What is Advanced Lighting?
The simple answer is using new technologies that will both improve the quality of light, the lighting systems that deliver it, and at the same time significantly reduce the cost in terms of energy consumption and maintenance. There are two ‘light engines’ that are getting the attention. The first is LED (light emitting diode) which we are already familiar with …those tiny glowing lamps that look like grains of rice. These have been around for awhile and we’re used to seeing them in home appliances, automobile tail-lights and dashboards, computers and almost anything that has a ‘ready’ light. Expect to see these morph into more commercial and residential applications. Those large back-lit billboards are made from clusters of LED’s. Unlike conventional lighting, LED’s can be bundled together and engineered to create any lighting solution.
The second is ‘induction’ lighting, also not new, but recent technological improvements have ramped up higher levels of energy efficiency and a very long lamp life that translates into low operating and maintenance costs. Induction lamps often advertise a lifespan of 80,000 to 100,000 hours (5-9 years or more in service depending on many factors), which is essentially the same as LED lamp lifespan. The other major difference between the technologies is in conversion efficiency (energy utilization) and lamp or fixture production costs. Induction lighting, so far, has had mostly ‘industrial strength’ applications. It is 50% more efficient than CFL’s, and other traditional incandescant lamps, and cuts energy usage of traditional lamps like mercury vapor and high pressure sodium by half or more. Its long lifespan of over 60,000 hours makes it a reliable answer for hard-to-maintain areas …read less replacement cost, making for a very environmentally friendly solution that symbolizes reduction, recycle, and reuse This is particularly significant where large area illumination is needed, for example in outdoor parking, warehouse, or stadium settings.