LED delivers greater switching cycles for connected lighting

By Heather Hamilton, contributing writer

Cree, Inc. has extended its XLamp XP-G3 LED product line with the launch of the XLamp XP-G3 S Line LED, optimized for connected lights. The S line offers high-power LED technology with a long lifetime for general lighting applications like parking, industrial, roadway, and commercial indoor applications.
 

Cree said that these types of connected lighting systems rely on information provided by occupancy sensors and other sources that are in constant communication with the environment to dim or turn off lighting to conserve energy. A connected lighting system will dim or turn off lights about 10 times more often than a standard system on average, added the company, which puts additional stress on the LED system, leading to shorter lifetimes.

The XLamp XP-G3 S Line LED is built to hold up to twice the number of switching cycles of other LEDs in the same class. The S Line offers improved reliability over Cree’s earlier line via switching and dimming cycles, improved resistance to sulfur exposure, higher light output, and increased efficacy. This more robust version is more suited to harsher environments, though it will provide improvement in all lighting applications.

Dave Emerson, the executive vice president and general manager for Cree LEDs, believes that the future will require LEDs designed to withstand “the rigors of connected intelligent lighting” and emphasizes that Cree’s S Line LEDs are built with a chip and package architecture designed to deliver reliability and performance in harsh environments and repeated dimming and on/off cycles.

Cree offers an easy upgrade for existing XP-based LED systems, which enables designers to quickly implement the improved parts in new designs. Samples and production quantities are available. The company also provides LM-80 data to help designers meet the requirements for DesignLights Consortium qualification.