Lighting/Illumination Forum

Despite a number of obstacles, this year’s forum participants still see a bright future for new forms of lighting

CONVENED AND MODERATED BY RICHARD COMERFORD

In the aftermath of Tropical Storm Sandy and amidst the whirl of Electronica in Germany, Electronic Products was able to pull together a few stalwarts to review the year in lighting and illumination, particularly with respect to solid-state lighting (SSL) and suggest what the future may hold.

Electronic Products: What significant changes have you seen related to the lighting industry in 2012, and what impacts have they had?

Paul Scheidt (Product Marketing Manager, LED components, Cree): In terms of the lighting industry in the broadest sense, 2012 saw quite an explosion in the use of LED light engines. LED light engines themselves are not new and have been on the market for a number of years, but were usually confined to one or two applications or created to fill a niche market need, such as extremely high quality of light. In 2012, there were new form factors and new levels of performance for light engines that have really caused the entire industry to take notice.

Specific examples are the GE Infusion LED modules for doing retail spot applications and the new Philips Fortimo linear products for doing linear fluorescent replacement. These are known brands delivering quality products for mainstream lighting applications, and it really cements the vision of LED taking over as the preferred light source in the coming years.

Going down one step into the LED components for the lighting market, 2012 ushered in the age when the wall between backlighting LEDs and lighting LEDs came tumbling down. A backlighting market downturn in late 2011 created manufacturing overcapacity for LED die, which in turn sparked massive performance increases and price decreases for plastic package parts that had limited traction in lighting applications before then.

Marc Dyble (Product Marketing Manager for SSL Business Unit, OSRAM Opto Semiconductors): From a light source perspective, a wider variety of low and mid-power LED component options are now available for use in the general lighting market, leading to greater flexibility in the application of LEDs. Most developed specifically for the backlighting market, these smaller lumen packages are seeing greater demand in the lighting market due to their lower lumen output and cost compared to their high power counterparts, while still maintaining high luminous efficacy.

As this could be seen as a win-win advantage for both the LED and luminaire manufacturers, special attention needs to be paid to the lifetime, color quality and package stability of these devices when used in, sometimes harsh, lighting environments. Fortunately LED suppliers such as OSRAM Opto Semiconductors are focusing on more robust materials to extend the lifetime and environmental tolerance of low and mid-power LEDs, as found in their Duris P5 LED .

With such small sources sizes, numerous applications that traditionally gravitated to high-power LED solutions have seen low-power derivatives. Replicating the attributes of traditional sources such as fluorescent can be achieved by minimizing pixelation and hotspots while providing homogenous linear sources of light. Especially applicable to linear or direct backlit troffers, mid-power LEDs provide a uniform, diffuse lit appearance while reducing glare. The increased use of light guides in architectural edge lit luminaire designs provide an excellent use of these devices.

This trend towards smaller LED packages allows for more applications to be targeted with specific LED attributes in mind, such as cost and efficacy. For example, consumer retrofit lamps target the minimum performance needed for Energy Star, while minimizing cost. Mid-power LEDs give such lamp makers more options to meet price/performance targets.

Mark Grazier (Program Manager, Wireless Sensor Networks and Worldwide Third Party Developer Network, Low Power RF, TI): Up till this year, networked LED lighting has been reserved for professional lighting installers and architects given the complexities associated with running wires or closed proprietary wireless systems. In January 2012, the ZigBee Alliance introduced the ZigBee Light Link standard, created to save time, money and installation frustration by providing a simple, easy to install wireless network of lights, switches, occupancy sensors, and daylight sensors, all of which can be controlled by a home gateway or a mobile device.

Developed with leading LED bulb manufacturers, this standard, has already started to impact the market, with several manufacturers already offering ZigBee Light Link bulbs, remotes, and dimmers.

Electronic Products: What are the significant challenges facing the lighting industry today? How do you think those challenges could be overcome?

Paul Scheidt: The problems are not black and white. Initial cost is always going to be a barrier, especially in consumer markets, and I’m not sure it’s going away any time soon. I think the focus needs to be on the other half of the equation: in making lighting more valuable to people so that they understand WHY they are paying more for LED lighting.

That’s part of the reason why ease of use and LED light engines are such a focus area right now. The industry is trying to get more companies to use LEDs so that more people can experience it and understand that LED lighting isn’t cold or bad light quality like CFL. It’s really good light and it’s worth more than cheaper light sources. The more people can experience it, then the more are convinced of the value of LED lighting.

Marc Dyble: A significant hurdle in the industry today is still the cost/benefit position of LED technology. As the percentage of a design project’s lighting budget is ever decreasing, the cost of lighting is at the forefront of everyone’s mind. Naturally ones predisposition would be to revert to traditional technology in order to save money. Many LED solutions are more cost-effective today than incumbent sources if you calculate the overall total cost of ownership, but initial cost evaluation could preclude spending money now in exchange for long-term savings.

Like commercial buyers, consumers are now faced with similar issues with this new technology. Typically, consumers can’t quantify the measureable savings of the technology, even if it will save them $100 over the life of the product. The tipping point comes with a value add, such as a noticeable improvement in their lighting experience, possibly compared to the CFLs, or the integration of control through some method such as a new smartphone app.

The gold standard is still the incandescent lamp. If SSL doesn’t mimic one in terms of the look, performance (including dimmability), and cost, the adoption in some consumer’s eyes is limited. This is being overcome by new solutions focused at light quality, including remote phosphor application for glare-free viewing and “warm-dim” approaches which shift the color of the source to warmer CCTs when dimmed, mimicking the warm color shift of incandescent sources.

As controls continue to play a growing role in controlling LED lighting, merging existing control architectures in the built environment can be challenging. Numerous proprietary protocols exist making systems that cannot talk with one another, resulting in systems with limited functionality or with some features disabled completely. Most notably is dimmer capability, in which incompatible systems cause an LED luminaire to never turn off completely or flicker when dimmed. Capability testing [is] between dimming systems and sources is helping to improve this issue, along with new driver designs and working groups to create standardized dimming communication protocols.

Mark Grazier: A barrier to broad wireless LED lighting usage is that most product manufacturers have not provided a wireless system that allows interoperability among different lighting-control vendors. But bulb manufacturers are getting more comfortable with wireless lighting control. With ZigBee Light Link, consumers could choose a switch from one vendor, sensors from another, and control panel and bulbs from still other vendors with the assurance that they will all work together seamlessly.

A broad product offering from many vendors will benefit the overall market since it will make LED lighting systems more affordable, which will continue driving the market.

Electronic Products: What do you foresee happening in the lighting industry in 2013? What technologies could have the most impact? What moves by industry and government will change the lighting market?

Paul Scheidt: Without a doubt, the biggest market driver for the next two years will be the “bulb ban” legislation taking effect around the world. By force, the market for incandescent lamps will become much smaller, and large portions of the world will be forced to upgrade to some new technology. CFL will likely become the “default” choice because they are widely advertised and may actually be the cheapest option on the shelf. But nobody likes CFLs. Halogen lamps are the closest to “normal” lamps, but when a 4-pack of lamps goes from $2 to $8, people may not take changing lamps every couple months so lightly.

The big disadvantages of both CFL and Halogen will drive more people than ever to try out LED lamps and other solutions, especially as the price gap narrows over the next two years.

Marc Dyble: Continued growth of LED use for general illumination is expected, with continued emphasis on retrofit lamps, direct retrofit kits, and upgrades of existing lighting systems, driven by the phasing out of incandescent lamps, improved LED efficiency, reduced price, and user preference. There will be continued use of chip-on-board (COB) products to replace high-lumen sources such as ceramic metal halide and tungsten halogen, and reduced LED packaging and source sizes for smaller luminaires.

Emphasis will shift slightly from lumens per watt (lm/W) to a more important lumens per dollar (lm/$) metric, which will drive LED selection and offer consumers a greater range of products to choose from. However, lm/W will continue to be the main driver in SSL, as it affects total cost of ownership and standards.

In addition to wireless communication with integrated sensors, such as ambient light sensors, we will see greater harmonious integration of dynamic color control and spectral tuning. This modification of the spectral content of light can be implemented to provide selective light therapy in health fields, to increase crop yields, and to make apples look their best in the grocery store. The use of light for both illumination and communication will continue to emerge, turning office lighting into wireless hotspots with the evolution of smart lighting.

Standardization will continue to help promote high quality products, but the latest lighting research may drive modification of these standards to incorporate, say, guidelines on what we consider acceptable lighting practice with new color quality metrics.

Overall I’m looking forward to an exciting 2013.

Mark Grazier: I expect to see more LED bulbs and systems on the market using ZigBee Light Link, allowing consumers to better control their lighting and energy usage within their home network. Control of lights now includes selecting the light level (including on/off) and selecting a color of either individual lights or a group of lights. ZigBee is also gaining traction in governmental bodies for the wireless connectivity it helps provide to the smart grid for monitoring energy and water usage for consumers and service providers. In 2013 and beyond, there’s an opportunity for ZigBee Smart Energy and ZigBee Light Link to work in concert within a home or building, ultimately helping users to better control their energy usage on various levels, as well as manage their LED lighting. ■