Issue 35 September October 18

ELECTRIC.IE • The Magazine & Website for the Irish Electrical Industry • 25 Orange is the New White - Lumeno Lumeno W ith the recent development of LED lighting our cities, towns and estates have gradually „‡…‘‡ ‘”‡ ‡‡”‰› ‡ƥ…‹‡–Ǥ From the humble spots that made their way into our homes at the start of the LED era to the commercial and industrial Ƥ––‹‰• –Šƒ– Ž‹‰Š– —’ •–”‡‡–• ƒ† warehouses, LEDs continually bring better quality and more ‡‡”‰› ‡ƥ…‹‡– Ž‹‰Š–‹‰Ǥ The old Edison light bulb is being permanently replaced by new, modern light sources. This rapid development of LED lighting has brought about a race towards achieving the highest brightness possible. “LUMENS” has become a key word in the battle of the producers and the main subject when choosing a light source. Pollution with light ‹‰Š‡” Ž—‡ ’‡”ˆ‘”ƒ…‡ Šƒ• „‡…‘‡ –Š‡ ‘”Ǣ –Š‡ ™Š‹–‡” –Š‡ Ž‹‰Š– the brighter the lamp! This misguided trend has led us to a situation where today, our environment is saturated with cold white light, too sharp for human eyes to endure at night. Driving into towns and villages from complete darkness into areas with newly installed LED lighting, generates a pure blinding shock to our eyesight. It is part of an issue ‘™ ƒ• Ž‹‰Š– ’‘ŽŽ—–‹‘Ǥ – ƒơ‡…–• —• all on a daily basis. Abuse of white or Ǯ‰Žƒ”› Ž‹‰Š–ǯ ȋ͜͜͜͡Ǧ͢͜͜͜ Ȍ ‹• ‘– ‘Ž› becoming a nuisance but is a serious disturbance to people, livestock and ‡˜‡ ƒơ‡…–• –Š‡ •—””‘—†‹‰ ™‹Ž†Ž‹ˆ‡ǯ• lifecycle. Recent recommendations by leading industry experts, underline that lights used near our homes should not exceed 3000K. Orange Solution The solution is not new, but rather a product of past experience to be used to battle current issues at hand. „‡” ‘” ”ƒ‰‡ Ž‹‰Š– ™Š‹…Š ™ƒ• used extensively in the past has been neglected recently with the coming of LED lights. It was considered by some as a product of the past, not bright enough, and no longer necessary or ‡‡†‡†Ǥ ‘†‹— Žƒ’• ȋ Ȍ ™Š‹…Š have been the source of mellow, ‘”ƒ‰‡ Ž‹‰Š–…‘‘Ž›…ƒŽŽ‡† ǡ …ƒ ‘™ Ƥ† ƒ •‘Ž‹† ”‡’Žƒ…‡‡– ‹ –Š‡ ˆ‘” ‘ˆ Ž‹‰Š–•Ǥ ”ƒ‰‡ light that was all-present in the not too distant past ranged between ͣ͜͜͝ Ǧ͜͜͞͞ Ǥ ‹–Š –Š‡ ƒ””‹˜ƒŽ ‘ˆ …Š‹’• –Š‹•…‘Ž‘—” •’‡…–”— ™ƒ•ǯ– available at the start. Now, focus is put on achieving the brightness and the highest LM/W (Lumen to WATT) ratio. Yet brightness and good visibility are not necessarily achieved by specifying higher lumens, but rather by making a right choice of colour temperature for the job. What’s available? ‹–Š ‘˜‡” ͜͝ ›‡ƒ”•ǯ ‡š’‡”‹‡…‡ ‰ƒ‹‡† ‹ –Š‡ •‡…–‘” ǡ Šƒ• ƒ ‰‘‘† insight in to the lighting needs and requirements of the marketplace. The topic of toned down warm light has been constantly investigated and applied to the product portfolio and development pipeline. Consultations with clients as well as suggestions coming from the sector, guided ‹–‘ Žƒ—…Š‹‰ ƒ ‰”‘™‹‰ ˆƒ‹Ž› ‘ˆ ”‡’Žƒ…‡‡– ’”‘†—…–• that meet the demands and provide an answer to current white-light issues. Among them, stand the •‡”‹‡• •–”‡‡– Ȁ ƒ‡‹–› Žƒ’ ȋ Žƒ’•ȌǤ Ž•‘ ƒ˜ƒ‹Žƒ„Ž‡ ‹• ƒ •‘Ž‹† •‡Ž‡…–‹‘ ‘ˆ ƪ‘‘† Ž‹‰Š–• ”ƒ‰‹‰ „‡–™‡‡ ͜͡ Ǧ͜͜͞ ‘ˆ ͜͜͜͞ colour luminaires. With the solution ready and available, ™‡Ž…‘‡ ƒŽŽ ”‡“—‡•–• ƒ† suggestions for custom built lighting, from existing and new clients, and hope our gathered insights and experience will produce new and exciting ways to develop and improve lighting quality in the market. Joseph Kumor Sales director and lighting designer at ‡Žǣ ͥ͜͝ ͣ͢͢ ͤ͜͟ “Brightness and good visibility are not necessarily achieved by higher lumens, but rather the right choice of colour temperature for the job.”