In the 1970s, the advent of dichroic halogen lamps allowed high-quality accent lighting in retail, hospitality, museums and other applications. From the 1990s until now, compact metal halide lamps have also been used in these applications offering more “punch” (for example, highlighting of merchandise even against the higher background illumination levels of department stores) alongside improvements in longevity and energy consumption.
At the beginning of this decade, highbrightness LEDs showed the promise that more improvements still could be made in terms of longevity. However, until now, light output and efficacy, luminaire size and light quality compromises have been barriers to adoption.
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This article was published in the Jan/Feb 2010 issue of LEDs Magazine. To read the full version of this article, please visit our magazine page, where you can download FREE electronic PDF versions of all issues of LEDs Magazine. You can also request a print copy of LEDs Magazine (available by paid subscription) and sign up for our free weekly email newsletter.
