Signs of the Times - July 2012 - (Page 24)

LIGHTING TECHNIQUES By Marcus Thielen Marcus Thielen is a physicist and lighting-industry consultant from Duisburg, Germany. Light+Building 2012 A report from the world’s largest lighting show The world’s largest lighting show, Light+Building 2012, was held April 15-20 in Frankfurt, Germany. Approximately 196,000 visitors came to see 2,253 exhibitors from more than 50 countries on approximately 2.5 million sq. ft. spread across 18 exhibit halls. LEDs created buzz with general, energy-efficient lighting products. High-power LEDs were everywhere, in applications that formerly employed HID, halogen or CFL options. Signshops typically buy LED modules, not bare LEDs. To maintain control over LED quality (and the quality of their sign!), they should precisely specify the LED manufacturer and/or type their module supplier uses. I checked the original LED semiconductor manufacturers to see what’s new and useable for signs. Cree (Durham, NC; www.cree. com) announced 160 lumens per watt (lm/W) two years ago, but never produced a data sheet or sample. I inquired at their booth; the device now in production offers 104 lm/W, I was told, but they now have Photo credit:Heinrich Herbrugger, 3rdPPBULB The first, mercury-free, non-LED, compact fluorescent lamp by 3ppbulb.com – a leap in gas-discharge lamp technology. 24 SIGNS OF THE TIMES / JULY 2012 / www.signweb.com a 254 lm/W LED. When I requested data, they said this is only a laboratory value, and I should come back in 2-4 years for a sample. Seoul Semiconductor (Seoul, South Korea; www.acrich.com) claimed a device with 152 lm/W with a Color Rendering Index (CRI) of 90; available data sheets for the new 3020 series state an efficiency of 115 lm/W and an 80 CRI for the medium-power types (which are more efficient than high-power types). Though known, the humidity problems in outdoor signs aren’t addressed. Similar story with Samsung (U.S. headquarters, Ridgefield Park, NJ; www.samsungLED.com). Regarding the humidity problems in outdoor signs, they claimed to have carried out humidity tests according to automotive LM80 standards. Encasing has been tested, and a list of chemicals with known incompatibilities is available. Sharp Microelectronics (Hamburg, Germany; www.sharpsme.com) does better. For two types of the new LED series (with 100-125 lm/W), samples are available, and their Power-LED will withstand up to 60% continuous overload. Citizen (http://ce.citizen.co.jp/e/) announced a 90-watt LED in November 2011 (which gives you 17,500 lumens from a single LED with less than a 1-in. diameter with 180W input). Samples? Right away. Data sheets, spectral data, humidity, lumen-loss testing (no estimates!) as well as chemical-incompatibility test results online. All Citizen power LEDs can be overloaded by 100% from the datasheet values, 24/7, and have been tested to lose approximately 5% intensity by this overload in 6,000 hours. Citizen’s LEDs provide such a close spectroscopic match that replacements won’t be detected (within 3 McAdam ellipses). Further, http://www.acrich.com http://www.cree.com http://www.cree.com http://www.samsungLED.com http://www.sharpsme.com http://ce.citizen.co.jp/e/ http://www.3ppbulb.com http://www.signweb.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Signs of the Times - July 2012

Signs of the Times - June 2012
Contents
ST Update
Technology Update
Vinyl Apps
Strictly Commercial
Lighting Techniques
The Moving Message
Technology Review
Technology Review
Vehicle Graphics Contest Extension
New Products
The American Sign Museum Opens!
An Electric-Sign Company Snapshot
By Print or by Paint
Extreme Installs
Lessons for the Boss
The Value of Signs
Advertising Index
Editorially Speaking

Signs of the Times - July 2012