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By: Stewart Catso
Web site: http://www.lamps-n-lighting.com
Lumileds Lighting is now shipping a warm white
version of its high-brightness Luxeon LEDs, becoming
the first manufacturer to
deliver a warm white emitter in production quantities.
The new product opens the
door for significantly greater use of solid-state
illumination in interior and task
lighting applications by overcoming the resistance
of lighting designers and
consumers to the cooler blue tones of conventional
white LEDs.
Luxeon warm white provides an industry-leading
color rendering index (CRI) of 90, a
correlated color temperature (CCT) of 3200K, and
an average light output of 20
lumens that is up to 10 times brighter than standard
LEDs. In addition, it is the first
solid-state light source to closely match the
black body illuminant spectrum across
the visible colored range. These characteristics,
based on advanced phosphor
material technology developed by Lumileds engineers,
make it possible for the first
time to create LED-powered luminaires that achieve
lighting effects comparable to
those produced with incandescent and halogen bulbs.
The new warm white emitter also offers the same
industry-leading lumen
maintenance as other Luxeon LEDs, with an expected
retention of 70% of its initial
light output through 50,000 hours of operation
under typical conditions.
Potential applications range from hospitality
lighting, including retail stores,
restaurants and hotels, to luminaires and fixtures
for display cases and cabinets,
task and accent lighting, and cove and architectural
lighting.
We are already using warm white Luxeon
LEDs for two lighting manufacturers
one that is producing a bedside table lamp powered
by the new emitters, and
another that is fabricating over 600 Luxeon-based
fixtures for a major new public
building in Barcelona, said Dave Simpson,
International Manager of Semai Lighting,
a provider of custom lighting design services
based in Spain. Previously many of
the designers we talked to balked at the coldness
of solid-state illumination, but
Luxeon warm white has overcome any objections
they had.
We have had customers waiting for luminaires
based on warm white LEDs, and
were currently developing both display
case lighting and overhead fixtures for highend
yachts with the new Luxeon product, said
Chris Christiani, Vice President at
Dialight, a lighting manufacturer based in Farmingdale,
NJ, that specializes in LED
applications. We already know about a major
installation for our new display case
lighting in a chain of upscale retail stores that
wants LED-based illumination in part
because it will avoid having their products feel
hot when they are removed from a
case to show a customer.
In addition to its breakthrough color temperature,
the new Luxeon light source
allows manufacturers to take advantage of the
design benefits common to all LEDs,
including an extremely small footprint, long life,
low energy consumption, and a
beam that is cool to the touch and contains no
UV.
Luxeon warm white emitters are immediately available
in both unmounted and
mounted form in the batwing radiation pattern.
All Luxeon products are available
from Lumileds Lighting through Future Electronics
(1-800-FUTURE1).
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