International Boat Industry - December 2015

http://www.ibi-plus.com International Boat Industry | DECEMBER 2015 65

TECHNICAL

SECTOR SPOTLIGHT | BOAT LIGHTING

closely with yacht designers using both

halogen and LED lights. Managing

director Richard Hargreaves says that its

excellent colour rendition makes them

‘ideal for both accent and ambient

lighting and perfect for the rich

colours and materials used in

yacht interiors. “But since

we began working with

LEDs 11 years ago,” he

continues, “We have

seen tremendous

improvements in their

reliability, technology,

colour rendition and

efficiency. This has

resulted in virtually all

incandescent light sources

being made obsolete (and now)

not relevant at all.”

TOUGH COMPETITION

Like others in our survey, he observes

that “There are a lot of new LED lighting

companies entering the market, quite

often from the electronics end of the

supply chain,” adding, “At the moment

longer-standing lighting companies

probably have the upper hand because

they understand more about the nature of

light and the subtleties of lighting design

or ‘painting with light’. However, with

the continuously increasing competition,

anybody wanting to be at the top of

the game needs to be on their toes by

maintaining technical advancement,

along with excellent style, quality and

customer service.

Hargreaves says further barriers to

the market exist because of increasing

regulation and the tightening of standards

with regard to independent compliance

testing. “LED lighting technology, while

still developing, has stabilised somewhat,”

he notes, “partly because the LED chip

manufacturers have started to work to

some industry standard sizes, so while

efficiency, colour rendering and so on

might be improving ,the insides of a light

fitting are probably replaceable. There

are certainly questions to be asked about

maintenance, among other things.”

He explains that “At LightGraphix,

even if we radically change what is inside

a fitting for our popular ranges, we keep

the outside sizes and hole cut outs the

same.”

When boats are refitted with LED

lighting, Hargreaves points out, there is

a dramatic reduction in the electrical

load and heat, “to the extent that

if air conditioning is being

fitted, it will change what is

required there too. Also,

since the electrical load

is less, and therefore

the current being

carried around the

system, wire sizes can be

smaller resulting in weight

savings.”

He notes that the key

elements afecting LED life are

the temperature at the core of

the LED chip (junction temperature)

and the current it is being run at. “The

oft-quoted 50,000- hour life expectancy

of LEDs will generally require that this

temperature is less than 90^0 C. By the time

this is translated into the temperature

at the outside of the body of the fitting

(the heat sink) this

will be something like

420 C,” he says, adding

that “If they are run at

currents lower than the

maximum, say 350mA

rather than 700mA,

then the junction

temperature will be

considerably reduced,

ensuring a significantly

longer life. This ‘life’ is in fact a measure

of the phosphors used on the LED to

create white light and the diode itself,

such that at 50,000 hours the light output

is 70 per cent of what it was when new -

it does not however mean that the light

fitting stops functioning at this point.”

He concludes: “LEDs do open up the

possibilities for thinking about lighting

in new ways. There is the potential

for small sizes combined with low

temperatures, which will not damage

surrounding materials. Linear lines of

light, small concealed fittings or lighting

built into structural features are all made

possible by the use of LEDs. They are

both dimmable and controllable, and

when combined with other electronics

and systems linked to the sort of software

which pervades all our lives now, there

appears to be very little limit on what can

be achieved in the future.”

EXTERIOR AND

INTERIOR APPLICATIONS

Ian MacDonald, president of Seavision by

Underwater Lights USA, agrees that for

interior and exterior deck lighting LED

has significant advantages which certainly

outweigh any disadvantages, therefore

older technologies are less relevant. “For

high output lighting LEDs are only now

comparable to existing sources like HID,”

he says.

However, he states that thermal

management of high output LEDs “Will

continue to challenge manufacturers as

we strive to achieve higher light outputs.

There is still a place for some of the

other technologies as LEDs do have some

disadvantages that other lighting sources

overcome. For example, Plasma lighting

still produces more equivalent lighting

than LED utilising less

power.”

Asked if he sees

a consolidation of

companies in the LED

lighting sector, Ian

MacDonald says “It

would be beneficial

for all if this was the

case, but it appears that

anybody who knows

how to wire up an LED feels obliged

to start a marine lighting business.

Therefore, as long as controls are

minimal, this trend is likely to continue.”

He continues: “The technology

nowadays is available to all, but that does

little to guarantee that all are capable of

utilising the technology. Many start-up

companies have the LED knowledge,

but lack the required experience to

meaningfully use it for the marine

market.” He stresses that “It is important

for the serious companies to let the

clients understand the value of business

stability, longevity, integrity and excellent

customer service.”

SLightGrafix

HighAngle

There is still a

place for other

technologies... Plasma

lighting produces more

equivalent lighting than

LED utilising

less power