaires light channel can be
rotated and re-aimed.
While the smaller Lightplane 1 Round
product requires an external driver, the
3-in.-diameter Lightplane 3 Round fixtures
look similar but afford the room for an integral driver. Moreover, the space in the product allows the company to offer an option
with two light engines so the fixture can
supply indirect and direct light, along with
the tunable lighting option.
The Noventa luminaire, meanwhile,
has what is essentially a square cross-sec-

the LED in question was in a discrete or

a chip-on-board (COB) package. The
high-density concept focused on maximum luminous flux relative to light-emitting surface (LES) and what Cree has
called optical control factor.
Cree hasnt previously used High Density or HD as a brand but will evidently
do so going forward alongside HI. The HI
packaged LEDs will be designed for maximum candela through secondary optics,
according to LED product development
leader Paul Scheidt. Cree said the new LED
can deliver 100,000 cd through a 50-mm
lens at an operating power of 10W.
Cree also demonstrated an LED array at
LightFair International (LFI) 2015 in May,
intended as a building-block product for
SSL developers, that includes a two-channel approach to achieving high CRI at a
warm CCT. The product is essentially a
printed-circuit board (PCB) with LEDs
and some control circuitry but no on-board
AC/DC driver or power supply. Cree also

10
1506leds_10 10

JUNE 2015

tion (shown on previous page) but can be

mounted in a diamond orientation such that
the sides of the linear fixture are oriented at
45 to ceilings, walls, and floors. Two adjacent surfaces, oriented at 90 to one another,
supply diffuse light. And as with the other
products, Noventa can be oriented at installation to deliver direct, indirect, or wallwash patterns. The luminaire can also be
installed at the intersection of a wall and
ceiling, in a square orientation, delivering
light to the side and downwards. Indeed,
the mounting options are many.
Because Noventa is two-sided, for suspended and ceiling-mounted applications
its really like getting two fixtures in one
an ambient direct and a wall washer, says
Schlemer. But the ability to do illuminated
wall corners from a single fixture, especially
in the recessed version, is what designers
will be really excited by.
PACKAGED LEDS

Osram adds to Duris

mid-power LED lineup
The packaged LED announcements and
demonstrations at LFI 2015 were generally

referred to the technology as lamp on

board, but in all fairness its a modular
light engine. (See a video interview about
the array at http://bit.ly/1ETqMv4.)
Cree will label the new array with
the TrueWhite brand. TrueWhite is the
brand that the company has long used in
end-lighting products that achieve 90 CRI
or better. The first such TrueWhite products used what has come to be called a BSY
(blue-shifted yellow) plus red approach.
Such implementations mix off-white and
red LEDs to deliver warm-white light with
efficacy that is higher than what can be
achieved strictly through the use of warmCCT phosphors. The BSY plus red technology dates to at least 2011 and early TrueWhite troffers (http://bit.ly/1Fet78j).
Scheidt said the first commercial arrays
will be shipped by the end of summer. Ultimately, the company plans to build out a
portfolio of light engines in different form
factors and lumen packages.
MORE:

http://bit.ly/1EExWmA

tuned to specific applications as is increasingly the case in the technology sector for
LEDs that target general illumination. For
example, Osram Opto Semiconductors
announced the new Duris S 2 mid-power
LED designed for applications such as LED

retrofit tubes for fluorescent replacement

and for other shallow, ceiling-mount linear
fixtures. The new LED measures 21.6 mm
the smallest packaged LED in the Duris
family (http://bit.ly/1HgRsMW).
Osram uses what it calls a volumetric
phosphor technology in manufacturing the
Duris S 2 LED. The phosphor is mixed into
a three-dimensional silicone encapsulant
atop an epoxy-molded-compound (EMC)
package/substrate. The result is a packaged
LEDsmagazine.com

5/22/15 10:53 AM

1506leds_11 11

5/22/15 10:53 AM

news+views
LED that emits from the four sides of the
device as well as from the top surface, creating a wider beam pattern for the targeted
application. Such an emission pattern
enables more-shallow designs in linear luminaires designed for flush-mount or recessed
mounting.

Luminus devises COB LED

that increases CBCP
At LFI, Luminus (formerly Luminus
Devices before being acquired by Chinabased Sanan last year) announced what
it calls an ultra high density COB LED
in a strategy that mirrors many of Crees
announcements in the past year. The XH
Series includes products with LES diameter ranging from 6 to 14 mm. The concept
is that more lumens from a smaller LES
enables better beam control and greater
center beam candle power (CBCP) especially important attributes in directional
products.
The high lumen density of our XH series
is enabling our customers to replace metal
halide by taking advantage of our high quality of light and shaping the beam into narrow spots with high CBCP, while still maintaining small form factors in their bulb
and luminaire designs, said David Davito,
product marketing director at Luminus.
This results in more attractive retail displays where spotlights with more punch will
draw the consumers eyes to targeted garments and merchandise, while also reducing energy bills, of course.
Luminus said a 6-mm XH packaged LED
can deliver 1500 lm at 3000K and 80 CRI, and
CBCP of more than 30,000 cd in an 8 beam.
Moreover, the company will offer the LEDs
with the 95-CRI option that it calls AccuWhite, which delivers white-point performance below the blackbody curve for what
many experts think consumers prefer in
white rendering. The AccuWhite technology
was demonstrated at LFI last year (http://
bit.ly/1z7Vp0d).
MORE: http://bit.ly/1PGumi1

RETROFIT LAMPS

Philips Lighting delivers sub-five

dollar 60W-equivalent LED lamp
Philips Lighting has announced a new
60W-equivalent LED retrofit lamp priced

12
1506leds_12 12

JUNE 2015

under $5. The SSL product provides an excellent example of

IC from page 9 unique floating architecture to
the broad array of product-deallow product developers flexibility in serving
sign options afforded by LED
applications in terms of heat sink and form factor.
sources. Philips was able to
The floating design allows the IC to produce a negdeliver the low price by targeting
only a 10,000-hr life and optical
performance designed for use in
places such as hallways, laundry
rooms, and closets where lighting is used less frequently relative to living areas in a home.
Philips has a broad range of
LED-based A-lamp products. The
uniquely-architected SlimStyle
product announced at the end
of 2013 has been the low-price
leader with online pricing under
$9 (http://bit.ly/1ppMgMv).
ative output voltage. The anodes of three different
That LED retrofit lamp product
LEDs can be tied together to ground and affixed
has achieved Energy Star comdirectly to a heat sink. That maximizes thermal
pliance, thereby enabling some
efficiency. And combined with the high efficiency
buyers to receive rebates from
of the power converter, the floating design allows
retail purchases that can bring
the use of smaller heat sinks.
the price under $5.
The IC can deliver 20A (80W) in a continuWith this bulb, consumers
ous-current design. Alternatively, the IC can
have a quality, day-to-day option
deliver 40W (160W) in pulsed or switched
for any area in their home that
topologies.
MORE: http://bit.ly/1afBHI9
is as good for their wallet as it is
for the environment, said Amy
Huntington, president of Philips
Lighting Americas. Quality LEDs should become Energy Star certified and is
not be a luxury or something that only those intended to be affordable with no rebate.
that live in areas with robust utility rebate The initial supply will truly prove to be a
programs can afford.
bargain with Home Depot offering twoThe new LED retrofit lamp will not packs for $4.97 online the expected
retail price of a single lamp in the long term.
Philips said the 2-for-1 pricing could extend
for 90 days or until the twin-pack supply is
exhausted. The two-packs were available
online and in store at Home Depot as this
issue went to press.
Philips took several steps to lower the
cost of making the new lamp. The lamp is
not dimmable, but such a feature is not typically required in the intended application.
It uses lower-priced mid-power LEDs. That
design choice is surely one of the elements
behind a relatively lower expected lifetime
of ten years or 10,000 hours. But the midpower-based design does deliver the 800 lm
expected of a 60W-equivalent lamp using
only 8.5W and achieving outstanding efficacy of 94 lm/W.
MORE: http://bit.ly/1RFcRm0
LEDsmagazine.com

5/22/15 10:53 AM

New!

5
Accurately Model LED Phosphors
Illumination designers and researchers can now create
accurate photoluminescence models with OpticStudio 15.
The new photoluminescence feature includes both spectral
and particle properties to account for scattering in materials,
and OpticStudio 15 enables more realistic material inputs


  


Absorption spectrum

Excitation spectrum
Quantum yield
Emission spectrum
Particle parameters

These properties can be assigned to any volumetric object

in non-sequential mode. In addition the OpticStudio 15
Premium Edition includes data for several sample phosphor
materials. Push your illumination design capabilities to next
level with the new OpticStudio 15 from Zemax.

Test drive it now at zemax.com/demo

1506leds_13 13

5/22/15 10:53 AM

news+views
BUSINESS NEWS

Royal Philips and OLEDWorks

strike acquisition deal on OLED
panels and manufacturing
OLEDWorks LLC has announced a complex
business agreement with Royal Philips that
will chart the future course for the OLED sector of Philips Lighting. Philips will establish
a new legal entity, that is planned to operate
under the name Lumiblade, to which OLED
intellectual property (IP) and the Philips
Aachen, Germany OLED
manufacturing facility
will be transferred, and
OLEDWorks will acquire
all shares in the new entity.
OLEDWorks will also gain
a license to use the Philips
brand in selling OLED
panels from the entity
and Philips Lighting will
continue to distribute the
OLED panels that result
from the venture.
The OLED deal marks
the last step in moves by
Royal Philips to separate
the LED and lighting businesses into separate operating companies. In March,
the company announced the sale of the
Lumileds LED business to Go Scale Capital
(http://bit.ly/1PGMSa8). Later in the month,
Philips said the Philips Lighting entity would
be partially divested in an IPO during 2016
(http://bit.ly/19xSrcA), although Royal Philips
will retain a majority stake in the lighting
business in the near term.
On the same day the news of the acquisition hit, the Philips OLED group also
announced plans for some new panels. The
Lumiblade Brite FL300L panel (shown) measures roughly 103.5 in, and outputs 300 lm
at an efficacy of 50 lm/W. The panel comes
in a 3000K CCT with a CRI of 80. The panels
were displayed at LFI 2015 and the company
hopes to commence merchant supply in the
3rd quarter of the year.
MORE: http://bit.ly/1QJGtx9

Osram contemplates divestiture

of parts of its lighting business
Osram Licht AG has issued a statement saying the companys Managing Board plans to

14
1506leds_14 14

JUNE 2015

break apart the business with the profit-margin-challenged lamps businesses becoming an
independent company. The recommendation
came on the heels of an April meeting of the
Managing Board with a measure to be submitted to the Supervisory Board.
The Osram statement included minimal information. It specifically identified
that the assets to be sold would come from
the Classic Lamps & Ballast (CLB) and LED
Lamps & Systems (LLS) business units. But
the statement also said the planned divestiture was focused on the lamps business.
Presumably that could include all of the CLB
unit that is based on legacy sources as well
as the portions of LLS that are focused on
LED-based retrofit lamps.
Osram did not discuss the Osram Opto
Semiconductors LED-manufacturing business, but apparently Osram plans to continue in the LED and professional-lighting
businesses. Osram was only separated from
its former parent company Siemens a little
less than two years ago (http://bit.ly/1KJTOSg). And recently the company had indicated that its business operations were looking up (http://bit.ly/1A0vCuJ).
Apparently, the Managing Board feels
that the next move will bring about even
greater financial stability. The company
said the lamps business intended for separation totals about 2 billion ($2.15 billion) in
sales annually. But some financial analysts
believe the low-margin business is holding
back the Osram stock price.
MORE: http://bit.ly/1AXcVmA

OUTDOOR LIGHTING

GE Lighting connects cities

street light via the standard NEMA connector developed for photocells.
GE had previously disclosed the San Diego
outdoor lighting project where LightGrid
has already been deployed on more than
3000 street lights in the downtown area. Our
sister publication Lux covered the project
(http://bit.ly/1cxk5bf). GE said at the time
that San Diego was the first major partner
on a LightGrid-based project.
Now, San Diego is adding sensors to the
light poles that will also communicate via
LightGrid and will be utilized to streamline
parking in the downtown area.
In the case of Jacksonville, the city will
be the second GE LightGrid partner and the
city will conduct a trial of the outdoor lighting and controls this upcoming summer.
For more information, watch LEDs Magazine editor Maury Wrights video interview
with Jerry Duffy, GE Lightings GM of global
lighting products (http://bit.ly/1HdVp21).

New outdoor luminaires offer

surveillance and sleek styling
Hubbell Lightings Spaulding brand has
announced a new LED-based outdoor lighting fixture with integrated network communications and security surveillance features (shown). In the sleek design area, US
Architectural Lighting has expanded the
low-profile Razar family of outdoor lighting
products with a 120-LED model that delivers 36,000 lm.
The new Spaulding Cimarron SSL fixture includes Ethernet connectivity and a
360 hemispheric camera that can be leveraged for security applications. Moreover,
the fixture can take on more than a passive

GE Lighting has announced outdoor SSL

projects with the cities of San Diego, CA
and Jacksonville, FL with a smart-city focus
that relies on the addition of sensors to connected LED based street lights.
The GE Lighting projects are both based
on the companys LightGrid technology. The
company first discussed LightGrid back in
2013 at LFI (http://bit.ly/1BRmCbH). The
system utilizes wireless-mesh networking technology based on the IEEE 802.15.4
physical layer along with the 6LoWPAN
(IPv6 over low-power wireless personal
area network; http://bit.ly/1Hhg0FE). The
wireless nodes can be added to nearly any
LEDsmagazine.com

5/22/15 10:53 AM

1506leds_15 15

5/22/15 10:53 AM

news+views
role. It can capture data but it can also serve
as a deterrent by flashing lights based on
what Spaulding calls an Active Deterrence
feature.
Not all new developments in outdoor
lighting fixtures are network related.
Indeed, US Architectural Lighting has targeted a sleek design with its new Razar G fixture. Some models in the family are low profile, measuring as little as 2.5-in. deep. The
new Razar G product is 7-in. high but also
supports output up to 36,000 lm in larger
400W fixtures.
MORE: http://bit.ly/1KJWVth

NETWORKS AND CONTROLS

SSL networks and controls

hit spotlight at LFI
Networks and controls for SSL, enabling in
many instances what is increasingly being
called smart lighting, were among the prominent stories as LFI got started in New York
City. The announcements share the common

[ZENIGATA COB]

thread of the fact that LEDs are inherently

controllable light sources but illustrate the
fragmentation that remains in the SSL networks area. Companies making significant
announcements included Samsung, CSR,
Bridgelux, Avi-on, LED Engin, and Marvell.

Samsung
Samsung announced a platform initiative

LED

Sharp ZENIGATA COB LEDs raise the bar for quality LED lighting
thats now even easier to design with Sharps integrated
INTERMO modules. In addition to a broad range of fixed white
LEDs, Sharp also supplies the tuneable white Tiger ZENIGATA

focused on smart lighting that it claims will

ultimately deliver an ecosystem around
which manufacturers can quickly develop
connected luminaires and lamps for SSL
networks. Samsungs message was centered
around the companys strength in areas
such as microprocessors (or microcontrollers) and memory as important synergies for
LEDs in a smart lighting system.

[INTERMO MODULES]

(2,700 K5,700 K). From tailored white LEDs for grocery stores
and shops to natural toning LEDs that warm as they dim, Sharps
LED technology platform excels in office, home, commercial,
and outdoor lighting. E-mail us for details: sharpsde@sharp.eu

www.sharpleds.eu

ShaEle_LEDS_1506 1
1506leds_16 16

4/30/15 9:11 AM
5/22/15 10:53 AM

We bring quality to light.

news+views
The company plans to have a complete reference design by the end
of this year with support for networks including ZigBee, Bluetooth,
and Wi-Fi, along with an operating system and application programming interfaces that allow easy customization of the technology.
Presumably, Samsungs advantage is the companys scale and
experience in other ecosystems. Samsung executive vice president
Jacob Tarn said its only 8:00 or 9:00 AM in the day in terms of smart
lighting development, indicating there is plenty of time to win business. And referring to the companys success in mobile, he said,
There is no Samsung or Apple in smart lighting today.

DISC
DI
D
SCOV
OVERIN
NG
DISCOVERING

LIG
GH
HT
HT
LIGHT

Marvell smart platform

Samsung seemed unaware of the many development platforms available and semiconductor vendor Marvell added yet another for SSL
networks. The company announced the 88MZ300 system-on-chip
(SoC) IC that combines a microcontroller unit (MCU) along with a
wireless ZigBee controller. The company said the new IC doubles the
ZigBee range relative to the prior 88MZ100 IC, and reduces power
consumption by 50%. The IC targets SSL and Internet of Things (IoT)
applications in general and Marvell offers a complete software stack
called Kinoma.
Marvell continues to demonstrate innovation in home automation, connected lighting, and IoT with its 88MZ300 ZigBee wireless microcontroller, which leads 802.15.4 technology in both performance and cost, said Philip Poulidis, vice president and general
manager of mobile and IoT business at Marvell. Along with Kinoma
and Marvells recently announced Smart Home Cloud Center, the
88MZ300 delivers a total solution for home automation and IoT markets. We look forward to the range of exciting new product opportunities that will be possible with the deployment of the 88MZ300.

LED Engin
Moving to modular LED-based light engines, LED Engin joined the
crowd of ZigBee supporters with its new LZ9 model of the LuxiTune
product series. LuxiTune products feature tunable color temperature
and the ability to dim to a warm CCT, mimicking a legacy incandescent source. The light engines use a mix of LEDs to offer the flexibility. Now the light engines will be configurable via wireless ZigBee
links, adding further value for manufacturers that base luminaires
on the modular building blocks.
The LZ9 is packaged on a 2-in. PCB and works seamlessly with
a 37-mm lens. LED Engin offers products that can produce 1600Kto 3000K-CCT output for warm dimming and separately products
that can produce 2100K- to 4300K-CCT for color tuning. The modules are designed for applications such as track heads.

Putting LEDs
in the right light
SSL solutions from the
world leader in LED measurement
Right from the start, we have been supporting the
LED industries with our measurement equipment.
You will also benet from this expertise in the new
Solid-State Lighting applications. Our solutions
combine highly precise spectroradiometers and
photometers with a complete family of goniometers and integrating spheres.
Discover light with Instrument Systems.
www.instrumentsystems.com/ssl

LGS 1000
Goniophotometer
with new features

CSR and partners

Companies still have different strategies for SSL networks with
regard to the protocol, and Bluetooth appears more plausible
given LFI-centric developments. Bluetooth has been somewhat of
a novelty in smart-lighting products outside use as a sporadically-applied commissioning control. Tunable LED lamps based on
Bluetooth offer the advantage of easy connection to a smartphone.
But Bluetooth has lacked the range and persistent control connection to be used as a robust lighting network. CSR is leading the

light measurement
www.instrumentsystems.com

LEDsmagazine.com

1506leds_17 17

5/22/15 10:53 AM

news+views
charge to make Bluetooth a serious player.
CSR has a long history with Bluetooth in
phone and audio applications and hopes to
pervade lighting with its CSRmesh technology. CSRmesh is based on Bluetooth but, as
the name implies, allows a mesh of nodes to
extend the range of Bluetooth and connect
to a virtually unlimited number of devices.
That technology should eventually come to
fruition as part of a future Bluetooth standard; therefore, current CSRmesh-based
products should ultimately be forward compatible with an industry standard.
At LFI, CSR and Avi-on announced a collaboration that will include a number of
partners in the SSL space. Avi-on supplies
software extensions that can add security
to the wireless connections in SSL networks.
The companies said at LFI that Jasco Products would deliver GE-branded lighting conINDOOR LOCATION

Acuity and GE Lighting launch

location services plans
Indoor location services based on intelligent LED-based lighting products hold the
potential to enhance retail shopping experiences, and retailer profits, and the technology is seen as symbiotic to the larger trend
of networked SSL. GE Lighting and Acuity
Brands both made announcements about
their plans in the location sector at LFI 2015.
LED-based lighting can deliver location data by modulating the LEDs in
a way that humans cant detect while
smartphones or tablets with cameras
can decipher data used by an app on
the device. Applications include guiding
a shopper to a desired item or a patron
through a museum, although retail is
seen as the most profitable opportunity
for SSL manufacturers.
At LFI, Acuity said its ByteLight Services for indoor positioning are available for commercial deployment. Acuity
decided to focus on the ByteLight name
recognition even though it very recently
acquired ByteLight (http://bit.ly/1ED2oP6). ByteLight was a startup company
that was the first mover in SSL-based positioning. But Acuity had previously demon-

18
1506leds_18 18

JUNE 2015

trols and timers built on the platform this

summer, based on a GE and Jasco licensing
agreement.
Avi-on and Bridgelux also made a
smart-lighting-centric announcement at
LFI. Bridgelux offers LEDs, arrays, and modular light engines, and is now adding Bluetooth support to light engines based on the
Avi-on platform.
MORE: http://bit.ly/1FkSkQo

SSL PROJECT

Philips Lighting LEDs will light New

Yorks new Tappan Zee Bridge
Philips Lighting has announced that it will
supply interconnected LED-based lighting and controls technology for the new
Tappan Zee Bridge that is currently under
construction in New Yorks Hudson River

Valley. Called the New NY Bridge project, the

new Tappan Zee will have 419-ft towers lit
by Philips Color Kinetics architectural LED
lighting products and a road surface lit by
RoadView SSL luminaires.
The Tappan Zee Bridge, located north of
Manhattan, is part of the New York State
Thruway and connects South Nyack and
Tarrytown across the Hudson River. The
existing cantilever bridge will be replaced by
an iconic suspended, cable-stayed structure
that at 3.1 miles long is the largest bridge
construction project in New York State history. Towers will reach 419-ft heights. The
center span will be finished in 2016, with the
bridge opening planned for 2018.
Philips is working with the New York State
Thruway Authority and Tappan Zee Constructors on the architectural LED lighting
project. The striking new bridge will bring

strated its in-house location services

technology based on a development with
mobile-communications-leader Qualcomm (http://bit.ly/1k7cWLS).
Acuity will still rely on Qualcomms
Lumicast Visible Light Communications
(VLC) technology in its positioning platform. The ByteLight acquisition adds func-

Working with Qualcomm Atheros, GE

is harnessing the power of our commercial
LED lighting to give retailers the opportunity to create an enhanced experience for
shoppers securely, while respecting their
privacy, said Jeff Bisberg, global general
manager for indoor location, GE Lighting.
For now its not clear whether GE will use

tionality through the use of RF Bluetooth

Low Energy (BLE) communications with a
smartphone. The wireless RF technology
could contact a smartphone even were it
stored in a shoppers bag, whereas the VLC
technology would require that the shopper
have the smartphone out and available for
line-of-sight communications.
GE Lighting, meanwhile, announced
its plans to collaborate with Qualcomm
for the first time. Last year at LFI, GE
had teamed with ByteLight and retailer
Walmart in a positioning demonstration
(http://bit.ly/1rQCKB7). Fast-forward and
GE needed a new dance partner.

VLC alone for positioning or if the company will add BLE.

In the race to deploy location services,
Acuity has apparently moved into the lead.
GE as well as Philips Lighting had demonstrated the technology before Acuity
(http://bit.ly/U7nwwo). But Acuitys latest announcement gives every indication
that a retailer could deploy immediately,
although there is a tremendous amount of
IT development that would be behind such
a project. as our partners at Lux Magazine pointed out in an article on Targets
plans (http://bit.ly/1JdV5CJ).
MORE: http://bit.ly/1IBx1cz

LEDsmagazine.com

5/22/15 10:53 AM

news+views
needed traffic relief along with state-ofthe-art technology from construction techniques to lighting.
We wanted to ensure that everything
on this bridge would be the most advanced
technology possible, which is why we partnered with Philips on the cloud-based lighting system for the Tappan Zee, said John
Trinity, lead project engineer for the systems
group at Tappan Zee Constructors. Not only
is the new lighting system energy-efficient,
it will help the Tappan Zee stand out in the
night sky and further cement it as an iconic
New York structure, while the roadway lighting will be an integral part of improving visibility and making it safer for drivers. Moreover, the control system will eliminate the
need to worry about maintaining server
hardware or software systems, while still
ensuring uptime because we can remotely
log in to see if there are any issues, quickly
and efficiently dispatching crews to address
any concerns.
Much like the Bay Lights project on the

The 1st of its kind

Bay Bridge in San Francisco (http://bit.

ly/1xEt0fu), the Tappan Zee will ultimately
provide dynamic night-time shows to tens
of thousands via the 2700 Philips Color
Kinetics architectural LED lighting fixtures
to be installed, although the Tappan Zee
project will also include color-tunable fixtures. Philips will supply its Active Site control platform to both choreograph the lighting and for automated maintenance. Active
Site has only recently become a Philipsbranded product, but it is the same technology being used to control the dynamic
lighting on New Yorks Madison Square Garden (http://bit.ly/1CtauuM).
Meanwhile, the Philips CityTouch product will be used to control the more than
500 RoadView SSL luminaires that will
deliver uniform, full-spectrum lighting on
the road surface. The light levels will be
managed for optimum energy efficiency
while providing better visibility and safer
passing for motorists.
In a twist, however, the CityTouch and

Active Site control platforms will utilize a

unified control interface. Both are cloudbased technologies, and Philips is merging the user interfaces into a single dashboard for the new Tappan Zee Bridge (see
our Q&A with Eric Rondolat, CEO of Philips
Lighting, and Amy Huntington, president
of Philips Lighting Americas, on p. 25 for
more about these controls being used in the
bridge project).
Our understanding of architectural
and roadway lighting, combined with our
advanced controls technologies and our ability to develop a common user interface will
allow Tappan Zee Constructors to deliver a
cost-effective lighting system that can meet
the demands of one the busiest bridges in
New York, said Huntington. As a company,
we are delivering connected LED lighting systems that can be tailored to meet the exacting needs of our customers, and the New NY
Bridge is a great example of a high-profile
structure that needs the lighting system to
be integrated in a very unique way.

One Radiometer
for All LEDs
PD 300RM
LED Radiometer

One sensor fits all wavelengths

Very high dynamic range

Thomas Edison invented the rst practical

incandescent light bulb in 1879.

Measures irradiance and dosage

Compatible with Ophir StraLite & StarBright displays

Includes cosine correction

Question:

Where were Edisons light bulbs rst

used commercially?
Aboard the Columbia steamboat.
1506leds_19 19

5/22/15 10:53 AM

1506leds_20 20

5/22/15 10:53 AM

funding
programs

DOE updates outdoor lighting

study in the harsh Arizona desert
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has
released an updated report on the ongoing trial of six LED-based area luminaires
installed along the US-Mexican border in
the Yuma, AZ area. The trial was in part

had operated for 2500 hours, and more

recently recorded another set of data after
5000 hours of operation. The new Yuma
Phase 1.1 Report suggests some variations in
illuminance that exceed expectations. The

planned to test solid-state lighting (SSL)

performance in an environment with temperature extremes and other environmental challenges. After 5000 hours of outdoor
lighting operation, illuminance has varied
more than anticipated and the DOE plans
further investigation to determine the cause.
We last covered the Yuma outdoor lighting project back in December 2014 (http://
bit.ly/1EGw9P4). That article was based on
the Yuma Phase 1.0 Report that focused on
a comparison of the photometric performance of the LED fixtures with quartz metal
halide (QMH) luminaries used along the border fence. The SSL poles performed favorably
based on the early testing while also delivering energy savings and anticipated maintenance savings.
Evidently, the DOE further evaluated the
data gathered in December after the lights

variations may or may not be unacceptable,

but the variation ideally would be explained
in terms of cause.
The new report indicates that both the
total light output and the distribution of illuminance are changing. The illuminance of
the outdoor lighting near the poles has actually increased relative to the data recorded
when the lights were initially installed. The
report didnt address the increase specifically, but other testing of LED-based products has documented that lumen output can
rise early in a products life before lumen
depreciation commences.
The problematic data in Yuma comes as
the measurements were taken further from
the poles. The most critical area in terms of
required visibility in the application is the
area near the primary fence. And the new
data suggest that horizontal
page 23

LEDsmagazine.com

1506leds_21 21

EPA publishes Energy

Star Luminaires V2.0
final draft for effect
June 1, 2016
The US Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has released the final draft
of the Energy Star Luminaires V2.0 specification, planning to enforce the specification beginning June 1, 2016 and replacing the prior V1.2. The final draft includes
quite a long list of changes from Draft 2
that should keep the new specification on
schedule for the planned roll-out.
The Luminaires V2.0 development
process has gone very quickly relative
to other Energy Star lighting specifications. It was only October 2014 when
the EPA said it had begun V2.0 development (http://bit.ly/1Jw0brZ). V1.2 of
the Luminaires specification has been
in effect since late 2012 (http://bit.
ly/1zRkv7n).
The changes fall in a number of areas.
For example, in testing, the final draft
made clarifications on procedures for
color luminaires. The revisions cover
testing fixtures that are designed to use
Energy Star replacement lamps. And
there are additional guidelines for photometric and thermal testing of downlights.
The revisions also touch on luminaire performance in a number of ways.
The agency revised minimum light output requirements for different luminaire
types. The revisions affect zonal lumen
density requirements for fixtures with
different beam patterns.
Efficacy requirements have been lowered in certain cases. The EPA is charged
with maximizing energy efficiency, but in
some cases lower efficacy can ultimately
result in broader adoption of LED-based
lighting and therefore lower aggregate
power usage across the US. Color-centric revisions were also included.
The EPA said further efficacy
advancements will be a focus in future
versions of the luminaire specification.
A full PDF is available for review on
the Energy Star website (http://1.usa.
gov/1Jw0inr).

JUNE 2015

21
5/22/15 10:55 AM

funding programs

EPA releases Draft 2 of the Energy

Star Lamps specification V2.0
The EPA has released the second draft of version 2.0 (V2.0) of the Energy Star Lamps specification. The EPA hopes to complete the V2.0
specification this June with the goal of the
specification becoming effective in June 2016.
The Lamps V2.0 work began in earnest in
October 2014 when the EPA held a Lampsspecific session at the annual Energy Star
Partners meeting (http://bit.ly/1Jw0brZ).
The goal was a fast-track revision that would
pursue higher efficacy levels and a broader
scope of the specification in terms of the
types of lamps that were covered.
The EPA also seeks to support the LED
lamp testing methodology that is pending
publication at the DOE. Moreover, the EPA
said Draft 2 will improve harmonization
between the various Energy Star lighting
specifications.
Ironically, comments from Draft 1 of
the specification convinced the EPA to
back off slightly on its goals of raising efficacy requirements. Draft 1 had specified
minimum efficacy of 70 lm/W for omnidirectional lamps and that figure has been
reduced to 65 lm/W in Draft 2. Stakeholders
from the lamps industry felt the higher level
would have essentially eliminated omnidirectional compact fluorescent lamp (CFL)
products from the Energy Star program.
Many stakeholders have designed CFL products to the prior efficacy levels and the EPA
made the change that will allow those products to continue in the program.
Draft 2 has also lowered the efficacy
requirement for decorative lamps that consume 7W or less from 65 lm/W to 55 lm/W.
Lamps that operate above 7W must still
meet the higher requirement. Stakeholders had argued that a lower efficacy level
would enable far more decorative lamps to
achieve Energy Star compliance and encourage broader adoption of energy-efficient
lamps including LED-based products in the
decorative application, thereby positively
impacting energy conservation.
There are also changes in Draft 2 focused
on subtleties of lamps technology, especially
focused on LED-based products. For example, color-tunable products must be tested
for efficacy at the least-efficient white-light

22
1506leds_22 22

JUNE 2015

setting basically a requirement that manufacturers test the lamps at the warmest
CCT. The startup time for an LED lamp has
been set at 750 msec, or at 1 sec for wirelessnetwork-enabled lamps. Draft 2 has loosened the requirement that connected lamps
should be capable of reporting intensity and
color settings and instead such lamps will
only be required to report on/off status.
There are also subtle changes relative to
CFLs. The EPA will not require that CFLs
achieve a CRI R9 value above 0. But CFL manufacturers must still report an R9 value.
You can review the complete V2.0 spec

at the EPA lamps website (http://1.usa.

gov/1KqoVC2). The V2.0 effort is moving
much more quickly than did the preceding revisions. The EPA only finalized V1.1
in September 2014 (http://bit.ly/1EoazO0).
That specification followed V1.0 published
in August 2013 (http://bit.ly/1uDwm3l).

LightingEurope documents
monetary benefits of
human-centric lighting
LightingEurope has released a new research
study focused on human-centric lighting (HCL) that the industry association
undertook with the German Electrical and
Electronic Manufacturers Association (ZVEI)
and AT Kearney. The new work published in
the Quantified benefits of human centric
lighting report seeks to define the business
opportunity that could be associated with
widespread deployment of HCL technology.
The study finds that business owners stand
to gain the best return on investment (ROI)
through increased worker productivity.
The research participants have defined
HCL as the inclusion of visual and nonvisual (biological) needs of humans in the
design of lighting applications. LightingEurope had previously developed research entitled Human centric lighting: Going beyond
energy efficiency that sought to document
that LED-based SSL could deliver tangible benefits in terms of human productivity or wellbeing. The new work was intended
to quantify the benefits for the parties that
would pay for HCL-featured products typically tunable LED-based products that would
sell for a premium beyond general-illumination products.
The research considered non-visual

effects clustered among three general areas

feelings, functioning, and health. Feelings
included mood and energy levels. Functioning is centered on performance, alertness,
and productivity. Health is focused on the
sleep-wake cycle.
The project considered the effects relative
to what the researchers termed both microand macro-level benefits. A micro-level benefit would include business owners that realize a more productive workforce as the result
of an HCL investment. Macro-level benefits
would include a healthier society and the
primary macro-level beneficiaries might
be health insurers or governments and of
course the users of HCL products.
As part of the new research, AT Kearney developed mathematical models that
allowed the team to quantifiably project
the benefits of HCL. At the macro level in
an office, the model projects that a business
owner might realize 111,000 ($124,000)
annually in productivity increases from a
200-person workforce. There could be further benefits from energy efficiency as
well, although those benefits would also be
achievable through standard SSL projects.
The research found little health-related
benefits at the micro level. At the macro level,
LEDsmagazine.com

5/22/15 10:55 AM

funding programs
Desert from page 21

illuminance decreased by 18% at the fence

while vertical illuminance decreased by 25%.
The changes in illumination cant be
attributed to normal lumen depreciation.
Such degradation of an LED light source
would generally have resulted in uniform
changes in illuminance across the entire
measurement area. Moreover, the test
results indicate no change in color over the
course of a year and 5000 hours of operation,
indicating that the problem may not be associated with the LEDs used in the luminaires.
The installed outdoor lighting has been
operating with no maintenance for a year.
The DOE suspects that the changes could be
due to dirt accumulation or to changes in the
optics as a result of temperature extremes.
The report notes that the luminaires are subject internally to the heat from the LEDs and
drivers during nighttime operation, to high
ambient temperatures externally during the
day, and to long days of direct solar radiation.
In an attempt to determine the cause of the

1506leds_23 23

variation, the DOE will pursue several angles.

Researchers at the Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory (PNNL) will run thermal simulations on the luminaire design. The team will
remove one or more luminaires from the site
for a detailed laboratory analysis. Moreover,
the team plans to further monitor the outdoor lighting installation site to better understand the environmental elements such as
dirt, wind, and other site-specific effects.
Monitoring LED-based lighting for longterm performance has become more important as the technology matures. The DOE is
performing such research in lab and field
tests. The agency has data on a Kansas City,
MO street light project going back to 2011
(http://bit.ly/1moyXvA). And in the indoor
lighting area, the DOE has ongoing reliability tests on LED-based A-lamps (http://bit.
ly/1ID998b) and on chromaticity and lumen
maintenance of PAR38 lamps (http://bit.
ly/1EsOqSM). You can find more information at the DOE website (http://1.usa.
gov/1JBQyIR).

HCL from page 22

medical, elderly care, and wellbeing in homes

becomes a major player. The study projects a
total possible impact of 12.8B ($14.3 billion)
in 2020, assuming 100% penetration of HCL.
Still, HCL remains an evolving lighting-technology question. The non-visual
impacts of light are still not fully understood, as we pointed out last year (http://
bit.ly/1q7GM4G). Some experts, however,
believe the industry has plenty of knowledge
to move forward with HCL. We covered some
of that ground in a recent webcast (http://
bit.ly/1DavLIs) and the experts involved in
the webcast have answered additional questions in a feature from the April/May issue
of LEDs Magazine (http://bit.ly/1GTyq9X).
As for the new LightingEurope research,
we will dig deeper into the results in an
upcoming feature article on HCL. Each new
research project adds to our knowledge
base and could yet provide a way to monetize LED-based lighting beyond energy-efficiency benefits.

5/22/15 10:55 AM

1506leds_24 24

5/22/15 10:55 AM

q&a | PHILIPS C-SUITE

QA

Philips Lighting charts independent

course to SSL success
MAURY WRIGHT

interviews ERIC RONDOLAT, CEO of Philips Lighting, and AMY HUNTINGTON,

president of Philips Lighting Americas, at LightFair International (LFI) on the companys
business strategy and technology direction.

LEDs Magazine: Royal Philips is moving

ahead with its planned divestiture of Philips
Lighting. Royal Philips has said the initial
step for Philips Lighting would be an initial
public offering, with Royal Philips maintaining a majority stake. It seems like the parent company believes in lighting but sees the
need to separate divergent businesses.

LEDs: About services, do you mean projects

such as the Schiphol Airport service project
in Amsterdam (http://bit.ly/1JsQLzM)? Is that
the first major services deal?

So when we talk about services, its about

our ability to be present on the full lifecycle.
So it can be pay-for-lux, but it can also take
many different forms and shapes.

ER: That one is public and we have

Amy Huntington (AH): Its helphad a few others. But it depends
ing the customer understand the
on which type of service you are
utilization of their space thats
talking about. [The Schiphol projlit. With sensors in the lumiEric Rondolat (ER): We announced, in Sep- ect] is the pay-for-lux type service.
naires, the services derive from
tember last year, the separation process. And The customer doesnt pay you for
the data that can be harvested
we are on track. It will take place at the end of lighting being implemented but Amy Huntington
from the digital lighting system
this year. The main reason is increased focus pays you for the usage of light.
so [there are] a lot of new opporfor both businesses on the healthcare seg- But there are many other types of services. tunities. And with the Tappan Zee Bridge we
ment as well as the lighting business.
There can be maintenance contracts over a have a great example.
very long period of time. And we have done
LEDs: Osram made major business news that on many different occasions, in many LEDs: What new technology are you using on
recently, announcing it planned to divest its different places in the world, not only the the bridge?
lamps business. Philips Lighting is a major mature countries but in many, many emerginnovator in LED-based retrofit lamps. How ing markets.
AH: Active Site is the cloud-based lighting
do lamps fit in?
We have products, and thats fine; we want system that controls our architectural prodto continue selling products. You put all of uct family from Philips Color Kinetics (CK).
ER: I think our strategy is very clear. We those products together light sources,
Active Site was used on Madison Square
decided to divest the components part of fixtures, with the control and the software Garden, when we relit the exterior of the
the business, because we believed
which is adapted to the customer Garden. And then the Tappan Zee Bridge
its a business that is more global
application that you targeted will have 2700 Color Kinetics fixtures and
where there is the need of scale.
and this is the system. So far, Im 500 of our RoadView luminaires, with the
So the upstream part of the busitalking payback. And connectiv- road lighting controlled by CityTouch and
ness has been divested. [Lumileds]
ity is enabling this system. And we the architectural CK luminaires controlled
will be a winner in that space,
strongly believe in connectivity. by Active Site. But whats unique in this
continuing to have a relationship
When this is done, then you can application is that weve ported all of the
with Philips Lighting.
be present on this full lifecycle.
data into one dashboard. So the owners of
Then we said we believe in prod- Eric Rondolat
[For example], on the Tappan the Tappan Zee Bridge will have the most
ucts, systems, and services as part
Zee Bridge [a project announced sophisticated bridge in North America with
of our portfolio, being at this point in time during LFI; see p. 18] we get online all of the control of both lighting systems through
the leader in the [lighting] industry... Good information about the architectural lighting one dashboard.
products make good systems. And when you and the street lighting. And then getting this
have implemented the systems, then you have information, we [can] go back to the cus- LEDs: On the bridge, you can monitor
unlimited [opportunity] to offer services.
tomer and offer additional functionalities. the operation of the lights for automated
LEDsmagazine.com

1506leds_25 25

JUNE 2015

25
5/22/15 10:55 AM

q&a | PHILIPS

C-SUITE

maintenance. What else? Are we talking

monitoring traffic flow?

LEDs: Is Active Site new? We havent heard

that brand name before.

Roam system. Later, GE Lighting claimed it

had won the control business in Los Angeles.

ER: We can enable, at the light pole level,

the gathering of that type of information.
We would not directly deal with [that data]
because it is not our business. Traffic flow,
pollution monitoring, thats not our business,
but we can help to gather that information.
But I will give you another example. In an
office space [consider] office lighting powered over Ethernet [using Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology]. At the same time
we have sensors that are sensing temperature and occupancy. In the long run, giving back this information to the customer
helps them to understand [space utilization]. [For instance] in Amsterdam they can
free up two additional floors that they can
rent [in the Deloitte building http://bit.
ly/1sAnPd7]. Thats a fabulous additional
capability. And this is what we call services
how do you monitor the installation for
the full lifecycle and significantly improve it.

AH: Active Site, were rolling that out now,

its being commercialized now. And then on
the CityTouch side, the world has been our
laboratory. We have 262 projects globally in
31 countries.
What we are showing here [at LFI] is the
next evolution, which is the mobile- and
cloud-based Connector Node. I know you
are familiar with Los Angeles (LA), which
was our ability to come in and protect their
investment that they had already made in
LED luminaires, even though they were
not ours. We are able to connect the nodes
through the NEMA socket and allow for the
mobile connectivity, instant commissioning
[Philips recently announced the LA project;
http://bit.ly/1L1tSl4].

AH: There will be no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Of the 215,000 lights in LA, 155,000 are LED.
Of that 155,000, 110,000 will be connected via
this Connector Node. So 71% of their LED street
lights will be connected with the Connector
Node. [The roll-out] starts in June, and it will
roll out through the rest of the year. Its exciting
for us because LA is an innovative city.

LEDs: The LA market situation has been confusing in terms of the controls story. Several
years ago, they were working with the Acuity

THE MISSING PIE E TO YOUR

LED MODULAR SOLUTION

LEDs: But your offerings go way beyond the

commercial space, and some of your most
compelling control technology is targeted
more at the home.
ER: Weve been optimizing the functionality we bring to customers in the home, too.
We started with colored bulbs, but when you
talk about Hue its a full ecosystem of light
in your home. And its not a gimmick. We
can really bring additional benefits what
about when the Nest security device goes

NEW!

HITHERM GRAPHITE TIMs FOR COBs

TM

Production-ready thermal interface parts

Eliminate dispensing complexity
Simplify assembly and inspection
Proven long-term thermal performance

NEW

ORDER
ONLINE

26
1506leds_26 26

JUNE 2015

led.graftech.com

LEDsmagazine.com

5/22/15 10:55 AM

q&a | PHILIPS
off that the lights turn red. Thats a use case
that becomes [very important].

LEDs: If we can look forward a year, what is

going to change for you?

LEDs: In terms of controls, where does PoE

fit? And how do you reconcile the many different types of networks that you offer? PoE
may work in new construction, but wireless
is required in many places.

ER: Not much. We have a strategy. Weve

been working on it extremely hard for the
past three years. Our strategy is very clear,
from products to products in systems to services. What is important is [for us to execute] in the segments we have selected
home, retail, office, industry, and public. We
develop for all these customer segments and
applications including PoE, wired, and wireless connectivity.
This is where we are. In 12 months well
be pushing that and implementing it every
day as we speak.

ER: You have the new building and you have

the retrofit building. In the retrofit building, when you take off the ceiling, the lighting is like its a new building. When you only
change the fixtures, its pure retrofit. You
would see that the wired application such
as PoE would probably work for totally new
but also for retrofit when you take off the
ceiling, and you put an entirely new architecture in place.
Nevertheless, we believe that you need to
have different architectures. We believe in
wireless for a given part of the market and
applications, and we believe in wired. We are
not obsessing that it has to be PoE.

1506leds_27 27

LEDs: You mentioned indoor positioning;

where are you in terms of deployment?
ER: Weve been working on that technology for
many years now. We have running pilot sites
in many different places, and many different
application areas. We have museums in the

C-SUITE

Netherlands where you put your smart device

under the light that is near the painting and
you get all of the information about the painting far more than what you can get in audio
guides. Then you can decide what you want to
do. You can spend twenty minutes in front of
the painting or perhaps a half second.
Also, we are developing applications in retail
spaces. We are going to be announcing in the
coming weeks a roll-out in the retail space.
This is a serious big store, a serious trial.
AH: Realize also that when you achieve it
with visible light communications (VLC),
that [the implementation] is in the edge of
the network. Thats what enables personal
control of a fixture using the iPhone.
ER: Right, we use that VLC feature in the
edge. Its not only in retail. At your desk, you
can put your smart device under the light.
It provides full control of the lighting space.
Its also in many other applications that we
are looking at.

5/22/15 10:55 AM

1506leds_28 28

5/22/15 10:55 AM

indoor | FLUORESCENT REPLACEMENTS

Hands-on testing of popular LED

T8 lamps and linear fixtures
reveals promises and pitfalls
tests affordable LED-based fluorescent alternatives, identifying the strong points
in product design, vulnerabilities that may impact reliability, and suitability for applications.
MARGERY CONNER

luorescent lighting is the largest consumer of electricity in the US, making

it an enticing target for LED lighting
manufacturers. However, unlike incandescent bulbs, which were an easy target for
LEDs because of the bulbs excessive use
of power, modern T8 fluorescent lamps are
relatively efficient power users. Still, as a
hands-on evaluation will document, there
are good reasons for commercial and residential users to consider solid-state lighting
(SSL) alternatives to fluorescent products,
and hands-on testing reveals such opportunities along with insight into different LEDbased product designs.
Indeed, there is still a large installed base
of power-wasting T12 lamps and inefficient
T8s both in the US and around the globe. As
of July 14, 2014, fluorescent lamps that cant
meet efficacy levels of 88 lm/W, or 89 lm/W
for lamps with CCT greater than 4500K, are
no longer allowed to be manufactured or
imported into the US. This eliminates all
T12 fluorescent lamps and many T8s.
LED lighting manufacturers, established brands as well as relative newcomers, are jumping in to fill the coming void. I
say coming because as of Spring 2015, you
can still easily find T12s on the shelves of,
for example, Target and Home Depot. Retailers are permitted to sell out their inventory.

Tubes mature, add value

While LED versions of the familiar T8 lamps
have been available for some time now, its
only recently that theyve improved in both

performance and price to

the point that they are credible alternatives to fluorescent lighting. And LEDs can
bring other advantages. LEDbased tubes can deliver better color quality for demanding commercial and retail
settings (Fig. 1). In addition to potential power savings, LED T8 lamps can also
respond to intelligent controllers, for even more energy
savings. This smart lighting
is behind the move to replace
fluorescents with LEDs in the
commercial/industrial space.
In the residential space,
fluorescents are often used
in cold environments, such
as garages, workshops, and
barns, where f luorescents
turn on sluggishly and often
flicker in the cold. LEDs can
turn on instantly, and cold
doesnt affect their performance. In addition, a highCRI, dimmable LED tube lamp
can make a noticeable difference in kitchen, game room,
or bathroom lighting, with
no audible hum or flickering. There are
an impressive number of lamps and lights
available now. What follows are details from
hands-on evaluations of a selection of tubes
and fixtures that are readily available and
look promising.

MARGERY CONNER is the editor of the

Designing with LEDs (designingwithleds.

com) website.
LEDsmagazine.com

1506leds_29 29

Retrofit versus replacement

There are two different approaches for

FIG 1. LED T8 lamps can be installed in

many existing fluorescent fixtures.

migrating existing f luorescent lighting installations to LEDs: replacement
lamps, and retrofit lamps or fixtures. LEDs
Magazine regularly uses the retrofit and
replacement descriptors interchangeable to imply products sold for upgrade of
JUNE 2015

29
5/22/15 10:55 AM

indoor | FLUORESCENT

REPLACEMENTS

fixtures that use legacy fluorescent or incandescent lamps. But here we will make a subtle distinction.
Replacement lamps are just what the
name says they are a direct replacement
for a fluorescent lamp in an existing unmodified fixture: You pull out the old fluorescent
lamp from the fixture, and in goes the LED
lamp. This seems like an ideal solution, but
its drawback is that the lamp must work
with the fixtures existing ballast, incurring
the penalty of the extra ballast. A feature
article from last year contemplated the benefits from such designs (http://bit.ly/1aDB
PRO) while just last issue (April/May) the
magazine ran a feature that defined the
varying approaches to LED tubes (http://
bit.ly/1GKUd8V).
As discussed in the above links, its a significant product-development challenge for
the tube manufacturer to design an LED
lamp driver that has to be able to accept
input from a wide variety of existing fluorescent ballasts from different manufacturers. And fluorescent ballasts generally
have a shorter lifespan than LED lamps
that can compromise the advantages of tube
replacements.
Retrofit T8 lamps require that the fixture
be modified for tube installation. Typically,
the retrofit requires removal of the ballast,
allowing direct wiring between the lamp and
the AC power coming into the fixture. The
obvious disadvantage of the retrofit option
is that it requires the cost, effort, and knowl-

FIG. 2. The spectral power distribution (SPD) of the Hyperikon LED T8 lamp shows

better than fluorescent performance as characterized by a Moreland Lighting

spectrometer.
edge to rewire the fixture. The advantage is
that the retrofitted fixture pays no efficiency
penalty since it only has its own lamp driver.
Other LED linear lighting options are
workshop lights and completely new fixtures
that dont rely on replaceable lamps. The table
summarizes the specifications for the seven
different lights that I evaluated, all 48-in.
alternatives to T8 or T12 fluorescent lighting.

Hyperikon
The Hyperikon lamp is a retrofit-type lamp,
which requires that you have the fluorescent fixture rewired with removal of the
original ballast. The light is direct-wired
into the buildings AC power. Fig. 2 depicts

the spectral power distribution (SPD) as

measured with an MK350 spectrometer
and MoreSpectra software from Moreland
Lighting (morelandlighting.com).
The lamp has a respectable CRI of 82 at
1980 lm and a CCT of 4000K. The lights chief
advantage is its excellent price. At $19 per
lamp, its the lowest-priced LED lamp of the
ones I evaluated.
However, for me its Achilles heel is that
there is a perceptible delay in its turn-on.
This is a deal breaker for me, but for those
who expect to turn the light on and leave
it on in a shop or factory environment, this
might not be so critical. Read more: http://
bit.ly/1AmaklT.

Specifications for lights under evaluation 48-in. alternatives to T8/T12 fluorescents.

Hollywood
Lights

Feit Workshop
Light

Cree LS Series

Type of light

Retrofit

Shop light

Integral lamp fixture

CCT

3700K

4100K

3500K, 4000K,
5000K

CRI

9092

83

92

Philips
InstantFit

Hyperikon

T8 fluorescent

Replacement

Replacement

Retrofit

T8 ballasted fixture

2700K, 4000K

30005000K

4000K

3500K

91 (2700K model)

83

85

78

1900 lm

3700 lm

19W

38W

4000 lm

1700 lm

1500 lm

1980 lm

2470 lm

44W

25W

14.5 W

18W

32W

100 lm/W
0.97

97 lm/W

91 lm/W

68 lm/W

103 lm/W

110 lm/W

77 lm/W

0.98

N/A

N/A

N/A

0.95

N/A

Warranty

3-yr unlimited

5-yr

10-yr limited

5-yr

4-yr

5-yr

N/A

Claimed
lifetime

75,000 hrs

50,000 hrs

50,000 hrs

50.000 hrs

50,000 hrs

45,000 hrs

24,000 hrs

Yes: Triac

No

Yes: 010V

Yes: Ballast
dimming

No

No

N/A

$27

$32

$127

$22

$25

$19

$3

Lumens
Watts
Efficacy
Power factor

Dimmable?
Price

30
1506leds_30 30

JUNE 2015

Cree TW series
T8 LED

LEDsmagazine.com

5/22/15 10:55 AM

Hollywood Lights
The Hollywood Lights (HL) is another retrofit
lamp (Fig. 3). The HLs light numbers are very
good with CRI of around 90 and luminous
flux output of 1900 lm per lamp. Moreover,
lets consider more details of the actual light
characteristics by comparing the SPD of the
HL product relative to a Cree product that we
will discuss a bit later (Fig. 4).
Ive taken advantage of the MoreSpectra
softwares ability to overlay one lights SPD on
another. Look at Fig. 4 for the HL lights and
youll see a red line superimposed. The red
line represents the SPD for the Cree LS series,
which is a new designed-from-the-ground-up
linear LED fixture with excellent CRI.
As you can see from the red line, the
blue spectrum is less strong and peaks at a
shorter wavelength in the case of the Cree
product. We can see that the HL has excellent color quality comparable to the Cree
LS Series but at a fraction of the price.
In addition, the HL has a unique feature
for an LED tube retrofit lamp in that it is
compatible with legacy, triac, phase-controlled dimmer switches. Since I discovered just how expensive it is to add the control equipment for 010V dimming of LED
lights when researching the Cree LS series
dimmability (http://bit.ly/1IszbLI), I have a
newfound respect for the simplicity of dimming with triacs. I used to think triacs were
electrically noisy and a crude way to dim a
light, but I now understand
the advantage of not having to string a separate
line for dimming control
information.
Now lets take a look at
whats inside the HLs
some of which is evident in
Fig. 3. These LEDs are not
the usual discrete LEDs
mounted on a single long,
thin printed-circuit board
(PCB). Instead, the HLs
internal LEDs come six
to a module, where each

module is a combination leadframe and

heat sink. Hollywood Lights has applied for
a patent on this, and calls it chip-on-leadframe/heat sink (CoLH). The advantage of
this approach is that the LEDs are in much
closer contact with the heat sink, allowing them to dissipate more heat and yield
greater efficacy (lumens per watt, lm/W).
In addition, modules make for a more reliable packaging design, since there are fewer
discrete LED components to be assembled,
and each additional component in a design
generally increases the potential for failure.
Modularization of the LEDs also makes for
easy, automated assembly as well as repairability and even upgrading of the lamps,
something thats to be applauded in our
throw-away culture. The combination of
excellent dimming, high CRI, and reasonable price makes the Hollywood Lights an
excellent choice for replacing your T8 fluorescents. Of the LED T8 lamps Ive tested
so far, its my favorite. Read more: http://bit.
ly/1DFbdGq.

UP-SHINE LIGHTING

Philips InstantFit
Next up, the Philips Lighting InstantFit
T8 (http://bit.ly/1biTRbw) was introduced
last year and is one of two replacement
lamps that I examined. According to Todd
Manegold, director of LED lamps marketing
at Philips, 80% of existing fluorescent ballasts are electronic instant-start ballasts,

FIG. 3. The Hollywood

Lights T8s rely on LEDs
packaged on a thermally
enhanced module for
reliability and high
efficacy.
LEDsmagazine.com

1506leds_31 31

JUNE 2015

31
5/22/15 10:55 AM

indoor | FLUORESCENT

REPLACEMENTS

over 10% are rapid start, and less than 5%

are dimming ballasts. Philips went for compatibility with the large installed base of
non-dimming instant-start ballasts in the
InstantFit development.
The InstantFit also targets fluorescent
lights that must work in cold temperatures,
as low as -22F (-30C). The light has a rated
average life of 50,000 hours, which no fluorescent lamp can even approach at cold
temperatures. My SPD test revealed that
the InstantFit products deliver quality light
with a CRI of 83.
The Philips lamps have relatively high
efficacy, but the total f lux produced is
still only 1600 lm the lowest of any of
the lights I checked out. Well cover dif-

ferences we can expect to see in LED tube

lamp lumens compared to fluorescent tube
lumens later in the article because the flux
figure isnt necessarily bad news. Read more:
http://bit.ly/1FAESqa.

Cree LED TW series T8 LED

Like the Philips InstantFit, the Cree LED
TW Series T8 (http://bit.ly/1IsDBlU) is a
replacement lamp that works with existing
fluorescent fixtures that have their ballast
still intact. This is a new lamp, not to be
confused with Crees original T8 replacement lamp that the company introduced a
year ago, which will no longer be sold.
The new product is a round tube, unlike
its predecessors elliptical tube, which also

FIG. 4. A comparison of SPDs between the Hollywood Lights T8 and the Cree LS

Series product reveals the former to be an excellent product for the price.

FIG. 5. The new Cree TW T8 delivers excellent spectral power distribution and light

quality in either 2700K or 4000K CCTs.

32
1506leds_32 32

JUNE 2015

had a solid aluminum heat sink along the

back. The new version is all plastic and is
opaque on the side thats along the fixture.
I tested 2700K- and 4000K-CCT versions
of the product and each delivers excellent
light quality. As you can tell from the two
SPD graphs, the light quality is excellent for
both color temperatures. Fig. 5 depicts the
SPD of the 2700K version.
Ive again used the overlay capability with
the MoreSpectra software to highlight the
differences in the SPDs of the two Cree products the green line in Fig. 5 is the outline
of the 4000K light. As you can see, the blue
is much less pronounced in the 2700K light,
yet the R12 (blue) number is actually higher
than the 4000K version, and the 2700K light
has a slightly higher CRI of 91 which I
wouldnt have expected if looking only at the
SPD, and which points out the value of being
able to see the individual R values to understand all of the lights spectrum.
The Cree lamps luminous flux is specified as 1700 lm. Now is a good time to look
at the difference in lumen output quoted
for fluorescent lamps versus LED T8 lamps.
Lumens characterize all light output by a
lamp in a complete spherical pattern. Since
fluorescent lamps radiate in a 360 field, you
end up with high number of lumens, even
though for most fixtures the light emitted
from the top (fixture-side) of the lamp must
first bounce off of the fixture before it makes
its way down to the surface we actually want
illuminated, with optical losses inherent in
the design.
LED lamps, being made up of directional LED components, dont waste light
by bouncing it up toward the ceiling but
direct almost all of it downward. This is
why, even though fluorescents tube lights
quote a higher number of lumens, LED tube
lights can deliver more usable light to the
work surface.
So whats inside the new Cree lamp (Fig.
6)? The most obvious external change is
that the new lamp doesnt have the aluminum heat sink backbone from the prior
Cree design clearly a significant cost savings. The new lamps external package is
an all-encompassing plastic tube. The electronic components are all discrete components with no power management IC.
And the number of LEDs themselves has
dropped from 120 in the old version down
LEDsmagazine.com

5/22/15 10:55 AM

9th Replacement

3rd Replacement
5th Replacement

12th Replacement

Its Lights Out Again.

Do You Really Want To

Take Your Brand Integrity
Down This Road?
Bergquist Thermal Clad keeps your LEDs intense, bright and reliable wherever they go.
Built for long-term reliability.
Choosing the right IMS (insulated metal
substrate) can make the difference of a
successful product or not. Knowing the long
term performance and reliability of the materials in your design, will give your customers
a quality product and protect your reputation. This includes:
Thermal impedance, not just thermal conductivity
Long-term dielectric strength, not just breakdown strength
U.L. Listed
Long-term temperature testing

A balance of innovative thinking and expertise.

Not all substrate materials have the Bergquist companys 25+ years
of testing and proven field performance. Our testing is geared to the

application, not just numbers, which give a true performance picture

you can count on in your design.

Bergquist delivers cooler performance for Power LEDs.

Dielectrics: Bergquist offers a wide selection of dielectric and thickness
choices to meet the demanding specs of high performance applications
(Bergquist HPL and HT versions), as well as, lower performance
requirements (Bergquist MP, HR T30.20 versions).
Base Plates: Bergquist offers a wide range of thicknesses,
aluminum for packaged components and copper base
for high power density and COB applications.
Circuit Copper: From 35m to350m (1/2oz. to10 oz.)
Call or visit us to qualify for a FREE T-Clad Samples Kit:

www.bergquistcompany.com/coolkit

www.bergquistcompany.com 1.800.347.4572
9 5 2 . 8 3 5 . 2 3 2 2

f a x

9 5 2 . 8 3 5 . 0 4 3 0

1 8 9 3 0 We s t 7 8 t h S t r e e t C h a n h a s s e n , M i n n e s o t a 5 5 3 1 7

1506leds_33 33

Thermal Materials Thermal Substrates Fans and Blowers

5/22/15 10:55 AM

indoor | FLUORESCENT

REPLACEMENTS

to 80 in this newer model.

Its also noteworthy to discuss
the LEDs used in the new Cree
tube. The earlier product used
the companys high-power XLamp
XH-B LEDs. And Cree has been a
staunch proponent of high-power
packaged LEDs over mid-power
LEDs for general lighting applications. But the LEDs in Fig. 6 are
not representative of any lighting-class LEDs in the Cree portfolio. Perhaps the mid-power LEDs
came courtesy of the Cree partnership with Lextar announced
in August 2014 (http://bit.ly/1FAFonY). Moreover, the mid-power
packaged LEDs may enable a lower-cost product.
The original Cree T8 had a
light output of 2100 lm, and with
120 LEDs the math works out to
17.5 lm/LED, while the new lamps
1700 lm and 80 LEDs works out to
21 lm/LED. The new product has a drop in
total lumen output but a 21% increase in lm/
LED over the original version. Cree apparently believes the market will accept a lower-rated lumen output for the lamps, and,
combining it with the increased output per
LED, its able to drop the number of LEDs
per lamp.
While Cree specifies the new lamp to have
a system power draw of as little as 18.5W,

34
1506leds_34 34

JUNE 2015

the ballast I used, a very common Philips

Advance, showed a total fixture power
draw of almost 49W, or 25 W/lamp. This relatively high power consumption is because
of the legacy ballast in the fluorescent fixture. I asked Cree what ballast they used
in their test to get the 18.5W number. The
company had not responded to me by press
time. Since LEDs are associated in most consumers minds with power efficiency, it may

FIG. 6. Both of the Cree TW Series lamps

deliver excellent spectral power spread

and a high CRI.
come as a surprise that at least in the fixture/ballast combination I used the Cree
is less power efficient than a high-efficiency
fluorescent light.
Why would anyone want to replace
their efficient fluorescent lamps with less-

LEDsmagazine.com

5/22/15 10:55 AM

indoor | FLUORESCENT

REPLACEMENTS

FIG. 7. The Feit shop light looks like a fluorescent tube-based fixture for customer

familiarity, but the fixtures does not incorporate user-replaceable lamps.

efficient LED lamps? If youre a homeowner
with fluorescent lights in a kitchen or bathroom, the excellent light quality of these
lamps makes them a strong contender with
a high-CRI, wide color spectrum that cant
be approached by fluorescent competitors.
And if you are looking at these for a retail
establishment, where your customers will
be much happier when they dont look like
the Crypt-Keeper in shades of cool blue and
green, these will be a hit, as well as saving
you time and money in tube replacement
costs. Read more: http://bit.ly/1JVaxBv.

Feit shop light

The 48-in. Feit shop light (Fig. 7), is, as far
as I know, sold only by Costco. A shop light
is different from a typical fluorescent fixture in that, rather than being hardwired
into the building power, it has its own power
cord that plugs into a wall outlet. Shop
lights are a good candidate for LED lighting: You get away from the need to mess
with the building wiring as you do in in a
retrofit light, but you arent stuck with legacy fluorescent ballasts the way you are
with replacement LED T8 tube lights. The
Feit doesnt have to support a seemingly

FIG. 8. The SPD graph shows the Feit product to be a capable performer in

applications such as garages or shops.

LEDsmagazine.com

1506leds_35 35

JUNE 2015

35
5/22/15 10:55 AM

indoor | FLUORESCENT

REPLACEMENTS

endless array of ballasts the way the Philips

InstantFit or Cree TW T8 do.
The Feit shop light sells for a very reasonable $38 and produces 3700 lm of 83-CRI
light while consuming 38W. This compares
favorably to the equivalent of two T8 fluorescent lamps. While at first glance it looks like
the light has two replaceable tube lamps,
they are actually integral to the fixture and
cant be replaced. Some consumers seem
confused by the lack of replaceable lamps
based on comments on the Costco website.
But Feit presumably maintained the lamplike look for consumer familiarity.
When I turned the Feit light on, there
was a faint hum when I put my ear right up
next to the light, but it quickly fades and
becomes inaudible when the light is suspended from the ceiling. The light itself is
more than acceptable for garage and workshop lighting, as you can see in the SPD
graph (Fig. 8).
The R9 (red) CRI of 12 may not seem very
high until you consider that fluorescent shop
lights often have a negative R9 value. At the
other end of the spectrum, the R12 (blue) is
a respectable 67. The overall CRI of 83 is a
heck of a lot better than what you may currently be getting from your fluorescent shop
lights. So in terms of light quality, the Feit
shop light performs well.
Lets see whats inside: As I mentioned
before, the Feit doesnt have replaceable
tube lamps. This is actually a good design
decision. By making the tubes integral to

FIG. 10. The SPD of the Cree LS Series shows the significant advantage that LEDs can
offer over fluorescent sources.

the fixture, Feit can take advantage of the

long life of LEDs. Theres no need to make
a part replaceable when its no longer the
weakest link. Each tube contains a long,
skinny metal-core PCB with 60 mid-power
packaged LEDs.
The Feit fixture makes use of connectors,
rather than hand-soldering, to attach the
driver electronics to the LED PCB, which is
generally a more reliable approach.
The LEDs are conventionally mounted
on the PCB in contrast to the LED module
approach used in the Hollywood Lights T8
LED retrofit lights shown previously. The
Hollywood Lights approach is a more reliable, manufacturing-friendly one, while
the Feit design is generally a lower-cost
approach. But the Feit is, after all, an inexpensive shop light, while the HL light is
a high-CRI dimmable indoor light. Both
approaches are appropriate for their application. Read more: http://bit.ly/1GJEggt.

Cree LS Series Surface Ambient

FIG. 9. The Cree LS Series linear LED

fixture is an integral design intended

for upscale residential or commercial
lighting applications.

36
1506leds_36 36

JUNE 2015

The last fixture we cover in this article,

while a linear LED light, is not a replacement
or retrofit for an existing fluorescent fixture
but an entirely new linear light the Cree
LS Series (Fig. 9) Surface Ambient (http://
bit.ly/1dxVWCb). The light produces 4000
lm with a CRI of 92 and is dimmable with
010V dimming.
As you can see in the photo, the light fixture itself is quite narrow, but it still produces an equivalent amount of light to a
much wider two-lamp fluorescent fixture.

The light source and fixture are integral

with no lamp to replace and collect dust,
and no separate light diffuser, making this a
no-maintenance light. In addition, it comes
with a 10-year warranty, a big plus for any
new lighting product.
I wont be showing an under-the-hood
photo of the LED source as Id have to break
open the module, and Cree is very clear that
this will void the warranty. I paid $127 for
this light which is too much to trash!
My subjective view of the light quality of
the 3500K version was that it looked great,
especially good for skin tones; as this light
replaced an obsolete T12 fixture in a bathroom, excellent light quality was important.
But the real proof is the spectrometer reading shown in Fig. 10.
It verified Crees claimed high CRI at 91.
But a more in-depth understanding of the
light is gained from the R values. The R9
(red) is a healthy 53 and the R12 (blue) is a
79 much better than the fluorescents, and
telling the whole story better than the CRI
alone. In addition, Ive overlaid an SPD of a
fluorescent lamp in green to drive home the
dramatic improvement in light we see with
a high-end LED light. Read more: http://bit.
ly/1IszbLI.
Its clear at this point in the LED technology evolution that SSL products can effectively replace fluorescent technology. In
some cases, the SSL alternative can offer
additional energy savings and, in most
cases, improved light quality when consumers choose products carefully.
LEDsmagazine.com

5/22/15 10:55 AM

Leading the LED Revolution

INNOVATIVE AC DIRECT
COB MODULE FOR DOWNLIGHT

EggDrop

TM

10W / 15W / 20W / 30W / 40W

Worlds First Patented Silver-Free Flip-chip COB Technology
W
Compatible with most Triac dimmers on the market
Enhanced Uniform Dimming Control Technology
Provides Lamp Holder for Second Optics
Zhaga Standard Mounting Holes

SERIES
guangzhou
international
lighting exhibition

EggDrop

TM

Downlight COB Series

TileBlock

High Power for Outdoor Lighting

www.lumensleds.com
1506leds_37 37

Flush Mount

Linearon

Series for Flush Mount

Linear Module Series

TM

Hall 10.2 / C46

T +82-31-8033-2379 / E-mail sales01@lumens.co.kr

5/22/15 10:55 AM

1506leds_38 38

5/22/15 10:55 AM

standards | HORTICULTURAL LIGHTING

Stakeholders make progress on

LED lighting horticulture standards
Human-oriented lighting metrics dont necessarily apply to how plants use light, explains
JIANZHONG JIAO, and the horticultural industry needs metrics for SSL performance and efficiency
relative to the application.

Lighting and plant research

Research into lighting and horticulture is not
a new endeavor, although LEDs are changing
the needs of the application community. For
over fifty years in the field of photobiology,
plant-growth experts and practitioners have
studied and recognized the radiation, or light,
effects for plant ecophysiology.
Plant reactions to light in relationship to
the wavelength may be categorized within a

Low-profile crops
can be cultivated in
multiple tiers with
LED horticultural
lighting enabling
maximum production in
commercial facilities.

Courtesy of Urban Harvest; urbanharvest.com

n recent years, LED lighting for horticulture

applications, in particular plant-growth
research and production in the controlled
environment, has dramatically increased.
The benefits of using LEDs for energy savings and performance improvement have
been quickly recognized by researchers, plant
growers, and greenhouse or controlled-environmental-chamber manufacturers, as well
as government and energy savings experts.
LED horticultural lighting is a fast-growing
market, yet there are uncertainties as to how
LED lighting products should be measured,
compared, and qualified in regard to energy
savings, performance, and safety.
Both energy efficiency and improved plant
production are behind the uptake in solid-state lighting (SSL) usage in horticultural
applications. A recent LEDs Magazine feature
article covered some of the latest developments in applications and horticulture-centric products (http://bit.ly/1QBC00z).

range as the photosynthetically active radiation region, often abbreviated as PAR. PAR
is defined as the radiation wavelength range
from 400 to 700 nm but does not distinguish

DR. JIANZHONG JIAO, director of regulations and emerging technologies at OSRAM Opto Semiconductors,

Inc., is an internationally recognized lighting expert. He has been actively involved in LED and SSL standard
development activities. He serves as the past chairman of the SAE Lighting Committee, past chairman of
NGLIA, past chairman of the NEMA SSL Technical Committee, active member of IESNA Testing Procedure
Committee, Roadway Lighting Committee, and Computer Committee, ANSI SSL Working Groups,
Standard Technical Panel of UL8750, standard committees in IEEE, CIE USA, SEMI, JEDEC and other
organizations. He can be reached at jianzhong.jiao@osram-os.com.
LEDsmagazine.com

1506leds_39 39

between different wavelengths within 400 and

700 nm. PAR assumes that
wavelengths outside this
range have no photosynthetic reaction.
Studies show that photons around 660 nm
(orange-red) have the
highest amount of photosy nthesis per photon. However, because
short-wavelength photons
carry more energy per photon, the weighting factor
for photosynthesis may be
used either with the photon-weighted curve or with
the energy-weighted curve.
Beyond the PAR region,
experts also believe plants
have other reactions to light as well as photosynthetic reactions. For longer than 700-nm
wavelength, photomorphogenesis takes place
as the light dependent change in morphology,
which can include biochemistry. Plants may
also be affected by radiation with shorter
than 400-nm wavelengths. In all cases, the
plant-growth community recognizes the
differences between how human eyes see the
light, or photometric effect. This community also observes how the plants react to the
radiations but has not yet established agreedJUNE 2015

39
5/22/15 10:55 AM

standards | HORTICULTURAL

LIGHTING

upon standards, in particular the metrics for

measurements.

Standards discussion
During the 2014 American Society of
Horticultural Science (ASHS) annual conference, in conjunction with the Symposium of
LED Lighting for Horticultural Applications,
an LEDs horticultural-lighting standardization roundtable discussion was conducted.
Participation was strong with over 70 participants from university professors and researchers, many of them well-known plant growers,
to LED and lighting manufacturers, test labs
representatives, as well as lighting experts.
The goal was to get a consensus from the
plant-growth community regarding the need
to standardize LED horticultural lighting.
The roundtable participants discussed
three key topics. First, they addressed how
to establish universal metrics for plant
responses for radiations. Since such metrics dont exist, in many cases LED lighting fixtures used for horticulture applications are qualified for energy savings per
human eye response, or luminous efficacy.
However, in reality, luminous effective illumination for general lighting doesnt have
much to do with how light effectively or efficiently affects plants. Therefore, correct and
acceptable metrics must be established. Second, they discussed establishing standard
methods for measuring and testing LEDs and
LED light fixtures used for plant growth. The

40
1506leds_40 40

JUNE 2015

third topic was how

to establish proper
energy saving and performance measures for
LED lighting in horticulture applications
so that more correct
specifications can be
developed.
T he rou ndt able
ended with the organizers proposing a
scope of work, evaluated by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological
Engineers. ASABE is
an ANSI (American
National Standards
Institute)-accredited
standardization body
Lettuce and bok choy thrive after
and its Agricultural
two weeks of growth.
Lig hting Committee published a stan- Courtesy of Urban Harvest; urbanharvest.com
dard titled Lighting
systems for agricultural, where the section Committee formation and plan
Greenhouse lighting system design pro- ASABE recognized the plant growth commuvides recommendations on three main design nitys need for a standardization committee
objectives for greenhouse lighting systems:
for developing LED horticultural lighting
1) Instantaneous light level (sometimes standard documents and formed the new
converted to the daily light integral)
Plant Growth LED Lighting Committee in
2) Photoperiod
early 2015. According to ANSI accreditation
3) Uniformity (important for both instan- guidelines, this new committee consists of
taneous and photoperiod lighting)
experts representing producers including

LEDsmagazine.com

5/22/15 10:55 AM

standards | HORTICULTURAL
LED and lighting fixture manufacturers as
well as greenhouse or controlled-environment-chamber manufacturers; users such
as plant growers, researchers from universities and other research institutions; and
general interest parties including independent test libraries, government agencies,
and specifiers.
The ASABE Plant Growth LED Lighting
Committee established the overall work
plan for developing new standard documents that meet the needs of the plantgrowth community. Its overall objective
is to reach consensus on identifying the
proper metrics or measurables. The committee consists of three working groups to
conduct the work in parallel.
The first working group is tasked with
defining the metrics of radiation for plantgrowth applications in the controlled environment. Currently, the metrics can be
divided into two regions within PAR and
beyond PAR. The focus is to determine if a
weighting factor is needed for plant responses
when measuring the radiant flux or photon
flux and, if so, what should the weighting
factor be. The group will also explore if and
how the photon-weighted curve or the energy-weighted curve should be used when representing the measured flux.
The second working group is tasked with
establishing the methods of measurement.
Many measurement and testing standard
documents have been published by IESNA
(Illuminating Engineering Society North
America), or other standardization bodies,
but the uniqueness of plant growth applications must be integrated. For instance, when
measuring LEDs per IES LM-85 (http://bit.
ly/1Efdj3p) or measuring LED fixtures per
IES LM-79, what parameters should be measured and reported? The working group also
needs to provide guidelines for how to test
longevity of LED products.

(http://bit.ly/1DDSD2B) or for light fixtures per IES LM-84 may need to be revised
by adding the horticulture-application-related environmental conditions. This working group is also considering the suggestion
from the plant-growth community that
irradiance, or radiant flux density, on plant
surfaces may be a performance measure.
Such measurement should be well defined
in terms of procedures, testing conditions,
and recommended equipment.
The third working group will help link
the societys standards and the specifications needed by government agencies, consortiums, and other program experts. With
metrics defined by the first working group
and methods of measurements defined by
the second working group, this third working group will provide the recommended
energy-saving measures. Instead of luminous efficacy used for general illumination,
a new measure or definition of efficacy will
be developed.
In addition to the energy-saving mea-

LIGHTING

sures, the LED fixture is also subjected to

performance requirements depending on
applications. These performance requirements are a reflection of the needs from different plant-growth applications. In horticulture applications, plant species react
differently to radiation. An energy-saving
product used for growing one plant may not
be applicable for growing another plant. Or,
if an energy-saving fixture is used improperly, the plants may not get the necessary
benefits, such as radiant flux density or
irradiance. This working group will propose how energy-saving and performance
measures can be integrated into a standardized practice.
The plant-growth community and the
experts engaged in the ASABE Plant Growth
LED Lighting Committee face many challenges. Not only do experts from each side
have strong beliefs on what is the correct
way to do things, they also face a rapidly
growing industry that needs universal standards in a timely fashion.

Application environment
Unlike many general lighting applications,
plant growth products are often operating continuously and the operational environment can have very high humidity and
may be subject to chemical, biological, or
other types of corrosions. If an LED lighting
product is claimed to have a long-life and
stable radiation output, the radiant flux
maintenance test for LEDs per IES LM-80
LEDsmagazine.com

1506leds_41 41

JUNE 2015

41
5/22/15 10:55 AM

BECAUSE
QUALITY MATTERS
Rely on UL, one of the worlds leading independent product
testing organizations, when you want to ensure the products
you design, manufacture, specify, and sell are high performing,
reliable and safe. Because quality matters, think UL.

Learn more at ul.com/lighting.

UL and the UL logo are trademarks of UL LLC 2015

1506leds_42 42

5/22/15 10:55 AM

focus on

Sapphire Awards
LED and SSL technologies make
strong showing with Sapphire scores
As the culmination of the inaugural LEDs Magazine Sapphire Awards, MAURY WRIGHT
& CARRIE MEADOWS bring to light the entries that scored 3.5 Sapphires or more.
The first-ever LEDs Magazine Sapphire
Awards Gala, held during the Strategies
in Light and The LED Show co-located
event in Las Vegas (Feb. 2426, 2015),
celebrated the LED-centric products and technologies that took home
well-deserved trophies in 13 categories, as
well as the team of innovators who received the
Illumineer of the Year award. Here we provide
the details on the LED and solid-state lighting
(SSL) products that scored
3.5 Sapphires or higher.
Entries were judged on a
scale from 15 Sapphires
by our panel of industry
experts (see below).
To help our readers
understand and compare
the scoring, our judges

determined that a product had to be

commercial-grade or worthy of being
deployed in a commercial application in order to achieve a
score of 3 Sapphires. For
scores higher than 3
Sapphires, the judges
explored to what extent
the entry could deliver
outstanding performance. For scores in
excess of 4 Sapphires,
products were required to
provide new capabilities that
cannot be found in legacy lighting products. The scoring that follows lists the Sapphire Award category with each entry. For more
details about the winning submissions, see our
feature article at http://bit.ly/1Dn7EcD.

JUDGES PANEL
MAURY WRIGHT,

STEVE PAOLINI,

Committee Chair/LEDs
Magazine

Next Lighting & Telelumen

RAY CHOCK,

Strategies Unlimited

Lumileds
TERRY CLARK,

Finelite
DAVID COX,

Cree
DUNCAN JACKSON,

Billings Jackson Design

BRAD KOERNER,

Philips Lighting
DAVE NEAL,

STEPHANIE PRUITT,
PHILIP SMALLWOOD,

Strategies Unlimited
CHAD STALKER,

Acuity Brands
ROBERT STEELE,

Strategies Unlimited
SHONIKA VIJAY,

Strategies Unlimited
STAN WALERCZYK,

Lighting Wizards

Seoul Semiconductor

LEDsmagazine.com

1506leds_43 43

JUNE 2015

43
5/22/15 10:59 AM

focus on | SAPPHIRE

AWARDS

MarulaLED
CoolTube thermal management technology
SSL enabling technologies
Multek Flexible Circuits
Q-Prime heat dissipation circuit SSL enabling
technologies
Osram
PrevaLED Flat AC, PrevaLED Core Z3 family, and
PrevaLED Flex linear Modular SSL light engines

Acolyte Industries
Glass Touch wall controller Smart lighting technology

Philips Lighting
Antumbra Touch control Smart lighting technology

ALLED Lighting Systems

RAYdiant SL5 Street and Roadway light Outdoor SSL
luminaire design

Philips Lumileds
Luxeon MZ Packaged LEDs and OLED panels

Architectural Area Lighting/Hubbell Lighting

KicK outdoor area luminaire Outdoor SSL luminaire design

Prescolite/Hubbell Lighting
MegaLum cylinder indoor 250W MH replacement
Specialty SSL design

Axis Lighting
Slim Surroundlite LED pendant Indoor SSL luminaire
design
Big Ass Light
Big Ass high-bay luminaire Industrial SSL luminaire design
Black Tank
Black Tank heat sink SSL enabling technologies

Prudential Lighting
Stream recessed linear LED luminaire Indoor SSL
luminaire design
Unilux
LED2000 Series stroboscopic inspection lights
Specialty SSL design

Chroma Systems Solutions

Chroma 5102 LED lamp test system SSL tools and test
Dual-Lite/Hubbell Lighting
EVHC high-lumen LED emergency light Specialty SSL
design
Eatons Cooper Lighting
Metalux SkyRidge Indoor SSL luminaire design
Finelite
E1-Indirect LED luminaire, Series 11 LED Micro Flex cove, and
Series 16 LED 3E rectilinear Indoor SSL luminaire design
Fusion Optix
eLED technology SSL enabling technologies
HiLumz USA
HiLumz Diamonz LED retroft module Modular SSL light
engines
Hubbell Industrial Lighting
Lunabay high-output LED high bay Industrial SSL luminaire
design
LEDLinX
LEDLinX LED light engine Modular SSL light engines

ALLED Lighting Systems RAYdiant high-bay luminaire

Cambridge Nanotherm
Nanotherm LC LED substrate SSL enabling technologies
Daintree Networks ControlScope Smart SSL technology
Digital Lumens Digital Lumens Intelligent Lighting System
Smart SSL technology
Eatons Cooper Lighting
Halo SLD Surface LED downlights Indoor SSL luminaire design
Eatons Cooper Lighting
LumaWatt outdoor wireless control system Smart SSL
technology

Luminus Devices
Luminus XNOVA Cube LED Packaged LEDs and
OLED panels
Luxul Technology
D-Lux T8 SSL lamp design

44
1506leds_44 44

JUNE 2015

5/22/15 10:59 AM

Stack Lighting
Alba BR-30 adaptive LED lamp Smart SSL technology
United Power Research Technology
UPRtek Advanced MK350S meter SSL tools and test

Eatons Cooper Lighting

McGraw-Edison TopTier LED parking garage luminaire
Outdoor SSL luminaire design
Finelite Series 11 LED Micro Profle cove Indoor SSL
luminaire design

Cree SmartCast technology Smart SSL technology

Green Creative BR30 Cloud LED lamp SSL lamp design

Horner Lighting Group
2-Tube Remote Phosphor LED linear Industrial SSL
luminaire design
LeddarTech
Leddar M16 sensing module ICs and electronic
components
LumaStream Trinity 12 DMX LED driver LED drivers
MKS Advanced LED
Hospitality Series tunable LED downlight Indoor SSL
luminaire design
Philips Lumileds
Luxeon COB with CrispWhite Packaged LEDs and
OLED panels
PhotonStar LED Group
Halcyon LED smart lighting system Smart SSL
technology
Osram
PrevaLED Cube AC LED module Modular SSL light engines
Osram Sylvania
Optotronic programmable drivers LED drivers
Rubicon Technology
Large-diameter patterned sapphire substrates
SSL enabling technologies

DimOnOff
Litenode wireless control system Smart SSL
technology
Eatons Cooper Lighting
Metalux SkyBar high-bay luminaire Industrial SSL
luminaire design
Eatons Cooper Lighting
Neo-Ray Index pendant luminaire Indoor SSL
luminaire design
eldoLED/Acuity Brands
SOLOdrive 360 drivers LED drivers
Infneon Technologies
ILD6150 driver IC ICs and electronic components
Kim Lighting/Hubbell Lighting
Lightvault 8 Bluetooth in-grade luminaire Outdoor
SSL luminaire design
Maxim Integrated Circuits
MAX16840 LED driver IC with MOSFET ICs and electronic
components
Mentor Graphics
T3Ster, TeraLED, and FloEFD simulation tools
SSL tools and test

Seoul Semiconductor
Acrich 2 Modular SSL light engines

Once Innovations
AgriShift JLL Specialty SSL luminaire design

Shat-R-Shield
LED Vapor Tight LED luminaire Specialty SSL
luminaire design

Philips Color Kinetics

SkyRibbon IntelliHue Linear Direct Powercore Smart
SSL technology

Soraa
AR111 LED lamp with SNAP SSL lamp design

Philips Lighting Lumiblade Brite FL300 OLED panel

Packaged LEDs and OLED panels

Sportsliter Solutions/Hubbell Lighting

ArenaLED luminaire Outdoor SSL luminaire design

Soraa PAR30 LED lamp SSL lamp design

JUNE 2015

1506leds_45 45

45
5/22/15 10:59 AM

focus on | SAPPHIRE

AWARDS

Arborlight
LightWell 16 SSL daylight emulator Smart SSL daylight
emulator
Cree
Xlamp High-Density LEDs Packaged LEDs and OLED panels
Khatod Optoelectronic
SIO3 silicone lens for COB LEDs SSL enabling technologies
LED Engin
LuxiTune Generation 3.0 dimmable light engine
Modular SSL light engines

Tempo Industries
Tempo T-Bar House Lighting system Specialty SSL
luminaire design
Texas Instruments
AC-LED Floating Switch Architecture/TPS92411
ICs and electronic components

Bookmark the LEDs Magazine Sapphire

Awards website to stay updated on the
program and the Call for Entries coming
up for 2016 at http://bit.ly/1I1VyqI.

Litecontrol/Hubbell Lighting
Liteweave linear indirect/direct Indoor SSL
luminaire design

46
1506leds_46 46

JUNE 2015

LEDsmagazine.com

5/22/15 10:59 AM

1506leds_47 47

5/22/15 10:59 AM

1506leds_48 48

5/22/15 10:59 AM

outdoor | MUNICIPAL LIGHTING

Transport for London revamps the

bright lights of the UK capital
Aiming to save energy and lighting costs on the main streets of the UKs capital, Transport for
London (TfL) is in the throes of an ambitious project to upgrade more than 56,000 lights and to
install a central management system for the roadways lighting network, reports CAROLINE HAYES.

he UK-based Transport for London

(TfL) governmental body is in the
midst of a major, municipal, outdoor solid-state lighting (SSL) project
focused on the streets of the UK capital city.
The TfL Streetlighting Energy Efficiency
Programme is an 11 million ($16.4 million)
project overseen by TfL the body responsible for the transport system and services
across greater London.
The scope of the project includes an
upgrade of the lighting on Londons main
roads. For TfL this entails coordinating work
across 14,800 km (over 9,000 miles) of roads,
controlled by 34 highway authorities, multiple
London boroughs, and five contractors used
for installation and engineering works.

Scope
Since February 2014, the program has seen
some street lights replaced with LEDs (Fig.
1), along with integration of a CMS (central
management system) and lighting network,
and repositioning of some street light posts.
Roads in different areas, with varying traffic flows and urban environments, mean
that the lighting design varies. For example, particularly wide streets require a consistent light output.
Replacing 250W high-pressure sodium
(HPS often referred to as SON in the UK)
lights with 150W SSL fixtures has halved
energy consumption when you consider the
HPS ballast. Moreover, Dave Johnson, highways manager for TfL, said the ability to profile lighting for example, with the ability
to dim lighting results in having the right
lights at the right time and in the right place.
CAROLINE HAYES is a contributing editor with

LEDs Magazine.
LEDsmagazine.com

1506leds_49 49

FIG. 1. Londons A406, North Circular Road, is illuminated with P850 luminaires from

CU Phosco.
The complex pattern of Londons roads
politically and geographically means
coordinating four contracting teams (Ringway Jacobs, in Northeast London; Conway/
AECOM in Northwest London; CVU [Colas,
Volker Highways, URS] in central London;
and EM Highways in South London).
The focus for the replacement lighting is
150W and above luminaires, said Johnson.
There are also 400W luminaires on some of
Londons roads, and these, explained Johnson, are not viable to be replaced with LEDs
yet. Instead, TfL is moving the lamp-post
columns for these lights closer together and
using smaller, lower-power LEDs in a catenary lighting structure, where a wire is suspended between two posts, with a lighting
unit supported by the wiring.

All of the replacement and any of the

major works, such as post moving, had to
be carried out with minimal disruption;
so, for example, carriageways are closed at
night when traffic is lighter. The work was
also coordinated to fit in with other projects, such as weed clearing, road markings, or gulley emptying, explains Johnson. Although this minimized disruption,
it means that the work was carried out in
patches of areas across the city, as and when
other work in progress allowed.

LED replacements
To date, around 24,000 high-power LED
street lamps have been installed, mostly on
major roadways, with an estimated energy
savings worth 1.8 million ($2.68 million) per
JUNE 2015

49
5/22/15 10:59 AM

outdoor

| MUNICIPAL LIGHTING

annum. Minor roads will be upgraded in the

next phase of the program, but at the moment
the focus on the capitals major roads is realizing huge savings, said Johnson.
The Climate Change Act 2008 sets targets
for the reduction of greenhouse gas emission
in stages for the first half of this century. The
initial target is to reduce emissions by 34%
by 2020 and then by 80% by 2050. This street
lighting program will reduce energy consumption by more than 40% by next year,
said TfL, cutting CO2 emissions by 9,700
tons per year.
These levels of emission reductions are
achieved by replacing 250W HPS units with
LEDs of around 150W, although lumen output is dependent on the design, pointed out
Johnson. We replaced [a lamp] producing about 25,000 lm, with [one] producing
about 17,000 lm, he said, and are getting
good results.
In selecting the products, Johnsons criteria were a luminous intensity of class G4
or better, with correlated color temperature (CCT) of 4000K or what he calls natural white. G4 is a classification defined
in the European EN 13201-2 standard that
defines intensity at viewing angles and
that is meant to ensure acceptable disability glare. Luminaire selection also had to
meet a set of criteria, including a generic
Elexon (a utility regulatory body) Charge
Code for energy savings.

What was initially intended to be a CMS

to switch on and off light fixtures that were
based on legacy sources evolved into an LED
and CMS project, as LED quality improved
and prices fell, making LED street lighting
viable. The result is roadway lighting that
can be dimmed via the CMS, to meet traffic
flow volumes, and to take into account the
characteristics of a road junction, e.g., residential or industrial surroundings.
A traffic control center monitors the traffic rates and adjusts lighting in the event
of an incident, such as a traffic accident,
to provide the light and color rendition

FIG. 2. The P850, 31.7-klumen maximum-output

luminaire from CU Phosco Lighting, has been used

to replace lighting on major dual-carriageway roads.

FIG. 3. The AriaLED (right), shown

alongside OrangeTeks earlier

TerraLED lantern, has been used in
the TfL Streetlighting Energy Efficiency
Programme, replacing luminaires on the
top of light posts across the capital.
required by emergency services attending
the scene. The CMS also provides a fault
alert to save lengthy manual street searches
to find and replace faulty lights.

Design flexibility
All luminaires used are certified to British
Standard BS 5489-1:2013, which gives
increased flexibility, said Johnson, to design
for lighting at peak times. Mounting options
for the luminaires are also adaptable to
allow for side entry or post-top mounting.
The luminaires could be adjusted in increments of five degrees between 10 degrees
to create a lighting distribution design for
particular spaces.
For main roads, CU Phosco Lighting
has supplied P850 luminaires (Fig. 2) and
the P851 smaller lantern for use on minor
roads. Lumen output is 10,60031,700 lm for
the P850 and 3,30013,100 lm for the P851.
Each of the four contractors had a design
consultant to collaborate with CU Phosco
to create a lantern that could operate with
specific photocells, meet CMS requirements,
and work with particular driver types ahead
of production.
For this project, David Lodge, technical
director of CU Phosco Lighting, explained,
LEDsmagazine.com

1506leds_50 50

5/22/15 10:59 AM

outdoor

| MUNICIPAL LIGHTING

TfL wanted a G6 classification for glare. This

the scheme, which is due to be completed in 2016, Johnwas achieved with the use of flat glass in the
son pointed out that there are practical maintenance
lantern design. For another lantern design, the
advantages. The lighting kit arrives as a sealed unit, and
glass was tilted at a five-degree angle to achieve
needs testing only once every 10 years rather than every
a rating of G4.
six years as before, reducing disruption as well as mainLodge estimated the facility to use around
tenance costs. There is a balance to strike, he said, in
5% lower constant light output for standard
terms of safety to the public and staff...These luminaires
lanterns, achieved by using the CMS to avoid
guarantee 50,000 hours of operation more if dimming
over-lighting a road.
at less than full power.
The luminaires are contained in recyclable
Conditions that suppliers have to meet include the Elexon
aluminum housings. CU Phosco has supplied FIG. 5. Dave Johnson,
Charge Code for unmetered energy-supply consumption.
the majority of kits 4,500 to date for the highways manager, TfL,
Johnson calculated that using a generic 250W HPS LED
Streetlighting Energy Efficiency Programme, coordinates the street
luminaire costs 139.06 (approximately $206.00) per year
together with Orange Tek supplying the Aria- lighting project.
to operate (consuming 301W at 0.11/kWh), compared to
LED luminaire range (Fig. 3).
the CU Phosco P850, which consumes 143W and costs 66.06
Both ranges of luminaires are sealed and have top or side entry and (approximately $98.00) per year, to realize an annual saving of 73.00,
tilting mechanisms for directional lighting. The AriaLED has AriaS- or approximately $108.00, per year.
tream airflow as the thermal management mechanism to cool LEDs
RELATED LINK
in the luminaire housing. The modular light engine can accommodate
a range of LED configurations for different light profiles.
Denmark heads for the bright lights, smart city Caroline Hayes
explores how the Danish Outdoor Lighting Lab takes LED street
CMS operation
lighting even further with projects to demonstrate how it can
The cost of the CMS is being justified by both automated maincontribute to the creation of smart cities. http://bit.ly/1EXzwAk
tenance and the additional savings related to dimming. As Fig. 4
depicts, there are huge peaks in traffic utilization on major roadways with little traffic throughout the night.
Luminaires leave the factory for the Streetlighting Energy Efficiency Programme equipped with the CMS module, which is bundled and pre-wired into the light. Cable is pulled through the lighting column at the installation point.
The CMS, supplied by Harvard Engineering, operates on a branch
node structure, with a collector hub connected to the central computer at TfL. One node communicates with up to 250 street lights
in a 1-km (0.6-mile) radius.
At the moment, there are no plans for cloud-operated, smart-city
lighting. There is not an automatic link, conceded Johnson. We
are looking to do that, but currently the technology is not there.
In addition to the significant energy savings achieved already by

From Lighting to Electronics...

Specialty Chemicals for Your Complete Lighting Assembly

Adhesives | Sealants | Potting Material | Thermal Management

Traffc volume (%)

12
10
8
6
4
2
0
00:00

06:00

12:00

18:00

24:00

Time (24-hr period)

Blackfriars Road 06-03-12
Upper Thames Street 06-03-12
A201 Stamford Street 06-03-12
A232 Wickham Road 07-03-12

A232 High Street 07-03-12

A232 Glebe Way 07-03-12
A127 South Art Road 08-03-12

FIG. 4. The graph illustrates the business case for a CMS in

Londons lighting system, where road use varies at different
times of the day (Courtesy of Dave Johnson, TfL).
LEDsmagazine.com

1506leds_51 51

Ask the Glue Doctor

1.800.888.0698

Discover the latest products

for LED & Lighting
assembly at ellsworth.com

JUNE 2015

51
5/22/15 10:59 AM

1506leds_52 52

5/22/15 10:59 AM

luminaires | SSL MATERIALS

Use microporous vents for reliable

LED luminaire designs
JASON CHEN, MACIEJ SLOTWINSKI,

and GERRY DIBATTISTA guide first-time users of venting materials

through the material selection and application steps that can enable robust SSL luminaire designs
in the face of moisture.

EDs are an inherently rugged and reliable light source, making solid-state
lighting (SSL) an attractive option in
applications where moisture and other hazards are present, with ruggedness adding
to the energy-efficiency advantage. Ideally,
LED products that could be exposed to
damp, wet, dusty, or dirty environments
should be sealed to prevent damage to the
internal electronics. Sealing a product,
however, can lead to a housing or seal failure from internal pressure build-up from
heat generated by the LED and its drivers.
Adding a hydrophobic microporous vent is
an easy and cost-effective way to protect
the product by keeping dust and liquids out
of the enclosure and relieving the pressure,
or negative pressure, in the enclosure.
SSL applications that might require
vents range from outdoors where luminaires must withstand natural elements
to indoors where the work environment
poses the risk. Fig. 1, for example, shows an
LED street light that is subject to rain and
other weather that could result in moisture
ingress. Indoors, SSL in applications such
as food service provides an example where
venting might be required because pressure
washing is used in the facility. Moreover,
any application that must withstand temperature cycling is a candidate for a vented
luminaire.
Vents can keep moisture out and allow
condensation to escape while equalizing
pressure. Ironically, a vented luminaire can
JASON CHEN is market development manager

for electronics, MACIEJ SLOTWINSKI is project

manager, and GERRY DIBATTISTA is global
business director Energy & Electronics at
Porex Corp.
LEDsmagazine.com

1506leds_53 53

FIG. 1. Outdoor LED luminaires should incorporate vents to prevent fogging of lenses
and to keep moisture from damaging the electronics within.
prove more reliable in a harsh environment
than a design in which the developer sought
to completely seal the enclosure.

Porous materials
Lets start by discussing some material options
for luminaire vents. Polytetrafluoroethylene
(PTFE) is commonly used for such protection vents because of its natural hydrophobicity, resistance to chemicals, and thermal and
ultraviolet (UV) stability. PTFE protection
vents can be constructed from sintered porous
membranes or from what are called stretched
PTFE or expanded PTFE (ePTFE) (Fig. 2). The
sintered alternative is generally superior in

that sintered materials resist mechanical

fatigue, are typically stronger, and can meet
UL flammability requirements.
Polyethylene (PE) plugs or discs are a lower-cost option for protection vents. PE discs,
however, have lower operating temperature
limits, and generally resist water and dust at
lower levels than PTFE. Both PTFE and PE
vents can be made into sheets, customizable
sizes, or three-dimensional shapes.

LED lighting
Now lets again discuss a potential application and go deeper into the reason a vent is
required for reliable luminaire operation.
JUNE 2015

53
5/22/15 10:59 AM

luminaires | SSL

MATERIALS

Non-vented designs can suffer catastrophic resistance, and mechanical requirements of IP rating such as IP65, then it will resist conor even temporary failures. For example, the application. A sintered porous vent, such taminant and liquid intrusion at the lower
an outdoor LED luminaire is an applica- as an adhesive disc, a plug, or a screw-in rating levels. For the liquid-related IP ratings,
tion where temperature changes inside the vent, can allow for the flow of air while con- IPx7 and IPx8 represent underwater ratings
lighting enclosure can cause failures due to tinuously protecting the lamp from rain that may not be more difficult to pass than
intrusion or condensation of moisture. Lens and other liquids. While a breathable vent IP ratings which must resist direct high-presfogging caused by water that has entered will release air pressure as well as minimize sure water spray, such as IPx5 or IPx6.
the luminaire can affect the
light output, and at least temporary functional failure.
Positive and negative pressures can compromise seals
or joints around the enclosure, as even the best gasket-based designs cannot
account for in-use fluctuations in temperature, moisture, and mechanical impact.
Temperature changes in
the luminaire can be the
natural result of cycles in
operation and can also be
due to the outside environment. Depending on the conditions, these temperature FIG. 2. Sintered porous membrane PTFE is shown on the left versus stretched or expanded PTFE
changes may be as high as on the right. Stretched PTFE can have lower mechanical strength and fewer shape and pore size
85C. Even assuming a tem- options than sintered membranes.
perature increase as low as
15C, a sealed enclosure will see about a 56 water condensation inside the luminaire, the
To help illustrate the process of matchmbar (0.8 psi) pressure differential with the ability of the vent to keep liquid water out of ing applications and materials, we created
external atmosphere. Since this pressure the enclosure is also important.
the nearby table that summarizes typical
exceeds 3540 mbar, the seal and gasket
The vent specification is guided by the IP rating options for a luminaire relative
materials protecting the LED electronics application and the Ingress Protection (IP) to different types of materials that might
could leak and allow intrusion of moisture required per IEC standard 60529. The IP rat- be used for a porous vent. Choosing porous
or dust.
ing refers to the robustness of a product to membrane materials with the proper water
ingress of moisture and dust. Any enclosure resistance will ensure liquids and contamiVent selection for IP
or luminaire should have an IP rating that nants do not enter and compromise internal
Luminaire developers working on a new classifies the design relative to application electronics. If the light source will be subject
product should consider venting as one needs. Fig. 3. summarizes the IP code.
to water spray for cleaning the lamp, then
of their first design steps. Product teams
As IP numbers increase up to IP66, the an IP66-rated vent would be recommended,
should select a vent material and imple- environmental challenge becomes more dif- highlighted by the red ellipse near the botmentation to meet the airflow, fluid ingress ficult. In general, if a product meets a specific tom of the table. Otherwise, an IP64 vent

Typical membrane properties and ratings.

Material

Thickness
(m)

IP rating

UL-94

UL
746C

Filtration
>99.99% (m)

Water intrusion
pressure (mb)

Max. temp.
(C)

Airflow lm/min/cm
@ 70 mb

Salt fog

PM21M

130

64, 67, 68

V-0

f2

0.5

350

260

1500

No pen.

PM21ML

280

64, 67, 68

0.5

350

100

1150

No pen.

PM3V

180

64, 67, 68

V-0

f2

0.4

380

260

1150

No pen.

PMV15B

310

64, 67, 68

0.4

390

100

700

No pen.

PM6M

100

65, 67, 68

V-0

f2

0.2

900

260

320

No pen.

PM22S

250

65, 67, 68

V-0

f2

0.1

600

260

665

No pen.

PM23J

250

65, 66, 67, 68

V-0

f2

0.1

1150

260

120

No pen.

54
1506leds_54 54

JUNE 2015

LEDsmagazine.com

5/22/15 10:59 AM

Rapid Manufacturing at
the Speed of Lighting
Tech-driven injection molding, CNC machining and
3D printing for those who need parts tomorrow

Proto Labs is the worlds fastest source

for on-demand, low-volume manufacturing.
We make quick-turn prototype and production
parts including xtures, lenses, heat sinks
and other components used in lighting.

Got a project? Get 1 to 10,000+ plastic, metal

or optical liquid silicone rubber parts in 1 to 15 days.
Request your free
Torus design aid at

go.protolabs.com/LM5LB
ISO 9001:2008 Certied | ITAR Registered
Major Credit Cards Accepted | 2015 Proto Labs, Inc.

1506leds_55 55

5/22/15 10:59 AM

luminaires | SSL

MATERIALS

Solids

Water
Protected
against a solid
object greater
than 50 mm

Protected
against a solid
object greater
than 12.5 mm

Protected against a
solid object greater
than 2.5 mm

Protected against
vertically falling drops
of water

Limited ingress
permitted

15

2
3

Protected against
vertically falling drops
of water with
enclosure tilted up to
15 degrees
Limited ingress
permitted

Protected against
sprays of water up to
60 degrees
Limited ingress
permitted for three
minutes

FIG. 4. A PTFE vent can be incorporated

on an enclosure by overmolding.
Protected against a
solid object greater
than 1 mm

Protected against
dust

Limited ingress but

not harmful

Dust tight

No ingress of dust
Two to eight hours

Protected against
water splashed
from all directions
Limited ingress
permitted

Protected against
jets of water

Protected from
powerful water
jets

Protected against
immersion in water
between 15 cm and 1
m for 30 minutes

Protected against the

effects of immersion in
water under pressure
for long periods

Limited ingress
permitted

Ingress Protection examples:

IP 6 7

Solids Water

FIG. 3. Ingress Protection ratings chart the range of protection needs.

may work sufficiently and we circled one

such IP64 option in the table.

Vent-to-luminaire bonding and assembly

Once you choose a venting material, you
must consider how to apply that material in
the luminaire. There are numerous options
based on the material selected and on the

56
1506leds_56 56

JUNE 2015

mechanical design of the luminaire.

Heat is often an option in assembly. PTFE
has a high melting point of 620.3F (326.8C).
Therefore, a bond with a PTFE vent can be
created by heating and melting another
plastic into the porous PTFE structure.
The material to which PTFE will be bonded
should have good flow properties and a melt-

ing temperature lower than 260C. Most

thermoplastic materials are suitable for
welding with PTFE including polypropylene,
polyethylene, polycarbonate, nylon, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) and acrylonitrile
butadiene styrene (ABS). Because attaching
PTFE discs with thermal methods does not
require an adhesive, the process is simple,
clean, and permanent, and PTFE discs on a
roll can be used on automated manufacturing lines.
Prototypes can be made using a heat
staking machine, which can easily be
found online. Another common technique
for bonding PTFE discs is ultrasonic sealing, which bonds the materials using
high-frequency energy. Impulse welding is
another option and a version of heat staking in which metal bars along the area to
be bonded are rapidly heated then cooled.
The result is a strong bond that minimizes
deformation of both the PTFE and enclosure, and is rapid relative to traditional heat
staking processes.
Overmolding is another method to secure
vents onto an LED enclosure (Fig. 4). In this
method, the PTFE disc is initially placed
inside the mold and plastic is molded around
the disc, forming a water-tight seal around
the edge of the vent.
There are still other methods to attach
PTFE vents to LED housings. Discs are available with pressure-sensitive adhesive on the
back of the vent (Fig. 5). The center of the
PTFE material on such a disc is not covered
by adhesive in order to allow airflow through
LEDsmagazine.com

5/22/15 10:59 AM

luminaires | SSL

MATERIALS

Non-adhesive-backed PTFE vents can

also be incorporated into designs. Assembly options for such vents include mechanical interference fits such as press-fit or snapfit enclosures.

Design for reliability

FIG. 5. Adhesive-backed PTFE discs are supplied on a roll.

the vent. This product can be surprisingly

robust and can last many years. Millions of
adhesive-backed discs have been used in
challenging environments such as outdoor
LED lighting, LED automotive headlamps,

LEDsmagazine.com

1506leds_57 57

and other automotive electronics. Because

sintered PTFE is stiffer than stretched PTFE,
some adhesive-backed sintered PTFE discs
are rated at IP66 and can withstand direct
water spray without a protective cover.

A key benefit of LEDs in lighting products is

long product life. But reliable operation goes
far beyond the light sources and includes all
elements of a luminaire, such as materials.
Protection vents are a simple and effective
way of protecting and providing airflow
through LED luminaires. Venting your LED
electronics is an important function to prevent condensation inside the enclosure and
premature failures.
In practice, attaching a PTFE vent onto an
LED lighting enclosure is relatively straightforward. Prototypes can be made with readily available heat staking or ultrasonic
welding equipment. If the product moves
into high volume, enclosure parts can be
molded around the vent. Adhesive discs are
yet another easy and robust option.
Design considerations for the engineer
or designer to determine include: 1) level of
ingress (liquid) protection needed (e.g., IP66,
IP45, and so forth); 2) vent size or number of
ports needed to achieve the desired venting; 3)
mechanical rigidity and strength; and 4) vent
shape or form, e.g., pressure-sensitive adhesive-backed PTFE disc or rectangle, press-fit
(interference fit) plug, or screw-in vent.

JUNE 2015

57
5/22/15 10:59 AM

THE

LED

SANTA CLARA CONVENTION CENTER, SANTA CLARA, CA

WWW.STRATEGIESINLIGHT.COM
WWW.THELEDSHOW.COM

CALL FOR PAPERS

OWNED AND PRODUCED BY:

1506leds_58 58

SUBMISSION DEADLINE

JUNE 19, 2015

OFFICIAL SUPPORTERS:

5/22/15 10:59 AM

luminaires | BATTERY POWER

Efficient LED sources make

battery power viable
Primary- and rechargeable-battery power for LED-based lighting products delivers freedom of
deployment, and MAURY WRIGHT reports that more efficient LEDs make such products viable beyond
portable lighting.

hink battery-powered lighting and

you most likely are picturing flashlights or similarly-portable products and applications. But LED sources,
mainly due to the inherent energy efficiency
that continues to improve, will again be a
game changer when it comes to the flexibility afforded by battery-powered lighting.
Consumers may not be moving to battery
power for their main household lighting,
but new products can deliver far more than
niche lighting needs indoors and out. Lets
examine some of the trends in battery-powered solid-state lighting (SSL) and some of
the latest products on the market. Our mission is both to see what has been accomplished and equally important to spur
industry creativity with batteries.
Looking back, battery power has served
a limited niche across commercial and residential lighting. We all know about LED
flashlights that have totally usurped the portable lighting market. In the commercial/
municipal outdoor lighting sector, solarbased systems that charge large batteries are
used in area lighting installations in the US
and in roadway applications in other parts of
the world. We recently covered an area lighting application on a US military base (http://
bit.ly/1S6ISUb).In an article on the Strategies in Light 2014 conference, we covered the
broad use of solar-powered street lights in
desert areas such as the United Arab Emirates (http://bit.ly/1kXzh1e).
In residential applications, the use of battery-powered lighting has been primarily
focused on outdoor products such as solarcharged suspended or post-top lanterns.
Such products have earned a poor reputation with solar-charged batteries not lasting
through the night and complete battery failLEDsmagazine.com

1506leds_59 59

ures occurring early in a products lifetime.

Now, however, more serious lighting manufacturers are delivering battery-powered
products based on both primary replaceable
batteries and on rechargeable-battery technologies. Primary batteries can provide relatively long life in some applications where
SSL products see sporadic usage or usage for
short periods of time. Rechargeable batteries require the inconvenience of consumers
having to charge yet one
more device but can be a
better option for lighting
that is regularly used for
longer periods of time.

licensing agreement.
The GE Enbrighten products from Jasco
first focused on portable battery-powered
lanterns that might serve in place of a traditional gas-burning camping lantern. Now
Jasco has introduced a small LED luminaire
that functions in the space ranging between
a night light and a wall sconce, although it
can be used portably as well (Fig. 1).
The product delivers 300 lm in the bat-

Indoor products
Now lets discuss some of
the latest battery-powered LED products. One
notable line comes with
the General Electric
(GE) brand, although
the products are from
Jasco, not from mainstream lighting vendor
GE Lighting. Jasco and
GE have had a licensing
agreement in place for FIG. 1. The GE Enbrighten LED fixture made by Jasco serves
some time that enables as a hybrid between a night light and a wall sconce.
Jasco to sell certain
home electrical products, consumer elec- tery-powered version or 400 lm in a plug-in
tronics, home automation products, secu- version, so it produces enough light to do
rity and surveillance products, and more more than the typical night light. Jasco said
using the GE brand.
the fixture is equivalent to a 40W lamp. The
We asked Jerry Duffy, general manager of 3000K-CCT output is functionally suitable
global product management at GE Lighting, for use in a kitchen area or hallway, or relspecifically about the Jasco deal, especially egated to a laundry room.
when it comes to lighting products. Duffy
As is the case with many battery-powsaid Jasco has been a valuable GE partner ered products, Jasco refers to the product
and has sold quality products under the as wireless. That description is technically
JUNE 2015

59
5/22/15 10:59 AM

luminaires

| BATTERY POWER

correct as it applies to a power source, but

not in terms of wireless-based control. Still,
you are probably asking, what about battery
life? Jasco said in high-usage areas, the six
AA-cell batteries would power the fixture for
eight months. Lower-usage areas should see
longer battery life.
The new Enbrighten product is styled for
prominent display with a brushed nickel
finish. The luminaire includes a pictureframe-type stand that allows for tabletop
usage, or more typically the fixture can be

broad set of products on display at LightFair

International (LFI) this year. For example,
the company is adding wireless controls in
two different flavors to what has been touted
as a wireless-power product line.
Some of the new products such as the
MBN342 are based on a technology called
NetBright that uses proprietary RF links to
connect outdoor lighting fixtures in a network. NetBright supports four separate networks, each of which can have 50 luminaires
on the network. When any luminaire detects
motion, it triggers all of the
other luminaires on its network. And all shut off after
motion is last detected by
any luminaire on the network. The multiple-network feature is designed,
say ,to have one network on
the front side of a home and
another in the back.
Mr Beams has a lso
announced spotlights with
RF-based remote controls.
The black MB371 and white
MB370 ($40) still include
FIG. 2. Mr Beams spotlights can provide safety lighting
motion sensors but can also
around a home perimeter and convenience lighting
be controlled via remote
outdoors.
with the ability to override
wall mounted almost anywhere. Jasco offers the motion sensor and to set the lights to one
a version with touch-based on, off, and dim- of three dim levels. Lights will still shut off
ming controls ($25), and a separate model automatically either in the absence of motion,
with a built-in motion sensor that can auto- or after one or four hours as set by the remote
matically trigger the light ($30).
control. The broad outdoor product line has
also been extended with higher-output prodOutdoor spotlights
ucts up to 300 lm, but that performance
Now lets discuss a well-known outdoor comes with degraded battery life.
product line from Mr Beams. The company
has many versions of spotlights that oper- Ceiling lights
ate on three D-cell batteries. The most wide- Still, its an indoor product that may have
ly-sold product is the MB360 ($25) that the gained Mr Beams its greatest accolades. A
company said can deliver 40 hours of life writer at the Wall Street Journal called the
from one set of batteries. The company Ceiling Light the best battery-powered light
expects the life to be about one year in typi- for a closet (http://on.wsj.com/1cMNuOU).
cal operation, with each light delivering 140
The accolades are due to the convenience
lm over a 400-ft2 coverage area. The prod- of mounting, and also the fact that the lumiuct was designed mainly for safety and secu- naire produces quality light. Its rated for 85
rity applications but also for convenience in CRI at 3500K CCT. The output is only 100 lm,
areas such as decks (Fig. 2). It can even be but that is plenty of light for many closet appliinstalled along pathways on trees and is trig- cations, although Mr Beams touts the product
gered by a motion sensor, turning off 30 sec- for many usage scenarios outside of closets. It
onds after no motion is detected.
does include motion-sensor activation.
Recently, Mr Beams has significantly
The Ceiling Light MB980 ($25) uses four
expanded its outdoor product line and had a C-cell batteries. Mr Beams said expected

60
1506leds_60 60

JUNE 2015

battery life is one year or about 35 hours of

usage. The fixture can detect motion anywhere within 20 ft.

Entertaining and convenience

Now we will transition to a discussion of
a product based on a rechargeable battery
that is designed for longer usage periods on
a daily basis. The rechargeable architecture
means that the luminaire can be used while
plugged in although it would work tether
free for a number of hours. There are a number of rechargeable products on the market,
but Philips Lighting stands out as being a
major lighting vendor and having brought
battery power to the color-changing Hue
family of products (http://bit.ly/1IJ68Fb).
The Hue Go (about $100) product looks
like a small bowl but includes an integrated
light engine with red, green, and blue (RGB)
LEDs (Fig. 3). You configure the Hue Go
with a smartphone or tablet. The wireless
ZigBee-based product does require a Wi-Fito-ZigBee bridge or gateway, as does all ZigBee-based lighting.
Philips says the Go product has a battery
life of around three hours and takes half that
time to charge. Philips could certainly have
increased that run time with a larger battery
at the expense of size and cost. Time will tell
whether consumers will find Hue Go a useful addition to their homes.
Indeed, the Hue value proposition remains
a question mark. The Hue lights in general are
fun without question, although Philips Lighting CEO Eric Rondolat made the point that
the technology adds valuable functionality
in the home in an LEDs Magazine interview
(p. 25). The entry price point is high, but Rondolat said its affordable for consumers who
really embrace and use the added functionality that the lights bring to a home.

Retrofitting lighting
One final concept that we will mention in
the battery-powered area is retrofitting of
AC-powered legacy products to use batteries and LEDs. We would not expect that such
retrofits would become a mainstream concept or that major businesses would emerge
around the concept. Indeed, retrofitting will
be firmly in the realm of the do-it-yourself
(DIY) community.
An online DIY project, however, caught
our eye. Quite often, the AC power cord is a
LEDsmagazine.com

5/22/15 10:59 AM

luminaires
problem in interior design.
New construction can place
an AC outlet almost anywhere, but retrofits and
redesigns are stuck with AC
outlets in existing locations.
In the DIY project, the
homeowner wanted to place
a vintage desk lamp on furniture in the middle of a
room without the obstacle of a power cord running
to the wall. A small length
of LED strip lighting in the
lamp head combined with FIG. 3. The Hue Go provides functional and mood lighting.
batteries added to the base
solved the problem and delivered output still on the low-quality side and meant for
judged near the equivalent of a 60W incan- specialty applications. But many can also
descent lamp (http://bit.ly/1S6NOsh).
fill a need in a much simpler manner than
installing AC-powered lighting.
More battery-powered options
Retailer Costco has sold undercabiBack to commercial products, there are far net LED light bars from a company called
more battery-powered lighting products on Megabrite, and those lights are also widely
the market than we can cover here. Many are available online. The bars can be mounted

| BATTERY POWER

with screws or even double-sided tape under

kitchen cabinets, in shelving units, and in
entertainment centers. A motion sensor can
automatically trigger the lights.
Fulcrum Products sells a selection of
battery-powered SSL products including
undercabinet lights and round puck lights
intended for various uses. The company
also offers outdoor porch lights and pathway lights.
Right now, Costco has some LED lighting in stock from Capstone that is motion
activated and can be placed in closets or
other places. The mechanical design allows
rough aiming of the sensor and the LEDs.
Longer term, Capstone has some ideas about
how to use battery-powered lights to make
sure that residential lights stay on when the
power goes off.
Whats really exciting, however, is what
is next. LEDs will allow innovative lighting
products that arent bound by a cord. And
without question, the best ideas are still on
the drawing board.

DISCOVER BETTER DESIGNS. FASTER.

FLOW THERMAL STRESS EMAG ELECTROCHEMISTRY CASTING OPTIMIZATION
REACTING CHEMISTRY VIBRO-ACOUSTICS MULTIDISCIPLINARY CO-SIMULATION

FULL DETAIL COMPLETE PHYSICS DESIGN EXPLORATION & OPTIMIZATION

info@cd-adapco.com
www.cd-adapco.com

LEDsmagazine.com

1506leds_61 61

JUNE 2015

61
5/22/15 10:59 AM

Co-located with:

17 19 November 2015 | ExCeL | London | U.K.

THE FUTURE

SHAPE OF

LIGHTING

BOOK A PRIME SPOT AT EUROPES BIGGEST

AND BRIGHTEST LED LIGHTING EVENT
Strategies in Light Europe and co-located LuxLive, bring together the entire industry supply
chain, from chip manufacturing, through the design community, to the end user.

REASONS TO EXHIBIT
RAISE your company profle and awareness

7,000 200
Attendees

Exhibitors

SHOWCASE products and technologies

ACCESS the infuential decision-makers over three days
EXPLORE many business opportunities under one roof
CREATE leads and lasting relationships with clients
LAUNCH products / services to a captive audience
ESTABLISH or maintain a market presence
STAY ahead of your competition

100
Talks, Panel
Discussions &
Workshops

FREE
Exhibition Pass

WWW.SILEUROPE.COM
Owned and Produced by:

1506leds_62 62

Presented by:

Dont let your competitors, take your business, reserve a prime

position now by contacting your regional sales representative:
Worldwide
James Pountney
+44 (0) 20 3283 4387
james.pountney@luxmagazine.co.uk

USA East Coast

Mary Donnelly
T: +1 603 891 9118
E: maryd@pennwell.com

USA West Coast

Tim Carli
T: +1 650 946 3163
E: tcarli@pennwell.com

Germany/Austria/Switzerland
Johann Bylek
T: +49 89 90480 143
F: +49 89 90480 145
Email: johannb@pennwell.com

Supported by:

Events:

5/22/15 10:59 AM

developer forum | DIMMING DRIVERS

Understand the hidden costs of

free 010V LED dimming drivers
explains how 010V and digitally-connected LED drivers differ in functionality, and
how those differences are manifested in commercial solid-state lighting installations.

ROLAND LEDYARD

ne of the most persuasive words

in marketing has got to be free,
despite the fact that we generally
know that nothing in life is truly free, especially when it comes to LED drivers. Dimming
functionality in drivers, implemented based
on 010V controls, is sometimes touted as
free, but in reality nearly every technology
decision has a cost associated with it. Read
along to learn about the issues with 010V
LED drivers that can lead you to optimal
selection and understand how more-robust
digitally-addressable drivers may ultimately
prove more economical in an actual solid-state lighting (SSL) project.
The adage that nothing truly comes for
free is certainly true for 010V LED drivers.
Many 010V LED fixture manufacturers
offer dimming drivers as a no-cost upgrade
versus what we will call switching drivers, or
drivers that can simply be turned on or off
via a relay or other control. The free 010V
upgrade is intended to help manufacturers
sell their fixtures to building owners, contractors, and specifiers.
At first glance, when you are deciding
between specifying an analog 010V dimming driver and a digitally-connected and
addressable dimming driver, it seems like
an easy choice. With 010V drivers you get
all of the benefits of LED dimming at no
additional cost; however, it is not typically
that simple. It is important to consider a
variety of factors such as whether the dimming performance will meet your requirements, additional costs associated with
meeting new codes and standards, and technologies that may not stand the test of time.

ROLAND LEDYARD is a design and

development manager at Lutron Electronics

(lutron.com).
LEDsmagazine.com

1506leds_63 63

Overview of dimming LED drivers

saving and system-monitoring control

Lets first step back and consider the dim- schemes where the design and setup is all
ming-driver technology options we are dis- done within software, making the electrical
cussing here. A 010V control is an analog and control design and installation simple.
control type and the interface to the LED Power is circuited separately from control
driver consists of two pairs of wires:
wires, so the 120V or 277V circuit can be fully
A 120/240/277V line-voltage switch loaded, making electrical design and instal(Class 1 wiring)
lation easier. The table on p. 65 summarizes
Low-voltage dimming control (Class 2 the differences in dimming driver types.
For an industry used to the significant
wiring)
Line voltage to the LED driver is switched increase in cost to go from switching fluoin order to turn the driver on and off. A rescent lights to dimmable fluorescent lightlow-voltage control element such as a wall ing, the cost to move from a switching LED
switch, meanwhile, delivers a control input driver to a 010V dimming driver is negligito the driver by varying the voltage between ble. As a result, many fixture OEMs decided to
1 VDC (minimum light)
and 10 VDC (maximum
light). The driver associates this control input
level to a particular
dimmed level of the LED
light engine. Since the
control signal is a small
analog voltage, long
wire runs can produce a
drop in the signal level,
which results in varying
light levels from different drivers managed by
the same control device. FIG. 1. DALI-based drivers such as the EcoSystem products
Digitally-addressable from Lutron separate the control and power interfaces to
drivers are connected LED-based luminaires.
to controls via a digital
interconnect such as DALI (digital address- offer dimming as a no-cost add-on to help sell
able lighting interface). Lutron, for example, their products. Customers often believe that
offers EcoSystem controls and drivers that the 010V LED driver will enable all of the
are based on DALI (Fig. 1). Such a digital sys- same performance features as a digitally-adtem addresses individual fixtures and pro- dressable dimming driver and are surprised
vides status feedback from the loads, mak- when they run into costly and time-consuming it easy to digitally assign controls to one ing hurdles during installation.
or many fixtures without complicated wirThere are certainly applications where
ing. This opens up an entire suite of energy- 010V LED dimming drivers and controls
JUNE 2015

63
5/22/15 10:59 AM

developer forum | DIMMING

DRIVERS

are a good choice for instance, in spaces

where a consistent quality of light is not as
important such as outdoor lighting, parking garages, and stairwells. We will help
guide you through the specification process for such applications. In other spaces,
the analog choice can result in issues that
range from NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association) 410 and inrush current compliance problems, to power-line
noise interference, significant performance
gaps, and the significant cost implications of
having to rewire to accommodate changes
in zoning or control when a space is repurposed or reorganized.
Digitally-addressable LED drivers can be
reassigned and reprogrammed with no additional wiring or installation charges. Compatibility between LED lamps, drivers, and
controls can be very confusing. It is important for specifiers to take the time to understand what they are really selecting so they
dont pay a higher price down the road.

010V: Many links

FIG. 2. In lighting systems based on

010V drivers, wires from a control must

be physically connected directly to each
fixture in a zone.

Nine questions to ask when

specifying an LED dimming driver
Question #9 Sink or source? In the
case of analog controls, you need to know
if your driver is sinking or sourcing current
over the control interface. When you are
using 010V LED drivers, in order to make
sure your lights perform the way you expect
them to, you will need to match the control
type to the driver type, and these requirements vary depending on which standard
your lighting is based on IEC 60929 or
ESTA (Entertainment Services & Technology
Association) E1.3. In IEC standard 60929, the
driver sources the current, and the control
sinks the current. At 10V, lights will be on at
full, and at 1V or below, lights go to a minimum level, not necessarily off. Using the
ESTA E1.3 standard, the control sources the
current, and the driver sinks the current.
At 10V, lights will be on at full, and at 0V or
below, lights go to off.
In a typical commercial setting, you can
run into many different fixtures that use
different methods of control. If you are
using 010V drivers, its critical to know
whether the driver is sinking or sourcing
current. This needs to be coordinated in
advance, which can take additional time;
moreover, a mistake can result in an expensive callback.

64
1506leds_64 64

JUNE 2015

EcoSystem: One link

FIG. 3. Digitally addressable drivers can

all be connected on one daisy-chained

network with zones handled in software.
Digitally-addressable LED dimming
drivers use different technology that is not
affected by the control type or the lighting
standard, although the control and driver
must be based on the same interconnect
technology such as DALI. Such a standard
guarantees compatibility between drivers
and controls, minimizing upfront time and
effort, and making specifications easier.
Question #8 Do the drivers comply with NEMA 410? NEMA 410 is a standard for testing of lighting controls used
with electronic drivers, ballasts, and lamps.
It defines the worst-case inrush current
expected in installations and establishes
test criteria for compatibility. In laymans
terms, it works to avoid issues that result
from the large buildup of current that can

occur when you first turn on an LED driver.

Its important that the controls and drivers
are designed to handle the inrush current
and dont exceed NEMA 410 standards when
the lights are first turned on, potentially
fatally damaging the dimmer and the relay.
Some 010V LED driver manufacturers provide inrush current specs, but they
dont usually meet NEMA 410 requirements. In the typical case where there are
several fixtures connected to one power
and control circuit, the combined inrush
in multiple drivers can cause currents to
rise very high, which could result in a situation where users are unable to turn the
lights on or off due to a failed switch, dimmer or relay contacts, or a tripped breaker.
When this requires a call to maintenance,
the costs may also include a new dimmer,
driver, or fixture. Choose drivers and controls that meet NEMA 410 requirements,
and ideally that have an electronic off that
causes no inrush current.
Question #7 Is it cost effective to
run an extra wire in order to allow
for battery-backup in emergency fixtures? In an emergency power situation,
many emergency lighting systems rely on
a battery backup inside the fixture in order
to work. In 010V LED fixtures, this will
require the contractor to run an extra hot
wire for battery charging, and adds to the
list of items specifiers need to coordinate
when designing the lighting for a room. Digitally-addressable LED dimming drivers do
not require a dedicated hot wire to charge
the battery backup, making them easier and
less costly to install in lighting with emergency capabilities.
Question #6 What happens if the
control wires are too close to the
power wires? Standards do not specify
whether 010V control wires should be run
as UL Class 1 (line voltage) or Class 2. The
decision is up to the driver manufacturer.
Long wire runs typically used with 010V
drivers can create noise and affect dimming
range and accuracy. The same interference
issues can occur if the wires are in the same
conduit as power wiring. In order to guarantee performance, specifiers will have to do a
good bit of homework to make sure the wires
are run appropriately.
Digital LED dimming drivers use digital
communication that is immune to the noise,
LEDsmagazine.com

5/22/15 10:59 AM

developer forum | DIMMING

Characteristics of digital and analog dimming driver installations.
Digitally addressable drivers

010V

No home runs for power or

control wiring

Home run required for power and control

wiring, and the dimmer has a relay to
power off the fixture

Polarity independent and

topology-free control wiring

Polarity needs to be maintained for

control wiring across all fixtures in the
zone

Run control and power wiring in Cannot always use existing power wiring
same conduit
conduit for 010V control
Control terminals are miswire
protected to 277V*

Control wire miswire to power is likely to

damage the drivers for every fixture in
the loop

Less material and

troubleshooting = lower cost

More material and troubleshooting =

higher cost

Rezone without rewiring

Open ceiling, run new low-voltage wiring,

and add more zones and control loops

Less time = lower cost

More time = higher cost

Minimal workspace disruption

Significant workspace disruption

and they are designed to deliver the same

performance regardless of how the project
is wired. The dimming performance will not
be adversely affected by either noise or long
wire runs.
Question #5 Are the drivers protected from miswires? With a 010V
driver the wiring must maintain polarity
and follow the line voltage zoning. Basically,
if you accidentally miswire the unit, you can
destroy all of the LED drivers in the system.
While no one intends to miswire a driver, it

LEDsmagazine.com

1506leds_65 65

Digitally addressable
drivers are easier to
rewire and rezone

*For certain
manufacturers, such as
Lutron

happens and with a 010V LED driver it

can be an expensive mistake.
With digitally-addressable LED drivers, a
miswire is very unlikely since the polarity
of the wires does not matter. You can swap
polarity without an issue, run the wires in
any configuration (star, T-tap, daisy chain,
etc.), and realize cost savings by not having
to purchase additional conduit to separate
the wires.
Question #4 If a driver fails, the
fixture UL Listing may be voided. How

DRIVERS

can you ensure UL compliance? One

reason that specifiers select 010V LED drivers is because they ostensibly use an open
technology and therefore the driver will be
less expensive to replace if it fails. In order
to maintain UL Listing and stay in compliance, however, UL requires that the entire
fixture be replaced if the driver fails. Since
an LED fixture is UL Listed with a specific LED driver, you also have the option
to replace the failed driver with the exact
same brand and model in order to maintain
the UL listing, but you will still need a UL
field inspection.
Indeed, 010V is an open protocol, but
UL compliance requires the aforementioned driver selection and field inspection.
In some cases, digitally-addressable LED
dimming drivers are UL 1598C recognized,
which means they can be part of UL Listed
LED field retrofit kits and can be replaced,
in the event of failure, without an additional
inspection.
Question #3 Do all of your 010V
fixtures have consistent light level per
control output? The Sacramento Municipal Utility District in Sacramento, CA commissioned a study on different 010V fixtures from various brands and found that
no two different fixtures perform exactly
alike. This is because 010V standards do
not specify performance, so each manufacturer has its own interpretation of things
like input, output, and turn-on time. If two

JUNE 2015

65
5/22/15 10:59 AM

Order Today at
strategies-u.com

LEDs in Lighting
Applications

The
Worldwide Market
for LEDs

The World Market for Chip

on Board (COB) LEDs
in General Lighting

Market Analysis and Forecast

2015

Market Review and Forecast

2015

Market Analysis and Forecast

2014

Strategies Unlimited
201 San Antonio Circle, Suite 225
Mountain View, California 94040
Phone: (650) 946-3163
e-mail: info@strategies-u.com

Strategies Unlimited
201 San Antonio Circle, Suite 225
Mountain View, California 94040
Phone: (650) 946-3163
e-mail: info@strategies-u.com

Strategies Unlimited 2015

A Research Unit of

Strategies Unlimited 2015

Strategies Unlimited
201 San Antonio Circle, Suite 225
Mountain View, California 94040
Phone: (650) 946-3163
e-mail: info@strategies-u.com

A Research Unit of

Strategies Unlimited 2014

A Research Unit of

Providing you with the most comprehensive market studies

in the LEDs, lighting, lasers, and photonics industries
Here are a few of the latest reports from Strategies Unlimited:
LEDs in Lighting Applications: Market Analysis and Forecast 2015
The Worldwide Market for LEDs: Market Review and Forecast 2015
The World Market for Chip on Board (COB) LEDs in General Lighting:
Market Analysis and Forecast 2014
Strategies Unlimited provides a unique blend of in-depth historical market knowledge and
technical expertise, allowing them to deliver comprehensive market studies and far-reaching
assessments into new applications and market directions.
Join the many companies who use research from Strategies Unlimited as an integral
part of their business decision-making processes.

Sales Director
Tim Carli
tcarli@pennwell.com

1506leds_66 66

USA, East Coast

Mary Donnelly
maryd@pennwell.com

USA, West Coast

Allison OConnor
allison@jagmediasales.com

Germany/Austria/Switzerland
Johann Bylek
johannb@pennwell.com

5/22/15 10:59 AM

developer forum | DIMMING

010V fixtures from different manufacturers are side by side in a room, there is a good
chance that the light output will look different. One could be twice as bright and turn
on more than two seconds after the other.
Generally, lighting is specifically designed
to deliver a consistent, comfortable light
quality. To ensure this quality with varying
010V LED fixtures, you need to evaluate the
dimming curves for all of the LED drivers
used together on a control circuit and make
sure they track together.
Digitally-addressable LED drivers will
turn on and track together to provide predictable, reliable results. When you want
the lights to deliver 75% illumination, all the
drivers will deliver the same light level at the
same time, across different fixture types and
driver models.
Question #2 If you need to change
zones, are you prepared to rewire?
Lets face it, office layouts change, employees move around, and even the building lessee may change. Each of these changes will
typically require you to change the lighting
to reflect the new needs of the space or the
employee. With 010V LED drivers, making
changes to fixture zones or controls requires
a complete rewire, both in design and in the
field (Fig. 2). Even if you are still in the design
phases, a zone change with 010V LED drivers will require your engineer to redraw
how the fixtures are connected. Changes
in design and in the field will also add cost

LEDsmagazine.com

1506leds_67 67

when using 010V LED drivers, which of

course will also contribute to higher project lifecycle costs.
With digitally-addressable LED dimming
drivers, you can defer zoning decisions until
later and wiring is independent of such zoning (Fig. 3). Everything is done through the
software so there is no need for rewiring
or redrawing. Zoning decision and control
assignment is software driven, and can be
achieved at any time through the use of a
smartphone, tablet, or computer. Lutrons
EcoSystem, for example, makes it easy to
digitally assign occupancy sensors, daylight
sensors, time clocks, manual controls, and
other controls to one or many fixtures without complicated wiring. This opens up an
entire suite of energy-saving, system-monitoring, and system-control schemes where
the design, setup, and rezoning are all done
within software, making the electrical and
control design simple.
Question #1 Will your 010V LED
driver manufacturer be able to resolve
field issues? In the end, it always comes
down to commitment and support. If you
are in a situation where you have an issue
with your lighting, do you feel confident your
driver manufacturer will stand behind you
until its resolved? There are many instances
where 010V driver manufacturers cant be
reached for a phone call much less a site
visit to resolve an issue due to a lack of
local technical support. Getting a response

DRIVERS

is extremely difficult, leaving you on your

own to address it as best as you can.
Choose a manufacturer who will offer you
24/7 support, with a large and local service
organization, as well as a toll-free phone
number that is printed, and easy to locate on
every driver. If there is ever an issue, available service professionals whether they
are accessed by phone, e-mail, or in person can get to the root cause and fix it. In
the long run, choosing a company that is as
committed to service as they are to product
excellence is a key differentiator in terms of
return on investment.

Drivers and compatibility

In SSL systems, issues with compatibility are
probably the greatest source of frustration
and cost among product developers, specifiers, and end customers. To avoid any of
the hassles detailed in this article, look for
lighting control manufacturers who have
already done the appropriate testing and
research, and who are committed to providing resources that help clarify the selection process. One such resource is the online
LED Control Center of Excellence offered by
Lutron Electronics (http://bit.ly/1DrKJt9). By
choosing the right manufacturer and considering key issues, you will save time and
money and it will be easier than ever to provide customers with an LED lighting and
control system that meets energy-saving,
performance, and aesthetic expectations.

JUNE 2015

67
5/22/15 10:59 AM

last word

LightFair exhibits send mixed

messages on SSL controls
PHILIP SMALLWOOD, research director at Strategies Unlimited, hoped that LightFair
International would deliver some needed clarity on connected LED-based lighting, but
fragmented approaches to controls are still adding to the confusion level for now.

went to LightFair International (LFI) with

a better understanding of the connected
lighting landscape as a key goal for the
week. And connected LED-based lighting
with autonomous and programmatic controls
was omnipresent on the exhibit floor. But the
myriad approaches to connectivity continue
to confuse the solid-state lighting (SSL) market, and the latest industry gathering only
served to accentuate that fact. In the area of
luminaire design, the message is clearer that
high-quality light and compelling aesthetics
are critical for the future.
The biggest push in the connectivity area
comes in wireless technologies. Wireless, of
course, offers the advantage of no new wires.
But many in the industry, including myself,
see the future as a hybrid vision. Wired technologies such as Power over Ethernet (PoE)
will prove popular in new construction and
major retrofits such as updates of an entire
building floor. And existing technologies such
as DALI and DMX will remain in use.
In the wireless area, it appears that ZigBee has quite a nice lead when it comes to
connected replacement lamps. Major players such as Osram, Philips Lighting, and
GE Lighting all have ZigBee-based products. And The Connected Lighting Alliance
endorsed ZigBee for residential use some
time ago (http://bit.ly/1Dpcx1R).
Still, there may be room for other wireless technologies in the lamps space. Bluetooth-based lamps have been a novelty due
to limited range and lack of persistent connection to the Internet, even though such
products can be controlled directly from a
mobile phone. Now a serious move to add

68
1506leds_68 68

JUNE 2015

wireless, mesh-based topologies to the Bluetooth standard could change the game. Such
a new standard from the Bluetooth Special
Interest Group (SIG) wont likely emerge
until 2016, but companies that are
participating in the mesh development have products coming to
market that will be upgradeable
to support the future standard.
At LFI, Feit Electric introduced
a line of lamps based on Bluetooth mesh. CSR is supplying its
Bluetooth-based CSRmesh network implementations to manufacturers
such as Feit. And Avi-on is adding security technology that manufacturers such
as Jasco are using in controls for Bluetooth
mesh implementations.
Partnerships may play a vital role in deciding the wireless future of the lighting industry, especially in commercial applications. For
example, Daintree Networks has partnered
with LG Electronics on ZigBee-enabled troffers and other fixtures (http://bit.ly/1lza1eK)
and with LG Innotek on drivers (http://bit.
ly/1cxPv1d). Daintree also recently partnered
with lighting manufacturer Deco Lighting on
drivers (http://bit.ly/1Flcmu9).
Yet lighting designers/specifiers or lighting manufacturers looking for guidance
from lighting industry organizations will
have to wait for help. The Connected Lighting Alliance again demonstrated interoperable residential products based on ZigBee
for residential buyers. But the organization
is still struggling with a recommendation for
commercial applications, with as many as 12
different protocols still on the table.

Fortunately, the way forward in the design

of lighting products is clearer. Manufacturers are leveraging the benefits of efficient
and compact LED sources. As the technology
matures, that industry is developing products that can deliver
great color and white-point rendering along with high efficacy.
And new approaches to optics
can be quite compelling.
Light-guide technology, for
example, continues to impress.
Cree entered the arena for planar
optics at LFI with the WaveMax technology
platform and the sleek LN Series suspended
linear fixture as a first product (http://bit.
ly/1F8dJcg). Cree will launch a second WaveMax-based product for parking garages.
Eaton (formerly Cooper Lighting) has
done well with its WaveStream products
based on light guides. The company had
more on display at LFI and said the products
are its hottest sellers. GE Lighting also says it
is having success with its Intrinsx products
in applications from retail to offices.
Light-guide technology could spell trouble for another heralded SSL technology
OLED panels. LED-edge-lit light guides are
delivering many of the advantages expected
of OLED technology, including inherently
diffuse light. LED edge lighting also can be
realized in larger panels, LEDs remain far
more efficient than OLEDs, cost far less, and
exhibit greater lifetimes. There were some
interesting OLED products at LFI, but no
clear indication that there is a market for the
technology without a major breakthrough in
cost and performance.
LEDsmagazine.com

5/22/15 11:00 AM

100W+, 98% Efficient

Buck-Boost LED Driver
RIN

VIN

Single Inductor
VIN

Input
Current
Monitor

RLED

TG1
BG1

Output
Current
Monitor

RSENSE

LT3791

SHORTLED

BG2

OPENLED
Analog
Dimming

TG2

PWM Dimming

PWMOUT
GND

4.7VIN to 60VIN, Short Circuit Proof with LED Protection & Diagnostics
Heres the latest in our growing family of high power, high performance LED drivers designed to simplify power delivery to high

brightness LEDs. The LT 3791s 4-switch buck-boost controller topology operates from input voltages above, below or equal to
the output voltage while delivering constant currents from 1A up to tens of amps. The LT3791 also provides 4% LED current
accuracy and 1.5% output voltage accuracy to ensure the highest performance LED solutions.

LED Drivers
Part
Number

1506leds_C3 3

Info & Free Samples

VIN Range (V)

Topology

LT3741

6 to 36

Synchronous
Step-Down

LED Current up to 20A

LT3743

6 to 36

Synchronous
Step-Down

LED Current up to 40A with

Fast LED Current Transitions

LT3755

4.5 to 40

Multitopology

VOUT up to 75V

LT3756

6 to 100

Multitopology

VOUT up to 100V

LT3791

4.7 to 60

4-Switch Synchronous
Buck-Boost

Comments

VOUT from 0V to 60V with

Current Monitoring

www.linear.com/products/LEDdrivers
1-800-4-LINEAR

, LT, LTC, LTM, Linear Technology and the Linear logo are
registered trademarks of Linear Technology Corporation. All other
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

5/22/15 11:00 AM

GAME CHANGING IS GREAT.

BOTTOM LINE
CHANGING IS BETTER.
You cant change your bottom line by using the same LEDs that everyone else is using. Crees Extreme
High Power (XHP) LEDs deliver double the lumen output at high operating temperatures, while our MH
LEDs combine the system advantages of our best arrays with the manufacturing ease of a discrete. And
our CXA2 LED arrays are packed with lumens to offer system cost savings up to 60%.

See how higher power

equals lower cost.
cree.com/xhp

1506leds_C4 4

The new way to

a better LED array.
cree.com/mh

Even more lumens for

savings up to 60%.
cree.com/cxa2

5/22/15 11:00 AM