Page 38 - Enlightenment Magazine - July 2013

Speak Out

Is There a lighting in ways we are just now beginning to
realize. LEDs digital properties enable these light-
producing semi-conductors the ability to network
into automation systems, with a high level of cus-
Challenger? tomized and independent control.

How We Got Here
The term solid state is itself a historic game
changer. Some may recall when radios and other
With all of the atention paid to LED, electronic devices changed over from previous
technologies (i.e. vacuum tubes) to the new solid
are we at risk for missing alternative state technology, which was proudly identifed on
products of that time. The lighting industry has a
upstart technologies? unique opportunity to elevate the awareness and
importance of quality lighting by utilizing this his-
toric technical change.
BY BRIAN BRANDES Hungry to embrace the change, yet cautious of
the risks, we move forward, all of us together. Manu-
facturers of light sources who once coveted a skill
s the state of the lighting business solid, or and knowledge exclusive to a limited group have
should I say solid state? As our industry is swept now entered into a digital realm instead of one with
Iup in a rampant, technology change; lets take fames, gases, and tungsten. Retailers, who are now
a moment to assess where we are, and where we required to act as feld engineers, must ensure that
are headed. their employees are well-informed on a technology
For decades, we efectively applied the funda- that is changing faster anyone imagined. In addi-
mentals we learned through our trade and created tion, retail buyers are now tasked will the challenge
beautifully illuminated spaces. The tools of the of evaluating and validating new technology, as it
trade were fairly basic, and for the most part, did emerges, to determine if they are confdent in the
not present an overly complicated technical execu- product. Manufacturers representatives have to
tion; they were mostly based on design. act as the conduit of new information on a vast and
So here we are in 2013, more than 130 years af-
Why has it ter Thomas Edison successfully produced the frst quickly changing array of the LED products from
numerous vendors to all of their customers. We are
taken the incandescent lamp for widespread use and we still all now part of the electronics world, which invites
use and embrace this highly inefcient light source.
an untold number of new participants: Some with
lighting Why has it taken the lighting industry so much an understanding of what lighting aesthetically and
longer to move beyond outdated technology than
functionally needs to be; others who will take some
industry so others like the automotive, television, computer time to grasp it.
The editorial focus of this issue of enLIGHTen-
much longer industries? ment is Light Bulbs and Emerging Light Source
I would venture a guess that there are other fac-
to move tors at play here. Lighting is a visual and functional Technology. Lets put LED aside for the moment;
medium. Not only do we look to achieve the goal
what other lamp types are new? As a result of the
beyond of lighting a space to see and perform a task, we EISA (Energy Independence and Security Act) of
2007 and the recent DOE (Department of Energy)
light spaces for the aesthetic appeal and emotional
outdated efect it has on us. Mood, ambiance, color, adjust- new lamp efciency requirements, we now see a
technology? ability these are all the atributes that make new breed of high efciency incandescent lamps.
These lamps are actually a halogen/xenon light
lighting such an important part of a design plan.
Although other light source technologies have source. Xenon gas is added to the halogen mixture
tried to fnd their way into the technical and and increases the efcacy to meet the legislations
emotional parts of our craf and a few have suc- requirements, which is a positive (halogen gas on
ceeded in limited ways no other has made the its own could not meet the lumen per wat require-
breakthrough in the way LED has. LED is our ment). The cons are that the xenon gas is expensive
smartphone it has and will continue to change and in order to meet the efciency requirements,

36 enLIGHTenment Magazine | July 2013 www.enlightenmentmag.com