Signs of the Times - June 2013 - (Page 28)
LED UPDATE
By Dr. M. Nisa Khan
As president of IEM LED Lighting Technologies, Dr. M. Nisa Khan consults in the solid-state
lighting industry and educates consumers about LED lighting. She has a bachelor’s degree
in physics and mathematics, and master’s and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering.
Email her at nisa.khan@iem-led.com
Lightfair 2013
Lighting industry continues with unprecedented growth and change
L
ED lighting is boldly staring in
the face of the lighting industry
and, literally, anyone who cares
to examine it. Such was the proof
at the 2013 Lightfair Intl. (LFI) tradeshow, held this year at the Philadelphia Convention Center, with more
than 24,000 lighting aficionados in
attendance. The interest was so
huge – the show comprised more
than 500 exhibitors, of which 80
were first-timers – that tradeshow
sponsors added floor space.
There, as elsewhere with LED
lighting, opportunities brightened
and, interestingly, the pronounced
intensity was both literal and figurative because light from the LED
lamps at Lightfair was also extremely
bright. LED-lighting introductions,
and the attendees’ accompanying
energy and interest, seemed more
heightened than in previous years.
Almost all exhibitors’ highlighted
products and services encompassed
LED-lighting’s supply chain. Other
lighting technologies or products
were barely visible.
With few exceptions, LED lamp
or luminaire designers swept most
of the LFI Innovation Awards (governed by IES and IALD).
Undoubtedly, the lighting industry’s
focus is on LEDs, despite the lamps’
capture of a small marketshare
from the overall illumination industry
– a fact not recognized by many
industry participants.
Almost everyone appeared
reluctant to speak against LEDs’
future. More so, companies seemed
eager to devote additional (and
significant) monies to expand their
LED lighting business. The success
LED lamps have found in the backlighting and signage industries has
encouraged people to believe similar
change will come to the greater
illumination market.
LED backlighting has dominated
the display market; it’s now nearly
saturated. However, I expect the
signage and entertainment LED
industry to continue sustainable
growth.
Question: Will the illumination
market that surrounds residential
and commercial segments adopt
LED lighting as a primary choice?
And, will it be sustainable?
Fig. 1: To display plausible LED lamp uses, Samsung, at Lightfair, illuminated its exhibited
products with LED lamps and luminaires. It also employed LED-based spot, downlight and
area illumination throughout its tradeshow booth.
28 SIGNS OF THE TIMES / JUNE 2013 / www.signweb.com
Boom times
In recent times, we’ve all seen
unprecedented boom and bust in
other industries.
New (and often disruptive)
technology’s enormous growth
can be natural and necessary – but
channeling extraordinary capital
and resources to support plausible
technologies, without proper planning and timing, can lead to painful
scenarios.
So how can we carefully handle
the current boom in the LED industry?
Part of LED lighting’s success
relates to quickly gained performance
improvements in lamp-color properties and efficacy – coupled with
LEDs’ compatibility with high-speed
electronic drivers that allow for
intelligent, lumen-consumption
control.
LED lighting’s disadvantages
remain. However, these shortcomings
are not readily recognized by consumers – or, in some cases, by LED
and lighting professionals. The
prevalent drawbacks include glare,
excessive heating (due to inadequate
thermal management) and lumen
degradation.
Such weaknesses will unfurl over
time, as consumers continue to buy
and use LEDs.
Just as the concerns of such
engineered, financial-derivative
products as collateralized debt
securities (CDS) were ignored in
2008, many LED-lighting-industry
investors are overlooking certain
disadvantages or sustainability
issues. For example, numerous
companies are relying on LED
lighting’s success in the general
illumination market and, in the near
future, because significant lamp
sales are already a reality in such
countries as China, South Korea
and Japan. These countries also
have the most LED lamp and luminaire manufacturers, and they believe
http://www.signweb.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Signs of the Times - June 2013
Signs of the Times - June 2013
Contents
ST Update
Tech Update
Profiling Media for Purpose
Vinyl Apps
Strictly Electric
LED Update
Software Update
Technology Review
Technology Review
Sign Museum News
New Products
Enter ST’s 7th Annual Vehicle Graphics Contest!
The Reality of Your Surroundings
The Great ’scapes
Digital Printers at ISA
It’s a Jungle in Here
Advertising Index
Editorially Speaking
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