Discussion and Solutions from some Industry Experts.

2010 – “guilty until proven innocent” A lot of new, unknown manufacturers

A lot of so-so, untested product

A lot of hesitation from designers

A lot of $$$$ to the end-user

2015 – “innocent until proven guilty” Manufacturer consolidation

A slew of decent to great product (but no time to vett)

A general acceptance by designers (but new higher expectations)

Broad range of price points between commodity and spec-grade

Great improvement

Delivered Lumens

Lumens Per Watt

Optical Control & Glare

Color & Binning

Power Factor

Decent improvements

CRI

Form Factor

Needs improvement

Dimming

Flicker

End-of-Life

Replaceability

Inrush Current

Additional Problems

Module Obsolescence

Component Availability

Development Cycle

Beam Profile Variations

Photos Courtesy of Jan Moyer

Tree on left is halogen, relamped 2012

LED installed in 2012 with 2700K and replaced with 3000K in 2013

Photos Courtesy of Jan Moyer

Image on left was taken immediately after LEDs installed in 2013

Image on right was taken in September 2014, one year later

LED seemed dimmer and the color seemed warmer than previous year.

Photos Courtesy of Jan Moyer

Image on left is one of the lamps removed

Image on right is a new lamp – not used.

Can see both color shift and change in output.

One every night from 3 to 4 hours..

Designers Jan Moyer

Jim Benya

Chip Israel

Pat Gallegos

Domingo Gonzales

Paul Gregory

Brooke Silber

Kathryn Toth

Research & Policy Professor Shuji Nakamura, UCSB

Naomi Miller, PNNL

Kevin Fuscus, ICFI MSC Lighting

Manufacturers Hiroshi Kira, HK Lighting

George Stringer, Soraa

Jim Yorgey , Lutron

Eric Lind, Lutron

Gary Trott, Cree Lighting

Doug Hagen, BK Lighting

Distributors Lara Cordell, WB

Magazines Elizabeth Donoff, Architectural

Lighting Magazine

Initial meeting: UC Santa Barbara Aug 4th at Professor Shuji Nakamura’s office

Speaking venues: NLB Panels Washington – September 2014

Zhaga Consortium Meeting – September 2014

IALD Enlighten LIRC session – October 2014

SSL/DOE Detroit – November 2014

Strategies in Light – February 2015

LEDucation NYC – March 2015

Lightfair NYC - May 2015

“We need an open dialogue to make public, & strive to resolve, the problems facing the architectural lighting industry, to ensure that LED will continue to be accepted as a reliable light source”

Target Audience: Chip/Module/Luminaire Manufacturers

Addressing: Current Issues

How can issues be resolved

When can they be resolved – sense of urgency

Designers Jan Moyer

Jim Benya

Chip Israel

Pat Gallegos

Domingo Gonzales

Paul Gregory

Brooke Silber

Kathryn Toth

Research & Policy Professor Shuji Nakamura, UCSB

Naomi Miller, PNNL

Kevin Fuscus, ICFI MSC Lighting

Manufacturers Hiroshi Kira, HK Lighting

George Stringer, Soraa

Jim Yorgey , Lutron

Eric Lind, Lutron

Gary Trott, Cree Lighting

Doug Hagen, BK Lighting

Distributors Lara Cordell, WB

Magazines Elizabeth Donoff, Architectural

Lighting Magazine

We’d love to add your name to our

growing list – join our discussion.

JAN & BROOKE,

LUMINAE LLCFOCUS LIGHTING

BENYA BURNETT

CONSULTANCYCREE LIGHTING

Problems with specifying LEDS.

Focus Lighting

• This is a new time in Lighting Design.

With New Challenges.

• It will never be as it was.

• The phone business will never be the same either.

1980 Dimming Magnetic Transformers.

1984 MR16 lamps burning up fixtures.

1993 Dimming Electronic Transformers.

(Edison Price called one day)

• What is your obligation as the Lighting Designer?

Are you the specifier?

• You’re like the Surgeon.

• Think of all the new techniques and procedures you could use on the patient.

“These are the options. “

“What option would you like me to use?”

You are the Specifier. Test what you specify.

• If you can’t test it or cause it to be tested or see

it tested.

• Or know it will last 50,000 hrs???

• You have an obligation to inform the owner that

these are untested products.

• You may be required to use these untested products based on our government’s energy codes.

• Com Check or DOE2

• These are the times we live in.

Conclusion.

• You are in a partnership with the owner operator to specify the best solution.

• You are obligated to inform the owner of the problems with all possible solutions.

• Together you make the correct selection.

BENYA BURNETT

CONSULTANCY

3 Recommended Practices for the LED

Specifier

Develop a project-specific process for selecting products

just before they need to be ordered, including

Cost adjustments

Controls/interoperability changes

Timing

Fit and finish

Light quality and candlepower

Measure them

Candlepower

CCT

CRI

R9

Flicker

Beamspread

Require replacement of out-of-spec products

Eliminate finger-pointing and worse, YOUR being held responsible

Require verification of compatibility of all luminaires as ordered with their control device or system

Deny any additional cost to the owner or project time delays for any problems associated with luminaires and lighting controls.

Require certification of compliance with energy code (ASHRAE/IES 90.1 or Title 24) and that changes necessitated by failure to pass acceptance testing are the contractor’s cost and responsibility to fix without delay of occupancy.

VP Product Strategy

CREE LIGHTING

COMMODITY

TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS

2007• 42 LEDs• 650 lm• 12W

>$100 Commercial Wholesale

2011• 8 LEDs• 650 lm• 10.5W

$49.97 Retail

2

5

10W

$39.97

3

3

9.5W

$24.97

19.97

1

4

Manufacturer End of Lifecycle Policy

JAN & BROOKE,

LUMINAE LLCFOCUS LIGHTING

BENYA BURNETT

CONSULTANCYCREE LIGHTING

What has been your most difficult LED project or issue?

What is the most critical issue for you when specifying LED fixtures?

What do you/should do tell your client about LED lighting that is new, different, or unique to LED lighting and what they can expect?

What kind of testing do you typically perform? Does your testing vary depending on the project type?

What kind of testing might you do for a hotel project?

As a manufacturer what are the standard testing procedures you perform?

Are there any tests that are not documented or performed that specifiers request?

Are their any special instruments you use to assist in your own testing/verification? What field instruments should the specifier own and learn to use?

What do you demand in a warranty? Does this differ from industry standard warranty policies?

As a manufacturer how do you determine your warranty ?

Have you had any issues in honoring your warranty?

How can small manufacturers have close relationships with component suppliers if they can’t match the purchase volumes of the big companies?

When will the technology improvements stabilize so we can get back to doing things the way we use to?

Why don’t you and other companies make all fixtures with replaceable drivers, LED boards, etc?

Given the turnover and rapidity of product development are there alternate ways to bring products to market? Consumer versus commercial

Component Changes and Availability

ObsolescencePerformance

VariationLifecycle

Challenges

Warranty Issues and

Product Perception

Product discontinued after specification and before

procurement

Product performance delivered to site is different than

what was specified

Energy.gov

November 22, 2013 article

“The History of the Light Bulb”

http://energy.gov/articles/history-light-bulb

Increase in Manufacturers

Decrease in availability due to competing products

Variations in substrates

GaN on GaN

GaN on Sillicon

GaN on Sapphire

Increase in controls protocols

Component Changes and Availability

ObsolescencePerformance

VariationLifecycle

Challenges

Warranty Issues and

Product Perception

Design & construction/procurement

LED chip technology moves quickly

Fixture performance revisions happen rapidly

Product may no longer exist in as little as 12 months (or less)

Impossible to write a performance spec for the future

At time of procurement, respecification is required – unpaid with

project budget & timeline impacts

Solution – “Future Proofing”: Intelligent Systems

Real-time communication between the chip & driver

If products begin to fail after number of years, the replacements automatically match the lumen depreciation of older fixtures

In addition:

Track individual’s movements & alter light levels accordingly

Change light output across time of day/weather environment

Track its own usage & power consumption

Remote controllability

Component Changes and Availability

ObsolescencePerformance

VariationLifecycle

Challenges

Warranty Issues and

Product Perception

Beam characteristics of lamps with the same CBCP

and beam angle are very different

Illustration Courtesy of Jan Moyer

Photos Courtesy of Jan Moyer

Photos Courtesy of Jan Moyer

Photos Courtesy of Jan Moyer

Discussion slide

Changed to LED June 2013

Photos Courtesy of Jan Moyer

Photos Courtesy of Jan Moyer

Issue: Incumbent sources have predictability to their beam

profiles

LED beam profiles are highly varied. This makes specification difficult without seeing samples of each product in person.

Solution: New beam profile vocabulary/standard/metric in spec

sheets

3000 from company A is not the same as company B

Beam characteristics of lamps with the same CBCP

and beam angle are very different

Photos Courtesy of Jan Moyer

Photos Courtesy of Jan Moyer

Component Changes and Availability

ObsolescencePerformance

VariationLifecycle

Challenges

Warranty Issues and

Product Perception

Manufacturer claims

Future replacement part availability

Performance of replacement products

Ensuring end user is happy over the life of the project

Photos Courtesy of Jan Moyer

Tree on left is halogen, relamped 2012

LED installed in 2012 with 2700K and replaced with 3000K in 2013

Photos Courtesy of Jan Moyer

Image on left was taken immediately after LEDs installed in 2013

Image on right was taken in September 2014, one year later

LED seemed dimmer and the color seemed warmer than previous year.

Photos Courtesy of Jan Moyer

Image on left is one of the lamps removed

Image on right is a new lamp – not used.

Can see both color shift and change in output.

One every night from 3 to 4 hours..

Component Changes and Availability

ObsolescencePerformance

VariationLifecycle

Challenges

Warranty Issues and

Product Perception

New companies (both fixture and lamp) aren't aware or sensitive to lighting industry warrantee standard - including having replacement parts available for 15-20 years of life of the product.

Established companies often have difficulty with access to components from other players due to fast pace of LED development.

Stretch all the way to the end user in complication of change-out and access if no strong advocate represents them.

This issue alone is turning end users against LED and ending long term relationships.

Photos Courtesy of Brooke Silber

Photos Courtesy of Brooke Silber

Photos Courtesy of Jan Moyer

Component Changes and Availability

ObsolescencePerformance

VariationLifecycle

Challenges

Warranty Issues and Product Perception

Work as Partners and

OvercommunicateProduct Changes

Support the Development of

New Color Metrics

Create an End of Lifecycle Policy and take care of

end users