Soraa Inc of Fremont, CA, USA, which develops solid-state lighting technology built on ‘GaN on GaN’ (gallium nitride on gallium nitride) substrates, has announced new psychophysical research proving that whiteness and color rendering have a strong effect on the perception of energy-efficient LED lighting. The study was approved by an Institutional Review Board and led by Kevin Houser at Penn State University.
Compared with conventional blue-based LEDs, study participants overwhelmingly preferred the whiteness and color rendering of Soraa’s full-visible-spectrum lamps with Violet-Emission 3-Phosphor (VP3) technology, it is reported. Soraa says that, like conventional electric light sources such as incandescent and halogen lamps, its lamps emit full-visible-spectrum light that renders warm, saturated color s — including important colors like reds and bright greens.
Furthermore, the lamps excite optical brightening agents (OBAs) in white objects like clothing, paper and plastics, making them look intentionally whiter. However, in their race to create maximally efficient, cheap products, most LED makers skipped parts of the spectrum, says Soraa. This has resulted in blue-LED based lighting products that cannot truly render whiteness or colors.
Uniquely, it is claimed, Soraa’s full-visible-spectrum lamps with VP3 Natural White are engineered to emit all colors of the rainbow, including violet, which excites OBAs and perfectly renders whites. The research study at Penn State showed that the vast majority of participants preferred objects rendered under Soraa’s full-visible-spectrum light over standard LED light that lacked the short wavelength range of the spectrum.
Study participants also commented that colors were more saturated, vibrant and attractive under Soraa’s full-visible-spectrum LED lamps with VP3 Vivid Color — with a color rendering index (CRI) of 95 and R9 of 95 — versus blue-based LED lamps with a standard CRI of 85 and R9 of 0. The research showed that the firm’s VP3 technology rendered colors with high fidelity and no change in saturation; and the colors accurately matched the reference halogen lamp. This was true not only for colored objects, but also for participants’ skin complexions.
“There are those who’ve asked: does color and whiteness rendering really matter? Well, it does, and we now have the data to prove it,” says chief technology officer Mike Krames. “Because all of our lamps render the entire visible spectrum, white fabrics and paper goods pop, plastics are brilliant and people’s smiles are whiter, and colors are more natural and beautiful,” he adds. “That’s good news for consumers and retailers, who want and deserve the enormous economic and environmental benefits of LED lighting, but are unwilling to sacrifice the sales benefits of excellent light quality in return.”
