LED lighting for professional

2020-03-04

LED lighting for professionals

LED lighting is the best in all kinds of home and professional installations. Industrial high-bay lamps, floodlights or garden lamps are good examples of places, where we can take use of light. This article describes these applications in more detail, based on what the current market offers.

The following review is based on the offer of one of the Polish distributors. Micros entered the power LED market at the beginning of its development. Micros company provides LEDs of many brands, independently establishing contacts with producers and selecting products that are the best for the customers.

High bay lamps

Suspended high bay lamps are popular in professional use and are rarely installed in homes. They are ideal both for indoor and outdoor use as they can withstand difficult weather conditions.

They are most often used in all kinds of production halls, sports buildings, exhibition halls and high-bay warehouses. Other places where they are installed are for example gas stations and shopping centres. They are not only worth considering during the construction, but also during modernization. Due to the high efficiency, LED models are an energy-saving solution, they simply pay off.

Lamps offered by Micros are available in versions from 50 W to 500 W power. Particulary interesting are models with a flat design and they are available in power variants from 100 W to 200 W. They can be purchased in cold and neutral white light versions (warm version can be delivered on customer order). Flat version can also deliver up to 30,000 lumens. However, other high bay lamps available at Micros reach up to 45,000 lumens.

High bay lamps are powered by voltage in range from 200 V to 305 V. Because of that they are suitable for industrial plants with low power stability. They are based on SMD diodes in 3030 casings and ELG power supplies from the reputable Meanwell company.

They have explosion-proof certificates and a 5-year warranty. This is possible thanks to their long service life and high water resistance (IP65 class). High bay lamps do not emit UV or IR radiation, do not flicker, are eco friendly and turn on quickly.

Floodlights

Floodlights are a really large group of products. They are quite universal and they can be used in many situations. This lights are not only available in versions ready for integration with a 230 V electrical network, but they are also available to work with 12V installation and even portable models. The common feature between this type of lighting is wide light distribution (120 degrees).

For the 12 V models, the available power versions are 30 W, 50 W and 100 W (luminous flux of up to 8,000 lm). It is worth noting that these elements should not be connected to halogen power supplies. It is necessary to use specific power supplies, designed for LEDs.

Portable lamps are perfect for fieldwork and for short work around the buildings, where is no way to connect the power supply. These are temporary use structures with a degree of protection from IP44 to IP65, often fitted with a frame. They have built-in rechargeable batteries that enable operation for a several hours. Some are offered with photovoltaic panels. Naturally, due to the built-in cells, they are more massive than similar devices, powered directly from the mains. The offered power is from 10 W to 50 W (luminous flux from 700 lm to 2500 lm).

The largest group of floodlights are structures powered from the mains. It is also worth to distinguishing subgroups among these. Illuminators integrated with motion detectors made in PIR technology are very popular. They are commonly used to illuminate corridors or the vicinity of the front door. As standard, they have an IP65 degree of protection and are most often built with COB diodes (sometimes with SMD matrices). Floodlights with motion sensors, have a power of 20 W to 50 W- luminous flux from 1800 lm to 4000 lm.

RGB floodlights, built mainly of SMD2835 diode arrays are also very interesting. They come with a remote control and have a power from 20 W to 100 W, which gives a luminous flux of up to 8000 lm.

The other floodlights differ mainly in dimensions and power (from 10 W to 250 W) - luminous flux from 1000 lm to 30,000 lm. COB diodes are most often used in them, but not always as a single element (sometimes two or three separate ones are placed, which helps to better use the housing as a heat sink). Some customers prefer SMD diode arrays which characterise in a different light distribution angle. Depending on the model, the floodlights have different handles and mounting methods.

Grow Light

LED diodes function not only as replacements for other light sources. They can be also the basis for completely new types of applications, which were previously impossible to implement or had no economic justification. The best example is gardening, where LEDs replace the natural sunlight. Grow Light have a special parameters predisposing them for this task.

The beam of light emitted by the Grow Light provides the energy needed by plants at particular stages of growth. Thanks to special, artificial lighting, it is possible to grow plants without sun.

Basic advantages of Grow Light lighting:

the ability to choose a bulb/panel with the appropriate wavelength for a specific stage of plant growth
easy installation - bulbs and panels do not require the use of additional power supplies;
even very strong LED Grow Light lighting consumes a small amount of energy;
long service life;

A little bit of biology

The conversion of light energy into the energy of chemical bonds is possible thanks to the absorption of light quanta (photons) by chlorophyll. A chlorophyll molecule can absorb both a red light quantum (a wavelength ranging from 620 nm to 660 nm), changing from the ground state to the first excited state, and a blue light quantum (wavelength from 400 nm to 450 nm), going from ground state to second excited state. On the other hand, white light plays a supporting role, as it contains a light spectrum ranging from about 380 nm to 700 nm.

The range of light captured by chlorophyll, from 380 nm to 710 nm, is known as photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). This is a simplification because there are organisms for which the photosynthetically active radiation places in a different wavelength range. Most plants are susceptible to mentioned earlier light spectrum.

Various forms of light source

Grow Light lighting is often installed as ready to use panels. On the market you can also find replacements for bulbs for gardening applications, specialized lamps, LED strips and even individual Grow Light diodes.

The panels can be used for each of the stages of plant growth, it is only necessary to regulate the height of the light source in relation to the plant, which allows to obtain optimal results. The panels should be installed on the ropes (included in the kit), which should be connected to a solid support. In order to be able to adjust the height of the panel above the plants- a panel should be fixed with a bracket or a handle.

It is recommended to turn panel on for 12 to 16 hours a day for optimal use of its properties and the fastest plant growth.

Panels offered by Micros are intended for indoor cultivation. Nevertheless, they are waterproof, so they can be used in conditions of increased air humidity but only in ventilated rooms.

Although devices of this type are highly energy efficient, they generate quite a lot of heat, so it is not recommended to touch them while they are on. We recommend to place the panels at a suitable distance from heat sources due to the limited operating temperature range in which they are expected to operate.

Bridgelux and Epileds- high-power LEDs (5 W)- were used in the Grow Light panels offered by Micros. They are unique because of the high PAR coefficient. What is more,, the light distribution is supported by additional light focusing elements, providing a beam angle of 90 degrees. These LEDs emit the full spectrum of light: from infrared radiation to UV radiation, but there are two operating modes that can be switched over with a physical button. VEG mode is activated by a set of LEDs in which the dominant colour is blue, which supports the growth of plants. The BLOOM mode, on the other hand, activates a set of LEDs in which the dominant colour is red- it supports flowering period. Both options can be used at the same time which causes panel to work at its full power.

It is worth to add that (thanks to the appropriate design) damage to a single LED in the panels offered by Micros does not stop the entire floodlight (the other LEDs will continue to work properly). Long service life is achieved by aluminium heat sinks, which are accompanied by quiet- but very efficient- fans. This combination provides very good heat dissipation, and maintains the semiconductor structures in the temperature range which is good for product longevity. This means that the panels are not only energy-saving, but also environmentally friendly.

Summary

Micros provides a range of LED light sources for various applications. In addition to the described ones, it also offers bulb replacements, modules, strips, LED sheets, replacements for fluorescent lamps, fixtures, decorative ones, flashlights, lamps, touristic lighting, furniture lighting, lighting for artistic installations and other products based on LED technology. The company's employees are always happy to help you in choosing the best products for your needs.

Source: "Elektronika Praktyczna" 2020/02, p. 104-106.