intheworks_1

8/2/2019 Intheworks_1

1/4

w w w . d a l l a s m a r k e t c e n t e r . c o m14 L I G H T S o u r c e s S u m m e r 1 0

y IN THE works

iht ce

Its been over 130 years since Thomas Edisons incandescent light bulb rst came on the

scene. The lighting industry has come a long way since that illuminating moment, and

thanks to compact fuorescent light bulbs (CFLs) and light emitting diodes (LEDs), the

uture o lighting continues to look bright.

The old incandescent lamp emits more than 95 percent o input power as heat, says

Alex Baker, lighting program manager or the US EPAs Energy Star program.

With CFLs and LED lamps, more o the input power is converted to light, with less heat generated.

This results in reduced cooling loads, which expands the amount o energy that can be

saved. As another added benet, ecient lighting technologies generally last much longer,

with some solid state lighting products oering 50,000 hours o useul lie compared to less

than 1,000 hours or a standard incandescent lamp, Baker adds.

These lamps are also changing the way the industry designs xtures. Instead o simply design-ing the product or aesthetic reasons, the industry is starting to look at designing them

with the products total lie cycle in mind. A new market o expertise is quickly emerg-

ing with LED and CFL experts who are leading the growth o these technologies as

they continue changing the way homes will be lit in the uture.

CFLs and LEDs oer tremendous benet to the consumer when it comes

to energy savings and maintenance, says Chris Primous, industry salesman at

Permlight. They are actually changing the industry by changing the way we

manuacture products, particularly LEDs. It goes rom manuacturing a housing

that some lamp or light bulb can be put in later, to a system with LEDs where,

when youre sending the product out the door, youre actually sending out an

entire system.

CFLs and home applications for LEDsare changing the industry.

y kity Apet FutureLighting for the


2/4

D A L L A S M A R K E T C E N T E R 15

IN THE works x

A sHift towArd sustAinAbility

Aside rom the recent legislation that will slowly phase out incandescent bulbs, this switch to

more energy ecient lighting was an inevitable next step or the lighting industry.

[The change in lighting trends] is a combination o a bunch o actors, says Primous.Theres certainly some consumer interest, but a lot o it is legislative. Theres also just the

aspect o a consumer realizing the lie cycle cost.

Years ago, the auto industry was challenged with selling new energy-ecient cars with a

high initial cost. At rst, consumers had a hard time grasping the concept o the total operat-

ing cost o the vehicle: Although the initial cost was high, the price would be worth it over

time by saving money while helping to improve the environment. It took educating the public

about how dierent the total operating cost o a vehicle diers dramatically rom an upront

cost. The same thing is happening today with lighting products.

Consumers are starting to realize the importance o a light bulbs total lie cycle. Theyre

realizing its not just about luminating and paying the upront cost o it, but its about paying

or the total operating cost o the luminaire.


3/4

w w w . d a l l a s m a r k e t c e n t e r . c o m16 L I G H T S o u r c e s S u m m e r 1 0

y IN THE works

But this change in the industry isnt solely based on saving money; the shit to more energy-

ecient lighting indicates a deeper desire that consumers have to conserve resources.

More and more American consumers and businesses are interested in protecting the envi-

ronment, says Baker. The lighting industry is taking note o the trend toward greater energy

eciency, and are responding by providing an ever-increasing number o Energy Star quali-

ed xtures and lamps. Lighting industry partners are realizing that energy eciency isnt

just the right thing to do to help protect our environment, but its also a great way to improve

their bottom line.

wHAt its going to tAke

Its not going to occur rapidly, says Primous. Were just now starting to see a greater interest

in CFLs, and these have been around or over 20 years. LEDs are just starting to penetrate the

market or general illumination in 2005, so its going to take some time beore both o these

technologies take a major portion o the sales. But it will happen, and its going to happen

quicker as these legislative measures come into play.

Americans are going to start seeing more mandates on energy ecient product usage and,

with the ocus already shiting to sustainable living, it is going to begin to draw everything

toward CFLs, LEDs or other technologies that will spring into the market eventually. The only

question is, which technology will take the lead?Theres no doubt that the LED technology, as ar as perormance in terms o energy and e-

cacy and energy savings, will exceed CFLs, says Dr. Nadarajah Narendran, associate proessor and

director o research at the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

It has already done that in some applications. The drawback at the moment is the price.

Already were seeing, in the last two years, the price is dropping. Just like any other electronic

equipment, the price is going down as new technologies keep appearing on the market. Even

in the next three to ve years, we will see the price come down.

The same trend that aects computer sales will begin to aect lighting; as newer models and

improved technologies come on the market, previously expensive, older technologies will begin

to drop in price. This cycle is creating a healthy and competitive environment or the lighting

industry, challenging manuacturers to produce the best and most creative lighting products.

Thats where you will be able to get the maximum benets o the technology, says Dr.Narendran. The concern now becomes i [consumers] buy something today that will be obso-

lete in ve years what do [they] do about that? People are not going to use the more ecient

technology. But i you create a platorm built into homes where we can actually change the

lighting without major electrical work or carpentry, that actually could bring about a whole

shit in how we do lighting in our spaces. But those types o things are not going to happen

easily i you do not install them or create xtures or them in the beginning.

A glimpse into ligHtings future

The possibilities are endless in terms o the uture o lighting using LEDs and CFLs. This

change in technology could have LEDs powered by solar power, and could also signiy

the end o the circuit breaker.

A lot o developing countries use generators, says Primous. They have a certainamount o power available to them, so i they want to read a book by a light, they can

do that with a 60 watt light bulb, or they could do that with an LED that could provide

the same amount o light and would allow them to use the power to do other things.

Another technology on the horizon is solid state lighting (SSL). SSLs incorporate LEDs

and OLEDs (organic light emitting diodes). The practical applications o OLEDs is that

you can actually have a tablecloth that is made o a source that all you have to do is apply

energy toward it and it will glow, says Primous. The dierence is that LEDs are individual

units o light, these organic LEDs are more like large panels o light and they are very fexible

in the ways you can use them. You will hear a lot more about that in the coming years, they

oer some incredible possibilities.


4/4

D A L L A S M A R K E T C E N T E R 17

IN THE works xcent affai

It seems like everything causes cancer these days. Nowadded to the list of potential instigators: CCT lighting;specifically, blue rich lighting.

Terry McGowan, director of engineering for theAmerican Lighting Association (ALA), discovered the possiblehazards of these lights in 2002. I was running a researchoffice at the time, and found a third receptor in the eye thatdirectly impacts melatonin levels. I later found that blue lightcan quickly suppress the melatonin cycle.

Melatonin is a hormone that helps maintain the bodys

internal clock, or circadian rhythm, producing higher levelsin the dark than in the light. Exposure to bright lights in theevening can cause shifts in melatonin cycles resulting in apoor nights sleep or worse.

Simply put, humans require bright days and dark nights.Aside from the reality that a bright night leads to a long

night, the real danger lies in the suppressed melatonin.Melatonin repairs body cells and low levels of the hormonehave been linked to prostate cancer and breast cancer,among others.

The ALA is verysensitive to this issueand is actively raisingawareness by buildingit into training classesand conferences.

Since there haventbeen a lot of productssold yet, that this wouldbe the time to rede-

sign these LEDs to emitless blue light, saysMcGowan. We canthave the feeling thatmore is better; and ifwe light up the night the way we light up the day, it couldhave very serious effects.

For more information, download this report by the U.K.Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution at www.rcep.org.uk/reports/sr-2009-light/sr-light.htm. Kristy Alpert

Come June of 2010, the wayconsumers purchase lightbulbs could change drastically.Around that time, the Federal

Trade Commission (FTC) is expected toannounce a new label for lamps similarto a nutrition label for food items. Theproposed label requires manufacturers toinclude:Alistofthelampslightoutput(lumens),

lifetime and annual operating costs (dollars/year) on the frontof the package;

Apaneloflightingfactsonthesideorbackofthepackagethat includes more detailed technical information; and,

Alabelonthebulbitselfthatstatesthelumenssoconsumerswillknow how bright a bulb they need to buy as a replacement.The label is designed to guide consumers on their lamp purchases

once the 2007 federal energy bill goes intoeffect in 2012. The bill states that all newbulbs need to be 20 to 30 percent moreenergy efficient. Since CFLs and LEDs do notuse an equivalent wattage system, the FTCproposed a new way to purchase bulbs.

With a few exceptions, consumersbuy bulbs based on power (watts), ratherthan the amount of light they provide,which is expressed in lumens, says Noah

Horowitz, senior scientist at the National Resources DefenseCouncil (NRDC). Beginning in 2012, consumers who used to buy

a 100W bulb that gave off around 1,600 lumens will be choos-ing between an improved halogen type lamp that uses 70W, ora compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) drawing around 25W. Givenall the above, new package labeling requirements are needed. Kristy Alpert

Could CCT lIgHTINg CAusE CANCEr?

cent affai

FTC ProPosEs sTrICTEr lAbEl guIdElINEs

Lighting FactsServing Size 1

Amount Per Serving

Watts

Lumens

Annual operating costs

Estimated li fetime

100

1,600

$100

50,000 hours

As Served

intheworks_1

Documents