LED Technology

The Fenix LD01 2010 model Review

2011-11-22T21:35:00.001-08:00

EDC lights are some of the best lights out their on the market (EDC stands for Everyday Carry). These lights are designed to be small, easy to carry on a keychain or in a purse. For everyday use without having to sport a holster of sorts yet powerful enough to replace those rather cumbersome D-cell Mag Flashlights that many Americans and law enforcement agencies still use. In fact there were two companies invested in developing these kind of lights, but were not made for the average consumer in terms of purchasing costs concerned given that one of these lights would cost close to $50.00 USD each. The light comes from a Nichia sourced 5-millimeter white LED with a color temp hovering around 6500K with two corona rings thus creating a rather uneven light source. None the less these EDC lights provided more than enough light to illuminate a room sufficiently to read a simple text or look for something in complete darkness. We are talking about less than 10-lumens, which is about the same amount of light provided by a room filled with 20-wax candles. Decent amount of light coming from a well made piece of hard anodized aluminum with the power of a single AAA battery. Great design and great engineering made in the United States of America, but that is the only primary selling point given at that time the Chinese or the Koreans haven't been completely invested in developing EDC light professionally.

Behold, The Fenix LD01 EDC Light powered by Cree.

The Fenix Light Corporation was founded in 2001 in Shenzhen, China developing high-quality EDC flashlights at rather affordable prices. During that time, Cree Lighting was relatively new and the one dominating the market was none other than Lumileds or Luxeon-Phillips. Most of their LED lines consisted of both Nichia and Luxeon emitters with enough lumens to equal to that of a 15-watt incandescent filament bulb. Now that is not saying much given back during those times of early development, the four name brands in developing EDC lights are Streamlight, Surefire, EDC, and ARC Flashlights LTD. All four are USA brands and as such only develop their up and coming solid-state lighting technologies here in the United States so that other markets may be able to purchase truly built American products for use with applications that demand tough situations. Surefire is the most commonly heard company in military and law enforcement applications since their lights are built for tactical and extreme duty use. Streamlight is mainly tactical and that are mostly fitted on pistols for both military and law enforcement related field applications.

The sum of both worlds, the LD01 provides both the illumination of a three D-Cell Mag light with the size of a AAA-battery (slightly bigger). The meaning of illumination would be up to 80-lumens at the highest output mode while the lowest providing about 5-lumens which is slightly more powerful than the AAA-Mag Solitaire (3-lumens). The reason I say the sum of both worlds is because the Fenix LD01 provides great light in a single AAA-battery cell package. Massive amount of light with a very small, easy to carry lighting package. It is true that Great Things Come in Rather Small Packages. Something interesting and Food for Thought.

Battery life is quite good in the medium mode, which provides a more than decent 40-lumens or about .75-watt of solid-state lighting power. Now mind everyone here reading this review, most of the Cree LEDs used are mostly under driven to increase the life span of the lamp and also to increase the battery efficiency while reducing heat generation since the entire housing and body of the flashlight acts as a heat sink. Ah the beauty of aluminum but here is where the real kicker here is that the LD01 doesn't really produce heat per say in any of the lower illumination modes. Only when the light is set to the highest possible output (high) is where a moderate amount of heat is generated (1.5-watts approximate value from Fenix Light) at which the LD01 is producing about 82-lumens of light or equivalent to a 15-watt halogen filament spot bulb. If all of you reading this blog are in somewhat in disbelief, then I invite you all to test one out at a local electronics shop or just order one from www.fenixstore.com (under new management). Here are the original technical specifications as of 2010 when purchased from Amazon.

Features• Cree Q5 7090 XR-E LED
• Three output modes: 27 Lumens (3.5hrs) -> 10 Lumens (8.5hrs) -> 80 Lumens (1hrs)
• Four days of survival use (two continuous hours per day on the lowest setting)
• Uses one 1.5V AAA battery (not included), inexpensive and widely available
• 7.35cm (L) x 1.4cm (D) (or 2.9 in (L) x 0.6 in (D))
• 14.8-gram (or 0.5 oz) weight (excluding batteries)
• Made of aircraft-grade aluminum
• Durable Type III hard-anodized finish
• Toughened ultra-clear glass lens with AR coating
• Waterproof to IPX-8 Standards
• Capable of standing up securely on a flat surface to serve as a candle
• Input voltage: 0.8V~3.3V
• Reliable twist-switch

So if one were to think about it, a single AAA-cell battery is more than capable of delivering a whopping 1.25-watts of solid-state lighting greatness or 85-lumens in a tight 20-degree spot beam. The Cree LED Q5 XR-E LED is used in the LD01, which carries a 3-watt capacity at a minimum voltage requirement of 4.5-VDC with a max consumption of 700-mA. Here is the interesting portion of the tech specs for the LED is that it is designed to handle up to 1.0A at 6-VDC, which translates to 6-watts continuous while when powered at the basic rating of 4.5-VDC, then the continuous current drive can be no greater than 1500-mA. Newer versions of the LD01 uses a different XR-Lamp from Cree that yields higher output with less current draw requirements. Since the current draw is lower, there is less heat being generated especially when the LED emitter's driver is pushing for higher light output. In the case of the Premium-Q emitter versus the XR-N, the Q-series produces a colder color temperature of light than the N-series to the degree that delivers a near halogen type of light temperature (3800K vs. halogen 3300K vs. Q-series 5000K).

In terms of the lumens output of the Q-series versus the N-Series, the difference is 5-lumens. Using this photo on the right as a mode of comparison, a MAG Instruments AAA-cell Solitaire is featured here to provide a certain scale of things. The Solitaire features a mono-filament Krypton bulb with the capability to change between spot to flood with a twist of the head. This sometimes prove to be somewhat unreliable since the twisting of the head also activates the light. The quality of the beam is rather poor given the focal range of the reflector and bulb, but with the ability to change the focus of the light, it allows for a fair amount of throw and illumination. The light output averages about 5-lumens give or take about a lumen or two in either direction, but with the reflective optics, the quality and amplification of light is rather diffused. For those who have owned MAG Flashlights, then one can understand the quality of their reflective optics to the degree that when one decides to use an aftermarket drop-in high-flux LED, then the ability to change the focal range of the light is rather limited.

The Fenix LD01 features a fixed focal length reflection type optics with an anti-reflective coated mineral glass lens with a transmission efficiency factor close to 95%. A single entry location for activating the light and access to the battery is done at the barrel of the LD01 while providing reliable switching between low, medium, and high-output emitter modes. The ability to be propped up for use as a candle can be done with a land yard attached very easily. And with the high-quality reflective optics, the LD01 is an excellent everyday carry light worth mentioning to those seeking the power of a large flashlight with none of the heft. Plus with three light output levels, this EDL allows for a considerable amount of flexibility especially when a situation demands for a little bit more light. Illuminating a backyard requires a bit more power output as such the Fenix LD01 delivers more than what most people would expect. This is something that a MAG Solitaire and a 3-D cell MAG that is not capable of especially when delivering a high-flux, high-quality emission of light.

At the end of the day, the Fenix LD01 is a more than capable keychain light that delivers all of the power of a large frame flashlight with all of the portability of a AAA-cell. A 3-watt Cree Premium-Q emitter that is under driven yet still more than able to deliver the goods as it were.

Some Food for Thought and Have A Great Year. Year of the Dragon 2012.

LED Bulbs is the Green Energy Future

2011-11-07T22:26:00.000-08:00

As the statement title suggests, The Green Energy Saving Future to be more exact. Many countries including the late United States are beginning to promote the use of compact florescent bulbs and tubes. This technology allows for increased lighting output efficiency while consuming less electrical energy. I think that more can be done to further increase efficiency and still consuming even less electrical energy, but many advocates who produce CF lighting would disagree since volume of product allows for greater profit than with specialty items such as high-output LED bulbs.

My latest housing purchase has been fully retrofitted with Cooper Lighting's latest and greatest in solid-state lighting. Since I am a staunch advocate for LED lighting, I feel that it was a wise choice to use the Halo Stasis lighting solution. Quite expensive to purchase and install since all of the wiring must be done properly since these devices require both a ground and positive polarity in order for the lighting system to function properly. The initial sticker shock through Cooper Lighting from a friendly contractor friend came to about 66.00/unit for a 9-watt small with piped optics. The equivalent output is around 50-watts at 35-degree narrow flood using a simple MR16 halogen, which is actually quite good with all things considered. I have always wanted to personally replace all the lighting with the latest in modern innovation and style. Cooper Lighting has allowed for me to accomplish what I set out to do in the form of the Halo Stasis. This is one of many solid-state lighting solutions employed.

I used LED light ropes through simple AC/DC power puck drivers to create certain mood lighting and emergency lighting for those rather dark nights when I don't want to turn on every light in the house. And what if I do turn on every light in the house (the Venice Canal home has a total of 89-light fixtures - Halo Stasis replacements), the total power consumption is less than what it was before the change to solid-state technology. The original lighting consists of MR16 halogen reflector bulbs operating at 55-watts each for a near 5000-watt power consumption per hour versus the replacement Stasis draw of 800-watts/hour. That is quite a significant decrease in power consumption for all things considered so one has to ask if it is truly worth it to change. In the short and long term situations, Yes!

The initial costs of replacement can be very high to downright faint, but the energy savings alone would easily offset that cost. In fact since the high life span of over 30000-hours, it easily surpasses compact florescent lighting technology. A squiggly looking light bulb is not quite so hip as a halogen, but even a halogen is not a "Green" technology so if one is trying to appear like a cool and environmentally caring person, using old lighting tech may not be the wisest choice. Now granted that going "Green" poses significant challenges, but if one were able to replace the bulbs in the kitchen with solid-state lighting, not only the energy costs would be lower, the replacing of bulbs would be reduced to a significant degree. The reason is that many who use the kitchen may have experienced the environment such as the walls and cabinets with all those cooking oils of the kind. This something to think about.

There are reading lights out there that sport solid-state lighting to a greater degree and that it is able to completely replace the typical lamp. A compact lighting solution with all of the benefits of a 50-watt halogen with none of the typical drawbacks. That may be coming soon to a consumer convention near you, but until that day happens, we all must enjoy the beauty of sunlight. If replacing the recessed lighting fixtures are not affordable with today's market prices, then using drop-in replacements may be a better solution. Philips, Cree, and Seoul Semi-Conductor has designed their own direct replacement drop-in bulbs for both direct and alternating current systems as such can be used in many home and commercial installations. In a better sense, home applications would not accurately represent the energy saving that solid-state provides over compact florescent, but small business and commercial applications would see the true benefit of the energy savings provided by LED high-flux output lighting.

Excessive waste is generated when replacing light bulbs given that we as consumers purchase bulbs to replace others while trying to reduce both our environmental and energy footprint on this planet. In many cases this is true, but when one understands the manufacturing of compact florescent lighting technology, then this statement requires an adjustment. As stated in some of my other blog posts, compact florescent technology requires an electronically controlled ballast and starter to ignite the mercury gas in the light tube while the ballast controls the charge thus creating the light that we so much enjoy over the many years using this form of lighting technology. Cold Cathode lamps operate pretty much in the same fashion where a high-current/voltage charge is created to ignite the mercury within, which in turn creates the necessary ultraviolet wavelengths that excite the phosphors within the tube that ultimately create the white light that we as consumer so crave. Many home applications are using this lighting technology to save on energy costs and plus many of the cities building codes and regulations require houses to use a more efficient form of lighting. It both reduces the chance of a fire and also conforms to energy consumption demands. Every little bit helps, but there is a point to make when using this type of lighting method. Energy is not the primary but only concern at this stage until one understands how the lights are designed and manufactured.

Now we completely enter into the world of solid-state lighting. Using epoxy, a minute dab of an organic phosphor derivative, and a cathode/anode, viola. An LED is born with the potential to light up a room, well sort of. Careful development of the organic phosphor determines color and intensity while the quality of the material determines life span. If a proper heat sink method is introduced, then the solid-state lighting package is able to deliver the same output of light that many of us consumers take for granted in the form of the incandescent light bulb. These are rather simple yet complicated to design devices that allow the average consumer to enjoy without having to understand the process. Well this blog post should help in understanding what high-powered white LEDs are made and developed from. Just for further informative understanding, the phosphors in LEDs are of a different material composition than what is used in the manufacturing of compact and standard form factor florescent light tubes.

Some of the newer Cree LED chips use a more energy efficient phosphor compound to provide a uniform light dispersion and color temperature while reducing the amount of current require to create the same amount of illumination. Quite a great deal of information in a short sentence, but in the world of lighting, many would agree that quantity and quality of light is very desirable with the least amount of required energy to create. The lower the consumption, the better the efficiency in the case of LEDs because heat is a deciding factor of longevity for these solid-state lighting devices. Any high-flux output solid-state device requires considerable amount of cooling to maintain the level of efficiency and longevity. Failing that results in a burnt LED or worse, a damaged electronic step-up/down puck driver. The Puck driver's job is supply sustained voltage and regulated current to the LED to drive the chip properly. Electronic dimmers that are designed for LED and CFL are available through Levitron are used in many of the newer home installations since when switching between the two technologies can prove somewhat useful in a dynamic sense and adds to the compatibility of the lighting system. The old fashion mechanical type dimmers would not be able to properly operate solid-state lighting installations since a controlled dimmer circuit is required to prevent voltage spikes (voltage spikes can overload and destroy the Puck driver and LED bulb). Many of the newer generation (3rd) LED bulbs feature a PWM (Pulse Width Modular) circuit in the Puck Driver to allow a flicker free dimming capability thus reducing eye strain for those seeking a dimmer lighting environmental setting.

At the end of blog, I personally prefer the latest in greatest method of reducing environmental waste and energy consumption, which is the world of the solid-state lighting solution. CFL technology has its cost benefits, but the thought of mercury and somewhat toxic phosphors coating the bulb interior, the "Green" factor would obviously be the low energy consumption that it delivers. 13-watts of Compact Florescent Light delivers about 60-watts of light at 4000K color temperature, but with the use of mercury to create the necessary UV radiation to excite the phosphors to create the white light, then that "Green" factor starts to loose some of its shine. Virtually no UV is created with solid-state lighting solutions unless the buyer specifies that UV will be needed as such the chemistry can be tailored to create the spectrum of light to include ultraviolet.

Some food for thought and to everyone reading and or following the blog, "Have a Great Day and Stay Well"

Halo LED Series - One of the Best in Light Fixtures

2011-10-31T14:26:00.000-07:00

Having owned the Halo recessed lighting fixtures for my home and modifying them to handle custom piped optics with integrated heatsink Cree LED X-Lamp series technology, I can say that the future of lighting is coming in many stylish ways. As far as I can tell, this is the first commercial corporation providing and producing a series of high-quality solid-state recessed lighting fixtures to complement and replace older recessed lighting in a home, office, and commercial applications. This is worth discussing since I am a loyal fan of the Halo Corporation as such with the development and deployment of solid-state lighting, I feel that this is the next evolution in the future of LED lighting technology.

First off, the entire lighting housing is manufactured in the United States, as such providing valuable jobs in this rather desperate economy. The LED is provided by Cree and the heat sinks provided are through several companies that properly handle the heat generated by the semi-conductor. Unlike CCFL and filament bulbs, LED doesn't pass heat in the form of light energy, but rather through contact patches similar to a microprocessor and heat sink package. Since the chassis and housing is primarily made of steel and alloys, the heat is then sink out to through the aluminum casing to the housing. I have modified Halo housings since these fixtures weren't available in 2000 so I basically used a modification to integrate the heat sink and the Halo recessed lighting housing/chassis. The power supply line-regulator and digital dimmer circuit using current reduction rather PWM thus a flickering effect is not present. Back in 2000, I had to convert all the lighting systems from AC to pure, double redundant line-conditioned power supplies in DC form to supply power to the Halo LED units. Then a digital dimming line-regulator supply is used to provide the dimming capability and the Levitron digital switches used worked well with the custom modified Halo Housings.

Now Halo offers a completely new line of solid-state lighting technologies that really make my existing system rather antiquated. The Halo Sustainable LED design is currently installed in my enlarged WOK room and offers better lighting dispersion and higher output with is little less electrical input. In this case, I had to run VAC into the newer Halo lighting system thus using their own Puck driver and power delivery system. The H7 600-series is what I am using for the newly reconstructed Wok room thus having the proper lighting without having to modify the housing and or the electrical system. First it is up to code and second I can use an industrial light switch rather than the more elegant digital light switches by Levitron. Six of these lighting systems are employed and deliver as much light as having four 75-watt Par-60 halogen flood lights thus my electrical consumption is reduced in a vastly superior manner. Solid-State lighting has many electrical and significant advantages over the typical filament lighting method with one of them being longevity.

At the end of the day, Halo has reinvented itself by offering a newer lighting solution that can turn any old house into a modern day marvel. Newer houses will appear as though "Green" friendly developers are turning up to lend a hand in reducing energy consumption and waste creation. The rating for the new Halo lighting solutions hovers around 30000-hours, which is far greater life expectancy than that of the halogen and compact florescent light tubes. All-in-all the future of lighting is here and Halo is one brand that comes as well respected and reliable.

Hope this helps and everyone reading this or not, have a great week and year. Take care and stay well.

The "Green" Era - Should We Be Investing in LED Technology?

2011-07-08T20:52:00.000-07:00

As of late, hardware stores are beginning to carry LED replacement household bulbs. Most people buy regular incandescents primarily due to cost since it uses older technology and is produced to lowest bidder or contractor. Halogen bulbs used to be very expensive when it was first introduced in the early 1980s to increase light output while consuming the same of amount of wattage or less. Just for sake of argument, a 55-watt Halogen bulb using the Edison Medium Base produces the equivalent output of a 100-watt incandescent bulb. In fact the heat generated from a 55-watt Halogen is also the similar or more than a 100-watt incandescent. The support structure for Halogen consist of steel wire which also is connected to the contact points that allows for the electricity to power the tungsten filament.

As with all new technology, Halogen is an advanced form of incandescent while the older tech uses all of the same materials that Halogen employs. When an incandescent fails, there normally is a small black spot caused by the consumed tungsten vapor cooled into a black powder like substance. In the case of a Halogen bulb, the glass bulb is reduced by ninety percent to the size of a capsule while further reducing the size of the filament structure. The end result is the Halogen Cycle capsule with quartz mineral glass as the outer structure coupled with the Tungsten filament. When turned on, the tungsten filament is consumed and vaporized. While in its vaporized state, tungsten begins to materialize as it cools onto the interior wall of the quartz mineral glass and then separates from the glass to be infused back into the filament. Thus called the Halogen Cycle, which replenishes the tungsten filament until the argon and xenon gas is consumed. That is why the average life span of a Halogen capsule hovers around 1500-hours give or take 150-hours.

Now enter 2003, the "Green" Environmental Era, where excessive energy consumption must be reduced by about sixty percent. The primary reason for this was the gradual increase of greenhouse gases and secondary is to decrease the environmental impact in terms of landfill waste. When bulbs are burned out, they usually end up in our landfills. Glass can be recycled, but in most cases this is not the case. It is thrown away with the rest of the trash so this extra glass is wasted away in our landfills. All the environmental lobby can do is encourage the consumer public to recycle old bulbs.

Since energy consumption is the highest portion of the bulb more than the waste, the next generation in lighting technology was the florescent bulb. To be more specific, it is the compact florescent bulb, which is a small spiral glass tube filled with mercury and phosphor coated in the interior wall to produce the light. Mercury Gas creates light in the ultraviolet portion of the electromagnetic spectrum and the white light that we see is when the phosphor coating within the interior wall of the compact florescent excites due to the absorption of UV. Sound like a mouthful and the easy way to test this is to hold a compact florescent bulb to a black-light and watch the phosphor in its excited state. Compact florescent bulbs like with their larger cousins require a high-voltage ballast starter to generate the necessary power spike to excite the mercury gas environment housed within the bulb. Once excited, the voltage begins to taper just enough to keep the gas in its excited state thus allowing for the phosphor to absorb the UV generated (usually short wave ultraviolet).

Like with all gases, once energized consumption of the gas occurs and the darkening of the phosphor is a clear indication as to life of any given compact and standard florescent. Since a gas is being consumed rather than a glowing tungsten filament, the amount of energy consumed is dictated by the wattage output of the tube and heat is significantly reduced. Higher wattage CFL requires the electronic ballast to be calibrated to increase sustained voltage output after starting voltage has been applied which can be programmed easily with today's technology, but the efficiency of the bulb in both energy and light output is lower to a slight degree. Compact florescent bulbs key technology standpoint is energy savings coupled to light output. Take for example, a seven watt CFL on paper generates about the equivalent light output of a 45-watt incandescent filament bulb. To be more specific about light output, a 7-watt compact florescent bulb when fully warmed up does come close to a brand new incandescent filament of 45-watts or 340 to 400-lumens of light. That is by far an achievement by many standards especially when trying to reduce power consumption.

Here are the downsides with using florescent lighting technology. For one, the use of mercury gas is a essential component in order for the phosphor to absorb enough short wave UV energy to create the white light that perceive. Mercury gas is considered to be one of the few gases that can cause health issues while the second component is literally hazardous to ones health, which is the phosphor coating that provides the illumination. As for waste products concern, none of the components within a compact florescent bulb can be used again due to the design of the electronics governing the tube. If one were to recycle one of these bulbs, the only reusable components in a CFL would most probably be the glass content composing the tube structure. The argument here is where most people would say that all of the bulb can be recycled, but that is not really the case. The plastic casing is actually resin sealed with electronic ballast and starter, which are the primary components to electrify the mercury gas contained within the glass tube. With all of this going for CFL technology, then the only possible part that can truly be recycled would be the glass component governing the tube. The phosphor coating within the interior wall of the tube can't be reused due to UV exposure as it degrades over time and more so when exposed to oxygen.

The compact florescent bulb does consume less energy over time as compared to sustained consumption incandescent filament types, but only when they are new to mid-life. As the gas is slowly consumed within the tube, the power requirement to maintain the level of light it generates must be increased to maintain the 7-watt figure or 45-watt light equivalent. All of these factors combined, the average energy saved during the consumption phase of the CFL is only during the first 2000-hours of most of these 7-watt bulbs 8000-hour life span. The remaining 6000-hours is a gradual climb to nearly triple of the 7-watts consumed to energize the mercury gas thus providing UV to be absorbed by the phosphor coating within the glass tube generating white light. Sounds like a mouthful and it is since most consumers don't really factor in the costs of manufacturing these CFL bulbs. Here is another part in which I basically reiterate that CFL bulbs aren't really all that energy efficient is the part about ambient temperature.

The best ambient temperature range CFL or all florescent bulbs operate in is between 85 to 60-degrees Fahrenheit. Not a really wide range there and once a person factors in location and climate, these bulbs come to be at a disadvantage. Look at a CFL and one would notice that there are little vents near the base of the bulb. Those vents are to keep the electronic ballast and control regulation circuit from getting too hot since during the startup phase where the CFL begins to light up, the electronic ballast charges the mercury gas with 32kV/3.0A for one-full second in which the bulb flashes and dimly lights up with a gradual climb to full brightness. This is typical with all CFL and standard florescent lights. I think many of you are looking at the 32kV/3.0A starting figure and wonder what am I talking about "That is not true, the CFL only consumes whatever it says in the package."

Florescent lighting is part of the same category as with high-intensity discharge systems as minimal energy consumption is needed to generated about three-times the specified wattage in light output. In the case of CFL and florescent lights, they fall into the same category as HID. Getting back to ambient temperatures, florescent and CFL lighting systems have a range in which they work efficiently, well in a very warm environment, the driver electronics such as the ballast and electronic control regulation circuit won't be able to effectively control the voltage input/output due to the heating of its own electronics. The tube itself is not factored in since it already hot with energized mercury gas so basically when one sees flickering florescent tubes in hot weather, well that is basically the driver electronics unable to regulate the tube due to its own devices.

Then we say lets put florescent lighting in colder environments, "That should keep the ballast cool and we should have consistent light output."

I wish I could say that this completely true, but it isn't. In fact more energy consumption would be result because of the colder climates. Colder climates such as Alaska, Germany, BC, Maine, just to name a few would make even CFL bulbs unideal environments for efficient lighting. The reason is the driver electronics would have to energize the mercury gas with the starting voltage specified two paragraphs above for a longer duration that the electronics are designed for. As temperatures drop into the colder regions, Mercury gas tends to get heavier and prove that theory, install a CFL in a refrigerator or better yet, wait for the temperatures outside to drop close to 50-degrees Fahrenheit and with a CFL screwed in rather a regular incandescent. Turn the light switch on and you will see what I mean. A rather bright flash followed by dimness and about thirty to sixty seconds later it reaches full brightness. When florescent bulbs are in their operating ambient temperature zone, startup takes less than a second to a gradual full brightness in less than ten seconds. Sustaining voltages to keep the light at full brightness is what lends to the florescent, compact or otherwise energy efficient. Temperature plays an important factor to the bulb's efficiency and with colder climates, more energy is required before it reaches sustained operating voltage. This should give many the idea of what to expect with Florescent technology.

Enter The True Green Lighting Era - LED Lighting

When I say "Green", I meant it as the environmental aspect of the word and not the color. Going "Green" has been all the hype as of late whether it is buying a Toyota Prius (not at all green when one considers how that battery is made, even the Europeans think that this car is not "Green"), Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf (The EU considers that a very Green car), or buying energy efficient lights for their household. Well a law in Germany and now I find other countries are getting involved is to ban the use of energy consuming incandescent and Halogens in favor of more energy conscious technology such as CFL and LED. The latter is what Germany is pushing for and are offering massive incentives to those who wish to switch from even CFL to LED. Look up the site http://www.cree.com and there they have a page that shows lighting solutions for the home that can replace current household fixtures with highly efficient and long lasting LED lighting technology.

I personally can say that I took this route only before I knew Cree existed. The previous solid-state lighting system that I had before the Cree LED era was fitted with Lumileds Luxeon. Each of my GU10 replacements were fitted with dual redundant DC dimming power supplies to prevent any line surges. 64-step digital dimmer by Levitron operated on DC similar for use with track lighting allow for the dimming of the solid state lighting sources throughout the house. Just to clarify, the power supplies were inline with the original wiring for halogen light sources so I had the electrician modify and install the power supplies along with the digitally controlled dimmers. And each of the light modules house the GU10 bulb with three SMD mounted on a heat plate Luxeon R5 LED through piped optics. Each bulb delivered approximately 350-lumens of light with a color temperature range of 5000 to 6000K. I didn't like the color temperature at first but I adapted quite quickly especially when my electricity consumption dropped considerably.

Think about this, my previous lighting energy consumption with 55-watt Halogen beams for a total of 80 of these bulbs and about 100-watts worth of florescent lighting in the kitchen reduced to a total of 500-watt/hour for all of the lighting retrofits done. When one adds up the numbers, this is quite an impressive savings as I once use to pay about $500 to $600.00 in electricity bills now I pay about $10.00 (I am on the SCE program to buy electricity that I generate through solar panel and the base charge is connection fee). This is all good until Cree through "The LED Light.com" approach me to buy my existing system in exchange for a more efficient and powerful lighting solution. All I had to do was pay for the freight costs, which was rather inexpensive to boot.

The Cree LED GU10 drop-in has a color temp of 4500K consistent throughout the board and didn't require 3 SMD LED to produce 350-lumens. A single Cree XRLamp-E through a Fresnel piped optic generated a cool 450-lumens or so with more than adequate cooling material surrounding the solid-state diode. All I can say that the future of the "Green" era of lighting is aimed toward solid-state technology. Initial cost may cause the idea of sticker shock however after about a year's worth of usage will justify itself altogether. High traffic areas such as the Kitchen and Family Room would be an ideal place to start since we use them frequently unless one doesn't cook or store food, which is of course hardly the case in many situations.

To conclude the matter, I have gone "Green" in a rather costly yet beneficial manner since the initial shock has worn off in the form of energy savings over time. It took about three years to recover and now I reaping the benefits of lower energy consumption. I saved more money in electricity consumption switching from CFL to LED technology. Just some food for thought.

Everybody have a great year and take care.

The Future of Automotive Lighting

2011-06-12T19:42:00.000-07:00

Lighting technology in vehicles is a billion dollar industry. Hella, Phillips, Bosch, PIAA, Catz, etc., just to name a few reputable companies. Mercedes, BMW, VW, Porsche, and Audi currently contract Hella to build lighting assemblies and optics for use with established Halogen bulb. This lighting technology essentially is an advanced version of a filament glowing in a a double wall sphere with Halogen gas and tungsten. The Tungsten filament is constantly being replenished by separating ever so slightly due to the high-temperature nature of the mixture of Halogen and other component gases. As the Tungsten reaches the glass wall, it cools to a degree in which it returns back to filament thus rebuilding the structure of the bulb filament and providing the long-life associated with this type of bulb. In order for this to work though, the bulb capsule has to be smaller than the traditional incandescent bulb so as to take advantage of the high-temperature properties allowing for the consumption, separation of tungsten cycled back into the filament.

Sounds complicated, but I assure you, it isn't really all that complex. Just lots of heat in a very small space with special gases that suspend vaporized Tungsten for use with the Halogen Cycle. If that is not any simpler, try the wikipedia version of an explanation of Halogen bulbs. Anyway, this type of lighting capsule delivers massive amounts of light and heat in both consumption and light energy. Current reflector and projector technologies have allowed for exceptionally tight low beam pattern with virtually no additional lighting spill (spill is stray light emissions from either the light capsule and or the lamp housing).

Dipped beams or low beams are designed to illuminate the ground and markers while providing just the right amount of lighting to light up sign posts and other objects in front of the vehicle at speed. Reflection based lighting system employing Halogen bulbs create a very good and somewhat diffused dipped beam pattern. The diffused portion allows for the dipped beams to illuminate road markers and signs from a reasonable distance (normally about 80 to 100-feet in front of the vehicle, some further than others due to headlamp aiming). Reflector technology has been a common place in the United States since the beginning of the sealed and incandescent era. The fluting of the lens allows for the desired amount of diffused spill lighting to illuminate objects at a reasonable distance without blinding oncoming drivers and pedestrians.

Once Halogen cycle filament capsules enter the came in the late 70s to early 80s, the design of reflector housings and lenses changed to accommodate the increase in both light output and heat generation. The first Halogen capsules were sealed in a traditional sealed beam configuration to provide a near distortion free illumination of both ground and objects in the vehicle's path. Much whiter in color temperature than incandescent sealed beam lighting, it took the general public about ten years to get use the idea of Halogen sealed and free-form lighting technology. Ten years is a long time to adapt, but that said our eyes may not like the colder color temperature of Halogen versus standard incandescent lighting systems. Some food for thought.

To make matters worst, around 1996, Hella introduced projector light housings for both BMW and Audi. Smaller than free-form reflector housings and sealed beam Halogen lamps, projectors are able to deliver a tightly focused dipped beam without any significant diffusion and diffraction. This basically means that the light emitted from a projector lamp will deliver even coverage on the ground with very tight control of the amount of spill lighting markers and objects at a distance while preventing the typical diffused patterns that plague free-form reflector lamp designs. Both lamp housings have positive and negative areas such lighting pattern control, desired side and forward illumination, and other minor factors that can either be considered a true gain or loss to the intention of what shall be illuminated.

Then in late 1996, Infiniti Automotive released the J30 sedan with both low and high beam projectors citing that the system provides proper illumination without blinding oncoming drivers. While that statement is true to a varying degree, the projector governing the dipped beams couldn't illuminate the side markers and sign posts let alone objects from afar. The goal was to provide excellent forward illumination without blinding oncoming drivers and pedestrians, but in order to illuminate objects from afar, the projector beams would have to be calibrated for height. So illumination achieved and was a good marketing campaign on Infiniti's part if it weren't for the fact that vehicle was never a good seller. Still though it open door to projector headlamps for cars, trucks, utility vehicles, etc.

Advancing forward a bit, the first introduction to Xenon arc discharge lamps was not by the Germans or Japanese, but the Americans in the form of the 1997 Lincoln Coupe (don't remember the exact model). Using free-form reflector technology, the Lincoln was able to provide good ground illumination while having enough diffusion to light up objects and signs from afar. The system was supplied by Osram and the optics were developed by Hella and the combination of the two worked quite well. Delivering a color temperature of 4300K and throwing about 3000-lumens of light at 50-feet, the Lincoln Coupe made a statement in the American Automotive world that this type of technology is now available for those who want it. 3000-lumens at 50-feet is more light delivered than the typical 55-watt H7 Halogen thrown at the same 50-feet (600-lumens typically depending of optics used).

Afterward, the 1997 Mercedes E-class began offering an HID option throughout their model line in the US (since 1994 HID technology was available outside of the US due to lighter regulation) while other European and Japanese cars followed suite. BMW, Audi, and Porsche using projector lamps while others utilizing free-form diffused reflection, HID technology was primarily an added option that the vast majority didn't quite accept initially. Acura was the first company to incorporate the technology in both the mid and full-sized luxury sedans as standard equipment citing that it is a safety issue more than an option. Plus it basically gave the consumers an idea of the cost of such a lighting system when compared to Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, etc.(In 1998 the cost of an HID system centered around $1000 USD or more depending on the brand)

After the introduction to the tight lipped HID system (Hella, Phillips, Osram, and Bosch), it spawned aftermarket companies trying to imitate the system by offering alternatives by coating existing Halogen bulbs with a light-blue plasma coating to create the impression of an HID. This coating using is coupled to a richer xenon, argon, and Halogen mixer thus increasing the tungsten filament temperature thus increasing brightness and heat. So a 55-watt H7 bulb with a color temperature of 2800K would produce 600-lumens typically thrown about 50-feet, while a PIAA Hyper White with a color temp of 3800K of the same wattage consumption would produce about 1000-lumens thrown at the same distance (depending on optics used - this test is with a 1998 Mercedes E-class - free-form variable focus diffused reflection system). A 400-lumen increase in light output while consuming the same amount of energy is quite impressive. Normally to increase light output, more wattage would be required which increases energy consumption and heat output. In the case of the PIAA Hyper White series, energy consumption remains the same while heat output increases by about 10-percent(depends on the type of housing).

Many of us have purchased these kinds of bulbs for higher lumen output or looks(the HID look). I personally prefer the increase in output even though the heat output increases as well. That is not the typical mentality of the consumer that is since at that time, HID kits were around $1500.00 USD and only a small group was building them from OEM parts. The first generation kits were downright expensive and not very durable. The average life span of an original installation HID was about 3000-hours (+/-500-hours). That number is actually twice as long as the long-life Halogen globes offered by Sylvania. Did it justify that large number price tag going into HID, well for high-output and better appearance, I think the answer was "Yes". I actually waited about eight years for the prices to reach to the point that it was affordable. The first experience of an OE Retrofit was through Philips.

Philips offered an OE retrofit low-beam kit made completely in Germany (check out their website for more information) that I purchased online in 2008 through a group specializing in HID direct retrofits. These direct retrofits basically are full plug-in play type systems that do not require the consumer to completely take apart their existing wiring. A basic set of instructions and knowledge on how to wire things up and the lighting system is ready to go. It took me about two hours since my Mercedes using a special type of housing that required me to drill two hole to run the lamp's wires through to the ballast and electronic circuit. The end result is less power consumption and more lighting output with lower temperatures throughout the headlamp assembly. To give simple figures here, a typical 55-watt H7 type Halogen filament bulb consumes about 4.5-Amps each sustained at 12-VDC (typical is 1A at 12VDC should equal 12-watts). An HID system (two bulbs with ballast is a system) has to invert DC to AC in order for the ballast to generate the necessary starting voltage to power a Xenon Arc lamp. The startup voltage from the ballast to the bulb usually averages around 20kV at 2.0A (40000-watts) for a single second then slowly tapers off within a 20-seconds to a sustained 85-VAC at <.5A. The Xenon HID arc lamp is powered through AC from the ballast so the DC input at 12 to 14.5VDC during the startup phase can reach 8-Amps total. Once the HID system reaches full output though, the total system DC input averages around 3-amps sustained.

That is two lamps in the system averaging 3-amps versus two halogen globes each with a sustained current consumption of 4.5-amps (9-amps +/-1A total). Now all of these numbers may confuse you, but rest assured the easiest way to measure this is figure in the battery or alternator of a car and how much voltage and current is generated at any given time. My Mercedes's Alternator produces 14.5-VDC optimum and with an available 90-Amps/Hour of current. 9-Amps/hour to run my main headlights plus the fog beams add another 9-amps, and then factor in all of those power hungry engine electronics and accessories, there isn't much power generating juice to charge that car battery. These are things that I ask many that I know to take into consideration when putting in that very power hungry 2000-watt stereo system. Of course there is almost no way to consume 2000-watts of stereo power unless the system is either in the hands of a young person or a competition at which a power station supply may be used, but still though that amount of power generation required to supply such a system would be more than what a car's stock alternator is capable of.

Now I got the complex and confusing figures out of the way, one would think that HID technology would be the end of it right. I though so too until I started looking at how my solid-state lighting fixtures at home that I had put in a few years back can do, then started looking up the future of automotive lighting. Then I was able to work with Hella developing a very compact (I am Electro-Optics - Physics Researcher - Day Job), high-flux solid-state lighting solution. With their knowledge of both lighting and optics and my understanding of complex micro optics for high powered devices, Hella was able to develop and deploy the latest generation in automotive lighting while reducing power consumption, heat, and increasing lighting efficiency all in one very small package.

Enter the World of LED Automotive Lighting

LED technology is used just about everywhere. Before the lighting industry picking up steam in this department, we see LEDs as indicators, clock displays, little lights to light up our see through computer cases, and that sort of thing. As time went on, car companies started integrating Red LEDs into the center stop lamps for both intensity and fast response times. It was all good until the idea passed on to turn signal indicators, cabin lighting, side markers, and then eventually replacing all of those indicators with LEDs. It was all in the name of maintaing image, efficiency, and going green (in the automotive world, going green means also going hybrid). Becoming green requires many changes and in automotive applications means becoming highly efficient in reducing consumption and increasing overall operating efficiency.

Headlamps are by far the most inefficient consumers of electrical energy. Consuming large quantities of current, power, and voltage, these systems deliver only one third of their true potential while the rest is wasted in heat generation and optical efficiency. One-third is rather a small amount and many would say that is fine, but in a "Green" stand point of view though, this efficiency factor is rather pathetic. Even with the introduction of HID technology where a 35-watt AC arc lamp generates about 300% more light than say PIAA's 55-watt Hyper White Series Halogen Globe, the factors of optics efficiency and heat generation are still issues of concern. Not so much a heat generation factor since the power output is considerably lower than with a 55-watt power consumer. It kind of makes things more confusing since one would think that if the light is much brighter (tested), then it would make sense that the light being produced would be hotter (temperature). In the case of light, a Xenon Arc lamp transmits heat in the form of both gas and support frame whereas with Halogen, the glowing filament coupled with light transmission in a closed environment creates more heat.

In a simpler explanation, a 55-watt filament lamp will generate more heat than with a 35-watt lamp using the same technology. With gas discharge lamps however, the heat generation is mostly transmitted rather than conductive. And this is the easiest way to explain it. Hella, Bosch, Denso, and Osram have been working with many optics companies to develop and deploy a new method of providing excellent lighting with none of the drawbacks of current lighting technology in a very compact package. If household lighting and micro-torches can use solid-state lighting technology, why not automotive headlamp applications.

The first car to debut full integrated High and Low beams with full indicators was Audi with the new A8 and Hella stated the world's first solid-state lighting solution. Other automotive companies have large-ticket vehicles using solid-state lighting, but not the extent that incorporates all functions such as DRL, main dipped beams, high beams, and turn signal indicators. Granted, Lexus was the first car to introduce LED headlamps into the 2007 LS600H, but only in the form of angled dipped beams. High and fog beams were utilizing standard Halogen Capsules in free-form optics. The use of pure solid-state lighting technology in a rather compact and elegant package was developed for Audi by Hella.

Being a car person, I had the privilege to drive the new 2011 Audi A8L with the LED lighting package and I must say, from my experience in the high-powered optics industry, this is some of the best illumination of ground and air that I have seen in a long time. Ground illumination was beyond excellent to the degree that it has blown the former champion in this field. I speak of the Hella designed for Infiniti Q45 from 2003 till its demise in 2006. If you Google the Infiniti Q45, specify the year model between 03 to 06 and one will see what I am referring to. It consists of seven micro lenses arranged in a gatling gun barrel and using piped optics forming micro-projectors while using a single Xenon gas charged Arc lamp (HID). This arrangement produced a uniform low beam pattern covering all essential areas while providing more than enough diffused lighting to illuminate objects and sign posts at great distances. It is always impressive to see a 2005 or 2006 Infiniti Q45 coming up from behind you only to help illuminate the path in front of you. Hella did publish papers as to the design and tested light output efficiencies.

From a 35-watt HID lamp, the output illumination at 4300K color temperature was 4600-lumens at 50-feet or 3400-lumens at 120-feet. That would make this light nearly 80-percent efficient in real world terms while the virtual number is 90%. That is a far cry from 33-percent with traditional optics. Then factor in the size of the lenses coupled with the housing, compact in nature the Hella designed headlamp it wasn't but in terms of looks, this arrangement made the Infiniti Q45 look intimidating. When I come to think of it, if Hella is able to coax 4600-lumens at 50-feet using piped optics forming micro projectors in a single headlamp housing, why isn't other companies using the same idea to increase lighting efficiency and output without increasing heat generation. Hmmm. That may make an interesting conversation starter if it weren't so nerdy if many understand what I am getting at.

Any way with the LED lighting systems coming into play here, many are wondering what is next. Well without diving further detail into this, right now solid-state lighting is just making rounds here in the automotive world. Many companies will wait for the technology to mature to the level that can be successfully integrated as standard equipment without incurring massive costs. Until then, the Prius-5, Lexus, and Audi (their top models that is) will be the few companies out their with high-efficiency lighting systems to be put into their cars to make very "Green" statements.

Wait A Minute, You Have Explained Other Technologies, Why Not LED?

Solid-state lighting uses similar optics to the aforementioned Incandescent, Halogen Cycle, and HID technology. Optically speaking though, solid-state lighting and the former are very close together in technology. The only other aspect that LEDs have that the other technologies considered to be inefficient would be heat generation. Just to give mention here, the published specifications of the Audi A8s LED front lighting package are as follows. Total of High, Low, DRL, Parking, and Indicator LED System consumes a maximum of 38-Watts at 6-VDC. Using the standard 12VDC calculation, that would mean that the Audi A8's lighting package consumes 19-watts at 1A/Hour. The other figures were 3600-lumens measured at the dipped beam with a minimum distance of 60-feet while the high-beam figure up by 300-lumens same distance. The low beam consuming about 12-watts at 6VDC (white LED emitters are usually powered no more than 9VDC at 1A or 6VDC at 1.5A) which is the usual specs for the Cree LEDs used in the lamp array in the Audi.

As for the high-beams in the Audi A8's headlamp incorporates about six more watts or two Cree LEDs (I don't know which version of the XLamp series that is incorporated in the Audi LED headlamp) through special piped optics. These pipe optics basically serve two functions; reduced glare by the angle of the optic thus also cutting out the blue tint and the second is increase fill distance allowing for better illumination of objects from extreme distances. As such the total system consumption (single headlamp=system and not both headlamps) maximum of 38-watts at 6VDC or 19-watts at 12-VDC. I wish I snapped a picture of the headlamp unit when off and on just to illustrate what the system does and how effective the LEDs and optics are when compared to traditional high-flux illumination system.

LED headlamp systems are efficient, high-flux, and with the Hella designed optics, very well placed ground and diffused illumination. Like mentioned in the earlier paragraphs in regards to heat generation, LEDs do not suffer problems of luminous flux heat generation but from diode contact heat conduction. This type of heat generation is probably the most problematic since a great deal of heat sinking is required to cool. Hella designed the LED headlamp system with a complex heat pipe, liquid filled circulated, with air guides and micro radiators to cool the assembly to ensure reliable operation. All of this technology allows for the best possible illumination while allowing Audi to successfully change the image of the A8 and subsequently every other model in the company's lineup. I can say with certainty that the Audi A8 is the only vehicle currently with full solid-state lighting (except for fog lights - DOT regulation). Other car companies employ some method of solid-state lighting, but primarily for use with dipped beams and indicators.

Conclusions and Opinions of the Sort

Solid-state LEDs are the future of lighting technology be it home, commercial, marine, personal, automotive, etc. High flux, efficiency, and low heat generation is the most ideal attributes for designing commercial and automotive lighting systems since there is already an abundance of heat generation in a vehicle. HID systems are quite efficient with lower heat generation, but the complexity of the system itself means that specific xenon arc bulbs, ballasts, and relays are required. Once installed though, HID systems are reliable and trouble free. Halogen bulbs are the cheapest and with today's technological strides, the luminous flux output is approaching to the point where a 55-watt Halogen cycle Argon and Xenon gas filled bulb comes close to the 1200-lumens (through free-form reflector and diffused lens technology).

Each lighting technology have ad/disadvantages but each to ones own. Each incremental advancement in the field of optics and lighting means more energy savings over time with whatever implementation of the technology it is planned for. In the case of automotive lighting system, HID and LED lighting systems are the best method for energy savings since a good twenty percent of the energy consumption in a vehicle at any given time. Most of us who drive during the day and night do not realize how much electrical energy is consumed when driving. Now the alternator does provide additional power, but that only applies when the vehicle is in motion or at a high enough engine revolutions. Some food for thought when driving.

Hope this information helps in understanding those bluish white light.

Cree versus Luxeon

2011-06-06T21:33:00.000-07:00

As the title suggests, this is a general comparison between the long time member of the solid-state lighting LumiLeds versus a relative new comer Cree. Lumileds was founded as a sub-division of Hewlett Packard, which was one of the fields of expertise thus spinning it off to a separate division. Lumileds was acquired by Phillips thus forming Phillips-Lumileds in 2009. Cree was formed in 1996 and since has spawned four centers including one located in Santa Barbara, California. I have actually had the pleasure attending a tech lecture on the newer chemistries being used to increase lighting efficiency of solid-state light output without increasing DC Voltage consumption at the Santa Barbara Tech Center Cree. Great city and great campus with good people developing ways to improve lighting efficiency and technologies.

My first experience with LED technology came in the form of a custom made Arc Flashlight using a 1-watt Luxeon emitter with an average output of 35-lumens at 500mA/H. Back in 2000, the consumption and output figures were reasonable, but there is room for improvement. White LEDs were a new technology and it was essentially a blue diode with a UV sensitive phosphor to create the white light output desired. The mixture of different phosphors creates both the quality of the white light (tint) and color temperature. The quality is the tint such as the amount of blue, yellow, or green added into the phosphor to create the color temperature desired. So basically if one takes this formula of mixing different phosphors, one can reach the level of tint associated with some of the CFL bulbs sold today. Another fact here is the type of phosphor used is rather similar to what is coated within the interior wall of a florescent light tube and bulb. That was the technology of the late 90s to early 2000s so what kind of strides in this field of lighting have been shown today.

Now in 2011, Luxeon and Cree technologies are the two primary heads that have started back in 2006 a race of competing lighting technologies. The launch of the XRLamp-E by Cree basically boasts an increase in lighting efficiency and output while consuming less current at 6-volts (White LED are normally powered between 3 to 9-VDC with no more than 1.5Amps of current). The diode is rated at 3-watts using 6VDC at 500-mA/H with a tested output of 85-lumens/watt measured at 1-meter free air (no additional optics). Compared to the 3-watt Lumiled sourced LED at the same consumption, the light output without optics was about 50-lumens/watt. 50-lumens per watt is still quite a bit of light, but unlike the compact florescent and incandescent light bulbs, heat generated can only be transfer by contact, which means a metal plate for heat sinking must be used otherwise the solid-state light will fail. This is one of the reasons why high-output LED flashlights get warm to hot in our hands.

Another example of heat generation with solid-state lighting technology would be the second experience with this type of lighting technology. In addition to the first Arc Flashlight that I still own to this day, I purchased the Arc-V, which is a five-watt Bin-Q-R (6000K color Temp) white LED Luxeon emitter powered by a single CR123A lithium cell and when in use, the light output is very high. 150-lumens of sustained output for about thirty minutes before going to moon mode of 50-lumens for another two to three hours. I know this from my experience with the Arc-V, which I still own to this day. I don't use the light much for fear of wasting away precious battery life with these rather expensive CR123A lithium batteries. Rechargeable CR123A are not recommended since these cells have a higher output curve and will destroy the power circuit that governed the LED and power consumption. This is not so much so with the Custom Arc-Flashlight with the 1-watt Luxeon emitter.

Heat generated by the Arc-I Custom (the 1-watt diode) would best be described as a good hand warmer after about two minutes of use. Constant use is still comfortable with bare hands so if one were to go out in the cold, all I have to do is turn on my Arc-I Custom and light up the places needing light and wait about two minutes. The Arc-V however is completely different story and I actually purchased the first generation of the Arc-V flashlight, so it basically has on and moon mode with the latter only activated when there is less than twenty percent battery capacity remaining. Once turned on, the Arc-V delivers an impressive amount of illumination with a rather tight 10-degree spot beam with a good deal of spill lighting. Great light output with a somewhat efficient architecture, however though after about thirty seconds, I would end up throwing the light onto the ground because it would be too hot to handle (literally). By too hot, with a temperature sensor attached to the body of the flashlight, the Arc-Vcan reach operating temperatures of 160-degrees Fahrenheit after thirty seconds of use. There is a temperature regulation circuit in the Arc-V, but doesn't kick in until the unit reaches about 180-degrees-F at which will automatically reduce output to 50% brightness (moon mode is about 10% brightness or 15-lumens or less than a watt). Even at 50% output, the Arc-V still operates at a temperature of 120-degrees-F, which I consider a hand cooker rather than a warmer. Even with gloves, this flashlight is not at all comfortable for use for any short period of time. This is my take on some of the earlier models of the Arc-Flashlights and things change since the Arc-V. Other companies now spawn different variations of the Arc-V design without the inherit high-heat drawbacks or short life (the Arc-V that I currently own is now at reduced brightness regardless of the condition of the battery due to the rather notoriously known short half-life of the Luxeon-V emitter) only because of driving the emitter to full output, these companies under-drive the LED to 80% while still delivering more than 200-lumens of light at 6000K color temperature.

Two-hundred lumens with a five watt Luxeon-V emitter was not bad or good since to drive to 5-watts, the control circuit within the Arc-V was set to 6-VDC step-up to 900-mA/H, which is slightly over than 5-watts driven and yet it still delivers only 150-lumens thrown at 1-meter. The optics at that time were developed by Lumileds and weren't made for such a high-flux LED so the spot beam was somewhat diffused hence the lower output rating. Around 2004, The Luxeon-III replaced the Luxeon-V as the new leader in high-flux solid-state lighting emitter with lower current consumption, higher output efficiency while having a tighter control tolerance of color temperature (between 4500 to 5000K). Higher efficiency as in less current consumption required to create the target output with the Luxeon-III emitter of 200-lumens or nearly 95-lumens/watt and 600-mA/H at 6VDC. With a Fresnel focused optic at the correct focal point of the emitter, the light output is further increased to nearly 130-lumens/watt with the same consumption rating. The 3-watt emitter is capable of being over-driven with a slight decrease in emitter life-span (100K-hours to 60K-hours when over-driven) and about 150-lumens/watt measured throw distance of 1-meter.

Heat is still a factor here as the Luxeon-III emitter was still a little hot to handle when the Arc-Flashlight (Arc closed its doors to restructure itself in 2006 to return in 2008) introduced the Arc-III in late 2004. Not as hot as the Arc-V, but hot enough to require gloves to handle for long periods of time. So having a very portable hand torch capable of delivering a massive amount of light without the bulk is a reasonable tradeoff for more than warm flashlight. Anyway the Luxeon-III emitter replaced the other versions until 2008 that is when Cree launched (this is to the best of my knowledge that is) the XR-Lamp-E.

Enter the World of the Cree XRLamp-E
Cree XRLamp-E is a 3-watt, high-flux/efficiency solid-state emitter with a new optically transparent (90% transmission efficient) epoxy with newer organic phosphor compounds to provide a sustained (4500K) color temperature range throughout the production line. High-efficiency in the form of lower voltage and current consumption required to deliver about 90-lumens/watt at 5VDC and 300-mA/H. Both high-flux and efficiency is the name of the game when Cree developed the XRLamp-E and at 90-lumens/watt (free air no optics), efficiency and high-output. Using an optic supplied by Lumileds (I conducted the test in a lab with other technicians), driving the Cree XRLamp-E to a full 3-watts at 6VDC and 1A/H(can be overdriven to 6VDC and 1.5A without decreasing life-span) allows for 170-lumens/watt average. The optic supplied is a 20-degree spot 1-inch Fresnel type with a close focal point hence the optic sits on top of the emitter dome. Another part of the efficiency component is the emitter pad used to dump away the heat generated and to my surprise, the heat sink pad used pulls the heat away from the emitter quite efficiently.

When properly mounted and driven, the Cree XRLamp-E can deliver the equivalent output of a 35-watt Halogen MR16 with a 30-degree flood beam (6VDC at 750mA/H) thrown at 2-meters. I decided to further test my idea by purchasing a Cree XRLamp-E custom MR16 direct drop-in for cabinet lighting and again to my surprise, the light output is quite impressive. When compared to the warmer 50-watt MR16 30-degree flood Halogen light, the single XRLamp-E emitter through a 30-degree Fresnel optic delivers a nearly equal output of light without the excessive heat output. Through a Newport Corporation Light Meter measured at 1-meter, the 50-watt MR16 Halogen delivers about 665-lumens. Through the Fresnel optic, the 3-watt Cree XRLamp-E driven at 6VDC and 750mA/H, the output at 1-meter was 556-lumens at 30-degree flood. Between the two numbers, yes the 50-watt Halogen delivers more lighting output, but one thing a light meter doesn't measure is the amount of heat thrown through the transmission of light energy. This is where LED lighting technology has the advantage over traditional glowing filament bulbs, however a great deal of aluminum is used to sink the heat away from the Cree emitter since LEDs light energy rating is lower than the filament type. Not to complicate the explanation of this, the simple answer is LEDs require heat sinking material in order to move heat away from the emitter to cool the light down.

As long as the emitter is cool, the life-span of the light is vastly increased to the degree that frequent replacement would not be a factor like with Halogen or compact florescent lights. That was one of the selling points with the Cree XRLamp-E Custom MR16 drop-in (with an integrated inverter) and I must say that this light is what I use for my cabinet lighting. Heat transmitted by light energy is not what I desire especially when I have items inside the cabinet that are sensitive to both UV and heat, which are qualities of Halogen lighting that are unavoidable unless there is such a thing as a cold glowing filament. So for a near 100-lumen reduction in light output, a 3-watt emitter consuming 3-watts of DC (less than a single watt in AC) versus 50-watts of glowing consumption and heat, I would rather choose the lesser of two evils.

The cost of replacing some or all of the Halogens and florescent bulbs in a single household with solid-state technology can be rather costly, but in the long-term, the replacement savings and energy costs will fully justify itself. Just think about the idea of ten 3-watt emitters each producing 500+lumens of light compared to a single 50-watt Halogen or three 28-watt compact florescent tubes delivering about the same lumen output (50W Halogen delivers about 80W of light output while a 28W CFL produces about 80W of light as well). Phillips-Lumileds developed drop-in bulbs in 2008 for use with the consumer household while Cree licensed their LEDs for use with Felt Electric. The drop-ins developed by Phillips-Lumileds are good, but the ones by Felt Electric powered by Cree XRLamp-E emitters are better. Both companies have great ideas with different directions in the way the emitters are implemented. The best way to experience this technology, purchase one or several for use in commonly used places such as the kitchen, den, dining room, and bedroom to understand the idea of how it works and the amount of light delivered.

I hope that this information was helpful and feel free to express your opinions and thoughts about this.

FENIX Flashlights in General

2011-06-02T14:35:00.000-07:00

As an owner of many Fenix, Surefire, Inova (Formerly Known as Emissive Technologies), Coast Optical, and MAG Lights, I must say that I have reached the point to understand that Fenix (pronounced the same as Phoenix) is a company that constantly reinvents itself to create the best product for the general consumer market. In fact I can say from experience that the one model that trumps all of the others I have owned is labeled the LD10. The Fenix LD10 is a single Cree XR-Lamp-E 3-watt Neutral White LED (4500 to 5000K color temp) powered by a single AA-cell either Ni-MH, Alkaline, or Lithium-Pile composition.

At its lowest setting, the Fenix LD10 produces about 12-lumens (their website states 9-lumens) measured from a Newport Corporation Light Meter setup at a distance of 2-meters rather than the industry standard 1-meter. Now 12-lumens is roughly equivalent to a 5-watt night light bulb without a diffuser optic or a simple opaque screen. The spot beam formed by the reflective optics of the LD10 is about 20-degrees with about 60-degrees of flood spill. Basically this means that a rather tight LED beam with a color temperature of 4500K with a sharp roll into the 5000K territory in the flood beam (this is the lowest output setting). The highest output setting allows for a clean 20-degree spot with a 60-degree flood also but with an even 4500K color temp (tested with a Newport Corporation Light Meter) at nearly 135-lumens and 2-meter distance from source. There are four settings of brightness, an SOS, and a medium-speed strobe flash integrated in a simple single-AA cell chassis. Giving a range of 2-hours to nearly 40-hours of battery cell life out of a single AA cell is quite impressive. Surefire does have a single-AA cell LED flashlight that utilizes a Luxeon 1-watt diode with an average color temperature of 6000K or so. The Surefire does not have the features or battery life offered by the Fenix LD10.

Now I have owned many single cell high-flux LED flashlights and have a few more in my arsenal of higher intensity. Most of the newer lights are made by Fenix. Now purchasing Surefire, Streamlight, and MAG Instruments Lights would be the more noble or patriotic thing to do, however the higher costs of the American brands don't justify what the Chinese have to offer. More light, robust construction, useful features, and excellent battery life is what the Chinese made Fenix Light provides at a lower expense point than the current American offerings today. One thing that the Fenix Light is not capable of is the 2000+lbs crush test rating, which is what Surefire, Arc, Streamlight, Mag, and other American brand tactical and utility flashlights. Technology though is constantly improving so maybe in the near future, the new generation of Fenix Lights will have the crush test factored in the design with all of the other features integrated at a similar price point. Just take a look of the line of lights offered by Fenix by going to http://www.fenixlight.com

One of my most recent purchases from Fenix is the even more powerful and modern TK60. A single Cree XM-L ultra-high-flux diode through 20-degree tight spot with an also bright 60-degree flood reflective optics is used in conjunction with four D-cell batteries. Four brightness settings, an SOS, and a very bright high-speed strobe with an optimum life of 15-days according to the website. Now the one thing I can say for sure is the brightness from a throw distance of 6-meters rather than 2-meters since I didn't want to burn out the sensor end of the Newport Light Meter. At 6-meters from light source at the highest setting, the light output is 822-lumens at 4600K color temperature. Now that is very impressive since many of the one-million candlelight power torches don't actually have a usable focusing point hence it delivers a 30-degree spot with very little flood spill. One-million candlelight power doesn't necessarily equate to lumen output, so with an independent tester use a Newport Light Meter, the lumen output averages around 500 to 600-lumens while throwing a great deal of heat.

The TK60 is my primary work light but before that was the LD10. I still keep the single-AA cell flashlight because it is more convenient to carry the LD10 then it is to carry the TK60 since it is like a four D-Cell MAG flashlight than anything else. I feel like a guard or handy man when carrying the TK60 so I end up leaving it at home while carrying the LD10 to the workplace and travel excursions.

Anyway though to make this blog a little shorter without saying that I am a rambling fool, I have had many flashlights ranging from the first generation Arc Flashlight with a switchable output DIP switch powered by a 1-watt Warm white Luxeon LED and a CR123 lithium pile battery. Back then I thought that was cutting edge. Now switch forward ten years and today the CREE LED is fast approaching the replacement of Halogen and compact florescent light sources while the former leader in this field, Phillips-Luxeon and somewhat trailing behind, the Nichia Corporation. Others in this industry are Seoul Semi-Conductor LED Tech, Osram LED, HP-LED, and Shenzhen LED Tech.

I hope this information would be helpful for those who have heard of Fenix Lights to consider this part. The flashlights offered by their company is currently being used in several cities in Southern California Law Enforcement locations over the American brands due to the lower cost, more features, and longer life. Replacement cost normally has an outcome of city spending and believe or not Surefire charges a bit for their product. Fenix Light has a wide range of products and as such offer many choices for the average consumer and those in law enforcement or government work positions.

Hope this helps and everybody have a great day, evening, week, month, year, etc.

LED Lights for Home

2011-05-26T21:44:00.000-07:00

Going Green is a relatively new term and many of us are trying to do our part by purchasing compact florescent bulbs replacing the rather inefficient Halogen or Incandescent light bulbs. CFL bulbs are the way to go when it comes to energy saving efficiency, or is it. Some cities in the United States are replacing CFL with solid-state technologies from CREE or Phillips-Luxeon for offices, bus-stops, street lighting, traffic signals, etc. These are just some prime examples of what local city governments are working on to cut down electricity consumption.

Some homes I have seen in Southern California near Newport Beach have gone "Green" by using LED lightning technology on the landscape and the interior lightning of the house. My own house falls under that "Green" category where I replaced every light with CREE LED lights to reduce my electricity consumption and increase efficiency in both the lighting and heat department. The only downside that I can see is the initial cost to go solid-state lighting. LED technology is just about everywhere ranging from that clock-radio, Microwave oven's clock display, the backlighting in laptop and desktop screens, to the billboard displays in Las Vegas. Many of the tactical and everyday household flashlights use LED technology over halogen or xenon. The cost of using LED bulbs over traditional Halogen, Xenon, and Incandescents is a little bit higher, but the energy savings alone should justify this.

I know Germany is banning the sale of Halogen and Incandescents in favor of more energy efficient technologies such as CFL and LED. More to the point, the government offers subsidies to go energy efficient lightning. Having lived in Germany for about a year, I came to understand the reasons for going "Green". Going "Green" in the United States means making very hard choices to the degree that it interferes with the day-to-day activities of life. In Germany though, this isn't the case. The degree is subtle, but is quite drastic since the implementation itself isn't self evident.

LED illumination is can be rather cold to somewhat annoying, but with advanced strides in the control of color temperature with newer and better materials, the light temperature approaches some of the best warm tinted CFL (2900 to 3600K). Color Temperature essentially is how we perceive white light and the higher the number, the colder or to our eyes, the more bluish tint we see in the given spectrum of light. Warm White Color Temps allows for a pleasant illumination of the room and surroundings while reducing eye strain when reading a book or working with pictures (something of that sort). Cold Color Temps allow for sharper contrast when also looking a photographs or something that requires careful attention to detail, but allows for greater strain on the eyes due to the colors being brought out by the higher degree of white LED illumination. Many people that I have spoken to feel that colder color temps allow for them to see more at night, however that is because our eyes react to the shorter wavelengths of light (red is long vs. blue is short wavelength). Neutral color temperature of 4300K (CREE LEDs are mainly aimed at a range of 4000 to 4600K except for their Warm White variants which lean toward 2900K) provides the balance of the sharper contrast of the cold while providing the pleasant and less eye straining feeling of the warm white balance.

To give a comparison, CREE LED provided me samples of their LED bulb drop-ins to compare with CFL of equivalent light output. Most CFL bulbs lean toward 5000K, which is slightly above neutral balance white while still providing sharp contrast of colors. The lowest consumption bulb in the CFL arsenal is a 7-watt unit from Felt Electric, which provides about 45-watts of 5000K light with an integrated diffuser (the diffuser allows for an even spread of light within a room without the hotspots commonly associated with non-diffused sources). The CFL requires about thirty seconds to reach full brightness (longer if the room is colder than 40-degrees Fahrenheit - room size is 10 by 12' with 10' ceiling) and once reached, the light bathes the room softly with a near 120-degree flood. The integrated diffuser allows for the light to cover the entire room without any hotspots of any kind. Using a Newport Corporation Light meter, I decided to measure the amount of light at its highest point (most illumination) and the results after careful positioning was about 300-lumens (+/- 50-lumens at 9' 10" away from source), which is not bad at all considering the power consumption and perceived wattage output. Now using a CREE LED sourced drop-in which consists of a single 3-Watt unit (XLAMP-XR-E through piped optics at 60-degree flood) and the results were astonishing. Instant startup and even though the light illumination is through piped optics providing a 60-degree flood, there is quite a bit of spill. A hotspot was created no doubt but the spot created was within the 60-degree range of the intended area with a significant degree of side lightning to fill the room quite nicely.

Same distance from source to the floor, the 3-watt CREE LED drop-in delivered 420-lumens (+/- 80-lumens at 9' 10" with piped optics and diffuser) and bathe the room rather softly at 4500K Neutral White Color Temperature. Heat output is virtually non-existent with both light sources so no need for additional cooling or ventilation in the room. The actual power consumption of the LED is actually lower than with CFL since the latter type requires considerable amounts of electricity for a short duration to light up the gases in the bulb. Unlike filament bulbs, CFL contains mercury gas and phosphor to glow as it were (mercury illuminates in long-wave UV and this excites the white phosphor in the CFL tube to create the white light we see) and requires a bit of time to reach the intended brightness, color temperature, and wattage output. LED bulbs also use phosphor but in a sealed optically transparent epoxy and in very small quantities plus a minute amount of UV all in a package much smaller than what CFLs use.

The primary difference between LED and CFL is that the former technology requires the use of DC while the latter is AC driven. Most drop-in LED units, whether it is from CREE, Nichia, and Phillips, feature AC to DC drivers and are heat-sinked to prevent damage to either the driver or the light source. My home however, I decided to have custom lighting throughout the interior so dedicated AC-to-DC drivers are used with line-condition and digital dimmers to allow for smooth and gradual dimming of light. Since LED illumination is DC driven, flickering or high-speed strobing effects aren't present unless otherwise specified. High-quality lighting fixtures of today from Halo, CREE, LUXEON, etc, feature high-quality AC-to-DC drivers that allow for zero-flicker dimming or overall lighting. Most of these non-drop-in types consume an average of 12-watts and deliver about 650 to 800-lumens of light, which is about the same as a 55-watt Halogen Flood or 30-watt CFL (Halo uses CREE LED and the fixture uses a 60-degree diffused lens flood).

The primary disadvantage with solid-state lighting is cost as mentioned in the earlier paragraphs. CFL lighting is rather efficient, but if one were to really become both "Green" and efficient, solid-state lighting would be the way to go. Try it out and see for yourselves to see if you like the change.

Thanks for reading and have a great week, month, year, etc.