Navigating the LED lighting minefield

There is no doubt that rising energy costs is forcing businesses to think twice about keeping their lights on, especially given that globally, building lighting represents 15-19% of total energy consumption.

Couple this with reports from the Carbon Trust indicating that energy efficient lighting, such as LED, can save UK businesses £700m a year and cut more than 10 million tonnes of carbon emissions. Not to mention that by 2020, LED is set to represent 64% of general lighting market (currently 10-15%), making the switching to LED lighting could just be the solution businesses have been looking for.

But care must be taken if you’re considering switching, as all the benefits of LED technology are dependent upon the fitting’s longevity – and longevity in a LED light engine is dependent upon three crucial factors:

• The LED itself
• Thermal management of the junction temperature
• The driver

Personally as a manufacturer of lighting that use LEDs, I strongly recommend asking the manufacturers and suppliers of LED lighting to provide thorough documented evidence and certification the above elements.

Responsible LED lighting suppliers will have independent test data for each of the above factors, as well CE marking and IP rating certification – you should ask for the photometric data as evidence of the light distribution of any fitting that they may be considering to install.

Take care to ensure that for internal applications LEDs with 80 to 85 CRI, or external application 65 to 75CRI should be specified.

Some LED manufacturers provide much cooler temperatures as these give the appearance of the light being brighter than it truly is.

In my experience, cooler temperatures of around 4000 to 4500 Kelvin are best suited to most internal applications and external temperatures of 5500 to 5750 kelvin and a 65 to 75CRI will deliver the ideal light colour.

Finally the manufacturers should be questioned as to how the internal LEDs are protected so that things like surges in power supply won’t result in catastrophic light engine failure.

Remember, the technology really is here right now and by knowing your stuff and asking the right questions, you can navigate the LED lighting minefield.