LED Warranties... What you need to know!

Being relatively new technology, within the general lighting industry at least, LEDs seem to have a new qualifying parameter or feature monthly.  Developments in the quality and performance of lamps and luminaires have always garnished a bit of hype, but as this playing ground gets more and more level the sales focus has shifted to “intangibles” – and of late, warranty has been playing a bigger role that ever before.

 

With clients being better educated confusion is at an all-time high… paradox? Let me explain.  

 

Understanding and differentiating between LED offerings requires a comprehensive understanding of thermal management, design, CRI, CCT, flux vs post-optic intensity, optics, LCP, photometric patterns, blah, blah, blah, jargon, jargon, jargon. When faced with competing LED companies who can provide similar product specifications for any given application, the client, no matter how much homework they’ve done, often focus their decision making to what they can understand best, criteria common to comparing product in any industry – and warranty often looms at the vanguard.

Warranties in the lighting industry used to be quite simple. The warranty on your fixture (the frame holding the lamp) would be quite robust – 5-10 years for instance. On the ballast (transformer) it was often significantly less or unstated, and the lamp itself it was non-existent.

With the introduction of purpose built LED luminaires it became significantly harder to separate at least two of these components – the LED array (lamp) and frame/fixture had merged. Power supplies or LED drivers (formerly ballasts) were oft times inextricable from the luminaire as well. Combined with lifespans which were calculated rather than proven it was a difficult task to assign fair and reasonable warranties to LED products.

In the early days, most companies, including Empyrean, had a 1 year warranty, today, after 10 years of empirical data/observations, 3-5 years is standard.

Recently we’ve noticed an industry trend of offering 10 year warranties, and in some cases lifetime warranties on LED luminaires.Given that these extended warranties are not based on any leaps forward in the lifespan of components, or increased thermal management, it begs the questions: Where are they coming from, and why are they being offered? On face value it would appear to be a real “win” for consumers but if we scratch the surface we can see that over-inflated warranties are nothing more than a sales tool. 

Let’s consider the following, and while applicable to any industry, we’re approaching this from the perspective of an industrial client:

·        Warranties are not made equal. A warranty with restrictions on run-time, or limited to certain components, is obviously not as valuable as a comprehensive and unconditional warranty which covers ALL aspects of the luminaire, 24/ run time within the environment of the application period for the duration of the warranty.  Caveat Emptor – read the fine print!

·        Most warranties in the lighting industry are RTB (return to base). Should your luminaire fail, it is the client’s responsibility to bear the maintenance cost to remove and return the luminaire to the manufacturer who will then repair/replace the luminaire and send it back to the client for installation.

·        WHOA!!! Read the above again… it’s on the CLIENT to handle the maintenance (the single greatest lighting associated cost in most facilities). So let me ask you, if you have a lifetime warranty, but you’re replacing that luminaire 2-3 times more than a competing luminaire, are you actually saving any money despite the luminaire itself being “free” each time?  No.  Not at all, not even close.

We’ve seen this exact scenario recently at a mining site in Australia. The client was offered luminaires with a lifetime RTB warranty – they took half a dozen units to trial, half of which failed in the first year of operation.  It doesn’t require a PhD in economics to understand that this is not good value, nor is it a sustainable practice considering each luminaire change cost them in excess of $2K – 35M poles.

So the ideal solution is for companies to provide warranties which cover the maintenance costs of changing over faulty luminaires correct?  Perhaps in a perfect world, where companies like my own could guarantee all aspects of the installation itself – however, with 1000s of luminaries being installed worldwide this isn’t practical or even possible.

The best, easiest, and currently available solution is as follows:

1. Clients need to understand that warranty is NOT a guarantee of performance or longevity, rather it is a commercial exercise by the luminaire manufacturer. This often results in a cycle of depreciating product quality: I want to offer a 10 year warranty. Building luminaires that will last for 10 years is impractical in this market. What price per luminaire can the market bear to cover the replacement costs I know are coming? Let’s downgrade component quality to meet the required margins to ensure replacement costs can be covered. Increased sales based on the exaggerated warranty should stabilise returns. Over-simplified to be sure – but not inaccurate I assure you!
2. With all standard luminaire criteria being equal, clients should be basing their decisions on the following real criteria:

a.      Failure Rates – this is REAL performance data that every company should be able to provide both the failure rates of their luminaires – this includes drivers and LED array. For instance, the rate of failure for our drivers is 0.26% (or ~3 drivers out of every thousand), and the failure rate of our arrays (even a single pixel) is 0.08% (less than 1 out of a thousand) over our standard warranty period (5 years).

b.      Testimonials & Case Studies – all lighting manufacturers should be able to provide case studies of their luminaires performance in like conditions, and the contact details of those on-site directly responsible for their i and performance.

c.      Other “intangibles” – equally important is understanding how easy/difficult the lighting manufacturer is to work with. How much support do they offer. What are they’re values generally, and where are they going in the future. This information can be gleaned from the company, but in my opinion is far more powerful coming from other clients (see point b).

The point here is do not assume that a long warranty is synonymous with a quality product and in-line with the expectations that you should have of your LED solution. Rather, focus your research on the products’ performance in like conditions and applications and speak to other clients who have personal experience with this technology. This will surely abate future disappointment and headaches regardless of what your warranty predicts!

Why You Shouldn’t Buy a High Bay Which Looks Like a High Bay?!

NOTE: Quick answers below in RED
If you’re shaking your head at the moment, I don’t blame you.  The above statement is logic which escapes consumers and LED luminaires manufacturers alike… including Empyrean Lighting for a period of time!

An overriding philosophy in the development of new LED luminaires and lamps has been to design products that either 1) look exactly like it’s traditional counterpart (luminaires) or 2) works/fits in a traditional fitting for ease of retrofit (lamps). 

The merits and inherent problems of point #2 will be the topic of a future post, but here I would like to address point #1, and specifically in relation to high and low bay lighting.

Metal Halide High Bay (Traditional High Bay Light)

Let’s firstly consider a traditional high bay light used typically in industrial warehouses for close to the last century.  They are usually ~400W metal halide, mercury vapour or high pressure sodium lamps which fit into the large conical fittings where the lamp is recessed into the bell shroud which extends ~.5m below the ballast, starter, and other control gear.

These lamps are relatively inefficient, use large start-up currents, contains significant amounts of mercury, are difficult to dim or control, have multiple failure points, do not start-up immediately (re-strike time) and have maximum lifespans around 20,000 hours. These facts have made replacement of this technology a prime target for consumers and LED luminaire manufacturers alike.  

The problem is that both groups are trending toward designs which mimic the traditional design and appearance the high bay light.  Whether the lack of vision is due to trying to promote consumer confidence by minimizing change, or a lack of creativity by designers, one can’t be sure.  But what is apparent is that substituting these radically different light sources within the same design does play to the strengths of the LED, and worse will leave consumers disappointed.

Consider the following reasons to choose a purpose designed LED highbay (such as our Andromeda Series) over the alternative – layman’s terms in red:

1. Design – LED light sources are uni-directional by nature as opposed to metal halide or other filament style high intensity discharge (HID) luminaires which are omnidirectional.  To put a single source, restricted beam angle into a luminaire which further restricts the beam angle (bell reflector) is, frankly, counter intuitive and ultimately does not play to the strengths of the technology. Tight beam angles (LED) + a bell shroud = limited light spread & use.
2. Thermal Management - single source high bay luminaries count largely on conduction of heat from the diodes (which are very hot - given they are positioned together as a single source) through large heat sinks. This does not work in a typical warehouse environment, because to get the heat sink to work effectively there must be heat exchange between the surround air and the heat sink material. Often the ambient air temperature in the ceiling of a warehouse can exceed 50⁰C - the heat sink will likely have an equal temperature to this, meaning there will be no exchange at all with the atmosphere, and your LEDs will "cook". Reducing performance, increasing failure rate and shortening life expectance. Our Andromeda luminaries are individually places, and each diode uses both conduction and convection to ensure that the heat is removed efficiently form the diodes even in areas with high ambient temps (one of the reasons we do so much mining work - warehouses in the outback are as hot as you will find on earth). Big, heavy, chunky heat-sinks are not all their cracked up to be in high ambient temperature environments... like most of Australia.  
3. Single Point Failure - simply – you have a single point of light intensity with no 

   

   Common LED High Bay Solutions

   redundancies – if the diode fails the luminaire is “dead”.  The Andromeda's individual pixels are wired so that a single pixel failure (which is very rare) does not affect the rest of the luminaire.  Redundancies in any system prevent total failure – single source LED luminaires typically do not have ANY redundancies.
4. Restricted driver (ballast/transformer) access – the most common failure on an LED luminaire is the driver.  The drivers on these units are buried and difficult to access and replace.  Replacement drivers were also not available from the manufacturer who preferred to replace the entire luminaire.  Our drivers are rated for the life of the luminaire, however, should one fail they are easily accessible and quick release, meaning a driver change takes less than 120 seconds. Accessibility to drivers (transformers) are key – should they fail quick changes keep maintenance costs low.
5. Beam Angle & Variance – this luminaire projects a very tight beam of high intensity light at the workplane.  This results in quite a few issues, but two of the biggest are glare and variance.  A single high intensity lights source can temporarily blind workers and is more likely to cause glare issues.  Also, the higher areas of light intensity on the ground cause variance issues – which means that an even light spread is not achieved -  again, potentially causing issues with workers (low visibility, eye fatigue).  The Andromeda, due to multiple light sources all individually lensed avoids both issues and provides a very homogenous level of illuminance throughout the facility (this can be seen on DIALux/AGI32 reports). Multi-point LED high bays (such as the Andromeda) provide more homogenous light and less glare than single point sources = “better light”.
6. Strength of fitting – the bell reflector  on these luminaires is weak – even the slightest impact can dent it which requires replacement as it will affect the light distribution. These fittings are also only rated as IP54 – a significant leak in the ceiling could cause major damage to the luminaire or circuit.   The Andromeda fitting is IK08 and IP66 – tough as nails. Further, as the Andromeda is lower profile it is less likely to come to grief with forklifts or equipment working below. Throw a basketball at an LED bell shaped high bay… now throw one at the Andromeda… don’t have a ball, stay tuned to our website and we’ll be doing this for you soon enough!
7. Light Projection Surface – the large lens on this luminaire means the possibility of acute build up of dust and other particles which limit light transmission.  Unlike a HID luminaire these particles are not burned off – so they can pose a real issue.  The Andromeda uses a very small surface area for light transmission which is also electrostatically charged meaning very little dust/dirt can settle on our lenses and light transmission is retained even in the dirtiest, most challenging environments. Less surface area = less cleaning, and IP66 means quick efficient cleaning by power washer or air jet.
8. In a recent project, another supplier had recommended bell shaped LED highbays at 250W and 100lm/W – the Andromedas we specified (after simulating to required lux levels) were 200W and 110 lm/W.  Significant power savings when weighted up over ~222 luminaires

   

   Andromeda Flood Luminaire

   in the project.  Further, due to the tighter beam angles of the LED bell-shaped luminaires 10% more luminaires would have been required to meet the lux levels provided by our solution.  Choosing a better, purpose built Andromeda series luminaire will save you money – both short term and long term. 

So if you’ve made the tough decision to switch over to LED technology for your facility, please make the easy decision to choose purpose built LED technology to ensure your project is a success.

Contact us directly with any queries or concerns! info@empyreanlighting.com

LED Technology - Why Should I Care?

In a nutshell LED lamps and luminaires are more efficient, greener, and safer than traditional technologies (such as incandescent, fluorescent, and halogen).

You will use typically between 50%-80% less power for a comparable amount of usable light, change your lights 5 – 17 times less often, and reduce the lighting associated heat load (BTU) in your residence or business by at least half.

On the green side of things less power means less carbon, so pat yourself on the back and since LED lamps do not contain mercury you are preventing this toxic substance from ending up in our landfills.

PolarisXP Spotlight MR16 Breakdown

 

If these two reasons aren’t enough to make the change, consider not having to get on your dodgy step ladder twice a year to change the spotlights in your 3 meter high ceilings.  With lifespans of 30,000 hours you can avoid risking life and limb for 8 years or so (even if you run your lights 12 hours per day)!! 

• More efficient – CHECK. 
• Better for the environment – CHECK. 
• And less likely to see you fall off a ladder… DOUBLE CHECK!!   

Now if we could only get the lamps to make your breakfast it would be the PERFECT product!
 For LED lights that fit this description visit www.empyreanled.com.au