When you think of Rambus, you probably don't think of hardware. Maybe you vaguely remember RDRAM, but most of us know Rambus to be a technology company. That tiny detail didn't stop Rambus from getting into the led outdoor lighting wholesale game and ultimately transitioning from licensing LED tech to designing and selling bulbs. Currently on offer are a A19, BR30, and PAR30, rounding out the three main offerings in today's lighting market.
Historically Rambus was focused on pioneering technology, but now the company is into lighting, imaging, cryptography, what it calls "over the top" video, and other fields. Even so, Rambus is not a manufacturing company, which makes the choice of LED lighting seem rather odd. In this respect Rambus isn't unlike 3M who recently turned its expertise in light guides into a rather nice LED bulb. Rambus, in late 2009, acquired the patent portfolio from Global Lighting Technologies and was soon licensing its technology to companies like GE and Cooper Lighting.
Rambus TrueEdge light guideToday the company's core competencies include edge-lighting (what it calls microlenses) and True Edge LED coupling (its version of light guide tech). This allowed Rambus to design a few fixtures, license fixture technology, and then move to bulbs .
The Rambus A19 (the most common household bulb size) doesn't look anything like most LED lamps It uses a ring of LEDs -. About one-third of the way up from the socket - with three sets of LEDs working with a light guide , which uses microlenses to create an omnidirectional output. The design is optimized for conductive and convective heat flow, in order to keep the LEDs cool and extend the lifespan. The 60W-equivalent lamp operates at 11.5W and produces 800 lumens. It's not widely available yet (I haven't tested it), and Rambus hasn't stated the price, though the company says it will be competitive.
When I asked a Rambus representative about its competitive advantages - the ones they would make Rambus a viable competitor to titans like GE and Philips -. The answer focused on Rambus' institutional knowledge, specifically light guides and the efficiencies they bring to the table And then , since moving past A19, Rambus plans to have a broad product portfolio with thermal advantages, the backing of strong semiconductor side of its business and then strengths in mobile and security.
Rambus A19 LEDThe last two piqued my curiosity as they are not obvious components of household bulbs, but will be part of smart lighting solutions, like Philips' Hue. It's possible that Rambus is entering the market with what are essentially commodity LED commercial lighting wholesale, with the hopes of moving into high-tech, high-margin connected lighting in the future. As for right now, the only product in its pipeline that Rambus was willing to talk about was an MR16, a tiny reflector bulb that is popular in Europe and with businesses.
Rambus' unpriced, unreviewed, not-yet-available lamps look interesting but it's too early to see them as anything but another entrant into the quick-growing LED lighting business. At 69.5 lumens-per-watt and with no specialized LED tech (Rambus currently gets its LEDs from Nichia), there is little that sets the company apart from the crowd. The one cool trick that that Rambus has been able to integrate into its PAR and BR products, though, is manually adjustable color temperature. Using an adjustment ring the bulbs can be shifted from 5000K to 3000K, by controlling a remote phosphor that rotates over the LEDs. The A19 does not have this but it might get it in the future.
More info you can visit:http://www.lighting-ledlight.com/index.php/tag/led-commercial-lighting-wholesale/
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Philips voluntarily recalls 99,000 LED bulbs due to shock hazard
Last week Philips issued a voluntary recall of 99,000 led high bay light price because of the rather unsettling risk of "shock hazard." The recall hasn't gotten much attention yet but, as with all consumer electronics safety recalls, it's worth knowing about and worth understanding. The recalled products are the Endura 12-watt and AmbientLED 12.5-watt lamps, essentially the same bulb in two different product families At of the end of 2012 -. well before the recall or any problems - the company dropped the Endura and AmbientLED brand names , and replaced these two bulbs with the the 11W A19 LED.
According to the CPSC announcement there have been no injuries so far, but Philips does advise all owners to stop using the bulbs immediately.
The bulbs in question are Philip's "bug lamp" yellow LED models, which were sold through Amazon, Home Depot, grocery and home goods stores between October 2012 and May 2013. Information on how to identify a bulb is available on Philip's recall site. If your bulb is affected, Philips will replace it free of charge.
Philips recallPhilips has noted that about 99,000 bulbs were affected, but has not stated what percentage of total sales. It appears to be an isolated incident with a set run of AmbientLED / Endura products. All the CPSC page noted about them was that the lamps were made in China between the dates listed above. While a recall of this size is significant, Lighting Science Group recently called back of 550,000 LED bulbs, so we know it is far from unprecedented.
But what happened? Aren't these bulbs safety tested, UL-certified, and fully isolated? Yes, they are, but that unfortunately doesn't prevent manufacturing defects. It seems that something went wrong during the manufacturing process during this particular run. This would have caused a contact wire to be misplaced, to malfunction, or to in some way go bad, and make the aluminum heat sink on the outside of the bulb to conduct a charge.
Philips found out about the malfunctioning - and possibly hazardous - bulbs after two separate reports from buyers outside of the US (hence the CPSC reporting there were no injuries though, to be fair, we don't know if the people who reported the problems were injured or not). After learning of the two cases, Philips began an investigation and last week issued a recall of the entire manufacturing run from that factory.
I spoke with a led high bay light for sale representative and confirmed that the Endura / AmbientLED lines were quite popular and millions of the bulbs have been sold. This means that only a small percentage of those sold were faulty. I was also able to confirm that of the 99,000 or so bulbs recalled, only a small share of them are potentially hazardous This means the full run was recalled for what could be a few thousand or even a few hundred bad units, but -. as with all electronic products - it's important that your device not deliver a significant electrical shock to your customers. That's just good business.
more info you can visit:http://www.lead-lighting.com/products/sid22-1.htm
According to the CPSC announcement there have been no injuries so far, but Philips does advise all owners to stop using the bulbs immediately.
The bulbs in question are Philip's "bug lamp" yellow LED models, which were sold through Amazon, Home Depot, grocery and home goods stores between October 2012 and May 2013. Information on how to identify a bulb is available on Philip's recall site. If your bulb is affected, Philips will replace it free of charge.
Philips recallPhilips has noted that about 99,000 bulbs were affected, but has not stated what percentage of total sales. It appears to be an isolated incident with a set run of AmbientLED / Endura products. All the CPSC page noted about them was that the lamps were made in China between the dates listed above. While a recall of this size is significant, Lighting Science Group recently called back of 550,000 LED bulbs, so we know it is far from unprecedented.
But what happened? Aren't these bulbs safety tested, UL-certified, and fully isolated? Yes, they are, but that unfortunately doesn't prevent manufacturing defects. It seems that something went wrong during the manufacturing process during this particular run. This would have caused a contact wire to be misplaced, to malfunction, or to in some way go bad, and make the aluminum heat sink on the outside of the bulb to conduct a charge.
Philips found out about the malfunctioning - and possibly hazardous - bulbs after two separate reports from buyers outside of the US (hence the CPSC reporting there were no injuries though, to be fair, we don't know if the people who reported the problems were injured or not). After learning of the two cases, Philips began an investigation and last week issued a recall of the entire manufacturing run from that factory.
I spoke with a led high bay light for sale representative and confirmed that the Endura / AmbientLED lines were quite popular and millions of the bulbs have been sold. This means that only a small percentage of those sold were faulty. I was also able to confirm that of the 99,000 or so bulbs recalled, only a small share of them are potentially hazardous This means the full run was recalled for what could be a few thousand or even a few hundred bad units, but -. as with all electronic products - it's important that your device not deliver a significant electrical shock to your customers. That's just good business.
more info you can visit:http://www.lead-lighting.com/products/sid22-1.htm
Cree launches dissipation-defying 75W-equivalent LED bulb
Cree, the LED company best known for their $ 10 LED bulb, has had a busy year. After releasing the Cree buy led high bay lamps in 40W-and 60W-equivalent models, the company went on to ship a high color accuracy model, the Cree TW, and a BR30 directional bulb. Today, well under a year since the release of its first consumer LED bulb, Cree has announced a 75W-equivalent, 1100 lumen model, priced at $ 24.
The 75W-equivalent Cree LED bulb produces 1100 lumens at 13.5W, which means an it operates at an excellent 84.5 lumens-per-watt. The bulb is rated for 25,000 hours and runs at 2700K. As with Cree's other bulbs, it's backed by the company's 10-year warranty.
The release of a 75W-equivalent LED bulb is especially important for Cree at this point for a number of reasons. First of all, there is very little competition at this brightness level. LED bulb manufacturers have focused largely on 40W and 60W replacement models because these are cheap and the heat the LEDs produce is easier to dissipate than at higher brightness levels. Secondly, the new Cree bulb was able to use the same design as the 60W model, which is both efficient for the company and proof that the "filament tower "design Cree pioneered can be successfully scaled (pictured below).
Cree LED bulb internals
On the design side, the Cree 13.5W is nearly identical to the Cree TW, which is to say that it looks like a slightly larger version of the standard 60W model. Basically, all the main components are same, but the metal collar heatsink was made slightly large to dissipate the extra 4W Interestingly, the filament tower design was not changed so it still uses two rings of ten Cree LEDs to emit light What Cree did to increase the lumen count was to simply overdrive the high-power LEDs.. - this uses more power and puts out more heat, but the added cooling prevents it from affecting the lifespan of the LEDs (according to Cree).
Even with the increased sized of the heatsink, Cree still uses a standard A19 bulb size. Other manufacturers have had to inflate the size of the 75W-and 100W-equivalent (1600 lumen) bulbs in order to deal with the extra heat. These generally use the next size up - A21 - which means the bulbs can stick out of fixtures and look ungainly The Cree 13.5W still looks more like a incandescent bulb than any LED lamp on the market..
While 75W is an ideal proving ground for Cree's technology, these bulbs make up for just a small percentage of overall sales. 40W and 60W replacement bulbs are estimated to account for over 80% of the A-shape (normal bulb shape) market, with 75W-equivalents being under 10%. The other side of this is that these high-lumen bulbs are often placed in areas like kitchens and hallways that get used for more hours per day than other models. This means they can have a great impact on lowering energy costs.
It will be interesting to see if Cree is able to scale its design up to the 100W level This point has been a huge challenge for led high bay light supplier manufacturers -. For most, it's just been to difficult to balance the size, price, and heat restrictions that crop up. The 13.5W model, impressively, uses the same LEDs and filament tower as the 60W version, but it's not clear if that will be work at the next brightness level. Cree says the design should be able to scale, and the company has been extremely happy with how it's gone so far.
The 75W-equivalent Cree LED bulb will be in Home Depot stores by the end of December and will be available online this week, priced at $ 24.
more info you can visit:http://www.lead-lighting.com/products/sid20-1.htm
The 75W-equivalent Cree LED bulb produces 1100 lumens at 13.5W, which means an it operates at an excellent 84.5 lumens-per-watt. The bulb is rated for 25,000 hours and runs at 2700K. As with Cree's other bulbs, it's backed by the company's 10-year warranty.
The release of a 75W-equivalent LED bulb is especially important for Cree at this point for a number of reasons. First of all, there is very little competition at this brightness level. LED bulb manufacturers have focused largely on 40W and 60W replacement models because these are cheap and the heat the LEDs produce is easier to dissipate than at higher brightness levels. Secondly, the new Cree bulb was able to use the same design as the 60W model, which is both efficient for the company and proof that the "filament tower "design Cree pioneered can be successfully scaled (pictured below).
Cree LED bulb internals
On the design side, the Cree 13.5W is nearly identical to the Cree TW, which is to say that it looks like a slightly larger version of the standard 60W model. Basically, all the main components are same, but the metal collar heatsink was made slightly large to dissipate the extra 4W Interestingly, the filament tower design was not changed so it still uses two rings of ten Cree LEDs to emit light What Cree did to increase the lumen count was to simply overdrive the high-power LEDs.. - this uses more power and puts out more heat, but the added cooling prevents it from affecting the lifespan of the LEDs (according to Cree).
Even with the increased sized of the heatsink, Cree still uses a standard A19 bulb size. Other manufacturers have had to inflate the size of the 75W-and 100W-equivalent (1600 lumen) bulbs in order to deal with the extra heat. These generally use the next size up - A21 - which means the bulbs can stick out of fixtures and look ungainly The Cree 13.5W still looks more like a incandescent bulb than any LED lamp on the market..
While 75W is an ideal proving ground for Cree's technology, these bulbs make up for just a small percentage of overall sales. 40W and 60W replacement bulbs are estimated to account for over 80% of the A-shape (normal bulb shape) market, with 75W-equivalents being under 10%. The other side of this is that these high-lumen bulbs are often placed in areas like kitchens and hallways that get used for more hours per day than other models. This means they can have a great impact on lowering energy costs.
It will be interesting to see if Cree is able to scale its design up to the 100W level This point has been a huge challenge for led high bay light supplier manufacturers -. For most, it's just been to difficult to balance the size, price, and heat restrictions that crop up. The 13.5W model, impressively, uses the same LEDs and filament tower as the 60W version, but it's not clear if that will be work at the next brightness level. Cree says the design should be able to scale, and the company has been extremely happy with how it's gone so far.
The 75W-equivalent Cree LED bulb will be in Home Depot stores by the end of December and will be available online this week, priced at $ 24.
more info you can visit:http://www.lead-lighting.com/products/sid20-1.htm
UGetLight’s liquid-cooled LED bulb: Does it stand a chance against Switch?
Even if you don't pay much attention to cree xsp series led street light, you might have seen a mention of Switch's LED bulb It's the beautiful, liquid-filled lamp that is unlike any source of light you've seen These lamps are expensive -.. Starting at $ 30 for a 40W-equivalent -. but they are available today and they work well Thanks to their unique design the properties required to liquid cool a bulb, and Switch's patent portfolio, it has seemed unlikely that the company would ever have any competition in the liquid-cooled bulb market. Even so, we've learned that another company is trying their hand at such a product and that it will be revealed at the end of this month.
The company in question is called UGetLight, and at the Build + Light 2014 conference in Frankfurt it will unveil 60W-, 75W-, and 100W-equivalent liquid-cooled LED bulbs. UGetLight is based in China, and despite being relatively unknown (at least from the best I can tell) has taken on the difficult task of producing this bulb.
Switch's use of the LQD liquid cooling system solves problems that are inherent to the design of LED lights. Foremost, the liquid silicone used in the bulb transmits heat quite well. This means that the heat can get away from the LEDs, which have to be properly cooled in order to last as long as they should. Better cooling means more power can be pushed through the LEDs, and that more of them can be used. This is what allows Switch to have not just 40W-and 60w-equivalent bulbs, but to offer a 100W model ahead of a number of other manufacturers.
At Build + Light 2014 UGetLight will introduce two liquid-cooled designs:. The S14 Mini series and the A19 Aqua series The latter is the more interesting of the two as it uses a standard bulb size and shape (known as A19) and will be available in a full range of flavors, from 3000K and 8W all the way up to 6500K and 12W.
Ugetlight S14 bulb
S14 bulb
The bulbs in the A19 series are frosted so we can't tell exactly what's happening inside, but in some shots there does appear to be an air pocket, a design which is duplicated in the S14 series. This would seriously limit cooling if any of the LEDs were to be exposed to the air inside, but presumably the LEDs are covered regardless of the orientation of the bulb This could be a low-tech solution to one of the main problems with liquid cooling:.. expansion It's not clear what liquid UGetLight is using for the cooling, but it's likely that it expands as it warms. If you don't want the bulb to turn into a bomb, then you've got to account for that expansion.
Switch patented a bladder system that compresses to compensate for the expansion of the thermally conductive material (in this case liquid silicone). It's a clever, reliable fix for the problem, and one for which Switch owns the IP. Interestingly, the patent specifically mentions why leaving a the air bubbles is not a good approach:
However, it is undesirable to have a pocket of air or bubble in the liquid-filled bulb. First, a pocket of air reduces the cooling efficiency of the bulb by creating an air barrier between the liquid and at least a portion of the outer shell housing. Second, the bubble may distort the light created by the LED, resulting in a non-uniform light distribution. The bubble may create a bright reflection or darkened area detracting from the visual appeal of the bulb. Third, an air bubble draws attention to the fact that the bulb is filled with a liquid, which may not be appealing to customers.
Sounds about right. And that's just one one of many patents that Switch has on its liquid-cooled design. Of course, that doesn't mean that UGetLight couldn't engineer its way around some of the issues, but the company clearly hasn 't worked out everything. For example, we can see that the S14 uses a "corn cob" design, with LEDs placed around a vertical cylinder. It's an old school design that has been largely bypassed at this point, but aside from that it does nothing to control the flow of the liquid inside. If you're going to use liquid you'll want to control its movement to ensure the best possible convective cooling in all orientations. Switch uses a system of fins, on which the LEDs are mounted , to do this.
Switch fins
We won't know how good the led street light with solar panel will be until we test it out, so for now it will remain an interesting concept with some potential problems. Given the pricing of Switch's bulbs it is possible that someone could undercut them and bring liquid-cooled LED bulbs to the market, but that would be a serious challenge. In the very least we can guess that UGetLight has been able to learn from Switch, as seen in the company's choice of a polycarbonate shell as opposed to glass, which is the same choice Switch made with its lower cost Infinia.
For now these bulbs look good on paper with a CRI above 80, omnidirectional light, 50,000-hour lifetime, 70-80 lumens-per-watt operation, and a color temperature range from 3000K up to 6500K The specs reveal other issues -. The bulb isn't dimmable and a weight of just 150g compared to the Switch's 280g which could affect cooling efficiency - but we'll have to wait until the end of the month to learn more.
More info you can visit:http://www.lead-lighting.com/products/sid109-1.htm
The company in question is called UGetLight, and at the Build + Light 2014 conference in Frankfurt it will unveil 60W-, 75W-, and 100W-equivalent liquid-cooled LED bulbs. UGetLight is based in China, and despite being relatively unknown (at least from the best I can tell) has taken on the difficult task of producing this bulb.
Switch's use of the LQD liquid cooling system solves problems that are inherent to the design of LED lights. Foremost, the liquid silicone used in the bulb transmits heat quite well. This means that the heat can get away from the LEDs, which have to be properly cooled in order to last as long as they should. Better cooling means more power can be pushed through the LEDs, and that more of them can be used. This is what allows Switch to have not just 40W-and 60w-equivalent bulbs, but to offer a 100W model ahead of a number of other manufacturers.
At Build + Light 2014 UGetLight will introduce two liquid-cooled designs:. The S14 Mini series and the A19 Aqua series The latter is the more interesting of the two as it uses a standard bulb size and shape (known as A19) and will be available in a full range of flavors, from 3000K and 8W all the way up to 6500K and 12W.
Ugetlight S14 bulb
S14 bulb
The bulbs in the A19 series are frosted so we can't tell exactly what's happening inside, but in some shots there does appear to be an air pocket, a design which is duplicated in the S14 series. This would seriously limit cooling if any of the LEDs were to be exposed to the air inside, but presumably the LEDs are covered regardless of the orientation of the bulb This could be a low-tech solution to one of the main problems with liquid cooling:.. expansion It's not clear what liquid UGetLight is using for the cooling, but it's likely that it expands as it warms. If you don't want the bulb to turn into a bomb, then you've got to account for that expansion.
Switch patented a bladder system that compresses to compensate for the expansion of the thermally conductive material (in this case liquid silicone). It's a clever, reliable fix for the problem, and one for which Switch owns the IP. Interestingly, the patent specifically mentions why leaving a the air bubbles is not a good approach:
However, it is undesirable to have a pocket of air or bubble in the liquid-filled bulb. First, a pocket of air reduces the cooling efficiency of the bulb by creating an air barrier between the liquid and at least a portion of the outer shell housing. Second, the bubble may distort the light created by the LED, resulting in a non-uniform light distribution. The bubble may create a bright reflection or darkened area detracting from the visual appeal of the bulb. Third, an air bubble draws attention to the fact that the bulb is filled with a liquid, which may not be appealing to customers.
Sounds about right. And that's just one one of many patents that Switch has on its liquid-cooled design. Of course, that doesn't mean that UGetLight couldn't engineer its way around some of the issues, but the company clearly hasn 't worked out everything. For example, we can see that the S14 uses a "corn cob" design, with LEDs placed around a vertical cylinder. It's an old school design that has been largely bypassed at this point, but aside from that it does nothing to control the flow of the liquid inside. If you're going to use liquid you'll want to control its movement to ensure the best possible convective cooling in all orientations. Switch uses a system of fins, on which the LEDs are mounted , to do this.
Switch fins
We won't know how good the led street light with solar panel will be until we test it out, so for now it will remain an interesting concept with some potential problems. Given the pricing of Switch's bulbs it is possible that someone could undercut them and bring liquid-cooled LED bulbs to the market, but that would be a serious challenge. In the very least we can guess that UGetLight has been able to learn from Switch, as seen in the company's choice of a polycarbonate shell as opposed to glass, which is the same choice Switch made with its lower cost Infinia.
For now these bulbs look good on paper with a CRI above 80, omnidirectional light, 50,000-hour lifetime, 70-80 lumens-per-watt operation, and a color temperature range from 3000K up to 6500K The specs reveal other issues -. The bulb isn't dimmable and a weight of just 150g compared to the Switch's 280g which could affect cooling efficiency - but we'll have to wait until the end of the month to learn more.
More info you can visit:http://www.lead-lighting.com/products/sid109-1.htm
Edison Opto involved special lighting market actively
With the increasing acceptance in the led street light Manufacturer gradually, lighting application goes more widen. Taiwan LED packaging factory Edison Opto recently branched out into special light market actively, it developed special LED lighting solutions for clothing, fresh produce and human skin.
Take clothing lighting for example, in order to highlight the clean and white texture of textiles, Edison developed Snowhite LED, its light effect similar to traditional CDM, with warm white color temperature of 3000K and CRI ≥ 80, Snowhite LED not only creates a warm display space, but also helps to show the true colors of clothing, suitable for clothing stores.
For baking lighting, Edison introduces Aroma led street light supplier with color temperature of 2,400 K, it can highlight the golden color of bread, cheese and champagne, make food look more delicious. In addition, about the fresh ingredients lighting, Edison used special phosphors developed Ruby pink light, it can enhance the red and tender color of meat and flowers, suitable for supermarkets and florists.
The special LED lighting not only enhances the appearance colors for food and clothing, but also beautifies the skin color, and bring out the natural rosy sheen. Edison Mela LED color rendering up to 90, can be used in beauty cosmetics counter.
Edison Product Features: Helps to enhance the visual appeal of commodities, high CRI can present items' true colors, suitable for colorful accent lighting.
more info you can visit:http://www.lead-lighting.com/products/sid107-1.htm
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