142 TECHNOLOGY / THE ARC SHOW @ MAY DESIGN SERIES
iGuzzini’s Laser Blade range, the successful result of a design exercise to get more light from less luminaire with minimal glare, will be on display at The ARC Show @ May Design Series. David Morgan puts it through its paces.
BLADES HAVE THE EDGE
At first glance this range of ceiling recessed linear luminaires appears to be designed for use in offices as a replacement for linear fluorescent downlights. However when the miniature size and the narrow distribution are appreciated the actual applications in retail and display become apparent. The result is an ultra-minimal slot in the ceiling producing a high output, low glare down- light distribution. iGuzzini claim that a circular distribution is created from these linear downlights, which is approximately true in most applications where the luminaire length is much less than the mounting height. This allows the orientation of the lights in the ceiling to be determined independently of the planned light pattern - for the shorter versions anyway. The optical system incorporated in the La- ser Blade range comprises individual mini, faceted reflectors controlling the output from each 2 watt LED. A glossy black bezel mounted in front of the reflectors serves to give a completely dark light effect from normal viewing angles. In terms of glare control this gives the range a very comfort- able light output. There are two distribu- tions available at the moment – a 50 degree flood and a 30 degree medium beam. iGuzzini claim a UGR (Unified Glare Rating) of less than 19 which makes the range suit- able for office use but a bit high for use in residential spaces. There are no covers over the individual LEDs, which may lead to dust and dirt forming on the LED lenses over the
years thus reducing light output but in the short term this helps to boost light output, figures as no light is lost in transmission through a cover. The light output from the five LED, 10 watt flood sample with that I was given to re- view was surprisingly high despite the glare control elements of the design, with a lot of punch and good colour rendering. iGuzzini claim 900 lumens output in warm white from 10 watts. The overall size of the five LED version was only 148mm x 44mm x 54mm high. The range includes eight models from a single square 2 watt LED up to a fifteen LED ver- sion at over 400mm long. Both flanged and trimless ceiling mounts are available. The drivers are remote and both DALI dimming and non-dimming versions are available. The one piece die cast aluminium housing incorporates an elegant heat sink detail design and gives a direct thermal path from the LED pcb to the ceiling recess. There are a series of wave shaped heat sink ribs running along the back of the cast body to maximise the dissipation of heat from the LEDs. This heat sink design is visually appealing and does a reasonable job but I think the total heat sink surface area may need to be larger. We did a quick thermal test with the review sample mounted into a closed ceil- ing housing sized according to EN 60 598 test requirements. With a 25°C ambient the LED pcb was running at around 70°C which is somewhat higher than I would have
expected. The metal pcb was in direct contact with the die cast heat sink but there was no thermal grease or thermal pad between them in our sample and there was quite a large thermal gradient between the pcb temperature and the heat sink tem- perature, which indicates that the thermal transfer could be improved. The Laser Blade was designed in house by the iGuzzini design team led by Massimo Gattari, Technical Director. According to iGuzzini he came up with the unique idea of re-inventing the basic ingredients of the traditional downlighter and Laser Blade was born, achieving a recto-linear modern crisp shape in the ceiling as a fixture, but still creating the traditional circular distribu- tion. Apparently this inspiration came during the development of the Lun Up inground series, designed by Dean Skira, which also uses individual reflectors to control the output from the LEDs. I am sure that the Laser Blade range will be a successful addition to the iGuzzini range and will have many applications in retail, display and hospitality lighting projects. I wonder if an asymmetric version for wall washing would make a useful range exten- sion.
www.iguzzini.co.uk David Morgan runs David Morgan Associ- ates, a London-based international design consultancy specialising in luminaire design and development.
www.dmadesign.co.uk
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