LED humor from Lightfair 2008
May 30, 2008
100,000 Hours of Life And Other LED Fairytales a seminar presented by Dr. John W. Curran gave great food for thought in regards to the hot trend of LEDs in the marketplace. Aside from the well-thought out content of the course, there were also some very humorous LED fairytales. We’d like to share a few of our favorites with you so, grab a seat, sit back and relax as you read through some of the almost familiar fairytales of LED’s…
Fairytales:
LEDs don’t generate heat:
Humpty LED sat on a wall
Raising its temperature unknown to all
Armies of optic and electrical men
Couldn’t get Humpty to light up again
LEDs will last 100,000 hours or more in normal use:
Twinkle, Twinkle LED
How I wonder what thee be
Up above the world so bright
But twenty years of constant light???
LEDs provide consistent color:
Mary had an LED
Its light was white as snow
And everywhere that Mary went
People said: “What’s that blue glow?”
Saving Energy = Saving Money
Hey diddle diddle,
The engineers fiddle,
Making LEDs light up the moon.
The accountants laugh to see such sport,
Knowing payback is none too soon.
John is the President of LED Transformations who has an excellent summary of LED basic technical information on his website.
Thanks John for an informative seminar and some really good laughs.
LightFair International ’08 Innovation Awards
May 28, 2008
With the kick-off of the Exhibit Hall at Lightfair 2008, the Innovation Awards have been announced. Some of the products that we feel have potential in the Downlights, Wallwashers and Accent Lights category include:
- Focal Point | Mini-Grazer - featuring a T5 lamp with a very narrow beamspread.
- Philips Solid-State Lighting Solutions | eW Graze Powercore – exterior-rated LED fixture with high-quality white light.
- Focal Point | ID - Square and round MR16 halogen and metal halide downlights.
- GE Consumer & Industrial | LED Cove Lighting System – at 6.5 watts/linear foot.
More to come on these fixtures as we check them out live at Lightfair 2008.
Notes on New Lamp Technologies at LightFair ’08
May 28, 2008
Jerry Cassel, a specification engineer of GE Lighting made note that the GE had a full 1/3 of their show space dedicated to their LEDs. Questions from visitors to the GE Booth strongly focused on LED technologies with a steady flow of visitors all day. Of note, GE is now shipping their high power white LED called the VIO.
Ardee has just released a new downlight using the GE VIO. We think Ardee’s downlight has a lot going for it: small size, quality construction, excellent cut-off, acceptable halogen-like color temperature, smooth beam distribution, low glare reflector, affordable price point. Downside, it’s still a little underpowered. It would be great to use this product instead of a 20 watt MR16 but it doesn’t have enough punch for the majority of applications with just one 4 watt LED. No one really wants to add more fixtures to compensate. We’re hoping the 2-lamp version is already in development. We’ll share more on this product later.
Beyond LEDs GE also launched new ceramic metal halide (CMH) lamps. A new 39 watt ceramic metal halide MR16 and a 70watt ceramic metal halide with a G8.5 or G12 bipin base. Both have 12,000 hour life but the 70watt lamp, dubbed “next generation” has 90% lumen maintenance over it’s life compared to other low wattage CMH lamps at 60%. Ceramic metal halide technologies are not dimmable unless the lamps wattages are over 150 watts. Green Color shift is still limiting dimming of lower wattage CMH technologies according to GE.
LightFair ’08 floor opens to crowds.
May 28, 2008
The Light Fair 08 trade show floor opened today in the Las Vegas convention center with people packing the aisles.
Over the past few years the conference has been loosing popularity among some manufacturers who have declined to exhibit due to the costs for exhibiting, competition for their attention with other trade shows and their preference to be at the alternating year LightFair shows in New York.
You wouldn’t know that from this year’s show. It’s crowded.
Perhaps it’s the overwhelming interest in new LED technologies that is the driver behind waits as long as 2 hours for entry badges and lines leading into sold out seminars. Light Fair organizers appear to have addressed some past issues with changes to the Trade Show organization and offerings.
Seminars continue untill 12:00 Noon on Friday and the trade show floor is open until 3:00PM.
Sneak Preview from the floor of LightFair 08
May 27, 2008
The trade show floor of Light Fair officially opens tomorrow 5/28 but Light Right Blog got a sneak preview today.
Pure Lighting is showing two fixtures that we think have potential.
Their “Genna” MR16 wall wash which produces a smooth wash of light up to within an inch of the ceiling line. We’re told this product will be available in both Halogen MR16 and Metal Halide versions. It’s a trimless so it requires a bit more work coordinationg on the installation. The MR16 Genna preliminary cut sheet shows a maximum of a 75watt lamp.
The second fixture is a re-design of a slot product Pure introduced two LightFairs ago in Halogen. The halogen fixture has been discountinued and this LED wall grazer is in it’s place. It’s called the Stratus linear wall graze. Besides the lamp change a new shielding system has been introduced to reduce glare and correct some bell bottom like flare they were experiencing in shorter runs. According to Mike Donovan, National Sales Manager of Pure Lighting, Pure is calling new optical system a “louflector” (louver/reflector) because a rouver sounded too Scooby Doo. First glance, we like it, and Pure tells us they have tested it as effective grazing 30ft walls with low ambient lighting. Stratus Cut Sheet
To be sure we know the real case scenario we’ll be testing both of these products off the trade show floor out of the high ambient fill conditions.
Light Up the World…post from LightFair 08
May 27, 2008
Have you ever gone home at night to read a book? or to work on paperwork? or simply to spend time with your family? Have you stopped to think about how these daily tasks would be affected without light? For many families living in third world countries; electrical light doesn’t exist. Imagine your children or your nieces or nephews or any other child having to do their studies by the light of a smoky fire or a dirty, hazardous kerosene lamp – as their only source of light. This is the reality of life for many families residing in third world countries.
One man has taken the initiative to see that this doesn’t have to be their reality. That man is Dave Irvine-Halliday and he spoke at a keynote luncheon at LightFair Institute yesterday.
Dave Irvine-Halliday is a mountaineer who, on a trek in the Himalayas found his lifelong passion to provide these families with electrical light.
Please check out the foundation that Dave and his wife Jenny founded in 1997. Light Up The World Foundation (LUTW) is an international humanitarian organization dedicated to illuminating the lives of the world’s poor. They can use your help. www.lutw.org
Are lighting manufacturers being outmarketed?
May 27, 2008
Lighting follows only water, food and shelter as an essential basic need in our modern lives and yet lighting manufacturers have let this resource disappear from our daily consciousness.
Forefront in the consumers mind are technology devices such as the latest MP3 player options, multi-function cell phones, email or T.V. These consumer technologies are being constantly re-invented and pitched with the trendiest ad campaigns. The consumer is conditioned to anticipate the arrival of the next version with the expectation that it will be even better. Even better, they think their image is at stake with their selection of devises. Bravo marketers! Way to penetrate the consumers psyche.
How is it then that the lighting products are completely lost to this audience?
Last time I checked this was a 3 billion dollar a year industry and yet there’s no direct contact to the consumer?
Do lighting manufacturers think that consumers can’t make technical decisions? Do they think they can’t convince these consumers to select quality or commit to a substantial financial investment? Do they think the only message a consumer can digest is green?
The success achieved by any technology business is in part determined by it’s ability to break through the technical knowledge barrier and build consumer confidence and their ability to choose what’s best for them. The average American consumer knows what DPI options they need for a HDTV, (High Definition Television – bet you didn’t need me to spell that out), what kind of cable they need to connect it; how the signal gets converted, if their preference is Plasma or Digital, if their purchase will be affected by their altitude, what DVD player and DVD will get them the best picture and yet… the latest lighting terms they know are likely 20 years old.
These consumers are buying $8-15,000 motorcycles, $20,000 and up boats, and now they’re purchasing a family suite of $1-3,000 mountain bikes and yet somehow the lighting industry and home builders think they can’t afford to spend more than $5,000 on lighting their new $500,000 homes.
Reason number one the lighting industry is failing to reach the consumer is that the enjoyment of living in a well lit environment isn’t being pitched at all. The focus in only on meeting the basic need of illumination. The International Association of Lighting Designers has begun to change the image of lighting in their new branding campaign. It’s about the impact of lighting on people. Manufacturers need to follow suit, create the desire, educate on the difference their product offers and stop treating consumers like simpletons by beating the green drum.
The second reason is how lighting is being purchased by the average consumer. It’s through the electrical distribution process. And this isn’t this working because it’s not bringing the best quality products for the best price to the consumer. There is no real incentive for distributors and contractors to advise consumers on the best choice. Their business model is based on encouraging purchases of products from which they can make the most profit. In a market where the consumer doesn’t currently know anything about the product and can’t tell a valuable purchase from a cheap substitute there is trouble.
So the $5,000 worth of fixtures in your new home or remodel are likely worth only $600. Yes. Sorry to break the news to you. You’ve probably grossly overpaid and underpurchased at the same time. It would be like going out and getting a 19inch black and white TV for $2,000 because you didn’t know you could get a 50″ Plasma HDTV. Bet you can’t imagine that happening right?
If one of the latest lighting terms you know is halogen, or if you’re thinking LEDs are ready to go prime-time you’re about to be bamboozled on your next lighting purchase. Better get yourself an independent lighting designer or consultant because you’re missing some important info that no one is even bothering to pitch you.
Crazy huh?
Comfort and Cut-off Angle
May 9, 2008
Have you ever been in an interior environment in which you feel you need a baseball cap to get the light out of your eyes? There are two clear reasons that might be the cause of this. One, the fixtures might be aimed in a way that did not take into regard your position in the space and they are directed right into your face. If this is the case, it may need to be re-aimed. Or two, the fixtures may not have an appropriate cut-off angle.
Cut-Off is a term that refers to the visibility of the bare light bulb (lamp) in the fixture. The cut-off angle describes the position at which you can no longer see the bulb when directly viewing the light fixture. This is an important metric in evaluating the quality of a fixture because it is a performance criteria by which comfort can be predicted and controlled.
Quality lighting fixtures are designed in a way that optimizes the cut-off angle for the application it will be used.
The cut-off angle is a published detail in most lighting fixture specifications. It’s measured up from Nadir, directly beneath the fixture, to the point at which you can no longer directly see the bulb. Cut-off means you avoid glare when walking or sitting in a space. A “sharp cut-off angle” means that the visibility of the lamp disappears quickly as you move away from the fixture. A cut-off angle or 45 degrees or less is generally considered to be “sharp”.
There are various recommended cut-off angles that lighting designers strive to achieve. This is based on systematic research about comfort level and other user based criteria such as needs when viewing a computer or driving a car. Desired cut-off angle is also a function of the ceiling or mounting height of the luminaire.
Another relevant factor to consider is the reflected image of the lamp in the trim or cone portion of the fixture. Sometimes fixtures uses highly polished reflectors and depending on the effectiveness of the design, the lamp and thus the glare, may be visible in the reflector. What good does it do to not see the lamp directly if a near mirror image of the lamp is showing up in the fixture cone?
This lamp image is often experienced by the user of a space as a flash that occurs when walking underneath the fixtures. If you’re walking in a hallway, you may notice that you are experiencing a flash from the fixtures long before you are close enough to directly see the bulb. These flashes my occur in the fixture cone from the top down or from the bottom up. Images that occur from the top down are generally more comfortable and appear less chaotic than images that appear from the bottom up. Egg shaped images are less noticeable than rabbit ear type images. A good optical designer at a lighting fixture manufacturer takes this all into account.
So what’s the big deal if you have never before noticed that this existed? While this may not be as uncomfortable as sitting in a space with glare, it does attract your eye, conscious or not conscious. This interrupts you’re experience of a space. You begin to be conscious of the light source and what it’s lighting. For most applications, the goal is to feel the effect of the lighting on the textures and surfaces in the space, not the lighting itself.
We also absorb an unbelievable amount of information from lighting whether we realize it or not. Rabbit ear flashes in a reflector cone may actually be giving you a cue of economy or cheapness – since the last place you likely saw it was in a cost cutting environment.
Don’t worry, it’s still burning!
May 9, 2008
On April 26th we posted on the longest burning light bulb, The Centennial Bulb at the Livermore Fire Deparment.
Just this past weekend it was featured on NBC nightly news which became one of MSN’s most popular videos of the week. On May 5th the Los Angeles times did an article on the bulb.
Currently, the Centennial Bulb Site is recovering from a tremendous amount of hits bringing their “..server to it’s knees” per webmaster Steve. Which means the live feeds of the Video Cam posted on the internet and this blog are not linking. We’re hoping they decide to upgrade their server soon.
IALD Position Statement / Macy’s and The Ban of the Incandescent Bulb
May 5, 2008
The International Association of Lighting Designers recently released their statement on the US ban of the incandescent bulb and the worldwide movements to strike this technology.
It’s important to note that the IALD emphasizes in their leading bullet point:
- “There is presently no lighting technology that can replace certain types and uses of incandescent lamps. ”
The IALD further notes replacement technologies still suffer from poor ability to render color, bad dimming performance and high costs.
The primary target market for this ban is the residential consumer. After years of trying various 15 watt fluorescent bulbs to replace the 60 watt screw in in their living rooms the consumer is justifiably skeptical.
The sad thing to watch is how their opinion and desire for the quality and characteristics of light of the incandescent is being shamed and legislated into oblivion.
Macy’s, in their recent Spring Home Sale advertisement, marginalized the qualities and character of light of the incandescent bulb when they hijacked the green movement to promote sales. The Macy’s ad says, “Go ahead, make the change” in reference to switching to the “green” compact fluorescent lamp. Perhaps the message is not that there isn’t a quality change but that you should do it anyway. And shame on you if you don’t. The circular then goes on to promote the latest seasons colors of appliances, plates and dishes.
Are the savings from the switch supposed to compensate for the ecologic damage of the consumerism promoted by the color of the season for pots? What is the message here? 
The consumer should feel confident in their reluctance as it has basis in fact. There is currently no lighting technology that can on par replace the incandescent lamp.
The complete text of the ban can be found on the IALD website. http://www.iald.org
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