COMMeMOratiVe ISSue - Illuminating Engineering Society

More documents

Recommendations

Info

E N E R GY A D V I S O R job as an industry in coordinating how all this money is spent in basic research areas. Manufacturing is an area where we have made a great deal of progress. I see evidence of new and different technologies and processes being applied that allow us to design features that would not have been possible a few years ago. All over the world, there is great impact in the way plastics are being molded, electronics are being applied, and the way castings are being developed. New technologies in the manufacturing of optical quality glass are truly amazing. In addition, lean manufacturing principles are making a real difference. Petras: At GE, we are not only investing in the optimization of the design and manufacturing of existing product families, we also are creating “imagination breakthroughs” throughout the company. In lighting, for example, ceramic metal halide design and manufacturing processes are providing high-quality, energy-efficient solutions for applications ranging from retail to outdoor lighting. At the same time, we are also investing heavily in discrete and organic LEDs. Powers: Over the last two decades, downward price pressures have significantly lowered the purchase price of lighting fixtures. This is specifically true with respect to the mainstream Feldman: The lighting industry has tended towards commoditization because of the focus on first cost and the lack of knowledge that exists around the variety of products available. Left to their own devices most people will tend towards lowest price if they have no long term ownership incentive. With that in mind, in order to move away from the commodity as the choice, we need to make sure that we educate all constituents to the overall value that the products bring. As for R&D, many manufacturers are spending a sizeable amount of money in developments of new technologies around light source, ballasts, optics and materials that will help the overall lighting industry. It is always a balance between spending on future opportunities and current competitiveness, but the best companies tend to manage both. ‘During the last decade we saw continued development of energyefficient products—and a continued lack of emphasis on adopting these products into our normal buying habits’-Feldman and “A” items. Although some of the price decreases have been as a result of product life cycle maturity and productivity improvement, a significant percentage of the reduction has been through lower margins as well. It is true that a very large percentage of investments in tooling and manufacturing facilities have been spent in cost reduction of mainstream products. But it is encouraging to note that over the last year or two, there have been new product introductions in the mainstream area that have focused on new products and innovations. Will LEDs replace some fluorescent, HID and incandescent sources Are these new “LED players” in the industry likely to change our traditional distribution system Powers: To what extent solid state lighting represents a disruptive change is subject to debate. To date, the advantages of LED lighting have been limited but clearly the best solution for a number of specific applications. For example, virtually all exit signs utilize LED sources. A large percentage of traffic lights have now been converted to LED sources. Virtually all cell phones, small handheld devices and other electronic equipments solely rely on LED. But when it comes to general illumination, the inherent advantages of LED have not represented a clear opportunity. For general illumination LED light sources are not as efficient or as comfortable, from a color rendering perspective, as other existing light sources. Solid state lighting efficiencies and other attributes will certainly improve and it may meet or exceed some of the best light source performances of today’s high efficiency products. But even then, the inherent limitations and application needs will most likely continue to rely on multiple light source solutions rather than just LED. January 2006 21
E N E R GY A D V I S O R Morgan: As their lumen output continues to increase and costs continue to come down, and as we develop better techniques for dealing with the thermal characteristics of LEDs, they will replace traditional lamp sources. As for the role of “new players,” only those who add value to channels of distribution will drive change and remain in the equation. Petras: We are already seeing significant numbers of LED substitutions for more conventional lighting systems in signage and transportation. There remain, however, challenges to the replacement of existing mainstream lighting systems. As efficiencies increase and lumens per dollar improve, we will see more applications. OLEDs have further to go down the research and development path— although you can’t predict invention. We don’t think the new “LED players” will necessarily change our traditional distribution system, but they certainly will raise the bar. Feldman: LED and OLED technologies may be the wave of the future and could move into general lighting applications as an efficient source. If the current trends continue then LEDs will very quickly meet the dollars per lumen threshold for general use. Today they play an important but limited role in the marketplace. This role will continue to get bigger as issues around efficacy, color consistency, thermal management and cost are resolved. The Next Generation Lighting Initiative in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 will provide needed funding for progress on these sources. As for the change in distribution, most of the major players in the LED industry are aligned with a current light source supplier. If this continues going forward, industry structure should stay intact. Do you expect more offshore outsourcing of lighting components, or have other market factors like shipping costs, manufacturing innovations, etc., precluded that expansion 22 www.iesna.org
Page 1 and 2: January 2006 L i g h t i n g D e s
Page 3 and 4: E D I T O R I A L While doing resea
Page 5 and 6: L E T T E R S A Second Look at the
Page 7 and 8: P R E S I D E N T ’ S P E R S P E
Page 9 and 10: U P D AT E S Color Kinetics Covers
Page 11 and 12: U P D AT E S tems, condition monito
Page 13: e n e r g y By Willard L. Warren a
Page 17 and 18: E N E R GY A D V I S O R that will
Page 19 and 20: Legacy Sponsors Cooper Lighting C o
Page 21 and 22: R E S E A R C H M AT T E R S loweri
Page 23 and 24: R E S E A R C H M AT T E R S change
Page 25 and 26: CA R E E R S & H I R I N G Portrait
Page 27 and 28: CA R E E R S & H I R I N G sources
Page 29 and 30: C E L E B R AT I N G T H E PA S T C
Page 31 and 32: C E L E B R AT I N G T H E PA S T w
Page 33 and 34: C E L E B R AT I N G T H E PA S T o
Page 35 and 36: I E S : A H I S T O RY I E S : A H
Page 37 and 38: I E S : A H I S T O RY I E S : A H
Page 43 and 44: I M A G I N I N G T H E F U T U R E
Page 49 and 50: N February 5-8: EPRI Lighting Resea
Page 51 and 52: SUSTAINING MEMBERS The following co
Page 53 and 54: Ohio Valley Section-Partnering with

COMMeMOratiVe ISSue - Illuminating Engineering Society

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?