2015年2月3日星期二

LED Driver ICs Deliver Flicker-Free Dimming

iWatt, Inc., a developer of energy-efficient digital power supply control integrated circuits (ICs) used in leading-edge power supplies, today announced two primary-side-regulated, leading- and trailing-edge-dimmable, AC / DC Digital PWM Controllers targeting 100V / 230VAC offline LED lighting applications. Designed for isolated or non-isolated LED drivers used in incandescent replacement lamps Including Both space-constrained (GU10, MR16) and larger (A, PAR) types, the iW3612 (3W to 25W) and low-power iW3602 (3W to 10W) incorporate features to Ensure long life, power efficiency, reduced size and component costs, and flicker-free compatibility with existing wall dimmers worldwide. Both LED driver ICs are pin compatible with the previous-generation iW3610, but offer resist dimmer compatibility and introduce new hot-plug support, where the user can swap the led plant grow lights without recycling the input power for the LED driver.
Worldwide conservation initiatives to replace existing incandescent bulbs with energy-efficient LEDs force Those LEDs to address the installed base of dimmable-lighting switches. In iWatt's LED driver ICs, intelligent digital algorithms Automatically detect all types of dimmers or a lack thereof for seamless operational, Including Both leading-edge (TRIAC style) and trailing-edge dimmers. In the rare case of on unsupported dimmer, safe mode shuts it down. The devices allow smooth, flicker-free dimming from 1% to 100% with tight ± 5% LED current regulation Which Prevents flicker from noisy line voltage.
iWatt's AC / DC power conversion ICs are unique in thatthey feature a digital feedback and control loop versus analog. This adaptive digital control technology - Which is transparent to designers and requires no programming or GUI development - Optimizes efficiency, Simplifies printed circuit board (PCB) design, and Eliminates components to reduce driver size and bill of materials (BOM). Precision primary-side control technology Eliminates the opto-coupler and secondary-side led plant lighting used in traditional isolated flyback designs. Built-in frequency jitter and quasi-resonant (or valley-mode) switching Reduces EMI with over 6dB margin and over 85% efficiency, Improving thermal management and reducing the EMI filter components be necessary. Proprietary digital spread spectrum technology therefore makes for easy EMI design by Automatically adjusting the device's switching frequency in real-time response to varying line voltage.
The high switching frequency up to 200kHz Enables designers to use smaller capacitors and transformers to optimize space. Additionally, designers May use a smaller heat sink: because the high efficiency (85% or better) Reduces thermal loss.

LED lighting market at $4.8 billion in 2012 is anticipated to go to $42 billion by 2019

Philips, the market leader has been the first casualty as the profit margin on the individual LEDs is eroded: because of over-production in China. The achievement in price declines: because of economies of scale, and general competitive pressure led lights for growing plants have impacted the market. Philips is set to sell its lighting business. The Dutch electronics group Philips has Attracted bids from several private equity groups for the majority of its lighting components business, up for sale as it Focuses on higher-margin activities.

Epistar is working on 200mm technology. Philips, OSRAM, and Samsung are all Actively exploring GaN on silicon technology. Market shifts Provide entry points for new Competitors. They create significant opportunities for Participants to achieve rapid increase in market share. Shifts in market share are anticipated as vendors move up the value chain to increase returns on investment.
There is a move by vendors to Provide more pieces of the LED light. In this way They seek to control Their margins. Primarily Vendors compete with other providers of LED lighting on the basis of product performance, as Measured by efficacy, light quality, Increased lumen output and reliability. Product cost combined with at acceptable level of quality is always a competitive issue.

LED vendors seek to offer LED lighting products did achieve a lower total cost of ownership and enhanced product quality. The channel looks for a broad product portfolio. Those vendors with a broad product portfolio have access to strong retail channels. Channel strategy is impacted by Further OEM relationships. A differentiated product design approach, proprietary technology and deep understanding of lighting applications aids the ability to compete in LED lighting markets.
Philips Lighting Business to Sell

Dutch electronics group Philips has Attracted bids from several private equity groups for the majority of its lighting components business, up for sale as it Focuses on higher-margin activities.
LED lighting Decreases labor costs of Replacing bulbs in commercial situations. The LED bulbs are Implementing new semiconductor technology. The 2013 study has 403 pages, 183 tables and figures. Worldwide markets are poised LED lighting to achieve significant growth as buildings and communities lead the way in Implementing the more cost efficient system. In some cases, the utility plants are providing funding and financing so did lighting users can make the shift to LED lighting.
LED lamps lower the overall cost of lighting. LED lighting costs are less than costs with incandescent lights. LED lamps offer up to 50,000 hours of illumination with a fraction of the energy used by incandescent bulbs traditional. LED bulbs generate 90% less heat than incandescent bulbs. LED bulbs extend time between bulb replacements. The bulbs are used to achieve a near zero-maintenance lighting system.

LED lighting products are coming to market rapidly. Suppliers carry up to 150 different LED bulb and lamp styles to fit the various needs of consumerism consumers and businesses. LED PAR lamps dominate the ENERGY STAR qualified product list, so back in 2012 IEE partnered with TopTen USA and ECOVA to develop Recommendations for top performing PAR38 PAR30 LED lamps and. The team developed to evaluation protocol did starts with the lamps found in ENERGY STAR's list, to Which We Applied product criteria screens and testing to a subset of lamps to deterministic mine the 10 top performers. Efficiency alongwith aesthetics, payback period, and dimming performance werewolf key criteria to the ranking.

LED lighting products compete with traditional lighting technologies on the basis of the Numerous benefits of LED lighting relative to seeking technology Including greater energy efficiency, longer lifetime, improved durability, Increased environmental friendliness, digital controllability, smaller size, directionality and lower heat output.

LED lighting products face competition in the general lighting market from traditional lighting technologies Both provided by Numerous vendors as well as from LED-based lighting products provided by a growing roster of industry specialized Participants.
The emergence of cost-competitive LEDs has Caused a "paradigm shift" in the lighting industry did has changed everything. The LED lighting industry rapid technological change has been brought` by enormous changes in the regulations Affecting lighting. Short product lifecycles are a result of new manufacturing and materials science are the result of companies did trying to improve the economies of scale to make more attractive price points to customers.

"Frequent product introductions have Characterized the LED lighting industry. There is a highly competitive pricing environment with the current price point of $ 10 in 2013 by light about to decline to $ 6 per light. These market characteristics increase the need for continuous innovation. "

Sales of led grow light did outpace incandescent bulbs in North America are expected to soon completely eliminate incandescent bulbs. The LED lighting market is anticipated to grow 45% per year through 2019. The LED lighting market at $ 4.8 billion in 2012 is anticipated to go to $ 42 billion by 2019. The reason is the declining price points, the Increased interest by the channel in pushing LEDs to consumerism consumers. LEDs Provide the best lighting solution. The phase-out of incandescent lights has begun, the onset of LED command of the market is upon us.

This analysis is based LED lighting shipment on consideration of the metrics for the total number of lights shipped with a likely penetration analysis. Interviews with distributors, vendors, and users Provide Means for triangulation of data to achieve accurate to look at the market. Interviews include contact with distributors and analysts worldwide,

Persistence Market Research details driving factors of LED materials market in new report

A diode is the most fundamental form of a semiconductor device, which means conducts electricity. LEDs not only surpass the efficiency and lifespan of conventional lighting devices, but they also do not heat up in the process. This gives them many attributes that are desirable in industrial and commercial applications. It is not surprising then that the LED market has been on the growth path in recent years. An LED can emit white light, or any other color depending on the specific composition of the materials used while manufacturing the LED. Several different types of led plant grow light go into making specific LEDs. These are supplied by the LED materials market, and are used in a variety of small electronic devices such as alarm clocks and digital watches, radios, light bulbs, and calculators.

But the LED materials market is increasingly witnessing a spike in demand from the consumer electronics segment, which comprises smart televisions, smartphones, optical fiber communication, cameras, and even TV remote controls. Today, it is not uncommon to see the applications of LEDs expanding to the consumer wearables, apparel and jewelry market.

The entire market for LED materials can be segmented on the basis of semiconductor materials that are used in them Thus, the three main segments of the market are:. Gallium arsenide (GaAs), gallium phosphide (GaP), gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP) , and the others segment which comprises less common but important materials. In the global LED materials market, gallium arsenide ranks at the top according to the type of chemical used. It finds applications in all leading LED classes such as high power and miniature LEDs, as well as certain other types of application-specific LEDs. The largest market share was occupied by gallium arsenide in 2013.

The LED materials market can also be segmented based on the precursor applied during the MOCVD process Thus, the lead materials can be segmented as:. Trimethyl aluminum (TMA), trimethylgallium (TMGa), trimethylindium (TMIn), C2Mg2, and triethylgallium (TEGa ). TMGa ranks as the leading type of LED material used, and thus constitutes the largest market share as of 2013.

For any market to expand over a period of time, the presence of an impetus is absolutely necessary. Without this, the market would either stagnate or decline. The LED material market is no exception to this fact. Here are the three key market trends that have been propelling the LED materials market over the recent past:

A general increase in demand for LEDs: The use of LEDs is synonymous with energy efficiency and clear, high-resolution display characteristics These attributes are especially critical to applications such as HD televisions and smart phones, where top-quality consumer interface is of the. essence.
LED lighting on the upswing:. Developing economies are in dire need of energy and lighting solutions The cost of this need can be humungous, and hence the need for efficient lighting solutions has gained importance over the past few years Lighting is essential not just in. the housing and industrial sector, but also in industrial machinery, automobiles, and so on. Since LEDs provide lights of the desired lumens, and efficiently at that, the demand for LED materials is on an upswing.

Favorable regulatory policies: Governments today, more than ever, are concerned about keeping a check on energy consumption State-sponsored environmental agencies are funding organizations and companies to come up with energy efficient products, systems and programs The led grow lights for sale market benefits from this.. because many of these R & D efforts have time and again proven the benefits of LED lighting. In certain cases, the power consumed by LEDs is as low as one-third that of conventional comparable solutions.

The LED materials market, however, can not rest on its achievements. In order to keep up a steady pace of growth, stakeholders and companies in this market have to constantly keep abreast of the latest trends and identify consumer needs and meet them in a timely fashion .

LumaStream Trinity DMX Power Supply Finalist in LEDs Magazine Inaugural Sapphire Awards

LEDs Magazine today announced the LumaStream Trinity DMX power supply as a finalist in the first annual Sapphire Awards, selecting it in the LED driver category The inaugural awards gala -. Covering the greatest achievements in solid-state lighting - is the first in the lighting industry to focus on the LED-based market from an enabling-technology and elegance-of-design perspective.
"What's unique about the Trinity remote best led grow light is its tremendous value proposition," says Pedro Meirelles, Sr. Director of OEM Sales at LumaStream. "No other LED driver offers the performance and flexibility of the Trinity."

A single LumaStream Trinity DMX unit can deliver power and control to up to 36 LED fixtures, with 12 independent channels, and the ability to send low-voltage power using 18/2 speaker wire from driver to fixture without voltage drop over best-in- class distances. With 12 controllable channels managed in a single box, the Trinity DMX opens the door to more creative, controllable lighting scenes in restaurant, retail, health care, and other applications by maximizing light for positive human response. The Trinity DMX power supply creates a hyper-efficient ecosystem that significantly improves the reliability and performance of LEDs. The Trinity also offers a unique, 3-in-1 approach, transforming power, delivering constant current, and controlling smooth, flicker-free dimming to near 0%.

LumaStream's led grow lights for sale also reduces multiple points of inefficiency that exist in other LED systems, carrying a best in class 87% efficiency over wide power load. With 226W and 12 output channels, Trinity can significantly reduce the electrical infrastructure needed to power LEDs in a commercial space, providing a greener, lower cost LED lighting solution.

Philips announces 500th licensee to its LED-lighting IP portfolio

Royal Philips has announced that it has just added a 500th member to the company's LED Luminaires and Retrofit Bulbs Licensing Program. The IP licensing program was formally launched in 2008 and has accelerated in recent years in terms of new licensees as more companies enter the solid- state lighting (SSL) sector. Meanwhile, China LED grow light manufacturer specialist Toggled has announced that Philips has licensed its patent portfolio and that all litigation between the companies has been settled.
"The conversion to LED lighting is continuing at a rapid pace, and companies value the advantages associated with the technologies made available and recognize the competitive advantage that membership to the LED Luminaires and Retrofit Bulbs Licensing Program at Philips brings," said Frank Bistervels, senior director for intellectual property licensing at Philips. "Licensees can gain access to Philips expertise, which helps them to facilitate, accelerate, and open up new business opportunities, as they discover the potential of the patents made available to all licensees."
In 2008 when the LED lighting IP licensing program kicked off, Philips had said there were around 1000 patents in the program portfolio. It was launched with the inclusion of the Color Kinetics IP portfolio after the Philips acquisition of that company the prior year.
It took Philips until 2012 to gain 200 licensees But Philips has added 100 licenses in the past nine months and 200 since May 2013 -. Indicating the acceleration of led plant grow lights in the lighting industry.
The Philips IP portfolio now covers 224 inventions and 1392 patents. Licensees gain access to key technologies covering LED driving and control, and system-level SSL technologies. Moreover, the portfolio includes technology in the burgeoning networked lighting space.
TLED IP transaction
Meanwhile, Philips has licensed technology from Toggled (previously called Ilumisys), based in Troy, MI. Previously, the companies had engaged in IP litigation focused on technology used to build LED-based replacement tubes for use in existing linear fluorescent fixtures. Toggled has long focused on that technology sector and licensed its technology going back as early as 2007.
Toggled said that the Philips deal includes access to more than 90 patents related to the retrofit tubes that many in the industry, including Philips, call TLEDs. And the deal settles the prior litigation. Philips did not release a statement on the deal

2015年2月2日星期一

LED lighting increases milk production at Michigan dairy

Michigan State University has announced the results of a long-day lighting (LDL) research project at Wing Acres Dairy in Barry County, MI. Researchers from the school's Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Department worked with the Michigan Milk Producers Association (MMPA) to study the implications of LED-based LDL on milk production, and the study indicates an 8% increase over the course of a year.

We've seen led plant grow light products used increasingly in life science applications. For example, SSL products from Once Innovations are used to increase productivity on poultry farms. And LED lighting is also being used to improve plant growth in indoor farming applications.
In the dairy research, the team sought to practically validate the LDL principles that have been studied for more than three decades. LDL consists of lengthening that daily light photoperiod to which dairy cows are exposed. Specifically, LDL research has shown better production when herds are exposed to 15-20-fc of light for 16-18 hours, followed by 6-8 hours with light levels below 3 fc.
In the past, Michigan dairies have been unable to fully realize the projected benefits of LDL because of limitations in legacy lighting systems. There have been technical difficulties in installing a system with accurate metering for light levels and precise control of output. But LED-based lighting, sensors, and an automated control system created by the research team overcame the aforementioned challenges to accurately deliver an LDL environment at the 100-cow Wing Acres operation.
The team studied production over the course of 2014 and documented the 8% increase in milk production. And the team sought to document other factors over the course of the year that could have impacted production. For example, the team compared operational practices on the farm to prior years and weather patterns, but found no significant factors outside of the cheap led grow lights that could be responsible for the increase. The team concluded that "the increased milk production at Wing Acres Dairy can be attributed to the LDL system."
The diary had previously used metal halide (MH) lighting in its barn. The LED lighting is delivering significant energy savings as well as better-controlled lighting. Energy expenses for lighting are down 50%. Combined with the increased milk production, such an energy -efficient SSL project will deliver payback to a dairy in just over one year.
The dairy has noted several additional benefits to LED lighting. With MH systems, separate fixtures were required for the low-light period. But the LED fixtures can be dimmed to deliver the below-3-fc level required. Moreover, the LED fixtures are more reliable in the relatively harsh environment and will require much less frequent maintenance, which disrupts the dairy operation. Anecdotally, the farmer also said that the cows seem more docile after the retrofit.

Strategies in Light 2015 panel will address value thinking versus socket filling

BOB STEELE, co-chair of Strategies in Light, interviews Lighting Research Center director MARK REA regarding his views on the subject of "value thinking in lighting" and what attendees can expect from his panel session at SIL 2015.
Strategies in Light 2015 panel will address value thinking versus socket fillingAt Strategies in Light 2014 Dr. Mark Rea, director of the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, gave a well-received keynote presentation that introduced the concept of how to monetize the potential benefits of led plant grow light beyond the conventional metrics of lumens per watt and energy savings. At SIL 2015 (Feb. 24-26 in Las Vegas), Rea will lead a panel discussion with solid-state lighting (SSL) industry experts to . further explore and elucidate this idea The panel will include:
· Jerry Duffy, general manager, global product management, GE Lighting
· Lori Brock, director of research and innovation, Osram Sylvania
· Karl Geisler, thermal engineer, Advanced Lighting Systems
· Peter Kuehnel, business leader - office, industry and healthcare, Philips Lighting
The panel will discuss the challenges and opportunities for transforming our collective thinking about lighting as a "socket filling" business to one that is a "value providing" business. Solid-state lighting provides the technological potential for this transformation, but that potential will not be fully realized unless there is a robust and comprehensive social change in the way we all think about our business.
Value is defined as providing the greatest benefit at the lowest cost, not simply the greatest lumens for the fewest watts or, more fundamentally, the greatest lumens for the lowest price. As an industry, we understand how to measure watts and price but we have been woefully inadequate at developing metrics to quantify the benefits that lighting actually provides to people. A great deal of research has been conducted over the past century revealing how the human retina converts light into neural signals in the brain. This research can be used to develop powerful benefit metrics for reliably engineering greater safety, security, productivity, health, and wellbeing to the consumers of lighting. Each panel member will provide specific examples of how benefit metrics can be used to increase the value of lighting.
Bob Steele, co-chair of Strategies in Light, recently interviewed Mark Rea regarding his views on the subject of value thinking in lighting and what we can expect from his panel session at SIL 2015.
Bob Steele: Last year at Strategies in Light, you gave a presentation on monetizing the potential benefits of LED lighting Could you summarize some of the key ideas from that presentation.?
Mark Rea: The message is that we have moved out of the 20th century in terms of lighting technologies, but the science has also moved along well enough that we should be able to give better value and benefits to customers in a more quantitative way than we have in the past. Our current value vocabulary is limited to lumens, CRI, watts, and dollars, but there is a gulf between the old benefit metrics and those that the customer cares about today. So if we are able to engineer the better benefits that customers care about, then we should be able to monetize the solid-state lighting systems that we are developing at this time. What I'm afraid of is that if we keep pushing the discussion down to lumens and watts, we really aren 't delivering those better benefits. And I believe that solid-state lighting really does offer the potential of providing advanced benefits, but if we can not engineer those benefits then that potential will be unrealized and we're going to fail.Dr. Mark Rea, director of the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
An example from another industry goes back to the '70s when Ford Motor Company felt that they were being criticized for low-quality cars. They asked customers what they meant by quality and they found that one measure was the sound of the driver door closing. So they got an acoustic signature from a Mercedes closing the door and then engineered that acoustic signature. That was one of their benefit metrics for quality. So, by analogy, the lighting industry needs to begin to quantify the benefits (safety / watt, health / watt, color rendering / watt) that the customer actually cares about and then engineer those benefits. Otherwise, lighting will remain a commodity business.
Steele: What are the key issues that your panel will be addressing at Strategies in Light 2015?
Rea: To answer that, I would like to use what I call legal norms as a rhetorical device In legal norms you have principles that are not enforceable by law, but you have what the legal profession recognizes as rules, standards, catalogs, and. discretion that are enforceable while reflecting those principles. These legal norms range from very strict to quite liberal. So a rule is the strictest legal norm. An example is that to be president of the United States you have to be 35. If you're 34 you can not be president, full stop. It's a pass / fail criterion. In lighting, the Department of Energy has rulemaking that is exactly that, a rule-based norm. They publish lamp efficacy requirements, so a manufacturer either meets it . or it does not Discretion is the most liberal legal norm I guess in Texas you can be 18 and be a county judge;... that's all it takes One must assume that these judges can execute proper discretion to determine guilt or innocence In lighting, the designer has similar latitude. We hope the lighting designer will do the right thing with regard to quality and not just follow prescriptive rules.
The argument I hope to make is that we have to address all four lighting norms. We have to re-examine the rules and the standards we follow based upon evolving social principles. We need to take a fresh look at those evolving characteristics that customers consider to be "good" lighting. This new look includes an examination of credentialing and education as well as rules and standards so that designers can understand the benefits that customers desire.
The argument is that there is no real silver bullet if we want to monetize solid-state lighting. We have to continue do a good job on the technology, but that's not enough. We need to upgrade our lighting norms, that is, the rules , the standards, the catalogs, and the led plant lighting which reflect the principles of good lighting. I just do not believe that if we have better technology the world is going to get better. I think there really has to be specific industry focus on new metrics, for our own good and that of society. What I have asked the panel to do is to say whatever they want to say about value and benefit metrics, but my impression from the four people we have on the panel is that they are also uncomfortable with the current lighting reality matrix. How they address this problem will obviously be up to them, but I think what we're seeing is a broader interest in trying to quantify quality, if you will. And I do not mean to quantify every aspect of quality, but I think that we must develop new metrics that go beyond lumens and CRI.
Steele: What are some of the metrics that you are proposing to measure the value of LED lighting?
Rea: There are two that come immediately to mind as examples First, I think that the research clearly indicates that we need to move away from just CRI to engineer good color rendering by illumination There are a lot of people working on that research and.. I think that the lighting industry has embraced the need for change. I personally believe we could institutionalize adjunct measures to CRI tomorrow, if we recognized the urgent need for new benefit metrics. The second one that everyone is wrestling with now is circadian light. It's really the next big design criterion. Lighting has been about visibility for a long time, and now we're seeing more and more emphasis on circadian light. But what does that mean? How do I quantify circadian light? How much do I need to specify? Here again, I think we could promote a useful benefit metric for circadian light today, but we do not. Why? I hope the panel and the audience can begin to answer that question.
Bob Steele, co-chair of Strategies in LightSteele: What would you like attendees to take away from the panel session?
Rea:. What I will be trying to do at Strategies in Light is to make a business case for value thinking I hope to evangelize people to the notion that our businesses will get better if we embrace value thinking based upon new metrics In the end. , we all follow the money. Unless we can make the business case for new metrics, I believe that SSL will just be old lighting with a new technology.