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Spotlight on LED lighting


LED chips are manufactured along a spectrum of shades


Switched on: LED lighting requires certain considerations to be taken into account


Are you switched on to LED lighting? Giuliano Digilio, the ECA’s head of Technical Services and Dr Michael Dangoor of Orlight explain some of the key issues


L 34


ED lighting has made rapid advancements in recent years and is starting to have a profound impact in the electrical industry and on the lighting market. So why all the fuss? With light outputs now achieving or


even surpassing traditional high-power equivalents, product life longer than most household pets and, of course, energy consumptions that would keep the eco-activists at bay; what is there not to like? The figures speak for themselves, with forecast growth


weathering the recessionary trend and easily surpassing double digits. As LED prices fall, outputs improve, and high-wattage conventional lamps are ousted by government regulations, it certainly appears that LED lighting is set to be the lighting of the future. However, before we all turn our backs on Thomas Edison and dispose of our trusted,


ECA Today March 2011


It certainly appears that LED lighting is set to be the lighting of the future


old-fashioned GLS-type lamps, we must consider that LED technology is relatively new, especially in the electrical contracting sector, and a number of considerations must be taken into account if our clients are to be happy with their investments.


Output Firstly, and most importantly, the wattage of an LED product does not equate to light output. This is a significant misconception and needs to be firmly addressed. Performance is based on a number of variables including quality of components such as LED chips and how well the product can dissipate heat. As with all products, quality can vary significantly and, for the time being, there does not seem to be any external or regulatory quality control in the market. It is not uncommon to come across a good-quality lamp with lower wattage surpassing the light levels of a higher wattage unit. It is always advisable to consult lumen output or lux levels to have a more accurate means of comparison. Furthermore, lumens produced per watt can give you a good idea of the efficiency of an LED product.


Temperature It used to be a rarity that, when purchasing a lamp, colour temperature would be mentioned. However, LED chips are manufactured along a spectrum of shades that are then processed and placed into bins, depending on how warm or cool they are. Although the exact shade has a number assigned, known as colour temperature, these have been widely generalised into warm, neutral and cool white. The


ORLIGHT


ORLIGHT


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