By Deb Lovig

We can make LEDs in almost any color. They certainly can be mixed to produce any color of light, and for the longest time most people associated LED lighting with colored or color-changing light.

One of the first signs that an LED light fixture is not operating well is a change in the color of the LEDs and therefore the color of the light. We long ago created handmade LED lights for a tradeshow, and they worked quite nicely for the show. Since they worked so well, when we got them back to the ranch, we reasoned we could make them even brighter by running more current into them. If you don’t already know it, LED geeks always go for “brighter.” We somehow decided that we should run them harder – jack up the forward current, get more light and be so happy.

Within a few days the LEDs in these lights turned a rather unattractive purple and got really dim. We were burning them up, and they were having none of it. Note to you from the LED geeks: We can start with the best LEDs in the world, but if we mess up the fixture system, we’ll end up with bad LED lighting.

Years later we are out stumping for good system design, which means good thermal management, low forward voltage, creative use of secondary optics and careful LED placement for maximum output.  Good design decisions will help make sure LED lighting fixtures put out the best and most light, last a really long time and save lots of energy.

By Deb Lovig

At the point you start telling folks you are considering LED lighting, the naysayers will come out of the woodwork. This group generally stands to lose out if you move to LED lighting. Maybe they make or sell traditional lights; maybe they make a profit changing bulbs and ballasts; or maybe they don’t want to learn about a new technology no matter how beneficial it might be.

In one case, a state construction office unwittingly became a naysayer when an outdated total cost-analysis formula was invoked without regard to lighting quality and suitability for the application.

Get ready because they are going to work night and day to prove to you the folly of your desire for LED lighting. That’s when your homework is especially helpful:

• Did you run a pilot by installing a small number of LED lights to test performance and esthetics?
• Did you ask for feedback from a cross-section of citizens and officials?
• Did you talk to your peers in other cities who have been working with LED lighting longer than your city?
• Did you measure light output and document energy consumption?
• Compared to your current energy consumption, could you save a significant amount of energy, say 50 percent or more, if you switch to LEDs and save money on maintenance over the lifetime of the fixture?

It’s pretty hard to argue against moving to LED lighting if you’ve got a bullet-proof business case based on a real pilot installation.

By Deb Lovig

We are launching a series of LED City® Council Meetings in 2010 to help spread the word about the benefits of LED lighting for cities, counties, states and universities. Cities participating in the program will host the one-day information forums geared toward helping officials responsible for lighting and energy efficiency programs get the latest facts on the benefits of switching to LED lighting.

Our friends from several of the LED Cities will be on hand to present their experience, expertise and excitement with regard to the LED lighting they have completed as well as future deployments. Each meeting will be a little different in make-up, but in general we’ll also have experts from the LED, utilities and government worlds on the agenda to answer your questions about their participation in the LED lighting revolution.

And, because you keep asking for a venue to talk with a bunch of fixture makers all at once, we invited LED fixture makers to set up demo tables at each LED City Council Meeting. It won’t be an exhaustive list of vendors, but a good sampling!

If you’re interested, click on the Attend an LED City Council Meeting link at the top of this page and sign up. We’d love to see you at a meeting. Here’s some more information:

By Deb Lovig

You know how the banana bread your mom made was so much better than any store-bought loaf? Your mom let a bunch of bananas ripen to gushy black, mixed in real butter and eggs and took extra care to cull out stray pieces of walnut hull before folding in the nuts. The result was heaven. The store-bought loaf was bland and sticky-sweet by comparison. Not the same, at all.

LED light fixtures can be sort of the same, only the painstaking craftsmanship applied to a hand-built unit can work against you if what you really need is thousands of beacons keeping your city safe and sound. We call them heroes – LEDs or LED fixtures made with the very best parts, one or two at a time. They perform awfully well, even too well. They might be 30-40 percent brighter than their cousins coming off the high-capacity factory production lines. Seriously. We’ve all seen that amazing fixture or two and, boy, were we impressed. Once. But then the installation of hundreds or thousands starts up and something’s not right.

If you are evaluating a fixture with the intent to deploy a lot of them, make sure you get a sample that is indicative of the next hundred you will purchase. Go ahead and take the hand-made, hand-delivered beauty, but buy one on the open market and compare. Make sure they both meet your requirements and standards. Here’s a link to a list of 12 questions you can ask to start building your list of requirements for LED fixtures you want to evaluate. That’s a better way to know what you’ll really be getting when you deploy hundreds or thousands.

By Deb Lovig

Light Matters™ is a new blog hosted by the LED City® program. LED City, LED, lighting and municipal leaders, followers and pundits will post topics each week for discussion relating to LED lighting and its place in the municipality.  We welcome you to share your experience, expertise and excitement about LED lighting.