More Light with Less Power: Report from LpS 2014

The LED professional Symposium + Expo 2014 (LpS 2014) took place from September 30th to October 2nd in Bregenz, Austria. 58 multidisciplinary expert talks, 5 hands on workshops and 2 tech-panels were hosted to inform the visitors about all aspects of LED lighting. Close to 100 companies were exhibiting and launching new innovations and products to the SSL marketplace. This article introduces some of them related to power.

Lighting systems based on LED and OLED technologies promising great power savings but their design is also challenging. Preferred solutions have to incorporate the latest technologies, smart systems, new standards, advanced functionalities and new user behaviors. Therefore, a holistic design and engineering approach is required in order to develop successful LED Lighting Systems for the future. Therefore integrated designs formed the core of the LpS 2014 Symposium and Exhibition for Integrated LED Lighting System Designs program. All lectures, workshops and tech-panels were linked to this central theme. Experts from various disciplines came together to present, discuss, exchange and explore best practices and develop new lighting concepts and designs for optimized environments. The new approach that was implemented this year intentionally links theory and practice. The first two days of the Symposium feature inspiring lecture presentations in four parallel sessions and are followed by an interactive third day full of workshops and discussions to foster information exchange and practical applications. The most important trends and visions in future LED lighting systems, materials and manufacturing, light sources, reliability and lifetime, engineering of LED optics, electronics and smart lighting as well as design with LEDs and OLEDs were covered in the 58 lectures presented by international experts from industry and research.

The third day of the LpS featured five workshops and two techpanels, which run on five parallel tracks. Topics like Visual Perception, Luminary Design, 3-D Printed Optics, LED driver designs for Smart Lighting and Zigbee for wireless lighting solutions were discussed and demonstrated. Prof. Mehmet Arik, known as the “Edison of the 21st century”, was opening the workshop series with his keynote about “Breakthrough Technologies and Strategies in SSL Developments – Thermal Management of LEDs”. The lighting industry is facing a shift from wired towards wireless connectivity, driven by several trends. The way people control devices is changing. New value-added functionalities in automation are becoming more common and enhancing customer experiences. Additionally, wireless technology is now available at low prices. Consequently, a unified approach is required to enable system compatibility. Therefore the Connected Lighting Alliance (TCLA) has defined the ZigBee Light Link standard as the preferred common open standard for wireless controlled lighting, which was introduced and discussed in detail at their workshop.

The exhibition space was extended this year for 100 exhibitors such as Samsung, Cree, Infineon, Wago, Fischer, Bayer Material Science, Arrow and OEC. The reputation of the fair is growing and leading companies are increasingly using the LpS as a platform for their European or global product launches. This year the following companies (in alphabetical order) presented amongst other things new products.

 

Figure 1: LCL230R-AC lamp reduces maintenance costs in buildings due to the high reliability and long life

 

Auer Lighting was introducing their light guides made of borosilicate glass using injection-molding technology. This technology resists heat better than the plastic counterparts. Glass light guides are used in applications with high-power LEDs, e.g. automotive and stage lighting. They help to achieve the desired light distribution and colour mixing. Especially with high-power LEDs, temperatures easily can exceed the maximum operating temperatures of plastic materials like acrylic, PC, and silicone. Beyond its supreme thermal stability, the borosilicate glass SUPRAX 8488 offers low thermal expansion and zero water absorption allowing for precise light guidance along difficult environmental conditions. Auer Lighting offers customized light guides as well as standard solutions.

BQ Ceramics was showing their first ceramic-coated metal core PCB with integrated heat sink, which offers superior thermal conductivity at reasonable costs. The Polar Light technology is the first ceramic coated MC-PCB with integrated heat sink and superior thermal conductivity, specifically developed for LED applications. It allows LEDs to be placed in direct contact with the ceramic-coated aluminum PCB. The concept provides superior thermal conductivity, whereby the heat generated directly underneath the High Power LEDs is very effectively dissipated to the ambient, resulting in a junction temperature that is up to 30°C lower than on a traditional MC-PCB. The BQ Polar Light reduces the number of components in the light engine. Fewer components mean less material and fewer assembly steps. Combining these aspects, Polar Light enables applications that need more light emitted from compact spaces, offering design flexibility at lower cost.

Data Link presented a new lamp designed with their new patented planar and AC LED technology. The AC LED technology has enabled that the LCL230R-AC lamp has a minimum of components and no electronic parts that are susceptible to aging. Additionally, this lamp can endure millions of power cycles and has a very long life. Flush Mount Ceiling Lamp is low energy alternative to incandescent and Compact Fluorescent bulb. LCL230R-AC provides a large luminous flux of at least 1400 lumens, while its consumption is only 16W and has a real lifespan of over 60,000 hours. The lamp has a very pleasant white light suitable for domestic dwellings and residential market, with colour temperatures available from warm white 2700K to neutral white 4000K depending on the application. This lamp has thermal management due to the large surface cooler that allows the low LED junction temperature of maximum 65°C. The lamp is thermally protected, which means that at higher ambient temperatures reduce the intensity of light and prevent overheating of the LED and shorten lifespan.

 

Figure 2: The LED driver LC-XT has a power factor of > 0.96

 

ELT introduced two new driver product lines: The LC-XT, which is characterized by very low current output ripple (2%) and low THD (< 10%) and the LC-UN universal voltage multi-power LED drivers. LC-XT is a solution up to 1400mA and 150W. In addition, there is a specific option for 90W. >The driver shows a long life time of 50,000 hours at Tc = 75°C and Ta = 60°C. (Ta ‐40 °C / + 60 °C). The LED driver is implemented with very high quality components used in the automotive industry, so it works properly at ‐40 °C. The LC-XT has a surge protection of 6kV and an extra protection, the ITP.

The universal voltage multi-power LED drivers of the LC-UN series feature 4 models which differentiate in form factor and power. LC-AUN drivers feature an input voltage range of 110 – 277V for loads up to 25 W regulated from very low loads (<10W). The drivers are class II and SELV and therefore especially suited for down-light applications. LC-E-UN series drivers have the same input voltage range for loads up to 50 W. They are suited for COBs and down-light applications (class I, class II and fan switch on option) and outdoor IP67 lighting fixtures which can incorporate IP20 drivers (possible lightning protection). Various currents are available, easily adaptable for particular COBs from specific customer. The drivers show high efficiency both electrical (90‐91%) as well as luminous (ROC <2%). LC-D-UN drivers show also the same input voltage range but for loads up to 90 W and in “slim” format. They are class I devices for indoor linear lighting and feature the same high efficiency of the LC-E-UN-Series. The LC-C-UN drivers feature a different input voltage range of 110 – 240 V for loads up to 60 W. They are linear class I devices for indoor lighting which do not require a slim format (driver height 28mm). Its efficiency is electrical up to 87% and luminous ROC <2%.

LUXeXceL announced both the launch of a new additive manufacturing platform that delivers high speed and precision as well as the introduction of a new clear material “LUX-Opticlear”, allowing high-quality optics manufacturing up to 20mm in height in 3D printing process. With these new capabilities, this process is ready to compete with injection molding for the production of small and mid-sized series of optical components. The company now offers a fast and effective service for prototyping, iterating and the manufacturing of optics, cutting out the need for costly and inflexible tooling.

 

This article originally appeared in the Bodo’s Power Systems magazine.