Amerlux announced it has been granted U.S. patent protection for intellectual property incorporated into its Avista pedestrian light engine.

Avista's breakthrough IP66 sealed LED optical chamber prevents water intrusion, which is the No. 1 cause of light failure. In addition, Avista was designed for new construction applications and retrofits, which take less than 15 minutes per unit to install.

Amerlux has been granted U.S. patent protection for its intellectual property that is incorporated into its innovative Avista LED light engine, shown here as part of downtown Los Angeles' upgrade, which saves the city 75% annually in energy consumption. (Image: Amerlux)

"Amerlux continues to solve marketplace problems with innovation," said Amerlux CEO and President Chuck Campagna. "From supermarkets, high-end retail boutiques to exterior lighting, our design teams create new solutions that allow more brands to be seen in the best light."

Co-developers Itai Leshniak and Tori Poppenheimer designed the technology nearly five years ago. Avista was originally launched in 2014 with a generational update earlier this year.

"We achieved high efficacy by using a driver with advanced power factor correction technology that enables very high power conversion efficiency," said Leshniak, who worked on the electrical aspects of the technology. "In addition, we also achieved superior surge protection by incorporating the best available components. Avista can handle up to 10,000 amps of surge tested to ANSI C136.2-2015."

Poppenheimer, who worked on the optics and thermal components, said she was able to distribute the power to a larger area of the LED die, which increased energy efficiency and useful life by allowing all the components to operate at a cooler temperature.

"Instead of putting some butter on a little Ritz cracker, I spread it out over the whole piece of toast," she said. "We are killing our competitors on efficacy in terms of lumens per watt."

Amerlux's upgraded Avista light engine delivers 110 lumens per watt, compared to a marketplace standard of 90 lumens.

Mike Kempf, who is Amerlux's exterior product manager, said Avista uses the directional nature of LEDs to gain an advantage over competitors who simply used LED to create a different type of 360 degree light source. 

"Avista harnesses LED technology like no others," Kempf said. "It directs 96 percent of the light down to the ground, essentially eliminating the light pollution that was common in so many decorative post top fixtures, while dramatically saving energy."

The upgraded Avista meets new 4.0 standards of the DesignLights Consortium (DLC), which qualifies the product for rebates to shorten the ROI payback period. The light engine, which is now available for teardrop style luminaires, offers specification options, including wattages up to 68 and a lumen output up to 7500.

Avista's new LED engine is available in standard CCTs of 2700K, 3000K and 4000K, plus customized color temperatures. The award-winning product offers three horizontal lighting distributions—symmetric, asymmetric and low-glare street optic—so clients can direct the light where it is needed.