Challenge

A variety of commercial lighting fixtures are making the switch from compact fluorescent technology (CFL) to LED. The reasoning behind this change is multifaceted: high voltage LED technology allows a lower overall costdown of the driver itself with the added benefit of more compact designs (due to the small size of the driver and the high lumens offered by the HV LEDs, which allows you to reduce LED count in the fixture). LED solutions have become cost-competitive with CFL; and the long lifetime offered by LED fixtures is highly attractive to consumers.

 

A project in Brazil, headed by LED module supplier Audax Electronics, sought to create reasonably priced LED-based wall sconces, wall packs, bollards and pendants based on high voltage LED technology. The line voltage in Brazil is in majority 127V, so the selection of three 48V LEDs ideally suited the designers of these commercial fixtures, which are being sold by retailers at reasonable prices throughout the country.

 

Solution

Audax Electronics sought to deliver a variety of LED modules that could be used in multiple commercial lighting fixtures. Specifically, the requirements for these fixtures included a compact design and also low cost, in order to compete with the CFL predecessor. The advantage to modules based on high voltage LEDs is that they utilize drivers containing on average less than 20 components, relative to standard LED drivers that contain 50 components. As a result, fixture designers can provide a 50% lower cost solution with high voltage LEDs, while minimizing the amount of inventory they need to carry to design the driver.

 

Audax chose the Philips Lumileds LUXEON 3535 HV LED for several reasons: high reliability relative to comparable products in the market competitive pricing and the ability to deliver the required voltages and lumen output for over 30 kinds of fixtures.

 

Philips Lumileds LUXEON 3535 HV LED are ideal for low-cost residential LED fixtures.

 

Benefits

The residential consumer lighting market is extremely cost sensitive. Since the driver represents a considerable portion of LED fixture cost, the use of high voltage LEDs represents a compelling solution—the compatible high voltage drivers themselves are less expensive than standard drivers. Furthermore, the small size of the high voltage drivers simplifies the overall design process and enables more compact fixtures. Philips Lumileds offers the LUXEON 3535 HV LEDs in 24V and 48V formats and have a comprehensive ecosystem of drivers available (which can be found at www.philipslumileds.com/DesignTools). The result is compact and cost efficient fixture design and faster time to market of LED fixtures.

Audax Electronics LED module, using LUXEON 3535 HV emitters

 

Results

For the residential market in Brazil, Audax’s residential lighting products signify a successful departure from traditional CFL-based lighting. Using Philips Lumileds

LUXEON 3535 HV LEDs in conjunction with high voltage drivers designed in-house, Audax was able to produce standard boards which are used in over 30 different kinds of fixtures such as wall packs, wall sconces, bollards and pendants. “Audax Electronics chose the LUXEON 3535 HV LED to use in its modules based on its high reliability, ability to achieve a low cost point for consumer lighting, and also the high lumens and overall performance offered by the 48V product,” said Rafael Grassi, Director of Audax Electronics. The high voltage driver design and high lumens produced by the LUXEON 3535 HV 48V ultimately resulted in a design that was compact yet powerful, making these residential LED fixtures competitive with their CFL predecessors.