22|APUNTES “LED IT BE”(II) In the last chapter, we looked at the impact on architects of the new technological systems and forms of lighting. They will have to get familiarized with them in order to prescribe them in their projects and to the final user, who at the end will be the one to decide if he wants to buy these products and deal with them on a daily basis. However, faced with this tendency, how have the traditional lighting manufacturers reacted? F or some years, LED has been the star product in the lighting field, and everybody talks about it at conventions, events or conferences. Its main characteristics are: low energy use, when compared to traditional systems; its flexibility and versatility which makes it adaptable to almost every surface; its ability to change colors and, most importantly, its close connection with electronics. The LED is electronics and that characteristic introduces new elements, new demands and new players. This has meant the incorporation to the market, of multitude of companies, which come from other areas such as electronics. It has had a large impact. Most of these companies have very little knowledge on lighting but they do know how to control and regulate the new light sources. Meanwhile, the more traditional manufacturers, need some time to adjust to this new technology. The experience acquired along many years in the design of luminaries, with conventional lamps, can hardly be transferred to LED luminaries. Evidently, the adaptation process is slow for some and it’s not exempted of certain difficulties. The problem is not a lack of confidence in LED technology, they have spent decades investigating and developing patents, they just need time to sell their stock and capitalize on previous investments made on other technologies such as fluorescents or halogens. The European Commission has stepped in, delaying the progressive withdrawal of halogen lamps, in order to help more traditional companies. 3 different paths towards adjusting to LED The first path consists on developing products specifically designed for a source of LED light. The thermal management, optical sizing and the design of the luminary would be especially adjusted to LED. This could result in completely new forms that would boost the sales of the product. As could be expected, the development would generate high costs that would have to be added to the already high cost of LED components. The second path involves furnishing existing luminaries, conceived for conventional light sources, with LED. Due to the savings in development of new components, this path implies less risk for the manufacturers, but the luminary would lack a novel appearance and this could be a disadvantage. Nevertheless, most of the LED products in the market today belong in this category. This solution is not applicable to every luminary, especially the more traditional ones, be them interior luminaries or for public lighting. LED requires enough space to introduce the new elements, such as drivers, and good heat dissipation through the cover of the luminary which is not possible with all materials. The third path starts from a completely different concept: a simple replacement of an existing light source for a LED light source. It’s not about primary equipment, only the replacement of the existing light source when it wears out. The numerous providers of these LED-substitutes, focus on linear