Ultra-efficient LED luminaire saves 30% energy
By developing an ultra-efficient LED, users can reduce CO2 emissions and municipalities could save millions in electricity costs. Michael Heidinger from the Light Technology Institute (LTI) at KIT has devised a tricky circuit that prevents ageing and failure of individual light-emitting diodes. The background: It is difficult to connect a large number of LEDs in parallel because the failure of a single diode leads to a failure of the entire system or part of it – a phenomenon well known from decorative chains of lights. The alternative of connecting the LEDs in series also has disadvantages, as very high voltages are required with increasing number of diodes. To avoid exceeding the threshold of a life-threatening voltage of 120 volts, only a maximum of 40 LEDs could be installed in a series connection. With the new technology from Karlsruhe, it is possible to mount many light points – the light module at hand use 48 – inexpensively on a circuit board. In addition, the luminaires are safer to handle, as the switching concept allows working with voltages of 20 volts, where otherwise more than 120 volts are required. For the time being, the scientists are silent about the exact circuit arrangement.
In future, cities and municipalities should also benefit from the energy-saving properties of the innovative LED luminaire: The conversion of the old conventional power-guzzling street lighting to LED technology is already in full swing in many places. According to Karlsruhe’s public utility Stadtwerke, the city lighting of a medium-sized city with around 320,000 inhabitants, such as Karlsruhe, comprises over 55,000 lamps (around 35 % of which are LEDs), whose electricity consumption in 2018 was around 10,800 megawatt hours. Annual electricity and maintenance costs amount to around three million euros. The additional savings potential is considerable. With a complete conversion to the new LEDs, financial savings of up to 30 % over conventional LED arrays are possible once again, experts estimate.
In addition, the new lamps have lighting properties that are more pleasant for the human eye. “Many small LEDs are perceived as surface emitters from a distance. As a result, they dazzle less than high-performance LEDs, which are perceived as point light sources,” says Klaus Müller, Managing Director of Gratz Luminance GmbH, which manufactures the new outdoor luminaires. On top of that, they are cheaper to purchase: because low-power LEDs are cheaper than high-performance LEDs, the new system can be manufactured and offered at a lower price – even though more LEDs are needed. Finally the change to the new lamp technology is uncomplicated and thus inexpensive: the new luminaire head can be simply mounted on existing masts.
The luminaires are currently being tested in a field trial; series production is being prepared.
More information: https://www.kcist.kit.edu/
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