The electrical department at my local big box home equipment store stocks myriad compact fluorescent lamp offerings. There are CFLs in standard incandescent lamp shapes, as well as globular lamps. In fact, there are so many CFLs that it's hard to locate conventional incandescent lamps anymore!
CFL buyers are enticed with rebates and low prices, and I must admit I've taken the bait. We've retrofitted just about every candelabra socket in our house with CFLs of one form or another.
While CFLs cut energy consumption, there are drawbacks. When improperly disposed, mercury contamination can be a problem. CFLs also have a warm-up period that can be annoying if you want immediate full intensity lighting. CFLs are somewhat vibration sensitive, too, and don't seem to be available in a range of color temperatures (warm to cool).
There are companies now offering alternatives, however. The list of LED suppliers is growing exponentially. Hardly a day goes by without at least one LED-related press announcement crossing my desk. Let me cite a few examples.
ON Semiconductor this past week detailed a reference design based on a chip suitable for solar-powered street lighting. Significantly, ON Semi's
design, based on its new NCP1294 chip, is entirely analog; there's no microcontroller or software involved.
Another chip announcement, this time from IC maker Power Integrations, focused on a
device for powering LEDs. PI's engineering report describes a 92%-efficient power supply for LED streetlight applications.
The company's HiperPLC power supply controller combines power-factor correction and resonant LLC control functions. Yes, there are lots of power-supply components seen on PI’s eval board, but that’s the price you might have to pay for a typical higher power LED lighting system.
Optek's
announcement of the week was for color-matched LEDs used in so-called multi-chromatic tuned light engines. Whether indoors or out, LEDs that produce slightly different color temperatures can be displeasing to the eye. Tuned white light is also critical to architectural and general illumination applications.
Optek's tuning produces solid-state lighting with module-to-module consistency, such that differences in color temperatures from LED to LED are indistinguishable to the human eye.
Another press announcement, this time from
LEDs America, described a recyclable LCC (LED cluster chip) light source replacement for incandescent bulbs. One of LEDs America's products has a lumens output equivalent to a 100 W standard lamp, but it only dissipates 10W.
LCCs can also be dimmed, and without color tint change (incandescent lamps turn yellow when dimmed). LCCs contain no glass, have no fragile parts, use no rare or toxic gases, and are ballast- and RFI-free. They can also work in virtually any temperature (they've been deployed at -40ºC and at +185°C). That’s important for outdoor applications, and sites that are subject to frequent on-off cycling, such as garage and basement lighting.
Claimed to be twice as efficient as a CFL, these devices emit no UV light and have lifetimes in excess of five years. The company's products include replacements for 100 W, 75 W, 60 W, and 40 W lamps, as well as a low profile light bars measuring less than 1/4-in. thick.
LEDs America is now developing manufacturing plants in the United States with the help and cooperation of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union. The lights will be marketed under the Led-O brand name. They’ll be available in tubes, bulbs, and light bars, with prices starting at about $70 for a 4-ft. tube. That may seem steep, but you may recoup that up front investment in energy savings over the life of the tube.
These kinds of developments are in lockstep with incentives for builders and developers to install energy efficient LEDs. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program, administered by the
US Green Buildings Council, bestows rating points and categories of accomplishment, with the highest being LEED Platinum, followed by LEED Gold, LEED Silver, and LEED Certified. Builders deploying energy efficient LED lighting systems can
apply for LEED ratings and get incentives and tax reductions.
Your comments are welcome. Please write me at
amm at en-genius dot net, or post your thoughts and observations on our blog.
