new group in linkedin…LED disasters

Hello everyone !

today I started a new group in linkedin, called LED disasters….

https://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=8174677&trk=groups_item_detail-h-logo&goback=%2Egmr_8174677%2Egmp_8174677%2Egmr_8174677

I decided to do this because I’m tired of seeing people with no idea about  LED technology that try to sell absolutely disaster products to the mass and that’s not possible, because at the end they are confusing and making people lose their faith in this very good technology if well applied of course,

Today I start with a debate about the problems with the spotlights, one of the biggest market and one of the most complicated product to design and build to replace the old and beautiful halogen lamps of 50W

I have tried, tested and analized several designs and products from a lot of manufacturers, mostly coming from china of course, and the lifetime of this products is really low in comparison with what they claim or can demonstrate.

Ok let’s start….

Here you can see how the red wire is cut when going to LED PCB, this creates that the voltage is in the heatsink with a serious danger for people who touch the lamp when running…

This two photos are from a Taiwanese manufacturer, DOMAG LED

http://www.domagled.com/

the LEDs used are good as they use CREE, but the driver and heatsink was too small for ths 12W spotlight lamp…..6 months later nearly all dead…. they never send me new ones, like the majority of asian manufacturers….a lot of warranty but when there is a problem they disapear !

Here you can see a problem with the cental LED, it has no space to remove the heat and it always break the same in the same place…

This lamps are from one of the biggest manufacturers in China SENGLED

http://www.sengled.com/english/

This lamps are a disaster in terms of electronic drivers and heat management, also there is no protection for spikes or surges produced by common lines in our houses, then at the minimum surge the lamp is out…The LEDs used are CREE, then good !

Here you can see a product with the LED not well soldered….this can make all the LED string default and all the lamp be out

And here another driver that is out…too much heat…

Well as you can see and as i have experienced during this latests years the main problem for LED bulbs and spots is the driver and the thermal management of it’s components, then please check very carefully before you start buying LED lamps or spotlights.

Ask for which type of capacitors they use, which kind of IC they use, and check the temperatures.

As a final point is always much better to use parts from known and renowned manufacturers instead of chinese suppliers that cannot supply reliable data like for the capacitors or other parts of the drivers.

and next days more photos and posts about LED Disasters !!

see you !!

Marc Juarez

LED specialist

Opening a LED bulb from IKEA

Hello,

 

today I’m opening a super Ikea LED lamp that I found in a recycling box….this means it’s not working !

 

 

I also tried to find it in the catalogue of IKEA but is already out,

 

some data:

initial cost = 10 euros

lumens= 400 lm

power= 8.1 W

lm/w = 49 lm/W 

 

It’s made of glass + plastic diffuser + Special LEDs from Tridonic + isolated driver + non aluminum heatsink

All made in India……should be cheaper than China !!

 

Ok let’s what’s interesting in this lamp,

 

First the LEDs as it is an array of 6 LEDs specially design for IKEA as I cannot see it in the Tridonic catalogue. In this array there are 4 white LEDs and 2 red LEDs…..ummmm and why 2 red LEDs ?

 

Because they use it to push up the CRI and the CRI 9  of the poor white leds they use next to.

This combination gives a very good improvement of CRI of the cool white leds used

I think this combination reduces the total cost of the LEDs for the same lumens

 

Then the driver and isolated driver that has failed due to the high temperature reached on it…

 

The controller is a Texas Instruments (good brand from USA) it is a TP92070 a flyback driver with very good efficiency and dimmable.

http://www.ti.com/product/tps92070

 

The problem here comes on the components used, the cheapest of course…

 

the electrolythic capacitor is from unknown brand, meaning that you cannot simulate or calculate with exactitud the lifetime of the capacitor as the manufacturer has never done the lifetime tests.

 

 

Then the final result is a bulb that has worked during not more than 2000hours and that is already burned !

 

This are not the LEDs we want, please stop selling this F$$&**G products !!

 

You can do better things IKEA !!

Always look for the best quality in your LED products, why to import from China when you can do it !!

Hello again !

 

here I am with a new article. In this article I want to share with you my experience with some LED products and how I managed it.

 

I started to import products from China in 2010 and one of the products I bought was the high bay, a product with 100Watts and about 7000lm in 5500k

I installed about 50 units in a warehouse,  because the datasheets from suppliers looked very good, they said they use Bridgelux LEDs and a very good driver from a Taiwanese company, 50.000hours liferated, 3 years warranty…..and all this stuff

 

The thing was that after 2 years the luminaires started to burn out !!

When dismounting the luminaires the LEDs were burned and in others the driver was burned !!

 

Here some dead LEDs and drivers….

 

Ok, don’t get nervous and try to find a solution for the customer. Because the customer was nervous !

 

The first I did was to contact the Chinese supplier Whitelionlighting                   http://www.whitelionlighting.com/

 

They said that it was not possible, that they never had problems,….obviously they didn’t want to replace the product or to find a solution, finally they send me some LED chips and some new drivers of the same poor quality as installed in products !

I cannot install the same thing if I know after 2 years it will brake again…

 

After this and other problems I had from importing products from China I started a fast learn in LEDs and I search the best products of the moment and the best manufacturers and I found Bridgelux and Meanwell as some of the best and I replaced all the chinese LEDs and drivers for this new ones having a very performance and long lifetime product.

Bridgelux original part

 

Original part from Meanwell

 

That is true that we are talking about 2010 when the LED technology started to go up fast and still there was not too much knowledge of the technology, the heat management and others.

 

Then what I’ve been doing was to build my own high bays with very good products and a good heatsink to dissipate the heat of the LED and these products are still running today with no brake one.

 

What I want to show is that sometimes we think in buying in China because is cheaper or faster, but at the end the good products cost the same here than in China because there is not so much handwork and also there is no stock, no transport, no Minimum Order Quantity,…

 

and the quality of the products is better from renown manufacturers than from chinese non know manufacturers thats for sure until today and it’s demonstrated with the new regulations like the LM-80 for LEDs

 

If you want to do some high bays or floodlights here I propose you some details:

 

– LED

Choose one from Citizen, Seoul Semiconductor, Bridgelux or Cree

don’t buy it in alibaba or aliexpress, they will send you a copy of them, buy it in arrow, farnell or a web like this

the new VERO series from Bridgelux are very good

 

 

– Driver

The most important part

you need the best of the best here if you want to have a long lifetime product

choose from Meanwell, TCI Italy, Tridonic, Inventronics,  Harvard,…

They will give you real warranty and you can be safe about quality

 

 

– Optics

Now you need to focalise you light, don’t buy this crappy reflector in aluminum all the suppliers offer, choose a silicone optics that will have more efficiency and less losses after longtime.

here I recommend you Ledil, carclo, lednlight, …

 

 

– And finally there is the heatsink and the mechanical parts

You have to choose a heatsink that keeps your LED at about 65ºC when you are at work temperature

for higher working temperatures like 40ºC-50ºC the heatsik will be larger than for working temperatures of 25ºC

Some of the brands that offer standard heatsinks are Mechatronix. They produce in Asia but have good prices and is a non technological product the heatsink, they also control quite good the quality.

 

And with all of this you can create your luminaires !! and with a better quality than Chinese products !!

 

See you soon !

 

Marc,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is the customer looking for ?? lm/w or lm/€

Hello !!

 

after a long time without writing in the blog (bureaucracy and people who wants to keep the secrets for saving the world for them….uuuuuuh this is not good folks !! ) here I am again to share with you all my latest experiences in LED lighting.

 

I want to open a forum to discuss what do you think the customers are looking for in LED lighting lamps and luminaires, do you think they are looking for lm/W based on a long therm analysis or they are looking for the lm/€ based on a short term ROI and that they know the price of the technology will fall during next years and then they will already received their  money back and will be ready to invest again ???

 

this is the question today:

 

If  you do some calculations you can see that for having an extra 10% in lm/W your cost will go up for a 14% and the difference is much higher when you want to achieve the best available lm/w.

 

and when you want to go for the highest lm/w of the luminaire or LED you will be paying and extra 45% for having and extra 30% performance in lm/W but remember lumens still remains the same. You are only getting benefit on the long therm

 

Let’s see and example:

We study 2 luminaires or lamps with 2 different lm/w and prices, let’s assume a difference on initial price of about 45% and the lm/W difference is 33%.

if we calculate the total cost of the luminaire at the end of life (let’s say 50.000 hours for a very good luminaire or lamp) the difference between having higher lm/w or lower lm/w is the same.

The only parameter that can make difference is the initial cost and difference in lm/W

but pay attention to energy costs that can be one of the key points to choose one or another system.  Experts says the energy will go up and up for the next years.

 

Ok, I have done some simulations:

 

What we can see is that is very important to choose the best lm/w efficiency today for a lamp or luminaire because the lifetime is too long and the possibilities that the energy price decline are too low.

And have a look that if the energy cost goes up the initial benefit of buying a low cost LED model will result in a very bad investment.

 

my personal opinion is that people who is looking for a long therm installations should look for the best lumens/watt available in the market and install this luminaires, because 50.000hours is about 13 years full time and the energy is every year expensive and more expensive and the problem is not the cost of purchase is the cost during use.

For people who is thinking in an installation for 2-5 years and then renew it for a new one, my opinion is that the best option is to buy the cheapest products that should be the worst in lm/w but the best in cost at the total life of 10.000hours for example.

 

Let’s discuss about it !

 

Thanks for sharing,

 

Marc,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

como sé cual es el fabricante de LEDs de mi COB ??

Hola compañeros, 

 

os dejo un estudio para que veais como detectar que tipo de LED tenemos en una pastilla COB que no és la del fabricante original,

 

deciros que lo mejor es comprar el chip COB del fabricante original, ya que el hecho por los chinos deja mucho que desear, base poco plana (falta de contacto) utilizan plastico (baja transmisión térmica), las uniones entre leds a veces no són de hilo de oro (fallos por alta densidad de corriente),…

 

bueno el tema es que con un microscopio de calidad debeis ver el dibujo tipo, según el fabricante.

 

si teneis otras referencias de otros fabricantes os lo agradeceré si me las hacéis llegar para tener un documento más completo,

 

saludos !!

 

Marc,

Lucibel new development ! New LED luminaire really working for Parkings – Own design and patent !

Lucibel Lucipark presents: the first waterproof LED luminaire without power supply with a facility «in a minute»

---

The only product on the market that uses the 5% rate to project light toward the ceiling

 

 

Lucibel, specialist in energy efficient lighting fixture launches new LED technology «SmartLighting». Lucipark lamp is a completely sealed and no external power supply that has been specially designed for professional environments such as parking areas, industrial sites, workshops, stores or any other outdoor area. It is also the only product on the market that uses the 5% rate to project light toward the ceiling producing an illusion of spaciousness and brightness optimization, which is especially interesting for underground parking. 

New lights for a double resistance 

In traditional watertight lamps on the market, it is recommended to install LED tubes as the limited space does not allow the heat dissipation of the LEDs. The R & D team invented Lucibel withLucipark, a revolutionary luminaire allows the use of LED technology in the most demanding environments. 

Lucipark is the first product of its kind that has been designed based on the technical requirements imposed by LED technology. All-in-one is a light Lucipark without removable light source that puts it together and equipped with aluminum heat sinks, to ensure strength, comfort and longevity. Thanks to this device, the heat is dissipated quickly and the flow and remain colometría time. 

Furthermore, this fixture has been established for LEDs carefully selected (from 84 to 140 LEDs) and offers a perfect homogeneity which avoids the flicker that cause the majority of fluorescent. 

Fully waterproof and rugged, has a protection rating (IP65) and an index of resistance to shocks (IK08) too high to fit perfectly in all professional environments such as warehouses, factories, parking lots … 

Design, ergonomics and ease of installation 

Is a light Lucipark innovative for its ease of installation (5 minutes actual installation), use and maintenance. Prewired electrically, any surface is fixed by a fixing hook system readily accessible without removing the luminaire and which allows the possibility of a continuous line. His life expectancy of 50,000 hours can significantly reduce costs and frequency of maintenance. By replacing its traditional waterproof luminaire with fluorescent tubes, Lucipark can save up to 50% energy and is available in two shades of blue. 

The advantages of the luminaire Lucipark 

• Installing «minute» in industrial and outdoor environments. 
• Reduced maintenance costs thanks to a lifetime of 50,000 hours. 
• Electricity consumption reduced by up to 50% depending on the traditional lighting. 
• Power On. 
• Unlimited number of cycles on and off. 
• Limiting the environmental impact less energy and less waste. 

Technical 

• Lucipark 60 cm – Power: 30 W 
• Lucipark 120 cm – Power: 30 and 50 W. 
• Available in two shades of light: cool white and neutral white. 
• Available in retail outlets specializing in lighting and / or electrical equipment and installers.

cambios en LEDsPRO

Buenas notícias para todos, 

LEDSPRO ha pasado a formar parte de la empresa fabricante de Luminarias LED Lucibel !!

LUCIBEL ESPAÑA cuenta con el equipo anterior de LEDsPRO y avanza en la expansión por la península de su directora Stephanie Ruelle. 

La empresa francesa Lucibel está especializada en I+D, diseño y fabricación de productos de iluminación LED, cuenta con un fuerte capital familiar para poder afrontar los mayores retos y de un capital humano que actualmente supera las 150 personas en el mundo.

La gran apuesta de esta compañía por nuestro país es la capacidad de ahorro que se puede generar con los leds.

para más información podéis consultar las siguientes páginas web

www.ledspro.es

www.lucibel.com

porqué LEDsPRO y no otras marcas de LEDs

Hola amigos,

hoy os quiero presentar un artículo para que veais un poco de nuestros interiores, porqué LEDsPRO es diferente del rey del led, bombillas de led, bazar del led y otros sucedanios de leds, ahora todo el mundo vende LEDs pero que experiencia tienen en este producto, mmmmm….dudosa.

 

os presento varios productos que hemos comprado en estos lugares y que hemos puesto a prueba a ver que os parece,

 

empezemos por una bombilla tipo CORN «mazorca» de LEDs de Bombillas de LED

ya veis la foto no ? tuvimos suerte que no se quemó nada, únicamente estuvo funcionando 24horas al dia durante 5 días… precio 25€ a la basura

nuestras CORN estan realizadas con aluminio para disipación de la calor y con un sistema de protección contra sobretensión.

 

os presentamos otra:

 

tubos de LEDs de los chinos (todo se realiza en china por el bajo coste de mano de obra, pero el sobrecoste de nuestras bombillas está en el control europeo de las fabricas que fabrican para LEDsPRO)

 

fijaros en el tipo de disipador que incorpora, tiene una forma de U abierta el cual no tiene contacto entre aluminio y chip por lo cual el calor generado no se disipa y los LEDs se funden al cabo de pocas horas.

otro de los graves problemas son los transformadores que utilizan algunos fabricantes chinos, normalmente de muy mala calidad que limitan la vida de la bombilla que n odel LED, los LEDs viven muchas horas si disipan bien el calor……

bueno os dejo que estamos de feria en Girona !!

espero vuestros comentarios,

 

Gracias,

 

Ahorro LED en grandes cadenas

Makro ha logrado un ahorro de un millón de euros en los últimos dos años con la estrategia diseñada para reducir el consumo de energía tanto en los establecimientos como en oficina central de la compañía, informó el grupo de venta al por mayor.

La previsión de la empresa para el ejercicio 2011 es conseguir al menos un ahorro en consumo similar al de los dos ejercicios anteriores, con 500.000 euros anuales.

En concreto, el consumo total de energía en la compañía descendió en 2009 un 5,49%, de 102 a 96,5 gigavatios hora (GWh), y un 4,6% en 2010, hasta 92,5 GWh. En el primer trimestre de 2011, la bajada de consumo energético fue del 4,2% respecto al mismo periodo del año anterior.

Makro ha puesto en marcha medidas de carácter técnico (instalación de tapas en las islas de congelados y de lámparas de bajo consumo LED, entre otras) y otras de carácter organizativo.

«No tenemos capacidad para actuar frente a la potencia contratada o a los impuestos que conlleva, pero sí podemos hacerlo frente al consumo, utilizando de forma más eficiente la energía que consumimos» afirma el responsable de Mantenimiento y Energía de Makro, Félix Jiménez..

Os presentamos el nuevo catálogo LEDsPRO con las últimas novedades

CATÁLOGO LEDSPRO

disponemos de productos en estoc ! así que podréis preparar vuestros proyectos en el mínimo tiempo !

como siempre vendemos LEDs de calidad con chips de marcas punteras, el precio, el mejor que podemos ofrecer.

pero no os dejeis engañar por el precio que muchos ofrecen de los leds,

LEDsPRO – Eficiencia es Ahorro

saludos,