Boost Fertility New Invention Ups Success Rates.pdf
Basics of LEDs by KwalityPhotonics_VijayKumarGupta
1. KWALITY PHOTONICSKWALITY PHOTONICS
POLYWA POWER LEDSPOLYWA POWER LEDS
India’s First Manufacturer of LEDs, LED DisplaysIndia’s First Manufacturer of LEDs, LED Displays
( since1987 )( since1987 )
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2. Kwality Group of IndustriesKwality Group of Industries
Kwality Electronic IndustriesKwality Electronic Industries
Kwality Photonics Pvt. LtdKwality Photonics Pvt. Ltd..
Kwality Electricals Pvt. Ltd.Kwality Electricals Pvt. Ltd.
Ocean Park Ltd.Ocean Park Ltd.
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3. The Kwality polyWa LEDsThe Kwality polyWa LEDs
TOP LED BRAND 2012 & 2013TOP LED BRAND 2012 & 2013
Established in 1966Established in 1966
Employs over 150 workersEmploys over 150 workers
Started off with manufacture ofStarted off with manufacture of
Lamps, Filaments & WiresLamps, Filaments & Wires
Manufacturing LED & LEDManufacturing LED & LED
Segment Displays since1987Segment Displays since1987
after successful indigenous R&Dafter successful indigenous R&D
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4. Kwality Photonics P LtdKwality Photonics P Ltd
India's largest producer of Light Emitting DiodesIndia's largest producer of Light Emitting Diodes
(LEDs), LED Displays & Opto Electronic(LEDs), LED Displays & Opto Electronic
Products.Products.
Kwality is not only the pioneer, being the firstKwality is not only the pioneer, being the first
Indian Company to have successfullyIndian Company to have successfully
established LEDs production in India but alsoestablished LEDs production in India but also
commands the highest market share in domesticcommands the highest market share in domestic
sales.sales.
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5. AGENDAAGENDA
LEDs –STRUCTURE &THERMAL DESIGNLEDs –STRUCTURE &THERMAL DESIGN
DEMYSTIFY – LEDs COLOR & LIGHTDEMYSTIFY – LEDs COLOR & LIGHT
LEDs -MANUFACTURING PROCESSESLEDs -MANUFACTURING PROCESSES
RETROFIT LED LUMINAIRESRETROFIT LED LUMINAIRES
INFLUENCE OF STANDARDS ON THEINFLUENCE OF STANDARDS ON THE
LEDS ( ZHAGA, ENERGY STAR, LM84)LEDS ( ZHAGA, ENERGY STAR, LM84)
LED DRIVERS TECHNOLOGYLED DRIVERS TECHNOLOGY
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31. 11/07/201411/07/2014
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Jul2014Jul2014 3131
Radiometric and PhotometricRadiometric and Photometric
UnitsUnits
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Jul2014Jul2014 3232
Intensity I and Solid AngleIntensity I and Solid Angle ΩΩ
Radiometric Intensity: Iv [W/sr]
Photometric Intensity: I [lm/sr] or [cd], Candela
Solid Angle Units: Ω [sr], Steradian
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Conversion from Intensity to fluxConversion from Intensity to flux
39. 3. Auto Encapsulation Dispensing Machine
Kwality PLCC LED
-Manufacturing Process
Encapsulation Section
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40. PLCC LED Testing (fig.2)
Kwality PLCC LED
-Manufacturing Process
Finished LEDs Testing Section
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41. LED Tape and REEL Packing Machine
LED Tape and REEL Packing Process
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42. Retrofit LED ConstructionRetrofit LED Construction
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43. MERITS RETROFIT LED LAMPSMERITS RETROFIT LED LAMPS
There are several reasons why a consumerThere are several reasons why a consumer
wants a replacement lamp.wants a replacement lamp.
It saves costs of outer luminaire as well costIt saves costs of outer luminaire as well cost
of labour and time to pull the old fixturesof labour and time to pull the old fixtures
out of the ceiling and replace them without of the ceiling and replace them with
new ones.new ones.
Benefits of LED Lighting can be brought inBenefits of LED Lighting can be brought in
even before end of standard maintenanceeven before end of standard maintenance
cycle of the Fittings. Retrofitting suits anycycle of the Fittings. Retrofitting suits any
fixture that has a large enough mechanicalfixture that has a large enough mechanical
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44. MERITS OF RETROFIT LEDMERITS OF RETROFIT LED
LAMPSLAMPS
Huge opportunityHuge opportunity - billions of existing- billions of existing
"sockets" out there."sockets" out there.
InertiaInertia - it will take time for decisions that- it will take time for decisions that
call for migration to completely integratedcall for migration to completely integrated
LED systems. giving longer opportunityLED systems. giving longer opportunity
window for retrofit business.window for retrofit business.
Design aspects:Design aspects: we'll need a new series ofwe'll need a new series of
bases or platforms that are more suitablebases or platforms that are more suitable
for issues involving thermal dissipation.for issues involving thermal dissipation.
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45. LED Retrofit LampsLED Retrofit Lamps
Maintainability aspectsMaintainability aspects: In a lot of applications: In a lot of applications
(task lighting, track lighting, chandeliers,(task lighting, track lighting, chandeliers,
pendants) replacing the entire fixture takespendants) replacing the entire fixture takes
little more labor or expertise, but it wouldlittle more labor or expertise, but it would
be easier to slip in a LED retrofit.be easier to slip in a LED retrofit.
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46. LED Retrofit LampsLED Retrofit Lamps
The retrofit LED has reduced performance dueThe retrofit LED has reduced performance due
limitations imposed by Form factorlimitations imposed by Form factor due todue to
requires tradeoffs.requires tradeoffs.
Either it will cost more,Either it will cost more,
or not perform as well, or perhaps both.or not perform as well, or perhaps both.
The best integrated fixtures have an efficacyThe best integrated fixtures have an efficacy
edge of 30-50% over replacement lamps.edge of 30-50% over replacement lamps.
The implementations that you can do in aThe implementations that you can do in a
fixture are really quite difficult with afixture are really quite difficult with a
lamp.lamp.
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47. Retrofit LED ConstructionRetrofit LED Construction
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56. LEDs DRIVER DESIGNLEDs DRIVER DESIGN
It is important never toIt is important never to
connect LEDs directlyconnect LEDs directly
to a voltage source.to a voltage source.
Must use a currentMust use a current
limiter Like a resistor inlimiter Like a resistor in
series ( see theseries ( see the
formula here)formula here)
Three different ways ofThree different ways of
operating LEDs,operating LEDs,
depending of area ofdepending of area of
applicationapplication
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60. LED DRIVER CONFIGURATIONLED DRIVER CONFIGURATION
Basic Flyback: Single-stageBasic Flyback: Single-stage
– AdvantageAdvantage
SimpleSimple
No bulk e-capNo bulk e-cap
– DisadvantageDisadvantage
Line frequency ripple currentLine frequency ripple current
Boost + Flyback: Two-stageBoost + Flyback: Two-stage
– AdvantageAdvantage
No flickersNo flickers
High PFHigh PF
– DisadvantageDisadvantage
CostCost
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61. LEDs DIMMABLE DRIVERLEDs DIMMABLE DRIVER
DIMMABLE LEDS are liked by ArchitectsDIMMABLE LEDS are liked by Architects
The first challenge is to replace the socket of A-The first challenge is to replace the socket of A-
lamps with LED lamp, while maintaininglamps with LED lamp, while maintaining
compatibility with existing dimmers.compatibility with existing dimmers.
Existing wall dimmers are designed to driveExisting wall dimmers are designed to drive
purely resistance A-lamp loads. When it drivespurely resistance A-lamp loads. When it drives
a capacitive load or current source, the dimmera capacitive load or current source, the dimmer
may not work properly.may not work properly.
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62. Kwality LEDs SEMI NCPREKwality LEDs SEMI NCPRE
LEDs DIMMABLE DRIVERLEDs DIMMABLE DRIVER
LED lamp should operate with different dimmerLED lamp should operate with different dimmer
types:types:
– Leading-edge dimmers, Trailing-edge dimmers, Smart DimmersLeading-edge dimmers, Trailing-edge dimmers, Smart Dimmers
– In case the LED lamp can not work properly with certain dimmers,In case the LED lamp can not work properly with certain dimmers,
the LED lamps should provide certain safety protections to preventthe LED lamps should provide certain safety protections to prevent
fire, high leakage current etcfire, high leakage current etc..
Dimming PerformanceDimming Performance
– Wide dimming range 1% to 100%Wide dimming range 1% to 100%
– No visible FlickerNo visible Flicker
AC-cycle inrush currentAC-cycle inrush current
– High Power Factor at maximum dimming levelHigh Power Factor at maximum dimming level
– Residential > 0.7Residential > 0.7
– Commercial > 0.9Commercial > 0.9
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LEDs DIMMABLE DRIVERLEDs DIMMABLE DRIVER
WALL Dimmer types:WALL Dimmer types:
– Leading-edgeLeading-edge
– Trailing-edgeTrailing-edge
– Smart dimmers, adaptive adjust the turn-on angle toSmart dimmers, adaptive adjust the turn-on angle to
minimum the line distortion; could be leading-edge,minimum the line distortion; could be leading-edge,
could be trailing-edgecould be trailing-edge
– More..More..
Dimmer impedance and power level also variesDimmer impedance and power level also varies
– RR
– R-LR-L
– R-CR-C
– 50W, 200W etc50W, 200W etc
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LEDs DIMMABLE DRIVERLEDs DIMMABLE DRIVER
WALL Dimmer with TriacWALL Dimmer with Triac
– The gate current must remain present until the loadThe gate current must remain present until the load
current has reached the latch current (IL) and thencurrent has reached the latch current (IL) and then
the triac will remain on until the load current fallsthe triac will remain on until the load current falls
below the hold current (IH).below the hold current (IH).
– This requirement creates the issue for switch-modeThis requirement creates the issue for switch-mode
power supply where the impedance is not purelypower supply where the impedance is not purely
resistive (reactive load = current not in phase withresistive (reactive load = current not in phase with
voltage).voltage).
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SSL DRIVER STANDARDSSSL DRIVER STANDARDS
ENERGY STAR® Program Requirements for IntegralENERGY STAR® Program Requirements for Integral
LED LampsLED Lamps
•• FCC requirementsFCC requirements
– 47 CFR part 15 & • Class A and Class B47 CFR part 15 & • Class A and Class B
•• Harmonic Emission limits and related power qualityHarmonic Emission limits and related power quality
– ANSI C82.77-2002 & • IEC 61000-3-2ANSI C82.77-2002 & • IEC 61000-3-2
•• SafetySafety
– UL8750 & • IEC 60950 Part 1UL8750 & • IEC 60950 Part 1
•• Line Transient protections ( Lighting Surge)Line Transient protections ( Lighting Surge)
IEEE C62.41-1991; Class A, 100kHz ringwave, 2.5kV combineIEEE C62.41-1991; Class A, 100kHz ringwave, 2.5kV combine
•• Audible NoiseAudible Noise
– –– Class AClass A
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67. LEDs DRIVERLEDs DRIVER
Dimmer Flyback: Single-stageDimmer Flyback: Single-stage
– Unique Method to Configure theUnique Method to Configure the
Dimmer TypeDimmer Type
– Provide the Pure resistiveProvide the Pure resistive
impedance to Wall Dimmerimpedance to Wall Dimmer
– Line current shape to improveLine current shape to improve
power factorpower factor
– Reduce AC-cycle Inrush currentReduce AC-cycle Inrush current
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71. 11/25/10 Kwality PolyWa LEDs 71
IT’S A GREEN TECHNOLOGY
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72. ELEMENTS of LED LuminairesELEMENTS of LED Luminaires
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73. ELEMENTS of LED LuminairesELEMENTS of LED Luminaires
Heatsinks & heatpipesHeatsinks & heatpipes
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74. ELEMENTS of LEDELEMENTS of LED
Luminaires HeatsinksLuminaires Heatsinks
Typically made of aluminum or copperTypically made of aluminum or copper
Heat sinks conduct heat from a heatHeat sinks conduct heat from a heat
source and then convey the heat to thesource and then convey the heat to the
ambient.ambient.
The required size of the heat sink dependsThe required size of the heat sink depends
on application specific maximum,on application specific maximum,
ambient and case temperature limitations.ambient and case temperature limitations.
The material composition of the heat sink.The material composition of the heat sink.
Surface characteristics of the heat sink,.Surface characteristics of the heat sink,.
Physical constraints for the application.Physical constraints for the application.
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75. ELEMENTS of LED LuminairesELEMENTS of LED Luminaires
Heatsinks & heatpipesHeatsinks & heatpipes
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76. Retrofit T8 LED TubelightRetrofit T8 LED Tubelight
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77. Retrofit T8 Tube lightRetrofit T8 Tube light
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In retrofit T8 you have a poorer thermal dissipation noIn retrofit T8 you have a poorer thermal dissipation no
matter how much aluminum you place to absorbmatter how much aluminum you place to absorb
the heat, especially if you are talking about enclosedthe heat, especially if you are talking about enclosed
devices.devices.
The “FTL housings” was designed for tubes that didThe “FTL housings” was designed for tubes that did
not needed to be ventilated as SSL-LED's.not needed to be ventilated as SSL-LED's.
One mitigation has been toOne mitigation has been to use hundreds of lowuse hundreds of low
current LEDscurrent LEDs in place of high power LEDs.in place of high power LEDs.
The availability of larger surface area around eachThe availability of larger surface area around each
such LEDs greatly influences the temperaturessuch LEDs greatly influences the temperatures
levels from accumulating.levels from accumulating.
79. LEDs in AGRI/AQUA CULTURELEDs in AGRI/AQUA CULTURE
Plant growth Lights emit just the spectrum ofPlant growth Lights emit just the spectrum of
light plants use, with no wasted heat or nonlight plants use, with no wasted heat or non
usable light.usable light.
The lights allow a 24 hour growth cycle whichThe lights allow a 24 hour growth cycle which
maximizes the benefits of aquaponics.maximizes the benefits of aquaponics.
goal is to grow high quality crops throughoutgoal is to grow high quality crops throughout
the year and avoid damage caused bythe year and avoid damage caused by
natural conditions and the excessive use ofnatural conditions and the excessive use of
pesticidespesticides
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81. LEDs in AGRI/AQUA CULTURELEDs in AGRI/AQUA CULTURE
LED lighting is adjustable and requires lessLED lighting is adjustable and requires less
electricity;electricity;
Different wavelengths of LED lighting could beDifferent wavelengths of LED lighting could be
matched with various types of plants. Differentmatched with various types of plants. Different
plants may receive sufficient lighting (thoughplants may receive sufficient lighting (though
still weaker than sunlight).still weaker than sunlight).
Appropriate amount of lighting could beAppropriate amount of lighting could be
supplemented to the sunshine duration.supplemented to the sunshine duration.
Sunlight is unavailable during night time, thus theSunlight is unavailable during night time, thus the
supplement of LED lighting may assist insupplement of LED lighting may assist in
shortening the growing period of plants.shortening the growing period of plants.
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82. LEDs in AGRI/AQUA CULTURELEDs in AGRI/AQUA CULTURE
‘‘PLANT FACTORIES’ -two types:PLANT FACTORIES’ -two types:
BASIC GREENHOUSE – Low initial cost .BASIC GREENHOUSE – Low initial cost .
In an environment with good climate and soil,, aIn an environment with good climate and soil,, a
basic greenhouse would be enough to enhancebasic greenhouse would be enough to enhance
the capacity of plant factories.the capacity of plant factories.
FULL ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL coversFULL ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL covers
light, temperature, humidity, nutrients, water,light, temperature, humidity, nutrients, water,
carbon dioxide, and other environmental factorscarbon dioxide, and other environmental factors
- suitable for growing high value crops or high-- suitable for growing high value crops or high-
priced ornamental plants- EXPENSIVEpriced ornamental plants- EXPENSIVE
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83. LEDs in AGRI/AQUA CULTURELEDs in AGRI/AQUA CULTURE
White light LED vs. red/blue light LEDWhite light LED vs. red/blue light LED
There are two types of light sourcesThere are two types of light sources
– A. Phosphor base white LED lightA. Phosphor base white LED light
– B. Mix of Red, Blue and UV LEDB. Mix of Red, Blue and UV LED
PHOTOSYNTHESIS -The plants only needPHOTOSYNTHESIS -The plants only need
650-655nm Red & 450-470nm Blue light in650-655nm Red & 450-470nm Blue light in
order to perform photosynthesisorder to perform photosynthesis
Therefore, the mixed LED light source is moreTherefore, the mixed LED light source is more
suitable for growing plants than the white lightsuitable for growing plants than the white light
source.source.
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84. LEDs in AGRI/AQUA CULTURELEDs in AGRI/AQUA CULTURE
Manufacturers fromManufacturers from
Europe, the US,Europe, the US,
China, and TaiwanChina, and Taiwan
aggressively investaggressively invest
in the plant lightingin the plant lighting
marketmarket
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85. KWALITY PHOTONICSKWALITY PHOTONICS
POLYWA POWER LEDSPOLYWA POWER LEDS
India’s First Manufacturer of LEDs, LED DisplaysIndia’s First Manufacturer of LEDs, LED Displays
( since1987 )( since1987 )
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Editor's Notes
Jean Paul Freyssinier, research scientist at the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, targeted both measures of color rendering and color temperature in his presentation entitled “Class A lighting.”
FIG. 3.Addressing color rendering index (CRI), correlated color temperature (CCT) and other metrics, Freyssinier said, “None of the metrics that we use are perfectly predictive of peoples’ perception or assessment of light sources.” He explained that the metrics are meant to describe the physical characteristics of a light source – i.e. the stimulus to a person, but not the perception of the person. Focusing specifically on color rendering, Freyssinier said that the lighting industry now accepts that “no single metric can characterize color rendering.” He said that there are too many dimensions to color rendering – including color fidelity, saturation, and discrimination of hues – to capture in a single metric ().
Whether Freyssinier is right about an industry-wide opinion on color rendering or not, he used the SIL platform to advocate the LRC’s gamut area index (GAI) metric that is meant to be used in combination with CRI. Freyssinier said that people prefer a light source that enhances color without distortion or making the object look unnatural. And he said that light sources with high CRI and GAI will consistently outperform light sources that rate high in only one of these two metrics.
Chromaticity variances
The bulk of Freyssinier's presentation, however, was focused on CCT and perhaps a misguided perception of the accepted definition of a white light source. Freyssinier said, “By definition CCT is a line in the color space, not a single point.” Two light sources can have the same CCT and still be quite different in terms of chromaticity in the CIE 1931 color space.
The industry widely accepts that the black-body locus that’s plotted in the color space represents a white source at varying CCT values. But the LRC performed a study to seek the answer to Freyssinier’s question, “Is there a difference in terms of perception or preference for end users?”
FIG. 4.The study utilized a viewing box with multiple light sources. Computer control allowed the researchers to produce light at specific CCT, chromaticity and brightness levels. Testers were shown light at six CCTs ranging from 2700-6500K. At each CCT, the testers were asked to judge light at seven different chromaticity values along the CCT line with the values ranging well above and below the black-body locus.The testers were asked to respond immediately after seeing each light source and after an adaption period of 45 seconds. The testers judged the hue of the light source responding to whether they perceived the source to be green/yellow in nature or purple/violet. The testers were also asked to rate the hue relative to their perception of pure white.
The details of the research are lengthy in nature, but Fig. 3 shows a surprising result. Only at around 4100K did the perception of the testers align with the black-body locus. At cooler CCTs the testers preferred chromaticity slightly above the locus. More importantly, at warmer CCTs the testers preferred chromaticity significantly below the locus.
Chromaticity white points
At 2700K, Freyssinier said that the difference in terms of perception between the black-body locus and the preferred white point is equal to a 13-15-step MacAdam ellipse (also referred to as a SDCM or standard deviation of color matching ellipse). Freyssinier said that the difference in terms of perception between the black-body locus and the preferred white point at 2700K is greater than the perceived difference between the three white points at 3500K, 3000K, and 2700K despite the fact that those white points are more spread out on the color-space graph.
Closing the loop around color rendering, CCT, and chromaticity, Freyssinier addressed the title of his presentation. He defines a Class A light source as one that has CRI above 80, GAI between 80 and 100, and chromaticity located along the white line in the color space identified by the LRC’s study.
Ron Steen, VP business development at Xicato, also addressed color quality and focused on the lack of standards that specify color deviation and the problem of changes in color over time of LED sources. Steen said that SSL deployment is happening, but not as quickly as some industry proponents believe it should. He said that the LED industry focus has been on efficacy and that great progress has been made in that area. But he asked, “With 150 lm/W, why isn’t [mass adoption of SSL] happening?” Steen answered saying “Maybe one of the reasons it hasn’t happened is because it’s ugly.”
Color variance
Steen used a screen to project light with different characteristics to demonstrate the potential problems that the LED industry still faces in terms of color consistency. First he compared two 3000K sources side by side that were within the 7-step SDCM bounds of the ANSI binning scheme for LEDs. The lights had only a 19K difference in CCT. The difference was noticeable but perhaps not unacceptable. He then showed two sources that fell within a 4-step SDCM ellipse. But in this case he used sources that were 39K apart albeit much closer in chromaticity. The difference was significant and Steen concluded that it would be problematic in most lighting applications. He said that the industry needs LEDs that are within a 1-step SDCM ellipse in terms of chromaticity and a 2-step SDCM ellipse in terms of CCT.
Steen also demonstrated issues with CRI using a saturated red color patch and light sources with different spectral power distributions. Color rendering is one area in which he laments the lack of a usable standard. Differing with Freyssinier, Steen spoke positively about color quality scale (CQS) as an accurate metric. Steen said “I hope the industry actually adopts it so that we can try to get down to one metric.”
Still, Steen’s larger concern is the need for standards that define color shift over time (and obviously LEDs that would meet such standards). He said, “It might not be lumen depreciation that defines lifetime of LEDs. It may indeed be color that defines the lifetime of a source.”
The LM-80 standard used to specify LED lifetime does not really address color, said Steen. It does require an LED maker to disclose color shift over 6000 hours, but doesn’t set limits on acceptable shift. Steen said that Energy Star requires luminaires to maintain color within a range of 0.007 relative to the CIE 1976 color space. But that delta, according to Steen, is in the range of a 7-step SDCM ellipse. CELMA has even less rigorous guidelines in Europe.
Accepted quality levels
Steen understands the difficulty faced by the standards bodies. He said “Statisticians do not know how to statistically extrapolate color movement over time.” Steen said the industry has mistakenly accepted that color consistency is assured by LEDs that fall within a 3-step SDCM ellipse out of the box, and in the worst case, those LEDs should shift a maximum of 5 additional steps over time. In general the industry is managing to live with such performance, in part according to Steen because all of the LEDs in an installation typically shift in the same direction over time.
FIG. 5.But Steen presented the scenario depicted in Fig. 4 that shows a huge potential problem. The point in the upper left corner of the red box represents an LED at the 3-step line out of the box. Over time, that LED shifts in color up and to the left out to the range of an 8-step SDCM ellipse. Say one lamp or LED module in a group of sources fails and has to be replaced. The replacement meets the 3-step limit for a new component but is actually at the low, right corner of the ellipse in Fig. 4. The result is an 11-step difference in installed sources, and that could be unsightly.As a solution, Steen proposed a color-maintenance curve that is modeled after the commonly used lumen-maintenance curve and specs such as hours to L70. He proposed holding LED color maintenance to the 1-step chromaticity and 2-step CCT limits that he discussed earlier.
Jean Paul Freyssinier, research scientist at the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, targeted both measures of color rendering and color temperature in his presentation entitled “Class A lighting.”
FIG. 3.Addressing color rendering index (CRI), correlated color temperature (CCT) and other metrics, Freyssinier said, “None of the metrics that we use are perfectly predictive of peoples’ perception or assessment of light sources.” He explained that the metrics are meant to describe the physical characteristics of a light source – i.e. the stimulus to a person, but not the perception of the person. Focusing specifically on color rendering, Freyssinier said that the lighting industry now accepts that “no single metric can characterize color rendering.” He said that there are too many dimensions to color rendering – including color fidelity, saturation, and discrimination of hues – to capture in a single metric ().
Whether Freyssinier is right about an industry-wide opinion on color rendering or not, he used the SIL platform to advocate the LRC’s gamut area index (GAI) metric that is meant to be used in combination with CRI. Freyssinier said that people prefer a light source that enhances color without distortion or making the object look unnatural. And he said that light sources with high CRI and GAI will consistently outperform light sources that rate high in only one of these two metrics.
Chromaticity variances
The bulk of Freyssinier's presentation, however, was focused on CCT and perhaps a misguided perception of the accepted definition of a white light source. Freyssinier said, “By definition CCT is a line in the color space, not a single point.” Two light sources can have the same CCT and still be quite different in terms of chromaticity in the CIE 1931 color space.
The industry widely accepts that the black-body locus that’s plotted in the color space represents a white source at varying CCT values. But the LRC performed a study to seek the answer to Freyssinier’s question, “Is there a difference in terms of perception or preference for end users?”
FIG. 4.The study utilized a viewing box with multiple light sources. Computer control allowed the researchers to produce light at specific CCT, chromaticity and brightness levels. Testers were shown light at six CCTs ranging from 2700-6500K. At each CCT, the testers were asked to judge light at seven different chromaticity values along the CCT line with the values ranging well above and below the black-body locus.The testers were asked to respond immediately after seeing each light source and after an adaption period of 45 seconds. The testers judged the hue of the light source responding to whether they perceived the source to be green/yellow in nature or purple/violet. The testers were also asked to rate the hue relative to their perception of pure white.
The details of the research are lengthy in nature, but Fig. 3 shows a surprising result. Only at around 4100K did the perception of the testers align with the black-body locus. At cooler CCTs the testers preferred chromaticity slightly above the locus. More importantly, at warmer CCTs the testers preferred chromaticity significantly below the locus.
Chromaticity white points
At 2700K, Freyssinier said that the difference in terms of perception between the black-body locus and the preferred white point is equal to a 13-15-step MacAdam ellipse (also referred to as a SDCM or standard deviation of color matching ellipse). Freyssinier said that the difference in terms of perception between the black-body locus and the preferred white point at 2700K is greater than the perceived difference between the three white points at 3500K, 3000K, and 2700K despite the fact that those white points are more spread out on the color-space graph.
Closing the loop around color rendering, CCT, and chromaticity, Freyssinier addressed the title of his presentation. He defines a Class A light source as one that has CRI above 80, GAI between 80 and 100, and chromaticity located along the white line in the color space identified by the LRC’s study.
Ron Steen, VP business development at Xicato, also addressed color quality and focused on the lack of standards that specify color deviation and the problem of changes in color over time of LED sources. Steen said that SSL deployment is happening, but not as quickly as some industry proponents believe it should. He said that the LED industry focus has been on efficacy and that great progress has been made in that area. But he asked, “With 150 lm/W, why isn’t [mass adoption of SSL] happening?” Steen answered saying “Maybe one of the reasons it hasn’t happened is because it’s ugly.”
Color variance
Steen used a screen to project light with different characteristics to demonstrate the potential problems that the LED industry still faces in terms of color consistency. First he compared two 3000K sources side by side that were within the 7-step SDCM bounds of the ANSI binning scheme for LEDs. The lights had only a 19K difference in CCT. The difference was noticeable but perhaps not unacceptable. He then showed two sources that fell within a 4-step SDCM ellipse. But in this case he used sources that were 39K apart albeit much closer in chromaticity. The difference was significant and Steen concluded that it would be problematic in most lighting applications. He said that the industry needs LEDs that are within a 1-step SDCM ellipse in terms of chromaticity and a 2-step SDCM ellipse in terms of CCT.
Steen also demonstrated issues with CRI using a saturated red color patch and light sources with different spectral power distributions. Color rendering is one area in which he laments the lack of a usable standard. Differing with Freyssinier, Steen spoke positively about color quality scale (CQS) as an accurate metric. Steen said “I hope the industry actually adopts it so that we can try to get down to one metric.”
Still, Steen’s larger concern is the need for standards that define color shift over time (and obviously LEDs that would meet such standards). He said, “It might not be lumen depreciation that defines lifetime of LEDs. It may indeed be color that defines the lifetime of a source.”
The LM-80 standard used to specify LED lifetime does not really address color, said Steen. It does require an LED maker to disclose color shift over 6000 hours, but doesn’t set limits on acceptable shift. Steen said that Energy Star requires luminaires to maintain color within a range of 0.007 relative to the CIE 1976 color space. But that delta, according to Steen, is in the range of a 7-step SDCM ellipse. CELMA has even less rigorous guidelines in Europe.
Accepted quality levels
Steen understands the difficulty faced by the standards bodies. He said “Statisticians do not know how to statistically extrapolate color movement over time.” Steen said the industry has mistakenly accepted that color consistency is assured by LEDs that fall within a 3-step SDCM ellipse out of the box, and in the worst case, those LEDs should shift a maximum of 5 additional steps over time. In general the industry is managing to live with such performance, in part according to Steen because all of the LEDs in an installation typically shift in the same direction over time.
FIG. 5.But Steen presented the scenario depicted in Fig. 4 that shows a huge potential problem. The point in the upper left corner of the red box represents an LED at the 3-step line out of the box. Over time, that LED shifts in color up and to the left out to the range of an 8-step SDCM ellipse. Say one lamp or LED module in a group of sources fails and has to be replaced. The replacement meets the 3-step limit for a new component but is actually at the low, right corner of the ellipse in Fig. 4. The result is an 11-step difference in installed sources, and that could be unsightly.As a solution, Steen proposed a color-maintenance curve that is modeled after the commonly used lumen-maintenance curve and specs such as hours to L70. He proposed holding LED color maintenance to the 1-step chromaticity and 2-step CCT limits that he discussed earlier.
Jean Paul Freyssinier, research scientist at the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, targeted both measures of color rendering and color temperature in his presentation entitled “Class A lighting.”
FIG. 3.Addressing color rendering index (CRI), correlated color temperature (CCT) and other metrics, Freyssinier said, “None of the metrics that we use are perfectly predictive of peoples’ perception or assessment of light sources.” He explained that the metrics are meant to describe the physical characteristics of a light source – i.e. the stimulus to a person, but not the perception of the person. Focusing specifically on color rendering, Freyssinier said that the lighting industry now accepts that “no single metric can characterize color rendering.” He said that there are too many dimensions to color rendering – including color fidelity, saturation, and discrimination of hues – to capture in a single metric ().
Whether Freyssinier is right about an industry-wide opinion on color rendering or not, he used the SIL platform to advocate the LRC’s gamut area index (GAI) metric that is meant to be used in combination with CRI. Freyssinier said that people prefer a light source that enhances color without distortion or making the object look unnatural. And he said that light sources with high CRI and GAI will consistently outperform light sources that rate high in only one of these two metrics.
Chromaticity variances
The bulk of Freyssinier's presentation, however, was focused on CCT and perhaps a misguided perception of the accepted definition of a white light source. Freyssinier said, “By definition CCT is a line in the color space, not a single point.” Two light sources can have the same CCT and still be quite different in terms of chromaticity in the CIE 1931 color space.
The industry widely accepts that the black-body locus that’s plotted in the color space represents a white source at varying CCT values. But the LRC performed a study to seek the answer to Freyssinier’s question, “Is there a difference in terms of perception or preference for end users?”
FIG. 4.The study utilized a viewing box with multiple light sources. Computer control allowed the researchers to produce light at specific CCT, chromaticity and brightness levels. Testers were shown light at six CCTs ranging from 2700-6500K. At each CCT, the testers were asked to judge light at seven different chromaticity values along the CCT line with the values ranging well above and below the black-body locus.The testers were asked to respond immediately after seeing each light source and after an adaption period of 45 seconds. The testers judged the hue of the light source responding to whether they perceived the source to be green/yellow in nature or purple/violet. The testers were also asked to rate the hue relative to their perception of pure white.
The details of the research are lengthy in nature, but Fig. 3 shows a surprising result. Only at around 4100K did the perception of the testers align with the black-body locus. At cooler CCTs the testers preferred chromaticity slightly above the locus. More importantly, at warmer CCTs the testers preferred chromaticity significantly below the locus.
Chromaticity white points
At 2700K, Freyssinier said that the difference in terms of perception between the black-body locus and the preferred white point is equal to a 13-15-step MacAdam ellipse (also referred to as a SDCM or standard deviation of color matching ellipse). Freyssinier said that the difference in terms of perception between the black-body locus and the preferred white point at 2700K is greater than the perceived difference between the three white points at 3500K, 3000K, and 2700K despite the fact that those white points are more spread out on the color-space graph.
Closing the loop around color rendering, CCT, and chromaticity, Freyssinier addressed the title of his presentation. He defines a Class A light source as one that has CRI above 80, GAI between 80 and 100, and chromaticity located along the white line in the color space identified by the LRC’s study.
Ron Steen, VP business development at Xicato, also addressed color quality and focused on the lack of standards that specify color deviation and the problem of changes in color over time of LED sources. Steen said that SSL deployment is happening, but not as quickly as some industry proponents believe it should. He said that the LED industry focus has been on efficacy and that great progress has been made in that area. But he asked, “With 150 lm/W, why isn’t [mass adoption of SSL] happening?” Steen answered saying “Maybe one of the reasons it hasn’t happened is because it’s ugly.”
Color variance
Steen used a screen to project light with different characteristics to demonstrate the potential problems that the LED industry still faces in terms of color consistency. First he compared two 3000K sources side by side that were within the 7-step SDCM bounds of the ANSI binning scheme for LEDs. The lights had only a 19K difference in CCT. The difference was noticeable but perhaps not unacceptable. He then showed two sources that fell within a 4-step SDCM ellipse. But in this case he used sources that were 39K apart albeit much closer in chromaticity. The difference was significant and Steen concluded that it would be problematic in most lighting applications. He said that the industry needs LEDs that are within a 1-step SDCM ellipse in terms of chromaticity and a 2-step SDCM ellipse in terms of CCT.
Steen also demonstrated issues with CRI using a saturated red color patch and light sources with different spectral power distributions. Color rendering is one area in which he laments the lack of a usable standard. Differing with Freyssinier, Steen spoke positively about color quality scale (CQS) as an accurate metric. Steen said “I hope the industry actually adopts it so that we can try to get down to one metric.”
Still, Steen’s larger concern is the need for standards that define color shift over time (and obviously LEDs that would meet such standards). He said, “It might not be lumen depreciation that defines lifetime of LEDs. It may indeed be color that defines the lifetime of a source.”
The LM-80 standard used to specify LED lifetime does not really address color, said Steen. It does require an LED maker to disclose color shift over 6000 hours, but doesn’t set limits on acceptable shift. Steen said that Energy Star requires luminaires to maintain color within a range of 0.007 relative to the CIE 1976 color space. But that delta, according to Steen, is in the range of a 7-step SDCM ellipse. CELMA has even less rigorous guidelines in Europe.
Accepted quality levels
Steen understands the difficulty faced by the standards bodies. He said “Statisticians do not know how to statistically extrapolate color movement over time.” Steen said the industry has mistakenly accepted that color consistency is assured by LEDs that fall within a 3-step SDCM ellipse out of the box, and in the worst case, those LEDs should shift a maximum of 5 additional steps over time. In general the industry is managing to live with such performance, in part according to Steen because all of the LEDs in an installation typically shift in the same direction over time.
FIG. 5.But Steen presented the scenario depicted in Fig. 4 that shows a huge potential problem. The point in the upper left corner of the red box represents an LED at the 3-step line out of the box. Over time, that LED shifts in color up and to the left out to the range of an 8-step SDCM ellipse. Say one lamp or LED module in a group of sources fails and has to be replaced. The replacement meets the 3-step limit for a new component but is actually at the low, right corner of the ellipse in Fig. 4. The result is an 11-step difference in installed sources, and that could be unsightly.As a solution, Steen proposed a color-maintenance curve that is modeled after the commonly used lumen-maintenance curve and specs such as hours to L70. He proposed holding LED color maintenance to the 1-step chromaticity and 2-step CCT limits that he discussed earlier.
Jean Paul Freyssinier, research scientist at the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, targeted both measures of color rendering and color temperature in his presentation entitled “Class A lighting.”
FIG. 3.Addressing color rendering index (CRI), correlated color temperature (CCT) and other metrics, Freyssinier said, “None of the metrics that we use are perfectly predictive of peoples’ perception or assessment of light sources.” He explained that the metrics are meant to describe the physical characteristics of a light source – i.e. the stimulus to a person, but not the perception of the person. Focusing specifically on color rendering, Freyssinier said that the lighting industry now accepts that “no single metric can characterize color rendering.” He said that there are too many dimensions to color rendering – including color fidelity, saturation, and discrimination of hues – to capture in a single metric ().
Whether Freyssinier is right about an industry-wide opinion on color rendering or not, he used the SIL platform to advocate the LRC’s gamut area index (GAI) metric that is meant to be used in combination with CRI. Freyssinier said that people prefer a light source that enhances color without distortion or making the object look unnatural. And he said that light sources with high CRI and GAI will consistently outperform light sources that rate high in only one of these two metrics.
Chromaticity variances
The bulk of Freyssinier's presentation, however, was focused on CCT and perhaps a misguided perception of the accepted definition of a white light source. Freyssinier said, “By definition CCT is a line in the color space, not a single point.” Two light sources can have the same CCT and still be quite different in terms of chromaticity in the CIE 1931 color space.
The industry widely accepts that the black-body locus that’s plotted in the color space represents a white source at varying CCT values. But the LRC performed a study to seek the answer to Freyssinier’s question, “Is there a difference in terms of perception or preference for end users?”
FIG. 4.The study utilized a viewing box with multiple light sources. Computer control allowed the researchers to produce light at specific CCT, chromaticity and brightness levels. Testers were shown light at six CCTs ranging from 2700-6500K. At each CCT, the testers were asked to judge light at seven different chromaticity values along the CCT line with the values ranging well above and below the black-body locus.The testers were asked to respond immediately after seeing each light source and after an adaption period of 45 seconds. The testers judged the hue of the light source responding to whether they perceived the source to be green/yellow in nature or purple/violet. The testers were also asked to rate the hue relative to their perception of pure white.
The details of the research are lengthy in nature, but Fig. 3 shows a surprising result. Only at around 4100K did the perception of the testers align with the black-body locus. At cooler CCTs the testers preferred chromaticity slightly above the locus. More importantly, at warmer CCTs the testers preferred chromaticity significantly below the locus.
Chromaticity white points
At 2700K, Freyssinier said that the difference in terms of perception between the black-body locus and the preferred white point is equal to a 13-15-step MacAdam ellipse (also referred to as a SDCM or standard deviation of color matching ellipse). Freyssinier said that the difference in terms of perception between the black-body locus and the preferred white point at 2700K is greater than the perceived difference between the three white points at 3500K, 3000K, and 2700K despite the fact that those white points are more spread out on the color-space graph.
Closing the loop around color rendering, CCT, and chromaticity, Freyssinier addressed the title of his presentation. He defines a Class A light source as one that has CRI above 80, GAI between 80 and 100, and chromaticity located along the white line in the color space identified by the LRC’s study.
Ron Steen, VP business development at Xicato, also addressed color quality and focused on the lack of standards that specify color deviation and the problem of changes in color over time of LED sources. Steen said that SSL deployment is happening, but not as quickly as some industry proponents believe it should. He said that the LED industry focus has been on efficacy and that great progress has been made in that area. But he asked, “With 150 lm/W, why isn’t [mass adoption of SSL] happening?” Steen answered saying “Maybe one of the reasons it hasn’t happened is because it’s ugly.”
Color variance
Steen used a screen to project light with different characteristics to demonstrate the potential problems that the LED industry still faces in terms of color consistency. First he compared two 3000K sources side by side that were within the 7-step SDCM bounds of the ANSI binning scheme for LEDs. The lights had only a 19K difference in CCT. The difference was noticeable but perhaps not unacceptable. He then showed two sources that fell within a 4-step SDCM ellipse. But in this case he used sources that were 39K apart albeit much closer in chromaticity. The difference was significant and Steen concluded that it would be problematic in most lighting applications. He said that the industry needs LEDs that are within a 1-step SDCM ellipse in terms of chromaticity and a 2-step SDCM ellipse in terms of CCT.
Steen also demonstrated issues with CRI using a saturated red color patch and light sources with different spectral power distributions. Color rendering is one area in which he laments the lack of a usable standard. Differing with Freyssinier, Steen spoke positively about color quality scale (CQS) as an accurate metric. Steen said “I hope the industry actually adopts it so that we can try to get down to one metric.”
Still, Steen’s larger concern is the need for standards that define color shift over time (and obviously LEDs that would meet such standards). He said, “It might not be lumen depreciation that defines lifetime of LEDs. It may indeed be color that defines the lifetime of a source.”
The LM-80 standard used to specify LED lifetime does not really address color, said Steen. It does require an LED maker to disclose color shift over 6000 hours, but doesn’t set limits on acceptable shift. Steen said that Energy Star requires luminaires to maintain color within a range of 0.007 relative to the CIE 1976 color space. But that delta, according to Steen, is in the range of a 7-step SDCM ellipse. CELMA has even less rigorous guidelines in Europe.
Accepted quality levels
Steen understands the difficulty faced by the standards bodies. He said “Statisticians do not know how to statistically extrapolate color movement over time.” Steen said the industry has mistakenly accepted that color consistency is assured by LEDs that fall within a 3-step SDCM ellipse out of the box, and in the worst case, those LEDs should shift a maximum of 5 additional steps over time. In general the industry is managing to live with such performance, in part according to Steen because all of the LEDs in an installation typically shift in the same direction over time.
FIG. 5.But Steen presented the scenario depicted in Fig. 4 that shows a huge potential problem. The point in the upper left corner of the red box represents an LED at the 3-step line out of the box. Over time, that LED shifts in color up and to the left out to the range of an 8-step SDCM ellipse. Say one lamp or LED module in a group of sources fails and has to be replaced. The replacement meets the 3-step limit for a new component but is actually at the low, right corner of the ellipse in Fig. 4. The result is an 11-step difference in installed sources, and that could be unsightly.As a solution, Steen proposed a color-maintenance curve that is modeled after the commonly used lumen-maintenance curve and specs such as hours to L70. He proposed holding LED color maintenance to the 1-step chromaticity and 2-step CCT limits that he discussed earlier.
Jean Paul Freyssinier, research scientist at the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, targeted both measures of color rendering and color temperature in his presentation entitled “Class A lighting.”
FIG. 3.Addressing color rendering index (CRI), correlated color temperature (CCT) and other metrics, Freyssinier said, “None of the metrics that we use are perfectly predictive of peoples’ perception or assessment of light sources.” He explained that the metrics are meant to describe the physical characteristics of a light source – i.e. the stimulus to a person, but not the perception of the person. Focusing specifically on color rendering, Freyssinier said that the lighting industry now accepts that “no single metric can characterize color rendering.” He said that there are too many dimensions to color rendering – including color fidelity, saturation, and discrimination of hues – to capture in a single metric ().
Whether Freyssinier is right about an industry-wide opinion on color rendering or not, he used the SIL platform to advocate the LRC’s gamut area index (GAI) metric that is meant to be used in combination with CRI. Freyssinier said that people prefer a light source that enhances color without distortion or making the object look unnatural. And he said that light sources with high CRI and GAI will consistently outperform light sources that rate high in only one of these two metrics.
Chromaticity variances
The bulk of Freyssinier's presentation, however, was focused on CCT and perhaps a misguided perception of the accepted definition of a white light source. Freyssinier said, “By definition CCT is a line in the color space, not a single point.” Two light sources can have the same CCT and still be quite different in terms of chromaticity in the CIE 1931 color space.
The industry widely accepts that the black-body locus that’s plotted in the color space represents a white source at varying CCT values. But the LRC performed a study to seek the answer to Freyssinier’s question, “Is there a difference in terms of perception or preference for end users?”
FIG. 4.The study utilized a viewing box with multiple light sources. Computer control allowed the researchers to produce light at specific CCT, chromaticity and brightness levels. Testers were shown light at six CCTs ranging from 2700-6500K. At each CCT, the testers were asked to judge light at seven different chromaticity values along the CCT line with the values ranging well above and below the black-body locus.The testers were asked to respond immediately after seeing each light source and after an adaption period of 45 seconds. The testers judged the hue of the light source responding to whether they perceived the source to be green/yellow in nature or purple/violet. The testers were also asked to rate the hue relative to their perception of pure white.
The details of the research are lengthy in nature, but Fig. 3 shows a surprising result. Only at around 4100K did the perception of the testers align with the black-body locus. At cooler CCTs the testers preferred chromaticity slightly above the locus. More importantly, at warmer CCTs the testers preferred chromaticity significantly below the locus.
Chromaticity white points
At 2700K, Freyssinier said that the difference in terms of perception between the black-body locus and the preferred white point is equal to a 13-15-step MacAdam ellipse (also referred to as a SDCM or standard deviation of color matching ellipse). Freyssinier said that the difference in terms of perception between the black-body locus and the preferred white point at 2700K is greater than the perceived difference between the three white points at 3500K, 3000K, and 2700K despite the fact that those white points are more spread out on the color-space graph.
Closing the loop around color rendering, CCT, and chromaticity, Freyssinier addressed the title of his presentation. He defines a Class A light source as one that has CRI above 80, GAI between 80 and 100, and chromaticity located along the white line in the color space identified by the LRC’s study.
Ron Steen, VP business development at Xicato, also addressed color quality and focused on the lack of standards that specify color deviation and the problem of changes in color over time of LED sources. Steen said that SSL deployment is happening, but not as quickly as some industry proponents believe it should. He said that the LED industry focus has been on efficacy and that great progress has been made in that area. But he asked, “With 150 lm/W, why isn’t [mass adoption of SSL] happening?” Steen answered saying “Maybe one of the reasons it hasn’t happened is because it’s ugly.”
Color variance
Steen used a screen to project light with different characteristics to demonstrate the potential problems that the LED industry still faces in terms of color consistency. First he compared two 3000K sources side by side that were within the 7-step SDCM bounds of the ANSI binning scheme for LEDs. The lights had only a 19K difference in CCT. The difference was noticeable but perhaps not unacceptable. He then showed two sources that fell within a 4-step SDCM ellipse. But in this case he used sources that were 39K apart albeit much closer in chromaticity. The difference was significant and Steen concluded that it would be problematic in most lighting applications. He said that the industry needs LEDs that are within a 1-step SDCM ellipse in terms of chromaticity and a 2-step SDCM ellipse in terms of CCT.
Steen also demonstrated issues with CRI using a saturated red color patch and light sources with different spectral power distributions. Color rendering is one area in which he laments the lack of a usable standard. Differing with Freyssinier, Steen spoke positively about color quality scale (CQS) as an accurate metric. Steen said “I hope the industry actually adopts it so that we can try to get down to one metric.”
Still, Steen’s larger concern is the need for standards that define color shift over time (and obviously LEDs that would meet such standards). He said, “It might not be lumen depreciation that defines lifetime of LEDs. It may indeed be color that defines the lifetime of a source.”
The LM-80 standard used to specify LED lifetime does not really address color, said Steen. It does require an LED maker to disclose color shift over 6000 hours, but doesn’t set limits on acceptable shift. Steen said that Energy Star requires luminaires to maintain color within a range of 0.007 relative to the CIE 1976 color space. But that delta, according to Steen, is in the range of a 7-step SDCM ellipse. CELMA has even less rigorous guidelines in Europe.
Accepted quality levels
Steen understands the difficulty faced by the standards bodies. He said “Statisticians do not know how to statistically extrapolate color movement over time.” Steen said the industry has mistakenly accepted that color consistency is assured by LEDs that fall within a 3-step SDCM ellipse out of the box, and in the worst case, those LEDs should shift a maximum of 5 additional steps over time. In general the industry is managing to live with such performance, in part according to Steen because all of the LEDs in an installation typically shift in the same direction over time.
FIG. 5.But Steen presented the scenario depicted in Fig. 4 that shows a huge potential problem. The point in the upper left corner of the red box represents an LED at the 3-step line out of the box. Over time, that LED shifts in color up and to the left out to the range of an 8-step SDCM ellipse. Say one lamp or LED module in a group of sources fails and has to be replaced. The replacement meets the 3-step limit for a new component but is actually at the low, right corner of the ellipse in Fig. 4. The result is an 11-step difference in installed sources, and that could be unsightly.As a solution, Steen proposed a color-maintenance curve that is modeled after the commonly used lumen-maintenance curve and specs such as hours to L70. He proposed holding LED color maintenance to the 1-step chromaticity and 2-step CCT limits that he discussed earlier.
Jean Paul Freyssinier, research scientist at the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, targeted both measures of color rendering and color temperature in his presentation entitled “Class A lighting.”
FIG. 3.Addressing color rendering index (CRI), correlated color temperature (CCT) and other metrics, Freyssinier said, “None of the metrics that we use are perfectly predictive of peoples’ perception or assessment of light sources.” He explained that the metrics are meant to describe the physical characteristics of a light source – i.e. the stimulus to a person, but not the perception of the person. Focusing specifically on color rendering, Freyssinier said that the lighting industry now accepts that “no single metric can characterize color rendering.” He said that there are too many dimensions to color rendering – including color fidelity, saturation, and discrimination of hues – to capture in a single metric ().
Whether Freyssinier is right about an industry-wide opinion on color rendering or not, he used the SIL platform to advocate the LRC’s gamut area index (GAI) metric that is meant to be used in combination with CRI. Freyssinier said that people prefer a light source that enhances color without distortion or making the object look unnatural. And he said that light sources with high CRI and GAI will consistently outperform light sources that rate high in only one of these two metrics.
Chromaticity variances
The bulk of Freyssinier's presentation, however, was focused on CCT and perhaps a misguided perception of the accepted definition of a white light source. Freyssinier said, “By definition CCT is a line in the color space, not a single point.” Two light sources can have the same CCT and still be quite different in terms of chromaticity in the CIE 1931 color space.
The industry widely accepts that the black-body locus that’s plotted in the color space represents a white source at varying CCT values. But the LRC performed a study to seek the answer to Freyssinier’s question, “Is there a difference in terms of perception or preference for end users?”
FIG. 4.The study utilized a viewing box with multiple light sources. Computer control allowed the researchers to produce light at specific CCT, chromaticity and brightness levels. Testers were shown light at six CCTs ranging from 2700-6500K. At each CCT, the testers were asked to judge light at seven different chromaticity values along the CCT line with the values ranging well above and below the black-body locus.The testers were asked to respond immediately after seeing each light source and after an adaption period of 45 seconds. The testers judged the hue of the light source responding to whether they perceived the source to be green/yellow in nature or purple/violet. The testers were also asked to rate the hue relative to their perception of pure white.
The details of the research are lengthy in nature, but Fig. 3 shows a surprising result. Only at around 4100K did the perception of the testers align with the black-body locus. At cooler CCTs the testers preferred chromaticity slightly above the locus. More importantly, at warmer CCTs the testers preferred chromaticity significantly below the locus.
Chromaticity white points
At 2700K, Freyssinier said that the difference in terms of perception between the black-body locus and the preferred white point is equal to a 13-15-step MacAdam ellipse (also referred to as a SDCM or standard deviation of color matching ellipse). Freyssinier said that the difference in terms of perception between the black-body locus and the preferred white point at 2700K is greater than the perceived difference between the three white points at 3500K, 3000K, and 2700K despite the fact that those white points are more spread out on the color-space graph.
Closing the loop around color rendering, CCT, and chromaticity, Freyssinier addressed the title of his presentation. He defines a Class A light source as one that has CRI above 80, GAI between 80 and 100, and chromaticity located along the white line in the color space identified by the LRC’s study.
Ron Steen, VP business development at Xicato, also addressed color quality and focused on the lack of standards that specify color deviation and the problem of changes in color over time of LED sources. Steen said that SSL deployment is happening, but not as quickly as some industry proponents believe it should. He said that the LED industry focus has been on efficacy and that great progress has been made in that area. But he asked, “With 150 lm/W, why isn’t [mass adoption of SSL] happening?” Steen answered saying “Maybe one of the reasons it hasn’t happened is because it’s ugly.”
Color variance
Steen used a screen to project light with different characteristics to demonstrate the potential problems that the LED industry still faces in terms of color consistency. First he compared two 3000K sources side by side that were within the 7-step SDCM bounds of the ANSI binning scheme for LEDs. The lights had only a 19K difference in CCT. The difference was noticeable but perhaps not unacceptable. He then showed two sources that fell within a 4-step SDCM ellipse. But in this case he used sources that were 39K apart albeit much closer in chromaticity. The difference was significant and Steen concluded that it would be problematic in most lighting applications. He said that the industry needs LEDs that are within a 1-step SDCM ellipse in terms of chromaticity and a 2-step SDCM ellipse in terms of CCT.
Steen also demonstrated issues with CRI using a saturated red color patch and light sources with different spectral power distributions. Color rendering is one area in which he laments the lack of a usable standard. Differing with Freyssinier, Steen spoke positively about color quality scale (CQS) as an accurate metric. Steen said “I hope the industry actually adopts it so that we can try to get down to one metric.”
Still, Steen’s larger concern is the need for standards that define color shift over time (and obviously LEDs that would meet such standards). He said, “It might not be lumen depreciation that defines lifetime of LEDs. It may indeed be color that defines the lifetime of a source.”
The LM-80 standard used to specify LED lifetime does not really address color, said Steen. It does require an LED maker to disclose color shift over 6000 hours, but doesn’t set limits on acceptable shift. Steen said that Energy Star requires luminaires to maintain color within a range of 0.007 relative to the CIE 1976 color space. But that delta, according to Steen, is in the range of a 7-step SDCM ellipse. CELMA has even less rigorous guidelines in Europe.
Accepted quality levels
Steen understands the difficulty faced by the standards bodies. He said “Statisticians do not know how to statistically extrapolate color movement over time.” Steen said the industry has mistakenly accepted that color consistency is assured by LEDs that fall within a 3-step SDCM ellipse out of the box, and in the worst case, those LEDs should shift a maximum of 5 additional steps over time. In general the industry is managing to live with such performance, in part according to Steen because all of the LEDs in an installation typically shift in the same direction over time.
FIG. 5.But Steen presented the scenario depicted in Fig. 4 that shows a huge potential problem. The point in the upper left corner of the red box represents an LED at the 3-step line out of the box. Over time, that LED shifts in color up and to the left out to the range of an 8-step SDCM ellipse. Say one lamp or LED module in a group of sources fails and has to be replaced. The replacement meets the 3-step limit for a new component but is actually at the low, right corner of the ellipse in Fig. 4. The result is an 11-step difference in installed sources, and that could be unsightly.As a solution, Steen proposed a color-maintenance curve that is modeled after the commonly used lumen-maintenance curve and specs such as hours to L70. He proposed holding LED color maintenance to the 1-step chromaticity and 2-step CCT limits that he discussed earlier.
Jean Paul Freyssinier, research scientist at the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, targeted both measures of color rendering and color temperature in his presentation entitled “Class A lighting.”
FIG. 3.Addressing color rendering index (CRI), correlated color temperature (CCT) and other metrics, Freyssinier said, “None of the metrics that we use are perfectly predictive of peoples’ perception or assessment of light sources.” He explained that the metrics are meant to describe the physical characteristics of a light source – i.e. the stimulus to a person, but not the perception of the person. Focusing specifically on color rendering, Freyssinier said that the lighting industry now accepts that “no single metric can characterize color rendering.” He said that there are too many dimensions to color rendering – including color fidelity, saturation, and discrimination of hues – to capture in a single metric ().
Whether Freyssinier is right about an industry-wide opinion on color rendering or not, he used the SIL platform to advocate the LRC’s gamut area index (GAI) metric that is meant to be used in combination with CRI. Freyssinier said that people prefer a light source that enhances color without distortion or making the object look unnatural. And he said that light sources with high CRI and GAI will consistently outperform light sources that rate high in only one of these two metrics.
Chromaticity variances
The bulk of Freyssinier's presentation, however, was focused on CCT and perhaps a misguided perception of the accepted definition of a white light source. Freyssinier said, “By definition CCT is a line in the color space, not a single point.” Two light sources can have the same CCT and still be quite different in terms of chromaticity in the CIE 1931 color space.
The industry widely accepts that the black-body locus that’s plotted in the color space represents a white source at varying CCT values. But the LRC performed a study to seek the answer to Freyssinier’s question, “Is there a difference in terms of perception or preference for end users?”
FIG. 4.The study utilized a viewing box with multiple light sources. Computer control allowed the researchers to produce light at specific CCT, chromaticity and brightness levels. Testers were shown light at six CCTs ranging from 2700-6500K. At each CCT, the testers were asked to judge light at seven different chromaticity values along the CCT line with the values ranging well above and below the black-body locus.The testers were asked to respond immediately after seeing each light source and after an adaption period of 45 seconds. The testers judged the hue of the light source responding to whether they perceived the source to be green/yellow in nature or purple/violet. The testers were also asked to rate the hue relative to their perception of pure white.
The details of the research are lengthy in nature, but Fig. 3 shows a surprising result. Only at around 4100K did the perception of the testers align with the black-body locus. At cooler CCTs the testers preferred chromaticity slightly above the locus. More importantly, at warmer CCTs the testers preferred chromaticity significantly below the locus.
Chromaticity white points
At 2700K, Freyssinier said that the difference in terms of perception between the black-body locus and the preferred white point is equal to a 13-15-step MacAdam ellipse (also referred to as a SDCM or standard deviation of color matching ellipse). Freyssinier said that the difference in terms of perception between the black-body locus and the preferred white point at 2700K is greater than the perceived difference between the three white points at 3500K, 3000K, and 2700K despite the fact that those white points are more spread out on the color-space graph.
Closing the loop around color rendering, CCT, and chromaticity, Freyssinier addressed the title of his presentation. He defines a Class A light source as one that has CRI above 80, GAI between 80 and 100, and chromaticity located along the white line in the color space identified by the LRC’s study.
Ron Steen, VP business development at Xicato, also addressed color quality and focused on the lack of standards that specify color deviation and the problem of changes in color over time of LED sources. Steen said that SSL deployment is happening, but not as quickly as some industry proponents believe it should. He said that the LED industry focus has been on efficacy and that great progress has been made in that area. But he asked, “With 150 lm/W, why isn’t [mass adoption of SSL] happening?” Steen answered saying “Maybe one of the reasons it hasn’t happened is because it’s ugly.”
Color variance
Steen used a screen to project light with different characteristics to demonstrate the potential problems that the LED industry still faces in terms of color consistency. First he compared two 3000K sources side by side that were within the 7-step SDCM bounds of the ANSI binning scheme for LEDs. The lights had only a 19K difference in CCT. The difference was noticeable but perhaps not unacceptable. He then showed two sources that fell within a 4-step SDCM ellipse. But in this case he used sources that were 39K apart albeit much closer in chromaticity. The difference was significant and Steen concluded that it would be problematic in most lighting applications. He said that the industry needs LEDs that are within a 1-step SDCM ellipse in terms of chromaticity and a 2-step SDCM ellipse in terms of CCT.
Steen also demonstrated issues with CRI using a saturated red color patch and light sources with different spectral power distributions. Color rendering is one area in which he laments the lack of a usable standard. Differing with Freyssinier, Steen spoke positively about color quality scale (CQS) as an accurate metric. Steen said “I hope the industry actually adopts it so that we can try to get down to one metric.”
Still, Steen’s larger concern is the need for standards that define color shift over time (and obviously LEDs that would meet such standards). He said, “It might not be lumen depreciation that defines lifetime of LEDs. It may indeed be color that defines the lifetime of a source.”
The LM-80 standard used to specify LED lifetime does not really address color, said Steen. It does require an LED maker to disclose color shift over 6000 hours, but doesn’t set limits on acceptable shift. Steen said that Energy Star requires luminaires to maintain color within a range of 0.007 relative to the CIE 1976 color space. But that delta, according to Steen, is in the range of a 7-step SDCM ellipse. CELMA has even less rigorous guidelines in Europe.
Accepted quality levels
Steen understands the difficulty faced by the standards bodies. He said “Statisticians do not know how to statistically extrapolate color movement over time.” Steen said the industry has mistakenly accepted that color consistency is assured by LEDs that fall within a 3-step SDCM ellipse out of the box, and in the worst case, those LEDs should shift a maximum of 5 additional steps over time. In general the industry is managing to live with such performance, in part according to Steen because all of the LEDs in an installation typically shift in the same direction over time.
FIG. 5.But Steen presented the scenario depicted in Fig. 4 that shows a huge potential problem. The point in the upper left corner of the red box represents an LED at the 3-step line out of the box. Over time, that LED shifts in color up and to the left out to the range of an 8-step SDCM ellipse. Say one lamp or LED module in a group of sources fails and has to be replaced. The replacement meets the 3-step limit for a new component but is actually at the low, right corner of the ellipse in Fig. 4. The result is an 11-step difference in installed sources, and that could be unsightly.As a solution, Steen proposed a color-maintenance curve that is modeled after the commonly used lumen-maintenance curve and specs such as hours to L70. He proposed holding LED color maintenance to the 1-step chromaticity and 2-step CCT limits that he discussed earlier.