Leveraging key elements of its SC5 Technology Platform, LED chip, lamp and lighting fixture maker Cree Inc of Durham, NC, USA has upgraded its XLamp XT-E LED family by adding a new High Efficacy (HE) option that delivers a 25% increase in luminous efficacy compared to the previous XT-E LED and provides a guaranteed minimum efficacy of 164 LPW at 85°C and 350mA.
These improvements make 130 LPW (lumens per watt) or higher at the system level achievable under real operating conditions and enable existing customers to quickly upgrade system performance for applications such as outdoor and industrial lighting while still achieving the lowest total cost, the firm says.
"We are committed to building the most energy-efficient industrial lighting systems, and the newly improved High Efficacy XT-E LED enables us to do that without any additional investment or re-qualification," comments Colin Piepgras, VP of engineering at LED lighting system maker Digital Lumens. "With the new XT-E LED, we are able to leverage existing optical, mechanical and electrical design elements to quickly improve our portfolio of intelligent lighting solutions."
Cree says that the enhanced XT-E LED improves the brightness, voltage characteristics and optical performance in the same proven 3.45mm x 3.45mm XT package. Demonstrating the long-term reliability of Cree's high-power ceramic LEDs, the XT-E LEDs now have more than 10,000 hours of LM-80 data available, delivering reported L90 lifetimes of greater than 60,000 hours (at 105°C, 1A). This reliability is suitable for applications such as outdoor and high-bay lighting, where long lifetimes at high ambient temperatures are important, says the firm. For example, XT-E's improved efficacy and reliability make it suited to the recently updated DesignLights Consortium (DLC) 4.0 requirements (which focus on higher efficacy for outdoor and high-bay luminaires).
"Cree's improved XT-E LED provides an immediate solution that eliminates the time and cost of re-design around other unproven alternatives," says Dave Emerson, VP & general manager for Cree LEDs.
Product samples are available at the end of the June, and production quantities are available with standard lead times.
