Electrical Contracting News (ECN) September 2017 | Page 50

FEATURE
LED LIGHTING
A WARM WELCOME
LED lighting has certainly proved itself an effi cient light source. As Integral LED explains to Claire Fletcher,
the technology’s future will be driven by colour tuning and the desire for warm, ambient tones.
L
ED lighting is renowned
for its effi ciency;
now LED lighting
manufacturers are
promoting a new raft
of benefi ts, including
the quality of the light
itself. As a solid-state
technology, light emitting diodes can
produce a complete spectrum of light
with increased accuracy to better match
the needs and moods of demanding
customers. The team at Integral LED have
been working on this new wave of LEDs
and explained the importance of matching
colour and ambience, as demonstrated in
two breakthrough spotlight products.
Colour accuracy
For certain sectors, colour accuracy
is crucial. Retailers, for instance,
acknowledge a vital link between the
appearance of displayed merchandise
and sales revenue. Now a new wave of
affordable LED spotlights with a high
colour rendering index is set to transform
the retail scene. Integral LED is one
manufacturer that claims to have taken a
major step in the development of lamps
that illuminate colours accurately with
its Real Colour GU10 spotlight,
which has a CRI of 95.
Colour tuned LEDs were
once the preserve of specialist
luminaire manufacturers
with prohibitive prices. Earlier
generations struggled to match
the colour accuracy of legacy light
sources yet the breakthrough has been
engineered using a single chip-on-
board device that has enabled improved
colour performance.
Essentially, the LED array, once
exclusive to high-end luminaires,
has been incorporated within a
GU10 for the wider market.
The Integral LED Real Colour
spotlight is designed to deliver
a highly tuned correlated
colour temperature (CCT) and is
calibrated to less than three steps
on a MacAdam ellipse. Increased
scale of production has made this
once expensive feature affordable and
therefore accessible to all.
‘The bottom line is that the Real Colour
GU10 spotlights make merchandise appear
more attractive, which increases customer
interest and ultimately generates more
sales,’ explains Jim Dixon, of the Integral
LED marketing team.
50 | September 2017
‘The more
you dim,
the warmer
the lamp
becomes,
and the
result
bathes a
dining room
or lounge
in ambient
tones of
light.’
Ultra warm 1800K
Integral believes that its Real Colour
lights are destined to make a signifi cant
impact within interior design, where
the true colour representation
of wall coverings and soft
furnishing is highly desirable.
The price of the new lamps
will also appeal to lower
budget decorative projects,
that use installers directly.
Mood lighting
Another aspect of light quality that
has seen recent development is
mood lighting, where manufacturers
have developed an LED lamp
which dims to warm tones.
Scientists tell us that
human behaviour responds
to different coloured light,
from ‘wide awake’ blue
to ‘relaxing’ red. Certainly,
warm evening illumination
is welcome in most homes,
when lighting is dimmed after the
rigours of a long day.
Characteristically halogen and
tungsten fi laments provided a natural glow
when dimmed as the tones deepen into a
warmer white when the current is lowered.
As a non-thermal technology, LED lighting
responds differently with dimmer controls
and retains its colour gradient.
Warm 2700K
In a move to restore this aesthetic
quality, Integral LED has developed an LED
GU10 spotlight that replicates adjustable
warm tones when setting a cosy scene. The
new WarmTone spotlight cycles between
temperatures of 2,700K, which is deemed
warm, to 1,800K, which is ultra-warm.
‘The more you dim, the warmer the
lamp becomes and the result bathes
a dining room or lounge in ambient
tones of light,’ adds Samik Halai, senior
product manager at Integral LED. ‘We
also anticipate a strong demand from
the retail and hospitality sector, where
warm illumination is key to creating a
relaxing setting.’
Low CRI.
Medium CRI.
The Warm Tone GU10
spotlight replicates
adjustable warm
tones when setting a
cosy scene.
Real Colour lights
are expected to
make a signifi cant
impact within
interior design,
where true colour
representation is
highly desirable.
Integral high CRI.