Readers might recall I was an early adopter of LED lighting technology. Now it is getting even better.
New LED light design offers less energy, more light
LEDs are durable and save energy. Now researchers have found a way to make LED lamps even more compact while supplying more light than commercially available models. The key to success: transistors made of the semiconductor material gallium nitride.
Incandescent light bulbs are now banned in the EU, while energy-saving lamps remain a bone of contention. In 2016, it will be lights out for halogen bulbs over 10 watts as well. LEDs (light-emitting diodes) therefore have the best chance of becoming the light source of the future. Experts reckon that LED retrofit lamps for use in standard bulb fittings will overtake traditional energy-saving bulbs for the first time from 2015. By 2020 it is predicted that LEDs will have captured between 88 and 90 percent of the lighting market. The tiny diodes offer a whole host of advantages as the most environmentally friendly source of light – they contain no harmful substances, consume less energy and, with a lifetime of between 15,000 and 30,000 hours, last longer than conventional light sources. They also work at full brightness as soon as you flick the switch.
Coping with higher temperatures
LEDs do have one weakness, though – they are extremely sensitive to variations and spikes in power. To function properly, they need a driver that ensures a constant supply of power at all times. This driver, which takes the alternating current from the grid and converts it into direct current with a reduced voltage, has a profound influence on the light yield and lifetime of the LED lamp as a whole. The demands placed on the driver electronics are correspondingly high. This has prompted researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics IAF in Freiburg to focus their attention on voltage transformers featuring gallium nitride (GaN) transistors. During practical testing, the scientists found that the drivers developed using this new semiconductor material were extremely robust. Components made of GaN can operate at higher currents, voltages and temperatures than standard silicon transistors. “Heat plays a role both in the brightness and the service life of LED lamps,” says Dr. Michael Kunzer, group manager at Fraunhofer IAF.
Gallium nitride transistors switch at high speed
Gallium nitride transistors can also switch at high frequencies. The switching speed has a significant impact on the size of the coils and condensers built into the drivers for energy storage. In a GaN-based driver, the switch speed can be made as much as a factor of 10 faster than that of its silicon equivalent. “Applied to a smaller surface, this means it is possible to make switching cheaper. The whole LED lamp can be made lighter and more compact while delivering the same or even improved illumination,” explains Kunzer. Since the energy storage component plays a decisive role in manufacturing costs, this could have an extremely positive effect on the end price.
Thanks to the new semiconductor material’s useful properties, Kunzer and his team have been able to boost the efficiency of the GaN driver to 86 percent – between one and four percentage points better than its silicon equivalent. When compared with the silicon transistor LED lamps available on the market., the scientists were able to increase the light output: while the luminous flux of commercial LED retrofit lamps featuring silicon components is around 1000 lumen (the unit used to measure the light produced), researchers from the IAF have been successful in increasing this to 2090 lumen. “20 percent of energy consumption worldwide can be attributed to lighting, so it’s an area where savings are particularly worthwhile. One shouldn’t underestimate the role played by the efficiency of LED drivers, as this is key to saving energy. In principle, the higher the light yield and efficiency, the lower energy consumption is. If you think that by 2020 LEDs will have carved out a market share of almost 90 percent, then it is obvious that they play a significant role in protecting our environment,” says Kunzer. The researchers will be showcasing a demonstrator of their retrofit LED from April 7-11 at the Hannover Messe, where they can be found at the joint Fraunhofer booth in Hall 2, Booth D18.
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Tried CFL’s early. Outside at 30 to 40 below, they didn’t even come on. The light colour inside was poor, the flicker about drove me crazy, they made an audible hum, interfered with electronics in the house and several failed in the first couple of months after which I took all the CFL’s out and put back incandescents. Over the last 5 years, I have replaced one ( 1 ) incandescent light bulb. I have two cardboard boxes of those “mercury accidents waiting to happen” in my basement if anyone wants them, next to my 10 year plus supply of incandescent bulbs. Given the low failure rate of my incandescents, make that a supply I will likely pass on to my children. I have some LED lights as emergency back up but at $14 to $20 per light versus $1 to $2 for incandescents (which supply some additional heat in the winter months) I don’t see changing over full LED’s soon – especially given they don’t always fit the existing fixtures.
BTW, an incandescent bulb can live at least twice as long with a simple zero crossing switch for turning it on. It makes most financial benefits calculations of CFLs go pufff
Well, this is my fourth attempt at writing this comment over the last hour or so. The UK’s “New! Improved!” third-rate third-world electricity supply has dealt us three brief interruptions so far this morning, forcing PCs to reset, clocks to fall back to 88:88, the radio to turn off … We reduce our consumption and still we get cr@p service.
Right. I’ll try again.
Agreed LEDs are far superior to CFL junk, though (as Hlaford has noted since I started trying) they do have problems. The colour balance problem has been noted above, and given that LEDs, like CFLs, rely on phosphors to produce their light, it is hard to see how that can ever be resolved. Phosphors intrinsically produce a spectrum of lines; incandescent sources produce a continuous spectrum much more like the spectrum our race evolved with. That this can also give physiological problems has been noted already by Chiefio, here.
Hlaford’s mention of the EM pollution spewed out by these things is very welcome too – it sometimes seems to me that I’m the only person who’s noticed. Along with CFLs, PCs, phone chargers. TVs … OK, practically everything nowadays, they have switchmode power supplies built-in which now, in my city environment, bury most of the interesting part of the EM spectrum under their pollution. It doesn’t matter that most people (whose only interest in the spectrum is receiving high power broadcast stations) don’t notice this pollution, pollution it is, and apparently completely uncontrolled.
On the plus side, though, LEDs do have things going for them. I recently bought (at the budget German supermarket Aldi) a superb LED flashlight – 3x C cells in the (metal) handle and a 10W LED at the front, a sort of poor man’s Maglite®. Sure, they only claim 8 hours battery life, but for a handy light source which measures brighter at 1 metre than full summer sun (in the UK …) I’m not complaining. Fed from low voltage DC there’s no interference at all; and you most likely won’t be using it in situations where colour balance is critical. Horses for courses. But I’d still like to see reliable electricity supplies (like we used to have) running proper incandescents around the house – and at a price we can afford (like we used to have).
Good grief, I think they’ve held the power up for nearly half an hour this time. Post quick, Steve, before you have to watch Windows checking its file system again …
Someone mentioned ‘capacitors’ being called ‘condensers’. This was always the name given to them in England — capacitors is the American term….which of course is used here now! Also do LEDs need leaving on for long periods? The great advantage of filament bulbs is that they can be switched on and off for short periods so that it’s not necessary to leave lights on in rooms all over the house. This is the great disadvantage with flourescents….long or ‘compact’.
Just wait; they’ll soon be whining about the environmental impact of gallium mining!
Anything to push us back to the stone age.
We used to call them condensers. That’s the term used in my 1955 ARRL Handbook. I’m not sure when, or why, the terminology changed. Anyway, I wouldn’t call it wrong. It’s kind of like cycles-per-second (cps) vs Hertz (Hz).
I picked up a couple of 40W-equivalent LEDs at IKEA last weekend for under $5 each. Cheapest I’ve ever seen them. Vastly better for walk-in clothes closets than those *%%# CFLs. I can tell the difference between white and off-white shirts again, and don’t have to wait 30 seconds to have enough light to see.
At the instigation of huge companies, the governments have no mercy to the consumer.
During ages, at evening, humans were accustomed to the yellow and red light of the setting sun, and later on to the light of fire, used in campfires, torches, candles, oil lamps, etc. The incandescent light bulbs, introduced by Thomas Edison, were the crowning glory of. The yellow color at night was favourable for the human health.
In many countries, with one stroke of the pen, the law banned for ever the only lamp spreading a full spectrum of colors and giving beautiful warm light similar to the light of the setting sun. False arguments were used to implement this drastic revolution.
First, consumers had to endure during years the bad consequences of CFLs (awful light, UV radiation, danger when breaking due to the mercury, danger of overheating and spreading an unbearable odor, flickering, end of life before the promised life time, etc.).
The arrival of the LEDs introduced a new chapter in the history of light. The main flaws of LEDs are :
– Consumer group Which? tested 46 types of light bulb for endurance. More than a quarter did not meet claims of a 15,000-hour life. Disappointing result comes despite claims of them lasting 25,000 hours. Some even fell below the legal minimum of 6,000 hours.
See more
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2546363/The-great-LED-lightbulb-rip-One-four-expensive-long-life-bulbs-doesnt-like-long-makers-claim.html
– a high proportion of blue light in the spectrum;
– high luminance (i.e. the high brightness density per surface unit emitted by these very small sources.) LEDs are point sources of light that can be dangerous for our eyes, especially for the eyes of children;
– flicker in the light emitted by LEDs.
It is known that:
1. Blue light tends to make us wakeful and inhibits the production of the sleep hormone melatonin. Our bodies are attuned to daytime.
2. Red and near-infrared light, on the other hand, promote regenerative processes like cell renewal. This regeneration does not have a chance under artificial illumination with a major blue-light content, such as LED, low-energy lamps and computer screens.
3. Many genes are involved in the generation of and many processes are modulated by circadian rhythms.
The consequences are dramatic.
A growing and increasingly convincing body of scientific evidence suggests that excessive exposure of bright light at night (LAN) generates circadian disruption or chronodisruption, that it is, impairments in the healthy internal temporal order. Evidences point to melatonin inhibition as the principal responsible, and blue light is the most effective in this suppression while longer time exposures are required with warmer lights.
Epidemiological studies show that chonodisruption is associated with an increased incidence of metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, cognitive and affective impairments, premature aging and some cancers such as breast, prostate and colorectal and the worsening of pre-existing pathologies, so light is not harmless anymore. (…) To date, we know some of the health consequences of CD [chronodisruption]; however, only a few attempts have been made to prevent circadian disruption induced by inappropriate lighting. Blue light should be avoided during the night in order to preserve our circadian physiology. (http://www.cielooscuro.es/programa.php. María de los Ángeles Rol de Lama, Laboratorio de Cronobiología de la Universidad de Murcia)
The incandescent lamp is the most reliable lamp (full brightness instantly, dimmable, minimal flicker, can be used in cold places, no light loss over time, can be switched on and off without reducing its life, no interference with radio frequency, contains no rare earth metals, heat resistant, …) These lamps are nevertheless banned in many parts of the world and the halogen lamps will be next sacrifice. Will this be the end of the free market? How long will the consumer have to endure this injustice leading to more suffering?
More information can be found on my website http://users.skynet.be/fc298377/EN_argument.htm.
This is a fun confluence of ideas for WUWT, “The world’s most viewed site on global warming and climate change.”
I try to practice micro-heating in my cabin near the Nearctic Taiga as an efficiency. We use electric blankets and lap robes that allow us to maintain the structure much cooler, warm enough only to delay freezing interior piping in the event of a sustained power loss. We will be early adopters of electric body suits when they become affordable.
100 Watt electric heat bulbs are a significant source of warmth, cozy heat on a long cold winter night and provide sufficient light by which to read. Conversely, our diesel Welsbach-mantel lamps provide tremendous heat – unmeasured – and 100 Watts of light.
Not all live in tropical cities. A project for the summer is sourcing 75 mm insulating foam sheeting for the already double-glazed insulating windows.
Incandescent lamps are NOT banned in the EU. 40/60W bulbs are available in shops and ”Rough use” bulbs of 100W are of the incandescent kind. Please check your facts Anthony.
“Incandescent light bulbs are now banned in the EU,”
Wrong. Production of them is banned. Existing stock can be and is sold. I can’t stand low energy bulbs, and don’t like the cold light of LEDs, hence our house uses only old fashioned incandescent bulbs, and we have a huge stock set aside. People notice it when they stay with us – the light comes on immediately when you flip the switch, and is a lovely warm light.
UK folk can go to bltdirect for stocks, and they are not the only supplier.
On information and belief, severe service incandescent bulbs are excepted from the prohibition.
Since the LED lights require a circuit board to function – has anyone done an analysis on the energy it takes to build the circuit boards?
I wonder how much energy we are wasting during manufacture to save during use?
Quantum dot coatings are able to change the bluue-ish LED light into warmer colours, without much loss of efficiency.
Light is a necessity not a luxury. LEDs produce a different type of light to incandescent. Many people need incandescent lighting – it is not a luxury – it is a need. Al Gore, Tony BLiar and the fat cats at Philips and the communist EU use private jets – they are not concerned about energy – they are concerned about their own wealth and greed – and don’t give a damn about people that are made ill by the ban on incandescent bulbs. If LEDs were so great – no need to ban incandescent – let people choose according to their own needs. Philips etc have used their EU connections to rig a the legal system to ban incandescents for their own selfish ends – higher profits – Philips also sponsor the WWF to promote their harmful LEDs.
If you like LED – use them – but it is pure evil – real evil minds – that force people to used LED lighting in full knowledge that doing so will make them ill. Light is a necessity – let people choose what light they need in their own homes and at work.
Box of Rocks says: March 12, 2014 at 4:59 am “I wonder how much energy we are wasting during manufacture to save during use?”
Good question. A broader application of just that concern is; what is the pollution committed (to) by the integrated technological infrastructure of any new product (integrated as in the sum of all of the parts).
“Box of Rocks” was the localhost name of my last desktop computer, for all of the clever little dopey silicon rocks in it.
I am in the energy conservation business and have installed over 50 LED retro-fits in the last year and have had only a few lamp failures. LEDs have come a long way in a short time. Some of the comments are on point. 1) lights operating only 1 hour a day will generally not be worth switching to LED 2) LEDs now come in just about every shape and color temp. 3) Consumer Reports has been testing them for over 10,000 hours and have been impressed with the results so far. 4) LEDs will flicker badly when used with an incandescent dimmer and are generally not rated for enclosed fixtures. 5) I am not a fan of gov’t mandates or gov’t incentives so that is why I like LEDs so much they make sense without any of these incentives, I proudly say none of the projects I have completed have involved any type of rebate or gov’t incentive.
As we all get older & our eyes need more light, I find that these damn CFLs are just a hazard. You go into a room & put the light on & are out again before the thing has given out any light. Total waste of time! As for LEDs, they seem to be the way to go BUT, my tortoise likes the 60w incandescent bulb that serves as his personal sun in the winter. I suspect he would throw a hissy fit if I gave him a LED! Horses for courses, let the consumer decide. I believe that Incandescent & LED have a place. I just wish the bloody EU would go away with their CFLs.
What people fail to comprehend in the discussion is the fact that while LEDs do last longer, the electronics to support them (and the soldered connections to join them) don’t enjoy the same longevitivy. And as others have mentioned are rather fussy when it comes to spikes, droops, drops and other common power maladies. The solution is often to add more regulation circuitry, unfortunately this merely increases the complexity and therefore reduces overall reliability. Truth be known, LEDs rarely if ever fail. What fails is the support circuitry, lousy solder joints or other parts of the system. Whether it is the LED, the transformer or power conditioner, when one fails the lamp ‘assembly’ fails. Landfill time. False economy. 30+ years in electronics manufacturing has been a tough taskmaster.
This is part of my rant about LED and high tech lighting in cars. Yes, LEDs may last longer and require less energy. But when they fail, it isn’t a $5 bulb to replace; it is a $300 light module. When are they more likely to fail? In the secondary and beyond markets, the downstream or used car market. The market populated by folks who really can’t afford to replace $300 light modules. So they don’t and either replace the entire car with a newer used car or they simply ignore the problem and drive with one dead headlamp. But a $5 replacement bulb would have avoided the issue altogether.
The part of reliability and efficiency that most folks do not understand is that the repair/replacement cost plays a huge role in determining the “right” answer.
Aldi sells incandescents. Just this morning bought a box of 4 clear 100w bulbs branded Lightway, and 4 pearl 100w bulbs branded Status, from my local Aldi (German discount grocer) here in England. The Lightway bulbs are marked “not suitable for household room illumination”. Both brands are filament incandescent bulbs, marked “heavy duty”. BC22 bayonet cap. Both £1.50 per box of 4.
http://www.readytogo.net/smb/threads/proper-lightbulbs.858507/
Regarding incandescent lights lasting longer if dimmed, the rough rule of thumb is that, for each 2% reduction of operating voltage, the life is doubled.
There is a limit to how much you can dim, or under-run, halogen lamps. Below a certain point, the quartz envelope will cool, and allow the tungsten from the filament to deposit, blackening it just like a conventional incandescent. So run them at full throttle, they will last longer when the tungsten gets put back on the filament.
Yes, Steve C, I certainly noticed the increased EM pollution from the CFLs. But it is the same with anything the PC bunch want to foist on us – the rules go out the window. If anybody but them had suggested switching to lamps with mercury vapor in them, they would have screamed blue murder. Or to a device with a worse power factor than an incandescent.
To those suggesting running 12 volt feeds round the house in lighter cable than the 110 or 220 volt power – you are not running less current, just less voltage. Work out the current, watts divided by volts, and you may even be running more current. And the voltage drop will be a much bigger fraction of the supply voltage, so you can’t skimp on the copper. Having individual switch-mode converters to provide constant current for each LED fitting makes some sense, and you don’t have a single fail point to make all the lights go dark at the same time.
The only thing I like about CFLs is that I don’t have to worry about turning them off when I leave the room.
Competition within FREE market capitalism is the mother of improvement and lower costs. If government had only kept its nose OUT of it, LED’s, (and CFL’s for that matter), would have had more competition from incandescent and therefore more market pressure to resolve these color/warmth and spike vulnerability issues.
LEDs have their advantages – like all lighting,
including incandescents, and including fluorescents, for different uses in different circumstances, as per link below.
None should be banned on grounds other than safety.
But it is hardly surprising that manufacturers lobby for profitably patented sales
(compared to generic patent expired incandescents)
To begin with,
The non-guaranteed lab based lifespan of LEDs is hightly doubtful,
also as Philips, Osram, GE etc already reduced lifespans in their Phoebus cartel to limit ordinary bulb standard lifespan to 1000 hours – incandescents lasting 20 000 hrs and more can and are being made eg for mining at $1.50-$2 each
LED point glare and blue light issues have been raised eg ANSES France Govmt Health agency,
and UC Davis (USA) in big cross-discipline study with other American and international research depts, as referenced below, along with the complex LED use of rare earth minerals etc
Supposed energy savings don’t hold up for many reasons, including that relevant domestic incandescents etc are mainly used off-peak after 7pm anyway (DEFRA data), when surplus electricity available.
Applies not least to Coal, the main environmental worry – since coal plants have minimum night cycle levels covering any bulb use
(minimum output levels for operative cost reason re slow downturn and stoking up again to daytime levels, including wear and tear, again referenced APTECH and power plant commissions) = effectively the same coal burned anyway )
People can of course prefer LEDs – why not.
But for society, the whole bulb switch – save planet argument is therefore a Scam.
Even if it was not a scam, taxation (covering price lowering subsidy to LEDs) or market stimulation, helping new bulbs to market without baning others, are better policies.
14 points against the bulb switching or banning arguments
http://freedomlightbulb.org/p/how-bans-are-wrongly-justified.html#ban
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comment in moderation
I love LEDs also, but I had to chuckle when I observed the price jump at Home Depot after the first phase ban on incandescents went into place compared to six months prior.