For the first time since the invention of the incandescent bulb, there is a fundamentally different and superior technology for generating light.

Industry Standards and Glossary

Like traditional lighting products, LED-based luminaires sold in the US are subject to industry standards governing safety and performance. To accommodate LEDs, some existing standards and test procedures are being modified and new standards have been developed.

LumaStream embraces the industry standards evolving on both federal and state levels.

Within this rapidly evolving industry, the "language" for certain concepts, components, systems, applications, etc. is not well established and consistent throughout the industry. This fact has created confusion between vendors, engineers, consumers, manufacturers, and others. LumaStream believes it is important to define the language we use within our company and throughout our website. As naming conventions become standardized we will update these definitions.

Binning and labeling
is the process of separating LEDs based on their various characteristics and assigning them with a specific bin code. LEDs with the same characteristics are placed on a reel. White LEDs are sorted by color and brightness. Color LEDs are sorted by dominant wavelength and brightness. LumaStream relies on Philips, an industry partner, for precise binning specs of the Philips Rebel chip.

CALiPER
is Department of Energy's (DOE) SSL Commercially Available LED Product Evaluation and Reporting (CALiPER) program. CALiPER independently tests and provides unbiased information on the performance of commercially available SSL products. Working in the public's interest, the DOE publishes test reports, technical information, and summaries of manufacturer's products and is intended solely for the benefit of the public, in order to help buyers, specifiers, testing laboratories, energy experts and others make informed decisions about SSL products and related technologies.

CALiPER Program
Department of Energy's (DOE) SSL Commercially Available LED Product Evaluation and Reporting (CALiPER) program independently tests and provides unbiased information on the performance of commercially available SSL products. Working in the public interest, the DOE publishes test reports, technical information, and summaries of manufacturer's products and is intended solely for the benefit of the public, in order to help buyers, specifiers, testing laboratories, energy experts and others make informed decisions about SSL products and related technologies. Manufacturers' products are selected randomly for CALiPER program testing.
CALiPER's main tests measure and assess (1) energy efficiency of SSL products, as specified in IES LM-79 under luminaire efficacy, via this formula: Total lumens emitted by the luminaire, divided by the total watts drawn by the luminaire's power supply; (2) thermal management and the effect of temperature on lumen depreciation.

Correlated Color Temperature (CCT)
is the measure used to describe the relative color appearance of a white light source. CCT indicates whether a light source appears more yellow/gold/orange or more blue, in terms of the range of available shades of "white." CCT is measured in degrees Kelvin (unit of absolute temperature). Cool White targets a typical CCT between 10,000K and 4500K; Neutral White, between 4,500K and 3,500K; Warm White, between 3,500K and 2,540K.

Color Rendering Index (CRI)
indicates how well a light source renders colors of people and objects, compared to a reference source of like color temperature.

Integration
is the "marrying" of lighting and lighting control components. Integration can set proper light levels and atmosphere for office video-conferencing, or create comfortable dynamic scenes within a residential setting.

Interface
is the human mechanism for interacting with the lighting system; typically consisting of a computer or a wall mounted control panel.

LED Light Engine
is a subsystem of an LED luminaire that includes one or more LED packages, an LED array, or an LED module; an LED driver, electrical and mechanical interfaces; and an integral heat sink to provide thermal dissipation. An LED light engine may be designed to accept additional components that provide additional aesthetic, optical, and environmental controls. An LED light engine is designed to connect to the branch circuit.

LM-79
IESNA approved method for the electrical and photometric measurements of SSL. LM-79 specifies procedures for measuring total luminous flux, electrical power, luminous efficacy, and chromaticity of SSL luminaires and replacement lamp products.

LM-80
IESNA approved method for measuring lumen maintenance of LED light sources. LM-80 specifies procedures for determining lumen maintenance of LEDs and LED modules (but not luminaires) related to effective useful life of the product.

Lumen depreciation
is the decrease in lumen output that occurs as a lamp is operated. For most light sources, the lamp fails before significant lumen depreciation occurs; for example, a typical incandescent bulb's lumen output will only decrease 10-15% over 1,000 hours of use, but the bulb will fail at this time.* Because LEDs will continue to operate at very low light levels, LED life is usually defined as lumen depreciation to a particular point, such as 70% of initial lumens. *Source: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ssl/lifetime.html

Luminous efficacy
is the most commonly used measure of the energy efficiency of a light source. It is stated in lumens per watt (lm/w), indicating the amount of light a light source produces for each watt of electricity consumed.

NEMA SSL-1 Power Supply
National Electrical Manufacturer's Association (NEMA) standard that specifies operational characteristics and electrical safety of SSL power supplies and drivers.

Retrofit
means to substitute new or modernized systems for older lighting equipment. LumaStream design-build systems can incorporate partial or complete retrofit and upgrade solutions.

Scalability
is a desirable property and benefit of a solid-state lighting system whereby capabilities can be put in place to successfully accommodate future lighting needs. LumaStream systems allow for expanding lighting needs and system control.

Scalable System
is a system designed to accommodate scalability, i.e. it can grow as the client's lighting or control needs grow and change. LumaStream specializes in identifying whether our client's systems need to be designed to accommodate scalability.

Solid-State Lighting (SSL)
refers to a type of lighting that uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as its source of illumination.

TM-21
Lumen Depreciation Lifetime Estimation Method for LED Light Sources. TM-21 will provide a method for determining an LED luminaire or integral replacement lamp's expected operating life, based on initial performance data collected per IES-LM-80.

UL1598/8750A
UL standard for Luminaires - specifies the minimum safety requirements for luminaires. The requirements in this document may be referenced in other documents such as UL8750 or separately used as part of the requirements for SSL products.

UL1310/8750
UL standard for Class 2 Power Units - specifies the minimum safety requirements for Class 2 power supplies. (as defined by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), 70-2005)

UL-8750
Underwriters Laboratory (UL) has developed this safety standard for "Light Emitting Diode (LED) Light Sources for Use in Lighting Products." Currently, UL has in place an "Outline of Investigation" that references all existing UL standards applicable to LED lighting products. The purpose of the outline is to provide a comprehensive approach and listing of applicable standards for UL treatment of lighting products based on LEDs. The outline will be used until the full LED specific document is completed.

White Light
comprises light from all the frequency bands in the visible spectral range. Hence, it is a combination of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.