LED external lighting
LED external lighting
(OP)
A question for the North American guys who do lighting design -
We're using LED luminaires to replace our external lighting across a large industrial complex as the aging HPS fittings reach the end of their useful life. I've received a quotation from one of our suppliers offering a near-equivalent alternative luminaire from Cree as well as the type we are currently using. I know Cree have a good reputation as a semiconductor manufacturer, but I don't know them as an end product manufacturer and have no experience of their luminaires.
I'm interested because we have a good luminaire from a well-known British manufacturer which we are adopting as a site standard, but the Cree offering has come in significantly lower in cost. Optically the Cree alternative isn't quite as good as the British design - slightly lower output, and poorer light distribution - but given the cost differential it is good enough for our application. I generally believe that you get what you pay for, but in the LED lighting market that rule doesn't hold true: there's a lot of expensive crap out there and also some well-priced quality products if you can find them. I'm just not sure where Cree are on that cost / performance / reliability range because they're almost unheard of in the UK lighting market.
Any experiences or comments would be welcome.
We're using LED luminaires to replace our external lighting across a large industrial complex as the aging HPS fittings reach the end of their useful life. I've received a quotation from one of our suppliers offering a near-equivalent alternative luminaire from Cree as well as the type we are currently using. I know Cree have a good reputation as a semiconductor manufacturer, but I don't know them as an end product manufacturer and have no experience of their luminaires.
I'm interested because we have a good luminaire from a well-known British manufacturer which we are adopting as a site standard, but the Cree offering has come in significantly lower in cost. Optically the Cree alternative isn't quite as good as the British design - slightly lower output, and poorer light distribution - but given the cost differential it is good enough for our application. I generally believe that you get what you pay for, but in the LED lighting market that rule doesn't hold true: there's a lot of expensive crap out there and also some well-priced quality products if you can find them. I'm just not sure where Cree are on that cost / performance / reliability range because they're almost unheard of in the UK lighting market.
Any experiences or comments would be welcome.





RE: LED external lighting
I haven't used their stuff. So I can't say that I have any practical experience. But they don't seem to have disappointed anyone, so far.
Gunnar Englund
www.gke.org
--------------------------------------
Half full - Half empty? I don't mind. It's what in it that counts.
RE: LED external lighting
Dan - Owner
http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com
RE: LED external lighting
The panels got nasty looking over the decades as cockroaches died on the top surface and left stains behind, and eventually all of the ballasts died.
We replaced them with four LED 2'x 2' drop-in troffers, each of which has two Cree linear LED arrays above a removable lenticular panel.
We probably could have used just two troffers to light the whole room. Flick on the switch, and SHAZAM! WHERE ARE MY SUNGLASSES!? Honest, you could do surgery in there, it's so bright, and there are no 'not bright' spots anywhere.
The attached photo doesn't do them justice.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: LED external lighting
I was at the site recently and according to the site electricians, still no issues with them. There were some other LED fixtures installed at the same time by another contractor, these were smaller surface fixtures at each doorway, that had poor uneven lite and nearly a 100% failure rate since install.
I was on site to do a power survey, as the supplier of the "cheap" lites (I don't know whose brand) insisted the problems were due to "power problems". The power was fine, and there did not appear to be any issues with other electrical equipment installed at the same time as the LED lighting retrofit was done.
Hope that helps, MikeL
RE: LED external lighting
http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/2015/Cree-Recalls-L...
Cree LED recall...
"You measure the size of the accomplishment by the obstacles you had to overcome to reach your goals" -- Booker T. Washington
RE: LED external lighting
jraef,
Link is down but will have a look.
I wonder - was it a voluntary recall? Oh, the suspense!
RE: LED external lighting
Curious - how tough are the US authorities on forcing companies to announce recalls? This one sounds like it was voluntary.
RE: LED external lighting
MikeHalloran:
How much was the cost of the 4x individual replacements?
RE: LED external lighting
I suspect HD dropped them because there was some confusion and disappointment. While they are nominally dimmable, a regular dimmer in the AC feed won't work; it just makes them flash. No, make that FLASH!.
Each troffer has a separate termination where you supply a variable 0..10 VDC brightness signal. The required DC supply, extra DC cabling, and dimming controls (including wireless remotes) are listed at unattractive prices in various manufacturers' catalogs, but do not seem to be available from retailers, or even distributors, unless you are putting in a control system for a large building.
I sort of gave up on dimming, which was SWMBO's first request, because the switchbox is literally cast in concrete and there's no room for extra stuff. So she will live with manual ON/off, and wear her sunglasses in the kitchen.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA