SEMILON. LED LIGHTING ADVANTAGES

Is it really a wise decision to invest on LED lighting than on a conventional light engine? Here we will discuss some relevant points that will throw light on our pathway to LED lighting.


Life of LED

It is calculated that LED chips will give a long life up to 150000 hrs compared to 10,000 hrs of CFL and 1000 Hrs of Incandescent bulbs. But the life of LED s is dependent on the make of LED, thermal management of the LED fixture and LED driver life. If anything of above said is not matching the criteria for good performance of LED chips and according to the specs given by the manufacturer, the LED's life drastically reduce even if it offer a very long life in the datasheets.

Long life of the LED light engines means you don't need to replace a LED light for 17 Hrs even if you are using it for 24 Hrs a day. So there is no burden of replacing the damaged products and you can save money buying new products for replacing damaged one and also maintenance costs will be very low.

Environmental friendly

LEDs uses 50-70% less power compared to conventional luminaries. One should be very careful in choosing LED light engines to achieve the above said. Since the LEDs are available offering 30-160 Lm/W, the customer should select atleast 105 Lm/W LED to achieve an equivalent performance of CFLs  which offer 60 Lm/W . Since the LEDs are directional and radiating in a narrow beam angle, say 120 Degree it will create more impact on performance compared to conventional fittings which is radiating in 360 Degree where there is a loss caused by the reflector or shade we use integrated with the light engines.

Customers should also choose a good quality driver having higher energy efficiency and power factor, built in with long lasting electronic components to enjoy the max power saving and long life.

Moreover LEDs contains no toxic substances like Mercury which is there in CFLs, disposal of these light engines have a lesser impact on the environment.

Other benefits are 

• Shock  proof: LED lights are shock resistant compared to the conventional light fittings and chance of damage is very less.
• Dimming compatibility: LED lights can be coupled with ambient light sensor or manual /automatic dimmer to achieve even more power saving.
• Radiate less heat: Contains no infrared and ultraviolet radiations.

SEMILON, LED LIGHTING FACTS

What are the facts we need to focus before purchasing a LED lighting product. In this blog you can read some of the most important lighting facts customers need to know before taking a decision to choose a product.

Luminous efficacy

Do you know that High Bright LEDs offer different lument output for same power? Yes LEDs are available in the market that offer 30-160 Lm/W(Lumen /Watt). Lm/W is commonly reffered to the term Luminous eefficacy.This means that for the same power two LEDs having different efficacies can offer different lumen output. 

Customers  may not be aware of this fact. Normally LED lighting products in the market are compared on the basis of output power of the product.  This may mislead them to choose a product with lowest price comapred to high priced products so that the products choosen may not be delivering sufficient amount of light customer need, since the price of the LED lighting products generally depends on light out put of the product.

So it is a good thing to compare price/lumen than price/watt when we decide to purchse a LED lighting product. It is more surprising to know that choosing a product with lowest luminous efficacy wont help you to save electricity considerably like you think, since you need to install more light engines having lowest efficacy compared to a high efficacy product, which in turn will increase your initial investment and power cost. It is a best option to choose a product offering lower price/lumen and higher efficacy.

Key words: Lumen(Lm): Unit to measure light 

LED driver efficiency

 When calculating luminous efficacy we should consider luminous efficacy also, since the total power consumed by the LED driver considerable vary with the efficiency of LED driver. For example consider a LED driver is having a power output of 8W and with efficiency 90% , total power consumption of the product will be 8+10%=8.8W. Customer should consider this point while choosing a LED lighting product since the drivers are available with efficiency from 7 to 98%, choosing a driver with lower efficiency will lead to higher power charges compared to a driver with high efficiency.

• Saving money on a poor quality driver is a false economy since it will cost you more in the long run.

Power factor: A number for the future

Power factor generally denoted by PF, gives an idea about how effectively a driver utilises the electricity given to its input. PF has an effect on the country's electric grid. It is a number given between 0 and 1 and it is best to choose a HPF product always. Quality LED drivers are available with a power factor greater than 0.9.

CASE STUDY-HOSPITAL LIGHTING

Headline Savings
Annual energy savings: 236520 UNITS
Payback period: 1 YEAR
Annual CO2 savings: 10170360 kgs

Client
KIMS Healthcare Management Ltd,
Trivandrum ,Kerala

I was worried about the high power
consumption and failure rates of the CFL,
which lead to the wastage of manpower in
replacing them . It is quite inconvenient to
perform such maintenance in hospitals as they
are usually quite crowded . Switching to LEDs
was a solution to this problem . As the KIMS
management needed to evaluate the quality of
t h e l i g h t s p r o v i d e d b y S e m i l o n w e
requested for Samples of the lights. We were
able to note that Semilon's electrical and
lumen parameters strictly adhered to their
product data sheet . Usage of Semilon lights
helped our hospital win the EMC award 2012

for the most energy efficient hospital .

The Solution
We used our 18 Watt & 36 Watt LED 2X2
Square light using EDISON LEDS to replace
the conventional 36 Watt & 72 Watt lamps.
Drivers were specially made for hospital
application in order to avoid interference with
hospital equipment.

Kerala Institute of Medical Science one of
the Asia's leading tertiary care hospitals,
is a landmark heath care destination in
Kerala initiated by KIMS Health care
Management Ltd. The 600 bed multi
disciplinary super specialty hospital was
started with the objective of providing
world class health care services and
specialized medical facilities at affordable
costs. The clients objective was to reduce
the power consumption using LEDs maintenance
 free LED lights

CASE STUDY- RETAIL LIGHTING

Headline Savings
Annual energy savings: 9490 UNITS
Payback period: 1 YEAR
Annual CO2 savings: 408070 Kgs

Client

Variety Mall, Trivandrum ,Kerala.

When SEMILON approached me with their
LED lighting products , I was skeptical
about the new technology as I had not
seen LEDs being implemented for general
lighting purpose. I was doubtful about the
equivalence of Halogen lights and LED
lights. SEMILON demonstrated the
advantages of LED lights by
providing me with samples. The power
savings, the lights generated along with the
soothing ambience were quite evident.
They were extremely confident about the
performance of their products and provided
me with two years warranty. As the
commercial electricity tariff is higher in
Kerala these lights considerably reduced
the electricity consumption at my Mall.

The Brief

Variety Mall, located in the capital city of Trivandrum is a reputed exclusive fancy
store for women. The client required uniform lighting to showcase their products.
Reduction of energy usage.
Reduction of carbon emissions
Reduction of maintenance costs
Ambiance lighting.

The Solution

We used our 18 Watt LED down lights using EDISON LEDs to replace the 36
watt CFL lamps. Lumen method was adopted strictly and the glare index maintained.
These calculations ensured uniformity & provided an attractive soothing effect to
the products on display.

LED LIGHTING CASE STUDY- PRINTING PRESS

LED LIGHTING CASE STUDY- PRINTING PRESS

Headline Savings
Annual energy savings: 18980 UNITS
Payback period: 3 YEARS
Annual CO2 savings: 816140 kg

I was looking for a LED lamp manufacturer who could provide me with D-50 standard
lighting. In a printing press the color temperature of light is very critical especially at the
proof reading and processing area. The D-50 lights give the exact color temperature
as that of sunlight. I had contacted several manufacturers and suppliers all over India,
but they were unable to meet our lighting requirements. SEMILON was the only
company that came forward with a well-priced and professional proposal to meet my
lighting needs. Their expertise in lighting design and manufacturing came as quite a
blessing in economizing the project cost.

Client
Solar offset press, Trivandrum, Kerala

The Brief
Solar offset is a printing press located near Technopark, Trivandrum. They provide
cost effective printing solutions. The Client had a strict requirement of D-50 lights with
a uniform lighting distribution for his warehouse.
Reduction in Electricity usage
Reduction of carbon emissions
Reduction of maintenance costs
Ambient lighting
The Solution
We installed our industrial 90 Watt LED HIGH BAY using CREE LEDS to replace the
400 Watt Metal Halide lamps.
As the lights were installed at a height of 9 meters at the ware house, the room index
is strictly considered. Reflection index was given high priority for the project and was
kept at a minimum since as it was a printing press and required a low reflection index
for optimal lighting.