Newswatch: The value of LED lights that last 40 years
Dyson likes to turn challenges on their head and it will be interesting to see how successful he is at taking on the LED lighting industry.
This week Sir James seems to be pursuing a familiar Dyson strategy by revealing that he will be taking his son’s innovative LED solutions company under the wing of the Dyson global brand.
Jake Dyson, Sir James’ son, who also seems to have the pioneering gene in his DNA, has for the past decade been grappling with the design challenge of how to harness the power of cooling pipes to develop the CSYS LED task lamp which claims to provide about 40 years of continuous illumination using a single LED bulb.
The acquisition of Jake Dyson Products will help the Dyson Lighting’s division develop its four-year plan to expand the company’s product line into four new categories which could embrace as many a 100 new products. In 2014 Dyson pledged about £1 billion would be pumped into future product research and development across the group’s brand portfolio and included lighting.
One of the new products designed by Jake Dyson that looks set to hit the market next year will be an LED which claims to last for 40 years and will be marketed under the name Ariel. The sleek, suspended light is likley to cost about £1,400 which is not a price tag traditionally associated with an LED product.
Revealing details of the new product Dyson told UK’s national newspaper, The Guardian that LED manufacturers are building LED lights to have six or seven years life to ensure their was a "healthy replacement" market. Dyson pointed out that LED lights technically should be able to last much longer and although admitting that some LEDs degrade in brightness quite quickly (30% in six months) the Ariel product is aiming to maintain its brightness for 180,000 hours or the equivalent of 40 years at 12 hours a day.
According to Dyson the knack to maintaining the light’s lifespan is to remove heat. By making sure the LED operates at 55 deg Centigrade the longevity of the product is sustained. A ‘radiator’ design is used to help draw heat away from the product. Heat comes off the pipes and is transferred via fins which helps to disperse the heat through the air which enables a continual cycle of heat removal. Ariel will also be Zigbee-enabled to provide precise control.
Ariel is initially expected to be available in two models – as a downlight which can provide targeted lighting for kitchen islands or offices and an uplight to address general room illumination applications. The light features a lens to enhance illumination performance.
The big question is who will be willing to pay £1,400 for a light? Dyson is aiming the product at spaces where the interior does not want to be changed for at least 25 years such as airports and auditoriums and similar high profile buildings.
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