What makes S3J Electronics different from other companies:
There are many lighting companies attempting to get into LED manufacturing. Most of them don’t know much about LED’s and others think they do! Some will sell imported products to you with the cost so low you think you are getting a great deal. However, don’t think that any imported products will meet any of the requirements set by the Department of Energy (DOE). Don’t expect to get a government rebate check anytime soon on anything imported. Most imported products aren’t built with the DOE and Energy Star requirements in mind. Most don’t even come close to any ANSI codes required for LED lighting applications.
It does not stop there. You have to also look at how the LED is being driven, what kind of power supply they are using. Does the supply contain electrolytic capacitors in the design? If so, how are they being used? The standard electrolytic capacitor has a life span of only 2,000 to 5,000 hours. Well, what does this mean? Let’s break down a LED product‐
First: We have an enclosure to house the LED or LEDS with their heat sink and power supply. If the enclosure is used correctly it will be a part of the heat sink to help keep the LEDS and power supply cool. Most companies do not follow this standard when designing LED products.
Second: The LEDS them self. Who makes them? Is it Cree, Bridgelux, Seoul, Nichia? What are the lumens per watt? If it’s not 80 lm/w or better, don’t go any further. The lumens per watt are what set the light output of the LED versus how many watts are required to drive the LED. The higher the lumens
per watt, the less power is required to drive this LED. It sums up to dollars saved. The cost to run the device is less when the lumens per watt are higher.
Third: The heat sink being used. A properly designed LED assembly will keep the heat sink temperatures to 70°C or less. To do this you need to utilize the enclosure to keep the temperature down and size the heat sink correctly to displace the heat coming off the LEDS. This is how the LED extends its lifespan to 50,000 or greater hours. The higher the LED is being heated to, the shorter the life span of the LED. Most companies don’t realize the temperature extremes in certain parts of the USA. From Florida to Washington, the temperature changes must be considered and the worst case scenarios must be used as the norms in the designing and testing stages. This can change the life span of the LED product by 5 years. It is good to know the junction temperature on the LED in different conditions. This way when you purchase the LED product you will know exactly how long it is going to last in the respective conditions.
Forth: The power supply. To be honest, this is the most important part to having a successful LED design; the heart of all parts. The power supply also puts off heat that must be taken into consideration when designing the heat sink. If the power supply, operating in an ambient temperature of 24°C (75°F)
reaches 55°C (113°F), then putting the LED light in a location like Florida or California where it can get up to 44°C (111°F) will also push the power supply 20 degrees hotter making it reach 65°C ( 149°F). However, one must also consider the LED assembly is enclosed in the fixture that stops the air inside
from transferring its heat outside. This fact coupled with the heat dissipating from the LED heat sink will raise the ambient temperature inside the enclosure 15 degrees to 59°C (138°F) and thus pushing the power supply to a temperature of 87°C which is well passed the rated operable temperature.
If 65°C was the optimal temperature to extend the life of the LEDS to 50,000 hours, then 87°C is going to shorten the life span. Designers need to consider all possible aspects when designing their products, especially the electrolytic capacitor that ideally has a life span of only 2,000 to 5,000 hours.
Fifth: The design of the Lens. To understand what makes a LED light you must understand how the LED works. A Typical lamp sends light in a 360° range while a LED sends light out in one direction. So this is taken into consideration when we determine the lumen output of a LED. By dividing the total number of lumens of a traditional lamp by 3.3 you find what the lumen output should be for a LED to provide the same luminance. So if you were to divide a raditional lamp into 3 sections of a pie, only 1/3rd or 1 section of the pie is what a LED lamp will do. That is why a lens must be designed to help direct the light to different angles. You would not just want the light to shine only on the floor and that is only where a LED light would shine without a lens. The downfall to adding a lens is the loss of lumens output seen when doing this. So again, the designer must take this into account when designing a LED lamp.
To sum things up:
Designing a LED lamp is not as easy as it looks. On top of the design consideration you must also take into effect the new standards being put out from the Department of Energy, CSA, Dark Sky and Energy Star. All of the standards from each one of those organizations must be incorporated into the LED design. Don’t think imported products will meet any of those standards because most of them do not even know what they are.
The USA rates the quality of LEDs from 3 Standards, LM 79, LM 80 and LM 63. Any quality manufacturer will design LED products to comply with all of the LM standards. S3J Electronics prides itself in being one of those companies following the LM standards.
Sometimes the statement of “you get what you pay for” is correct. There are many companies supplying the USA market with imported products at very low prices, but don’t expect that product to last very long. When you buy a LED product you should be expecting that product to last 50,000 hours or longer. The ROI is calculated to save you money by giving you less maintenance and low wattage consumption resulting in saving you money through the electricity costs.
Some questions you should be asking before you purchase a LED product:
• Where is the LED product made?
• Does the LED product comply with the LM79, LM80 and LM 63 Standards?
• Is the power supply updated to meet the 80,000‐hour or more life span?
• Is the LED a USA made LED with 80 lm/W or higher?
• Does the light output meet any ANSI, DOE, and Energy Star Standards?
• Does the LED light have UL or CSA certificate?
• Does the LED light have IES files?
• What is the ambient operating temperature for the junction point of the LED?
• Has the LED product been designed to go beyond to direct light output of light being directed only straight down and not to the sides? If so, this is not good. LED light should be able to shine light to the sides.
• Is the LED designed for Dark Sky?
• What is your LED color temperature for outdoor and industrial lighting?
• Are the LED industrial products modular and repairable in their design?
• How long is the warranty on the LED light?
At S3J Electronics we understand that these questions are important to our customers. Well informed customers will make smart purchases only if they have the correct information. We can provide these answers and tell you why they are what they are.
Here at S3J Electronics we have 20 years of power supply designing experience. Knowing how to design power supplies to last 80,000 hours or longer is one of the things we do best. If the 30% depreciation of the LED is rated for 50,000 hours then you are going to want a power supply to last at least as long. So having the power supply designed correctly is very important. We make it our goal to inform our customers about LED lighting and how LEDs work. Knowing about LED products is the only way to sort out the bad from the good. In the long run, it is about saving energy costs and reducing the maintenance required to operate a light source.