Welcome to the LEDs Magazine News & Insights newsletter for July 14, 2021. We just finished work on our July/August issue last week. It’s not quite ready for your eyes yet, but will be in a few days. It marks the third issue this year in which we had a Special Report on germicidal ultraviolet (GUV) technology. I think the issue is really good and has a broad content mix. But frankly I was glad to be finished with the UV topic for a bit. And I suspect that you in the audience might feel the same way. The pandemic has strained us all mentally as much as physically.
And then in starting to prep for this newsletter deployment I find that our Mark Halper has uncovered a Signify story on upper-air UV-C disinfection deployments in two theater facilities. Actually, I would have been happy to include the news in my most recent UV-C feature that you will soon see, had I known about the installations. And Mark’s article is excellent. Unfortunately, it does coincide with blaring headlines about a surge with the new Delta variant.
I hope we aren’t headed back toward pandemic resurgence leading the news every day for an extended period. That hope is first for the betterment of societal physical health and second from that mental endurance angle. I can easily go back to wearing a mask if needed. I’m not really ready to return to a mostly isolated life. Here’s hoping for a temporary trend.
On the news front this week, I was happy to see some activity in the packaged LED space. Nichia has interestingly gone below 2000K CCT in an LED family intended at replacement of high-pressure sodium (HPS) sources. Now I personally don’t understand the attraction to HPS spectra and the yellow/orange glow. But what I really don’t like about it is that I can’t see well under it. Here, LED technology will come to the rescue. The LED version of the yellow/orange glow will come with 70-CRI light that makes facial recognition possible even while evoking nostalgia.
In that same story on packaged LEDs, we also covered two mid-power developments. Lumileds has created a new platform for 2835 (2.8×3.5-mm) LEDs that specifically target commercial applications. The Luxeon 2835 Commercial series seeks to maximize lm/W and lm/$ for troffers, flat-panel luminaires, and high-bay fixtures. Luminus, meanwhile, has increased the performance in its 3030 LED family and is even rating the product for horticultural lighting applications.
We’ve had some minor news break internal to our publication this week focused on our website. Ideally, if we have done our jobs correctly you will not really notice the difference. You should see snappier performance and improved display on mobile devices. I really only mention it because I want to say that if you witness an issue with the site, please let us know. We have had a few page rendering issues.
We have our latest article previewing Strategies in Light content post for this newsletter. Co-chair Clifton Stanley Lemon explores the regulatory space and what is new in 2021. A bevy of experts will provide far more details at Strategies in Light Aug. 24–25.
You will find many more stories of interest in the body of today’s newsletter. And always feel free to contact me to discuss content we post or to pitch a contributed article.
- Maury Wright, (858) 208-9442, [email protected]