This article outlines the opportunities offered by advances in LED technology in alleviating the current power supply problems facing South Africa. A major challenge facing South Africa at present is a renewed electricity shortage and the devastating impact this has on the economy. This issue is much-discussed with the focus firmly on Eskom’s financial […]
The application of specifically designed and formulated chemical products for thermal management applications, particularly within the rapidly-expanding LED industry. Specifically designed and formulated chemical products are widely used in the electronics industry for a vast array of applications. Whether it is during PCB manufacture or for the protection of components or complete devices, these products […]
Calibration procedures and operating guidelines for integrating spheres measuring the optical performance of LED and SSL products. Reliable measurement standards are needed to make a fair comparison between SSL and LED products from different vendors. The International Commission on Illumination’s report CIE 127:2007 covers guidelines on how photometric, radiometric and colorimetric quantities for individual […]
Different lux meters can provide different readings for the same LED. London Underground must provide safe levels of light for customers and staff, but this could be difficult without reliable lux measurements. London Underground, like much of the UK, is embracing LED lighting. Its low energy consumption and, more significantly, reduced maintenance, mean that there […]
The lighting in the majority of South African offices is neither particularly innovative nor especially energy efficient. All too often, the only lighting designed for our offices is either fluorescent of one type or another with the entire office area lit to a single light level. The UK Business Council for Offices guide was published […]
A comparison between incandescent bulbs and LEDs to highlight the difference between current and voltage-driven devices with a view to designing and using driver electronics. To understand the difference between incandescent bulbs and semiconductors such as LEDs, let us consider voltage driven devices. The filament of an incandescent bulb is simply a resistor. When electrically […]
With the increasing complexity of technical equipment, modules and individual components, reliability, lifetime and the cost of exchanging and revision become increasingly important for the customer. The single requirement that devices should not fail is no longer sufficient for modern, powerful components or devices. More often, it is an additional requirement that they should […]
Apart from damaging solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, inverters and monitoring elecronics, lightning strikes also lead to field-based and conducted electrical interference. According to the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA), photovoltaic (PV) is the fastest growing power generation technology in the world. More than 35 GW of PV is installed and operating worldwide, producing […]
Most LED manufacturers use units of luminous intensity (cd) for the measurement and classification of LED brightness. This procedure is reliable and reproducible for numerous LED types, but is insufficient for LEDs with narrow emission angle characteristics. This article describes the procedures for measuring luminous intensity, partial flux and luminous flux, along with the […]
LED retrofit lamps meant to replace existing, traditional lamps directly, constitute an important part of the LED lighting market. These lamps differ fundamentally from traditional lamps which are replaced frequently; this is not the case for LED lamps because of their long lifetimes. Once a traditional lamp is replaced by an LED lamp (i.e. […]
