It is clear from this that
household LED lighting is a deliverable now and will rapidly converge on the
necessary price point that drives the competition from the field.
Even more interesting is that
they have been able to tune in the light quality of the incandesent bulb that
we are all so used to. This is a huge selling point.
The shoe that has not dropped yet
is that it is plausible to actually tune the light output to optimize user
pleasure. Research needs to be done here
but it is clearly feasible in a way never before possible.
For example a modest shift toward
the yellow part of the spectrum may turn out to be psychologically way more satisfying
and easier on the eyes generally. We
will not know unless we try.
It has been a long wait, but
inevitable once the full three colors were available to LED.
Switch Lighting announces unique LED replacement lamps
22 Apr 2011
Replacement lamp design relies on inert liquid for cooling allowing
Switch Lighting to drive the LEDs at higher current achieving greater
brightness with fewer components.
Ventured-funded, San Jose, California-based startup Switch Lighting
plans to launch a line of solid-state-lighting (SSL) retrofit lamps at the
upcoming Lightfair International event and says they will have products on
shelves at major retailers in the 4th quarter. The unique lamp design mounts
LEDs facing outward on metal fingers and an inert liquid inside the globe cools
the components allowing for higher drive currents and brighter light from fewer
components.
Switch Chief Strategy Officer Brett Sharenow boldly compared the Switch
design to the Philips 60W replacement lamp that is currently on the market.
Sharenow noted that the 12W Philips design utilizes 18 LEDs and outputs 830 lm.
The 75W replacement pictured here consumes 16W and uses only 10 LEDs to output
1150 lm.
Of course there are many tradeoffs that come into play when you
increase drive currents such as potentially shorter lifetime and greater cost
for the cooling system. Plus the comparison with the Philips design is
inherently unfair. LED components are constantly improving and the Switch
design is likely based on one generation newer components than is the Philips
product.
Still Switch’s lamp specs are impressive. The lamps have a 2750K
warm-white color temperature and a CRI of 85. The lamps are rated for 18 years
of life based on three hours of usage per day. Switch claims the 75W
replacement lamp will deliver $140 in energy savings over the life of the
product relative to a 75W incandescent.
Switch will also demonstrate 60W and 40W replacements at Lightfair. And
Switch plans to offer all three in neutral white as well as warm white color
temperature. Sharenow projects that the 60W lamps will sell in the $20 range at
retail.
Design delivers radiant lighting
Sharenow also believes the design will deliver superior radiant
lighting to LED lamps currently on the market. He said, “We mount the LEDs on
the finders to give us the beautiful radiant flux that you get out of an
incandescent.”
The LEDs face outwards as you can see in the photos, and the frosted
globe distributes light in all directions. While the lamps are at the prototype
stage, Sharenow said that Switch has had LM-79 tests performed by Arizona-based
Lighting Sciences – recently acquired by UL. Sharenow asserts that the report
document its radiance claims.
The prototype pictured here uses LEDs that integrate a lens. The
production units will use LEDs with no lens. Sharenow said that the liquid
inside the globe has an index of fraction that exactly matches the source and
maximizes efficacy. The specs list efficacy at 75 lm/W for the 75W replacement.
The metal fingers upon which the LEDs are mounted combined with the
liquid are designed to convect heat to the globe and into the ambient
environment. Switch calls the design a self-cooling environment.
With our unique self-cooling technology, we make the brightest warm
white LED light bulb available,” said Sharenow. “We offer the most affordable,
energy-efficient light bulb on the market that is nearly identical to the
regular incandescent bulbs we’ve come to love.”
The Switch design will use LEDs with single emitters as opposed to say
the Cree EasyWhite LEDs that use multiple emitters and a mix of light to
deliver consistent color. Sharenow expects to be able to source components from
multiple vendors. That could mean that the company will have to buy a
more-expensive narrow bin to hit the color temperature and CRI specs. Sharenow
expects programs such as thePhilips
Freedom From Binning program announced at Strategies in Light to
supply the needed component consistency.
Sharenow also claims that Switch has developed significant innovations
in the driver electronics. The design utilizes a driver IC for a merchant
semiconductor vendor that has been customized for Switch according to Sharenow.
He said the company will discuss the details of the driver electronics once its
patents are approved. Sharenow also said the prototypes have been tested with
and approved to work with “every dimmer we could find.”
The Lightfair demonstrations will be a welcome opportunity to see these
lamps in operations. The real test, however, for Switch and its venture backer
VantagePoint Capital Partners will be production units shipping in volume.
Maury Wright is the
Senior Technical Editor of LEDs Magazine.
New LED bulb has the same color light as an incandescent bulb but uses
about 5 times less electricity
SLATE -
Compact-fluorescent bulbs, are awful. They've got three main
shortcomings:
They're ugly;
they contain mercury,
they put out harsh, white light that many people find unbearable.
Light from an incandescent bulb matches the light from a new Switch LED
bulb.
With
our unique City of Light™ Technology, Switch delivers the best of both
worlds: bright, warm, incandescent-quality light in a bulb that dramatically
reduces energy consumption and costs. It even rivals the incandescent in
functionality — with uniform light dispersion, consistent color and a standard
A19 form factor that works in any orientation. Switch can be used in most
standard lighting fixtures, from floor lamps to overhead lights, and is an
ideal choice for residential, commercial or hospitality settings.
Switch's 60-watt-replacement bulb will sell for about $20, and the
75-watt and 100-watt replacements will cost slightly more. As LEDs are
mass-produced over time, their prices will plummet. A year from now, Switch's
60-watt-equivalent bulb should sell for under $15, and could hit $10 the year
after that.
On average, an incandescent bulb lasts about 1,000 hours—that's about a
year, if you keep it on for about three hours a day. Electricity in America
A 50-cent, 60-watt incandescent bulb will use about $6.60 in electricity every year.
Switch's 60-watt-equivalent LED, meanwhile, uses only 13 watts of power, so it will cost only $1.43 per year.
The Switch bulb also has an average lifespan of 20,000 hours—20 years. If you count the price of replacing the incandescent bulb every year, the Switch bulb will have saved you money by its fourth year.
Over 20 years, you'll have spent a total of about $142 for the incandescent bulbs (for electricity and replacement bulbs) and less than $50 for Switch's 60-watt bulb.
In 2 years, a $10 cost would have a payback of 2 years for energy savings and lack of replacement to make the new LED the better buy.
The color of the light matches and the size and shape are as before.
* Replacement lamp design relies on inert liquid for cooling allowing Switch Lighting to drive the LEDs at higher current achieving greater brightness with fewer components.
* The lamps have a 2750K warm-white color temperature and a CRI of 85. The lamps are rated for 18 years of life based on three hours of usage per day. Switch claims the 75W replacement lamp will deliver $140 in energy savings over the life of the product relative to a 75W incandescent.
Very nice Robert.
ReplyDeleteI prefer temps in the 5000 - 6500 range. But while mixing different temp LEDs would add to the cost of the product both in complexity and lower LED volume per unit purchase) it would result in a wider temp range that might be interesting.
I think that's a good idea to replace lamp to unique LED lights because I have read a lot about replacement a old lamp to energy efficient lights because other reason is the LED is more energy efficient and have a longer life than the traditional lamp. Thanks for sharing.
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