Articles & Interviews

UV LED Technology for Emerging Applications in Agriculture

The Ultraviolet (UV) LED market has expanded five-fold in the past decade and is projected to grow to over $1 billion by 2025. A key trend expected to influence the market is the ability to expand into new applications, including agriculture. UV light, at proper frequency and dose, can increase the production of active substances in medicinal and traditional plants and it can also help maintain a healthy growing environment. But to fully take advantage of UV LEDs, some major re-design considerations are required. Terrance Berland, CEO of the Violet Defense Group, the parent company of Violet Gro, will explain which considerations these are; for instance, why it is crucial to incorporate the appropriate lens material. Read more »

Resources | Commentary | Dec 12, 2018

A New Lighting Scene

Commentary from LpR 69: I wouldn’t be telling you anything new if I said that technology is changing at an ever-increasing rate. But in the lighting industry there is a lot more happening, which makes these times truly disruptive and perhaps even inconvenient for some people ... but not for me. Read more »

How to Use the Technologies for Adaptive Lighting

The technologies to provide adaptive lighting are already in the marketplace and are accepted by some jurisdictions. Nonetheless, we have an inadequate understanding of how best to use these technologies, meaning that installations might not serve users well, and in the worst case, might lead to harm. Lighting researchers can generate the knowledge needed to support the best application of adaptive lighting technologies. The International Commission on Illumination (CIE) understands the importance and urgency to deal with problems of adaptive, dynamic and intelligent lighting in all application fields. Hence, this topic is a highlight of CIE’s research strategy. Read more »

Zhaga Enables Mechanical IoT-Upgradability for Outdoor LED Lighting Fixtures

LpR 69 Article, page 42: The Zhaga Consortium is a global association of lighting companies that is standardizing LED luminaire components interfaces. The latest specification from Book 18 defines a standardized interface between outdoor LED luminaires and modules for sensing and communication. Dee Denteneer, Zhaga Secretary General, explains how the New Book 18 helps bring the Internet of Things to the outdoor lighting market via smart, upgradeable, future-proof fixtures. Read more »

Evaluating Performance of LED-Based Luminaires

LpR 69 Article, page 48: The wide spread of performance data supplied by manufacturers make it difficult for the professional user to reach an “apple-to-apple” comparison, especially if the data is not based on standardized metrics. This is however critical for the preparation of lighting projects or tender specifications. Experts from LightingEurope have therefore developed a guidance document which recommends a fixed set of performance data for LED based luminaires, with particular emphasis to the useful life and the data which is necessary for lighting application design. Read more »

Resources | LpR Article | Research | Micro-Optics | Jan 15, 2019

Smart Design of Freeform Micro-Optical Elements for Thin Direct-Lit Luminaires

LpR 69 Article, page 64: Direct-lit LED luminaires consist of LED arrays. In order to achieve homogenous light distribution a diffuser sheet is placed at a certain height above the LED array. Usually the distance between the LEDs and the diffuser has to be greater than the distance between the LEDs on the array. To overcome this limitation, additional optical elements like freeform lenses are necessary. Christian Sommer, scientist at the Institute of Surface Technologies and Photonics of the Joanneum Research Forschungsges.m.b.H and his colleagues, Claude Leiner, Ladislav Kuna, Paul Hartmann and Franz P. Wenzl propose a smart design concept for an extremely flat, direct-lit lighting system, making use of mask-less laser direct write lithography. Read more »

Optical Designs to Improve LED Lighting Efficiency of Medical Endoscopes

Lighting efficiency for endoscopic instruments has been deemed very poor, at only about 20%. While laboratory tests demonstrate that fiber optics bending is not problematic, optical simulations clearly show that lighting efficiency is strongly limited by the Étendue. Because of strong geometrical constraints in the light coupling area of an endoscope system, only a radical new optical design can provide significant improvement. Alexander Gaertner and Paola Belloni from the Faculty of Mechanical and Medical Engineering and the Steinbeis Transferzentrum Lichttechnik und Beleuchtungsoptik at the University Furtwangen discuss these issues and propose possible approaches. Read more »

Rethinking the Photometric Data File Format

With increasing computing power, engineering disciplines cannot be imagined without simulations anymore. In lighting, photometric data and electronic processing of this data has become one of the most important tools for luminaire design and lighting design. This data is today provided in IES LM-63 format, a format that meanwhile has come to its limits. P. Eng. (Ret) Ian Ashdown, Senior Scientist at SunTracker Technologies Ltd., explains why the time for a change to a new standard has come and discusses the newly proposed standard and its properties in detail: ANSI/IES TM-33 respectively UNI 1603054. Read more »

Interactive Lighting Control is Opening New Doors for LED Applications

LpR 69 Article, page 98: Advancements in lighting control technology are allowing for sophisticated interactivity in LED mapping. These new technologies are bridging the gap between lighting control and AI, with the ability to analyze and map data input (such as audio) in real-time. Installations driven by interactive LED control technologies have their place in a variety of application spaces. Manjinder Benning, Founder and CTO of Limbic Media, explains how this new technology works, what its applications are, and what the future of interactive lighting control looks like – not only for end-users, but also for lighting designers and technicians. Read more »

Qualified Bluetooth Mesh – Making Lighting Controls Future-Proof

LpR 69 Article, page 88: At Lightfair USA, Siegfried Luger met with Patrick Durand, Worldwide Technical Director at Future Lighting Solutions. One of Mr. Durand’s striking statements was: “Basically, what we need is to future-proof lighting control.” This was the first time that this important aspect was so clearly addressed by a representative of the industry. This led us to asking Mr. Durand to provide LED professional with a technical article to clarify the current situation, explain the technical background that led him to making that statement and to give an idea of which requirements a controls solution must fulfill to be truly future-proof. Read more »

Resources | LpR Article | Engineering | Optics | Jan 31, 2019

Additive Optics Design and Fabrication for Smart Lighting Systems and Tailored Project Solutions

Since its initial invention back in 2009, printed optics has come a long way in the lighting industry. Additive optics fabrication is a future proof methodology of rapid prototyping custom LED optics by means of digital manufacturing technologies. Marco de Visser, Luximprint’s Director of Marketing & Sales, breaks down the technology and explains how its features add value to the design and manufacture of smart lighting applications. From one of Luximprint’s preferred optical design partners Physionary, Ramon van der Hilst, Founder and Business Development Manager, and Suresh Christopher, inventor of the state-of-the-art “target-to-source” optics design software, explain the benefits of an optimized design process. Read more »

Resources | LpR Article | Technologies | Thermal Management | Feb 01, 2019

Materials, Manufacturing and Technologies for Designing Passive Cooling Devices

Until recently, incandescent bulbs and fluorescent lights were the dominant light sources. Today it’s the energy efficient, durable and, in the meantime, cost effective, LED. But to achieve these attributes appropriate cooling is still necessary and due to progress over the last few years the need for active cooling solutions is limited to a few high power applications as long as the material and technology is carefully chosen. John Broadbent, Managing Director at Columbia-Staver Ltd., describes the different technologies and materials and gives practical advice on how to find the right solution for an application. Read more »

Resources | Commentary | Mar 25, 2019

An Industry at a Crossroads

Commentary from LpR 70: We often hear grumbles about the lighting industry suffering under low margins and high costs. Primarily, this is true for most traditional luminaire manufacturers but not as much for innovative controls and driver manufacturers, and even less so for innovative newcomers who understand the semiconductor business that has taken over a share of the luminaire manufacturers' revenue. Read more »

Health + Environment | Outdoor Applications | Resources | Tech-Talks Bregenz | Mar 25, 2019

Tech-Talks BREGENZ - Dr. Maja Grubisic, Researcher, Free University Berlin & Leibniz-Institute

Awareness of the ecological impact of technologies is becoming more important since climate change due to industrialization cannot be denied. LED lighting is one of the technologies that is deemed as a contributor in helping to reduce the impact caused by wasted energy. Unfortunately, light pollution, due to inefficient energy usage, is not the only problem. Besides the more recognized pollution from pesticides and chemical pollutants, light pollution also disturbs ecology and wildlife. Dr. Grubisic, Researcher at the Free University Berlin & Leibniz-Institute, has been working on this problem for more than five years now. She has written an article, also in this issue, concerning this. At the LED professional Symposium she was also good enough to grant this interview, providing some background information, explaining why light pollution is such an issue in biology and why this topic should be of concern to all of us. Read more »

Lighting and Emergency Dept. Clinician Wellness and Performance Improvement

LpR 70 Article, page 38: Short wavelength ("blue") light is known for its strong impact on humans covering "visual" function, wellness and performance of humans. Lighting has been recognized to have an effect on clinician wellness and performance as well as the occurence of medical errors. In a pilot study, Octavio L. Perez, Ph.D, WELL Accredited Professional and Adjunct Researcher at the Department of Population Health Science and Policy, and his team of scientists and physicians, Christopher Strother, Richard Vincent, Barbara Rabin and Harold S. Kaplan, from the Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, systematically investigated if and how a radically new lighting concept could improve wellness and performance in an emergency department. Read more »

Resources | LpR Article | Research | Environment | Mar 26, 2019

Hazard or Hope? LEDs and Wildlife

LpR 70 Article, page 52: The introduction and widespread uptake of LEDs as outdoor lighting has caused no small amount of concern amongst conservation biologists. The prevailing impression that LEDs are always blue-white is well founded as adoption of LEDs for streetlights were invariably high color temperatures and with the deterioration of phosphors the blue wavelengths penetrated even more. But LEDs do have characteristics that differentiate them from other light sources and may allow for the reduction of environmental effects of lighting on species and habitats: direction, duration, intensity, and spectrum. Travis Longcore, Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California's School of Architecture, sheds light on all these aspects. Read more »

Resources | LpR Article | Research | Environment | Mar 26, 2019

When Nights Are No Longer Dark: Effects of Artificial Light at Night on Agroecosystems

In recent decades, artificial lighting has become an integral part of the modern world. While the use of artificial light at night (ALAN) greatly benefits people, it often has unintended, negative consequences for wildlife and ecosystems. In particular, the increasing use of LED lighting raises ecological concerns due to its high content of blue light, to which many organisms are sensitive. Dr. Maja Grubisic, Researcher at the Leibniz-Institute and Guest Lecturer at Free University Berlin discusses how ALAN can directly and indirectly influence agroecosystems, with potential consequences for food production and biodiversity. Given the current lack of integrative studies on this important topic, the better understanding of effects of ALAN in agroecosystems is urgently needed. Read more »

Bluetooth Mesh Protocol as Applied to Lighting

Little more than one year ago, Bluetooth SIG released the Bluetooth Mesh standardization. Meanwhile, it has become widely adopted and is also one of the favorite systems for lighting controls. Russ Sharer, Vice President of Global Marketing and Business Development for Fulham, starts with an explanation of the Bluetooth Mesh protocol as applied to lighting control and defining its key elements. In a second portion of the article, he answers questions that lighting control evaluators could be asking their vendor. Read more »

Standardized Programming of Lighting Components Using NFC Technology

LpR 70 Article, page 88: NFC programming of LED drivers is rapidly gaining popularity as a fast, feature-rich, flexible and easy method to set the operating characteristics of LED drivers inside luminaires. Arnulf Rupp, Chair of MD-SIG, describes how the MD-SIG specification for NFC programming of lighting components makes it easy for luminaire manufacturers to use NFC programming in a production line where multiple brand drivers are used one after the other. Read more »

48 VDC Integrated Drivers Offer New Options

LpR 70 Article, page 102: In the telecommunication and IT businesses, especially, 48 VDC grids have become quite popular. This growing global trend to facilitate direct current (DC) power supply in building "microgrids" presents new opportunities for solid state lighting designers. TE's Lighting Industry Manager, Ron Weber, and Global Product Manager, Scott Hamilton, describe how LED lighting fixture designers can now design luminaires around a 48 VDC constant voltage input, available to take advantage of the benefits of a low voltage DC distribution grid in a building. Read more »