LED Update: New Product Showcase
Light-emitting diodes (LED) have taken the lighting world by storm and are turning product styling on its head.
For a product that has been around for a long time in electronics (since 1962!), there wasn’t a whole lot of rapid development going on with this semi-conductor light source until roughly the last five to seven years. Most widely used in aviation and automotive lighting, traffic signals, and indicator lights on appliances, LEDs are just now leaving infancy when it comes to evolving into an ambient lighting source with widespread practical use.
LEDs are so new to the general lighting category that there hasn’t yet been agreement on industry-wide standards, although that will be changing shortly. Right now, the race is on for manufacturers to explore and refine the capabilities of LED as a suitable direct replacement for incandescent bulbs and for inclusion in stylish lighting designs made specifically with LED illumination in mind. Here is a sampling of some of the products that have recently debuted.
Zumtobel Lighting lyon LED spotlight for retail areas has a unique lens/reflector system that allows for high-precision, uniform accent lighting with a variety of beam patterns. With excellent color-rendition, high-power LED modules, and high energy efficiency. It is ideal for illuminating products in showrooms. It is available in two design sizes for various wattages in Stable White and Tunable White. Lyon has an efficiency of 55-77 lumens per watt, color temperature in a choice of 3000K or 4000K, and can be ordered in an Advanced Stable White version as well as Essential Plus and Essential Stable White. Zumtobel has a U.S. office in Highland, New York. (800) 448-4131
November marks the retail arrival of GE Lighting’s 13-watt, dimmable GE Energy Smart® LED lamps designed to replace 60-watt incandescents. GE’s dimmable 75- and 100-watt replacement LED bulbs – reportedly 18 and 27 watts respectively – are expected to arrive on store shelves in late 2012. GE estimates that its Energy Smart bulbs can deliver light for over 20 years based on three hours of use per day.
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esa Lighting’s new 12-volt LED monorail kits offer eight feet of monorail. Since LED pendants and spotlights consume less electricity, Besa’s power supply does not have a bulky surface transformers or inconvenient remote transformers. Instead, a small, no-load 60-watt electronic transformer fits into the junction box. Along with the basic LED monorail kit, Besa offers kits that are complete with spotlights or a mix of spotlights and pendants. For example, one kit includes six Tipster spotlights, while another contains three Scope glass pendants and three Scope glass spotlights. Besa’s LED monorail kits support up to nine LED lights (6 watt max. each) and are dimmable. They include all required support and mounting hardware in a choice of Bronze or Satin Nickel metal finishes.
Nora’s Pillar high-output 18-watt LED track fixture is designed to be architecturally neutral. It has a slim vertical driver housing and a deeply set single LED light source that provides beam control, visual comfort, and color consistency. Pillar is rated for 30,000 hours of performance and is cUL-listed. Nora Lighting‘s LED technology eliminates projected heat, along with harmful UV and infrared rays, making the Pillar LED a practical alternative for heat-sensitive merchandise displays, jewelry counters, art galleries, or produce markets. The fixture is fully adjustable at 358° horizontal and 180° vertical. It is available in H-, J-, or L-style track and in three finishes: White, Black ,and Silver.
PolyBrite International’s new Borealis™ Candelabra B10 LED lamp retains all the nostalgic features of the soft warm glow of the traditional incandescent candelabra. Available in either an optically clear or a frosted plastic cover, the Borealis reportedly provides 360° illumination. It can be safely installed in a closed fixture with no air circulation and is dimmable with Triac and reverse-phase dimmers. The total luminous flux is up to 100 lumens at less than 2 watts. As a result, the Borealis LED B10 lamp can be installed anywhere an incandescent 15-watt B10 is used, while maintaining full functionality and its classic look.
Cerno’s new Levis pendant lamped with high-performance, energy-efficient, dimmable LEDs is comprised of a polymer that can be ordered in Aluminum or Beech. It has light output of 215 lumens, a color temperature of 2700K, 85 CRI, and consumes 3.2 watts of power. The pendant measures 5.5” in diameter x 5.75” high. The ceiling canopy is included.
LittleFootprint Lighting, which domestically manufactures sustainably designed LED task lighting from recycled materials (including plastic from e-waste), has debuted its high-performance HeronLED Personal Task Light for corporate and home office environments. Designed and manufactured in the USA, the HeronLED’s adjustable and ergonomic design boasts a replaceable LED bulb that provides warm white light, and uses 7 to 10 times less energy than comparable conventional desk lamps. It is reportedly the first LED desk lamp made of recycled ABS plastic from e-waste.
Alessilux is a new collection of LED bulbs in collaboration with Foreverlamp. The design partnership between Giovanni Alessi Anghini and Gabriele Chhiave has yielded the warm-white Abatjour bulb (shown in Gold), which consumes 7.5 watts, is 2700 Kelvin, has 370 lumens and a CRI of 80. The colorful Vienna series is designed by Frederic Gooris. Shown here in Purple, it can also be ordered in White, Blue, Green.
A.Light Designed by George Bosson and the a•light lighting design and engineering team, A.LightAire3 is an architectural outdoor area/accent pole luminaire made of 60 percent recycled aluminum. Lamped with high-performance white LEDs (or T5H0 linear fluorescent) Aire3 has a choice of unique lens configurations for LEDs. Proprietary, non-glare HTLO™ lenses provide high light transmission without glare through engineered lined patterns on transparent acrylic. Pattern may be specified as horizontal (creating numerous short horizontal lines of light) and vertical (vertically merging all LED points into two long vertical lines of light).
Nessen Lighting ADA-compliant Lambda sconce is lamped with LED and has a solid brass backplate with a frontal piece that curves slightly over the front of the silk pongee shade. The backplate can be specified in polished or brushed brass, polished or satin chrome, polished or satin nickel, or antique brass. Optional baked enamel painted finishes may also be ordered. The silk shade, with applied grosgrain bottom ribbon edges, is available in 14 colors or finishes.
Bulbrite’s Generation 3 Dimmable LED PARs feature high-quality, fully dimmable LED PAR30s and PAR38s. The lamps are engineered with unique integrated circuit (IC) dimming technology for extra-smooth dimming down to five percent light output without any flickering or noise. Generation 3 PARs have an 80+ CRI and a warm white 3000K temperature. They offer a rated life of up to 40,000 hours and operate on 120 volts. The PAR30 uses 9 watts (approximately equivalent to a 35-watt PAR30 halogen) and the PAR38 consumes 11 watts (approximately equivalent to a 50-watt PAR38 halogen). They meet all of Energy Star’s requirements and are Energy Star-pending.
The LED version of WAC Lighting’s Roxy pendant creates dozens of sparkles with none of the glare found with conventional light sources. Roxy includes a shade and adapter that can be used with many of WAC’s low-voltage and 120-volt lighting systems. The Roxy uses a LEDme™ Quick Connect™ socket set that features energy-efficient 3.4-watt LEDs with a 119 lumen output, 80 CRI, and a 50,000-hour potential life. Mounting hardware is available in designer finishes – including brushed nickel and chrome – to coordinate with a variety of decors. Roxy measures 7”high x 8.25” wide, and has a five-year warranty.
