Tomi Engdahl’s ePanorama blog

As manufacturers strive for market share in the burgeoning LED lighting market each tries to outdo the other with ever-improving efficacy claims. But just how far can the LED chip makers go and how soon will they get there?

Equally important: LED cost is plummeting. Thanks to a phenomenon known as Haitz’s Law, LED cost is said to be falling by a factor of 10 every decade, while the light generated per package rises by a factor of 20.

Haitz’s law is an observation and forecast about the steady improvement, over many years, of light-emitting diodes (LED). It states that every decade, the cost per lumen (unit of useful light emitted) falls by a factor of 10, the amount of light generated per LED package increases by a factor of 20, for a given wavelength (color) of light. It is considered the LED counterpart to Moore’s law.

LED Efficacy Improvement Shows No Signs of Slowing article briefly explores the historical trend of improving efficacy of high-brightness LEDs, considers the theoretical efficiency limits, and takes a look at how contemporary devices stack up. Finally, the article takes a look at what manufacturers such as Cree and OSRAM are up to in their R&D labs to find out how tomorrow’s chips will perform. Rapid increases in LED efficacy show no sign of slowing just yet. And with a mainstream lighting market for LEDs potentially worth billions of dollars, manufacturers are not shy about pouring hundreds of millions into R&D.

Fundamentals: LED color chart article gives a brief review on color temperature and how it affects white LED light.

Despite the fact that LEDs produce light by a process other than heating, we still use correlated color temperature (CCT) when describing the appearance of the LED as it relates to the appearance of a black body radiator. Color Temperature is a standard method of describing white color for use in a range of situations and with different equipment, but note that the term degrees kelvin is not technically correct.

Color “Temperature” is actually a measure of the relative amounts of red or blue light being emitted. Higher color temperatures have more blue. White and blue LEDs have a color temperature, but LEDs not in the white-blue spectrum do not.

Most white LED lamps fall under three basic categorical descriptions: “warm white,” “pure white,” and “cool white.” When the glow of the white LED light is slightly yellow, it’s typically around 3000° Kelvin (K), referred to as “warm white.” “pure white” LED light measures at around 4500°K. “cool blue” white light displays a reading of 6500°K or more. Standard for White Color LED Lighting Fixtures document outlines a proposed definition of standard for white color LED lighting fixtures defined within C.I.E. 1931 chromaticity diagram (degrees Kelvin only as a reference measurement).

Warm light is best used in living spaces as it tends to be more flattering to clothing and skin tones. Cool light, on the other hand, is preferred for visual tasks, as it produces excellent contrast. Fundamentals: LED color chart has a table on the end of the article that shows easy-to-remember basics for best application practices for different applications. Which Color Temperature Do You Prefer?

For more LED information read also Notes on LEDs article.

First created in 1967, the LED (light emitting diode) is a forward direction radiation emitting p-n junction semiconductor lamp. Although typically the light generated is within the visible spectrum, the radiation emitted can also be a non visible inferred light. Originally the LED was utilized as an indicator light for display panels on devices and machinery, and typically only in red. Next the light began to come in green, yellow, and orange.

Despite their efficiency and long lasting capabilities their intensity was only enough to be adequate for indoor use. It wasn’t until the 90’s that the industry finally began to see blue LEDs. Still the power ability was limited and although they became available in a wide variety of colors, and it wasn’t until relatively recent times that the white light LED was an widely accessible option. There have been many different methods created to get a white light LED, which has typically been done by manipulating the phosphorus or using multiple lights.
Now that the white LED lights are possible this has opened a door to the industry that has had potentially long lasting ramifications on our everyday living. With the new cost effective ways in which these bulbs can now be manufactured, combined with their durability and increasing intensity LEDs have already begun to replace traditional incandescent light bulbs in almost every part of our daily lives. You can now find replacement LED household light bulbs, recreational vehicle lighting, and combined with HID (high-intensity discharge), which is a new technology that gives off a very powerful and bright light, headlights.

The benefits to LED lights cannot be overstated. The compact florescent bulb, which was created as a viable alternative utilizes nearly a quarter less energy than the standard bulb, which over the course of its lifetime will consumer as much as 10 times the energy of its initial cost. As a base if you were to use a 20 watt bulb, which is just sufficient to read by, and compare it to what power would be necessary to produce the same amount of light with a cluster of LEDs, it would only take a comparable 1.2 watts. Additionally the lifespan of the basic household incandescent light bulb is 750 hours, and comparatively you can get a remarkable average life of 100,000 hours from a LED.
Because the LED does not require a filament they can be crafted to be solid, which enables them to be highly durable and useful in circumstances that would otherwise be impossible. Now you can see vehicles with single LED pods and lighting strips that illuminate them in magical and unusual ways. You can now find sleek looking motorcycles that give a futuristic glow as they speed past. With the invention of super bright LEDs, with their high efficiency and long lasting durability, the future looks bright for LED lighting.

This article was contributed to ePanorama.net by http://www.ledlightswarehouse.com

Philips wins $10M L Prize for LED-based 60W replacement bulb article tells that Philips wins $10M L Prize for LED-based 60W replacement bulb. The bulbs had to meet or exceed a set of requirements: greater than 900lm at 10W or less (efficacy of greater than 90W/lm) at a color-corrected temperature (CCT) of 2700-3000K and a color rendering index (CRI) of at least 90.

The winning Philips bulb uses a clever remote phosphor system to gain a spherical distribution of light. For more details on that read the Philips LED bulb tear-down article.

L Prize competition is planned to accelerate America’s shift from inefficient, dated lighting products to innovative, high-performance products. DOE’s first L Prize category launched in 2008 targets the 60-watt bulb because it is one of the most widely used types of light bulbs by consumers, representing roughly half of the domestic incandescent light bulb market (more than 425 million bulbs sold in USA every year).

Lighting apps boost LED usage article says that in in 2011, DisplaySearch predicts global LED capacity will reach 180 billion units, and by 2013 will reach 227 billion. The total average LED penetration in lighting was 1.4% in 2010 and is forecast to reach 9.3% in 2014.