Ricoman on LED Lighting

Ricoman’s Liang Gao takes a closer look at some of the often neglected features and benefits of installing LED lighting.

The lighting industry has undoubtedly entered a new and exciting era: that of LED lighting. While the early adopters have already embraced the use of LED lighting technology, many through direct replacement, there are a number of “white elephant” factors that should be considered. Taking these parameters into consideration can make the decision to switch to LED lighting even smarter and more efficient. In this article, I aim to discuss these simple and often neglected factors.

Lighting performance
This refers to the basic photometric parameters of the light fittings being installed, for example the efficacy (lm/W) and the beam angle of the luminaires. While almost everyone pays attention to these parameters, not everyone fully understands their implications.

Traditionally, the CAT 2 Louvre fittings with 4x18w fluorescent tubes have been widely popular as office luminaires in the UK. Many lighting consultants and contractors embraced these fittings when they were first introduced for their high efficiency, sophisticated design and glare-reducing features. However, there were also drawbacks, such as the difficulty to maintain and clean (especially back in the days when
smoking in public areas was still permitted) and the unpleasant shadows on the wall, owing to restricted beam angles.

In this case, the efficiency and beam angle of the luminaires were sacrificed for a better anti-glare rating. In addition, the fittings were also noticeably thick, and thus unsuitable for places with restricted ceil void. So, the user should always be aware that by using a luminaire with well-balanced specifications, there is always scope to reduce the quantity of fittings required.

With the emergence of LED lighting, manufacturers are able to create light fittings that etch closer to offer the best of both worlds. Which means luminaires with slimmer profiles, offering higher efficiency,
efficacy, a wider spread of light and minimum glare factor.

“With the emergence of LED lighting, manufacturers are able to create light fittings that etch closer to offer the best of both worlds.”

For example, the Ricoman Prism Panel, with its micro-prismatic diffuser and internal structure at under 13mm thick, offers high efficacy at over 85 lumen/W. It also features IP54 rating, wide beam angle at 120° and under 19 UGR for low glaring rating. All these benefits make it a truly well balanced all-rounder. The use of 36W Ricoman Prism LED Panels, replacing four 18W luminaires, reduces the quantity of luminaires required by 20%, providing further savings on top of the normal energy savings from using LED technology, while maintaining high illuminance levels and uniformity in the open office areas.

Product features
Solid state lighting offers the lighting industry unprecedented opportunities to create more innovative and pioneering fittings that are truly designed and engineered for purpose. Unfortunately, this ideology has not been adopted by everyone, and many manufacturers are still being reactive to market needs by simply replacing light sources from traditional lighting luminaires with LED light sources. In other words, they tend to ignore the vast potential regarding product and industrial design possibilities opened up by solid state lighting. So, it’s very important for buyers and users of LED lighting products to understand and utilise innovative design features that can result in fewer fittings being required.

Similarly to what happens with LED Panels, an industrial environment using 400w HQI-T discharge lamps in the luminaires may well be replaced with a 200W LED luminaire design, leading to a reduction in the number of luminaires used.

Taking Ricoman’s Canopus Low Bay for example, rather than directly replacing traditional low bay with Ricoman’s fittings, the installer/user may also be able to reduce the quantity of fittings required in certain situations (e.g. aisles of warehouses) by utilising the LED modules on the Canopus low bay, which also offers great uniformity, efficacy and low glare rating. The tiltable LED modules can essentially transform the Canopus low bay into a unique 160° luminaire.

Conclusion
LED lighting is here to stay. However, there is still room for improvement towards further exploring and utilising possibilities offered to achieve cost savings. Companies with the best chances to win this battle are those investing in good industry knowledge, research and development.