On March 19, 2008, the U. S. Department of Energy, along with the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), hosted an invited group of lighting designers for a Roundtable meeting in Chicago. The focus of the one-day gathering was to examine solid-state lighting (SSL) market and technology issues and to encourage a discussion of the designers’ experiences, ideas, and recommendations regarding SSL and the SSL industry.

Sixteen lighting designers attended the one-day meeting, along with representatives from DOE. DOE’s James Brodrick welcomed the Roundtable participants, emphasizing that the lighting design community is a critical part of the complex process of getting SSL into the marketplace.

• Small format allows luminaire design and architectural design flexibility
• Low expected connected load
• Efficiency above similar sources
• Color changing ability – LED systems can be tuned for lighting mood effects
• Low heat (front) – Little heat is radiated towards occupants and objects providing more comfort
• No UV – ideal source for fragile artifacts
• Long lamp life allowing reduced maintenance
• Vibration resistance due to no filament and compact format
• Cold temperature operation without the issues with FL technology
• Direct low-voltage input good for some renewable systems and design flexibility
• Can easily daisy-chain fixtures with low voltage connectors

What’s Not Going Right: Issues and Concerns

Overall

• Lack of definition of SSL as tool – is it a lamp or a system?

Technology

• Rapid pace of technology changes?
• Immediate performance vs. down the road
• Information flow

Manufacturing/Products

• Cycle – 2 years
  • 1) Design 2) Spec 3) Install
  • Product might not be around in 2 years
• Truth in advertising is not there: “lasts forever”
• More standardized cut sheets (templates)
  • Among LEDs
  • Among Hg products
• Model specifications
  • Like nutritional guide – standardized form
• Published data must follow some government standard
• Maintenance contract issues
• Potential availability of matching replacement parts
• “Box on a shelf” vs. separate parts
• Lack of modularity
• Want to be able to compare things in my tool box
• Easier if fitting into current model
• Universal LED socket design could accommodate issues
• Lack of info on product details

Cost issues

• Volume of sales not yet high enough to bring down costs
• Hard to track true price of SSL
• Perception of low cost may not reflect complete luminaire costs

Distribution system – potential for new way to sell and market

• Start with government contracts?
• Put new products out as direct sales?
• Recommend to owners to buy direct
• Government role to support direct sales

Government

• Seed money for industry collaborative effort for standards

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Samantha LaFleur discusses the Design Guide for Solid-State Lighting with Roundtable participants.

Breakout sessions focused on identifying key actions and next steps for government and industry.

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