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jeff5may · 01-31-2018, 01:53 PM

Ok ladies and gentlemen, let me clear up some questions surrounding this new LED light fad.

I didn't know this thread existed until I got a message from somewhere else. I don't know if this thread or the other one on ecorenovator got started first, but they are both headed the same direction. Let me tell you this: there is nothing much different than the path LED lighting is on than the path that fluorescent lighting has already traveled.

Ok, so the thing about Cree is that they have expanded their offering by gobbling up their competition. The market has opened up for them in the downward spiral towards Walmart. They still make firefighter headlamp LED stars and off road vehicle light bars and stadium spotlight modules, but now they make a boatload of thirty eleven brands of COB lights. They pioneered the market and have the rights, so now that it has exploded they are getting their cut. Most of the big knock off brands have been assimilated at the source in China.

As you should know, there is no such thing as "pure white" light. White light is a mixture of a broad spectrum of many wavelengths of light. LED lights are made to produce a narrow output at high efficiency. The only way to produce "white" light from them is to either mix emitters or use scintillating phosphors.

The major innovation in LED lighting came in the mid 90's with the refinement of inexpensive blue emitters. It is the blue LED emitter, combined with a yellow phosphor, that makes it economical to produce a single source "white" emitter. The blend of phosphors used determines the "color temperature" of the observed light. So with all of the white emitters, we have a blue LED and a varying amount of different scintillating phosphors used to render a wide range of color temperatures.

As far as raw efficiency goes, we usually get what we paid for. Why would a manufacturing company stick research grade emitters in a lamp they can only sell for a dollar or two? It's just not economical to do so. Like I said, the market is wide open for them in the flea market direction. Ching chong works for Cree now...

01-31-2018, 01:53 PM	#26 (permalink)
jeff5may EcoModding Lurker Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: elizabethtown, KY USA Posts: 14 Thanks: 15 Thanked 9 Times in 8 Posts	Ok ladies and gentlemen, let me clear up some questions surrounding this new LED light fad. I didn't know this thread existed until I got a message from somewhere else. I don't know if this thread or the other one on ecorenovator got started first, but they are both headed the same direction. Let me tell you this: there is nothing much different than the path LED lighting is on than the path that fluorescent lighting has already traveled. Ok, so the thing about Cree is that they have expanded their offering by gobbling up their competition. The market has opened up for them in the downward spiral towards Walmart. They still make firefighter headlamp LED stars and off road vehicle light bars and stadium spotlight modules, but now they make a boatload of thirty eleven brands of COB lights. They pioneered the market and have the rights, so now that it has exploded they are getting their cut. Most of the big knock off brands have been assimilated at the source in China. As you should know, there is no such thing as "pure white" light. White light is a mixture of a broad spectrum of many wavelengths of light. LED lights are made to produce a narrow output at high efficiency. The only way to produce "white" light from them is to either mix emitters or use scintillating phosphors. The major innovation in LED lighting came in the mid 90's with the refinement of inexpensive blue emitters. It is the blue LED emitter, combined with a yellow phosphor, that makes it economical to produce a single source "white" emitter. The blend of phosphors used determines the "color temperature" of the observed light. So with all of the white emitters, we have a blue LED and a varying amount of different scintillating phosphors used to render a wide range of color temperatures. As far as raw efficiency goes, we usually get what we paid for. Why would a manufacturing company stick research grade emitters in a lamp they can only sell for a dollar or two? It's just not economical to do so. Like I said, the market is wide open for them in the flea market direction. Ching chong works for Cree now... Last edited by jeff5may; 01-31-2018 at 02:10 PM..