Chinese street light ‘breaks 250 lm/W barrier’

Chinese LED lighting brand EXC Technology says its latest street has broken the 250 lm/W efficiency barrier for the first time.

The Shenzhen-based company describes its MYS4C/MLS6C module, which it says delivers a luminous efficiency of 250.5 lm//W, as ‘ground breaking’.

EXC attributes the ‘remarkable’ performance to advanced optical design, high-quality LED chips, and precision manufacturing processes, all of which contribute to maximum light output with minimal energy consumption.

However, the company is sketchy on the setting in which the metric was measured and whether it was luminaire lumens, which includes lenses, optics and drivers.

It’s been known that 250 ‘cold’ lumens per Watt can be achieved in ideal laboratory conditions. This efficacy tends to drop significantly as a LED module warms up inside a luminaire.

The theoretical maximum for white light production is between 250 and 350 lm/W, depending on the mix of wavelengths.

The LED module, understood to have a colour temperature of 5700K, sits on a aluminium alloy which has been high-pressure die-cast. It has an IP rating of 66 and a nominal life of 50,000 hours.

The company’s previously highest efficacy rating for this series is 175 lm/W for a 60W module.

Last month, another Chinese brand made a similarly bold claim about rated life. Sansi said it had developed a new generation of sustainable streetlights with a rated life of 100,000 hours and an efficacy of over 200 lumens per Watt.

The company, a pioneer of ceramic-on-chip LED modules, says its units can maintain 85 per cent luminous flux over its life.

It says that the lifetime claims have been certified by China’s National Lighting Quality Inspection Center.

Sansi says it has now perfected ceramic-on-chip technology, which reduces thermal patches by eliminating traditional printed-circuit-board layers and delivers a 30 per cent faster heat dissipation.

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