LICODA

I had the honor of editing a textbook written by a friend of mine. The Architecture of Light, by Sage Russell, is a lighting textbook that focuses primarily on lighting design and not just the physics of light. Because of the excellent presentation of design principles, I have decided to use this text as the book for my lighting design class.

Sage has taken his experience as a lighting educator and developed a unique method of presentation for many of the topics. Specifically, the light mapping technique is a proven method of presenting lighting concepts and one I use on a regular basis.

I would not only recommend this book to students of lighting design, but I think even experienced designers will gain a new perspective of their lighting design process. I urge anyone in the lighting industry to take a look, given the opportunity- you will not be disappointed.

Following is a review of a LED based product recently brought to my attention. The Tre’o TC and Tre’o TE by Insight is a linear high output LED based application that may provide a nice uniform distribution of light.

The product features an extruded aluminum body and is available in indoor (Tre’o TC - UL listed for dry locations) and outdoor (Tre’o TE - UL listed for wet locations) variations. The only drawback, is the size of the outdoor product. One of the advantages of LED can be the size of the package. The indoor Tre’o is of the same size to many manufacturers of similar products which have a UL wet listing. I have no doubt the TE will stand up to the elements.

Both interior and exterior products are available in 15, 30 and 120 degree distributions and three different output configurations - six, 12 and 15 watts/sq ft. It is unclear through the literature whether Insight is different wattages LED components (same LED spacing on all products), or if they are varying the spacing (further apart, less watts/sq ft). I have seen the 120 degree, 12 watts/sq ft models and they produce a nice uniform wash over the distribution and the light output is impressive. As with most LED products, the actual lumen output (compared to conventional luminaires) is unknown and a comparison between LED and other source technology cannot be made. The Tre’o is manufactured with 2800K, 3200K, 4100K and 5500K color temperatures. The product also offers Red, Green and Blue color schemes with the possibility of 24 bit RGB color changing.

I’m sure this product can be compared similarly to the energy consumption and output of some fluorescent luminaires. Typical for most LED based products, there is a price premium and will make the Tre’o a solution for a select number of applications. Specifically, those requiring longer life/less maintenance or a potentially smaller form factor.

Recently, a brochure for a new luminaire recently came across my desk. The literature is for a product called “The Edge” by “Beta Lighting”. This is a new line of LED sourced products intended for outdoor area lighting. The line features pole mounted area, parking structure, wall pack, canopy and bollard luminaire types with IES type III and IES type V distribution optics. According to the product information, IES type II and IES type IV distributions will be available soon.

One of my co-workers directed my attention to the perforated metal panels found on the top of the area lighting products. I am unable to determine what happens to dirt and debris that may pass through or get trapped by this panel.

The product literature does a good job of describing the benefits of “The Edge” product over past methods. However, the brochure does not expand on these benefits and one is left to question the validity. Perhaps this is a plan to point you toward the BetaLED website at www.BetaLED.com. The BetaLED website goes into greater detail about the benefits of LED over HID. Like many manufacturers currently designing LED based products, specific information regarding LED output is difficult to find.

I would encourage Beta Lighting to publish the specific data behind their LED vs. HID comparison charts. They seem to have a compelling argument. The LED market of the lighting industry is still so new, that information is constantly changing and may be difficult to obtain. I challenge all specifiers to collect as much information as possible and ensure they are comparing apples to apples when evaluating LED sourced products.