Modules - Beriled

Previous Page | Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out | Front Cover | Search Issue | SubscribeqMqM | Next PageqqM qMMQmagsTHE WORLD’S NEWSSTAND ®lighting | MODULES AND STANDARDSLED modules simplify luminaire designwhile Zhaga closes on initial specificationsLED-based modules for SSL can simplify product design and even make products fi eldupgradeable,reports MAURY WRIGHT. Zhaga standards will yield interoperable modular productsfrom multiple vendors.Modular LED light engines can allowluminaire makers to develop solidstate-lighting(SSL) products withoutfacing the technical details of electronicdriver circuits, LED selection and configuration,thermal management, and opticsdesign. Manufacturers should understandthe basics and importance of these product-designdisciplines, but a proven modulevendor can ensure the details get properattention. The modular approach can speedproduct development and enable upgradeableproducts. Today, the available modules areproprietary to each manufacturer, but standardssuch as those the Zhaga Consortiumhas under development will yield interoperablemodules from multiple vendors.Modular LED light engines arequickly gaining favor. A number ofmajor LED manufacturers and LEDlightingcompanies including Cree,Osram, Philips, and GE Lighting havemodules available for a variety of applicationsranging from indoor downlightsto outdoor street lights.Let’s start by defining some terminologyfor the scope of this article becausewords such as light engine and modulearen’t used consistently in the SSLindustry. Zhaga (see www.ledsmagazine.com/features/8/11/4 for background informationand an update on Zhaga activity)defines a light engine as the combination ofan LED module and its associated controlgear or driver.Zhaga sticks with the term light enginewhether or not the driver is integrated intoa modular package along with the LEDs.Zhaga is developing specifications forlight engines with integrated control gearand light engines with separate controlgear. In the latter case the driver is alsoessentially a packaged module or subsystem.For this article, we will use the terms LEDmodule and LED light engine interchangeablyand simply specify whether a driver isintegrated in the module. Indeed the modulemakers mentioned above use the termmodule whether or not a driver is included.We will include discussion of modules thatfasten into a luminaire using screws or otherfasteners, and modules that use some formof snap-in or twist-lock mounting mechanism.The latter are sometimes referred toas tool-less or tool-free designs, and ZhagaPhilips Fortimo DLM modules in Hoffmeister luminaireslight the parliament building in Dusseldorf.uses the term socketable if the module canbe installed without tools.The modular advantageModules can offer a number of advantagesover what some call integral luminaireswhere the fixture manufacturer assemblesthe requisite components including LEDsand the driver ICs that precisely match theapplication at hand into a finished product.As mentioned, buying an off-the-shelfmodule, and perhaps a driver, greatly simplifiesthe product-development processdelivering the aforementioned advantageLEDsmagazine.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 43Previous Page | Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out | Front Cover | Search Issue | SubscribeqMqM qMM MQmags| Next Page q qTHE WORLD’S NEWSSTAND ®