LED Light Engine and ZHAGA Alliance

　　LED light engine is an overall combination of LED package ( component ) or LED array (module), LED driver , and other photometric, thermal, mechanical and electrical components, which is directly connected to the branch circuit through a conventional connector that matches the LED lamp . Therefore, LED light engine is a device between LED lamp and LED lamp. The difference between it and LED lamp is that it does not contain a standard lamp holder and cannot be directly connected to the branch circuit. The similarity with LED lamp is that it can have set light distribution and heat dissipation functions. This product can effectively improve the stability of LED indoor lamps and improve various performance parameters (such as color rendering, system light efficiency , etc.), so it is the focus of future research and development and promotion of major LED lighting manufacturers.

　　What are the promotion advantages of LED light engines?

　　1. Standardized manufacturing is conducive to the promotion of LED lamps.

　　At present, LED lighting is booming, especially indoor LED lamps. New companies join and new lamps are born almost every day. Therefore, the LED indoor lamp market is diverse and each has its own way. This has brought great inconvenience to the standardized production and promotion of indoor LED lamps. Since LED light engine is a standardized product, different LED lamp manufacturers can choose different LED light engines to design and produce LED lamps according to different application scenarios. Especially for LED lamp manufacturers that are new to the market, they only need to find a few standard LED light engine products to design their own lamps, and they don’t need to worry about mass production, because the same standardized LED light engine product can be selected by many manufacturers at the same time, and standardized LED light engine products can be easily mass-produced.

　　2. Reduce the R&D costs of LED lighting manufacturers and shorten product production cycles.

　　Traditional light source lamp design only involves optics and structure, but at present, since there is no standard for LED lamp products, current LED lighting manufacturers need to hire professionals in optics and structure as well as professionals in electronics, electrical, heat dissipation, etc., which greatly increases the burden on LED lighting manufacturers and forms a high threshold for new LED lamp manufacturers, which is not conducive to the development of the entire LED industry. Therefore, how to effectively reduce the R&D costs of LED lighting fixtures and shorten the production cycle has become the main problem of the LED industry. With standardized LED light engines, the above problems are solved. Since LED light engine products have taken into account electronics, electrical, primary heat dissipation and primary light distribution, LED lamp manufacturers only need to consider lamp structure, secondary heat dissipation and secondary light distribution, thereby greatly reducing the R&D costs of LED lighting fixtures and shortening the production cycle.

　　3. Improve the overall performance of LED lamps (such as luminous efficiency, color rendering and color temperature consistency, etc.) and improve the application quality of LED lamps.

　　Since LED light engines clearly specify parameters such as output lumens , color rendering index , system luminous efficiency, color temperature consistency, viewing angle width, etc. for different applications, and the specified parameters are at the highest level in the industry, they greatly improve and effectively guarantee the application quality of LED lamps.

　ZHAGA Alliance promotes LED light engines

　　The ZHAGA Alliance, headquartered in Europe, is an organization that regulates LED light engine product standards and develops LED light engine product interface standardization. Its purpose is to achieve interchangeability of lamps from different LED lamp manufacturers using products based on the ZHAGA standard. In addition, in order to keep up with the trend of continuous and rapid development of LED technology, the ZHAGA standard covers the standards of physical dimensions, optics, electrical, light distribution, heat dissipation and other major links, and ultimately achieves that products from different manufacturers in the ZHAGA Alliance can be compatible, interchangeable and replaceable with each other. Therefore, if the LED regulations and standards of various countries focus on performance quality (such as life, energy efficiency , color temperature consistency, etc.), then the ZHAGA Alliance solves the interchangeability problem between manufacturers, as shown in Figure 1:

　　Figure 1

　　Therefore, from the above diagram, we can see that the ZHAGA Alliance and the LED regulations and standards of various countries are complementary and mutually beneficial. The organic combination of the two will effectively solve the current chaotic situation of LED lighting product quality and application.

　　In addition, the establishment of the ZHAGA standard will help prevent the market differentiation of incompatible light engine products, so that LED lighting manufacturers can safely purchase compatible LED light engine products on the market. In addition, the establishment of the ZHAGA standard promotes technological innovation in the field of LED lighting applications, improves the overall efficiency of the LED lighting industry, and contributes to a standardized and orderly LED lighting market.

　　About ZHAGA Alliance

　　The ZHAGA Alliance is an open organization. Its name "ZHAGA" is said to be a direct transliteration of the name of a waterfall in Sichuan, China, "Zhaga", and has no special meaning. All members of the alliance can share IPR intellectual property rights and are open to all kinds of companies in the lighting industry. Therefore, the organization's members include LED light engine product manufacturers and LED lamp manufacturers, as well as component suppliers (such as heat sinks and optical components). Currently, the alliance has 162 company members, mainly from Europe, Asia and North Africa. TRIDON IC is one of the main members of the ZHAGA Alliance.

How many LED light engine products has the ZHAGA Alliance currently defined?

　　At present, the ZHAGA Alliance has defined and approved 4 major light engine products, which are: 1. Pluggable LED downlight engine with integrated control device; 2. LED spotlight engine with external control device; 3. Pluggable LED downlight engine with external control device; 4. LED streetlight engine with external control device. The alliance is currently developing 2-3 LED light engine products and plans to launch them this year. The following are the details of the LED light engine products that have been launched.

　　1. Pluggable LED downlight engine with integrated control device

In February 2011, the ZHAGA Alliance approved the first LED light engine product specification, which was a brand-new innovation in LED applications and product design at the time. It has a built-in control drive, pluggable replaceable light source, and a standard light source base, which greatly facilitates the development and application of LED lamps based on this model, fully reflecting the advantages of interchangeability. Figure 2 shows the specific product and the appearance of the lamp based on this LED light engine:

　　Figure 2

　　2. LED spotlight engine with external control device

In June 2011, the ZHAGA Alliance approved the second LED light engine product specification, which is an LED spotlight engine with an external control device. It is the most successful LED light engine product currently in use and promotion. It is known that more than 10 mainstream LED light engine manufacturers (such as TRIDONIC; OSRAM; PHILLIPS; LG, etc.) use and follow this ZHAGA light engine product specification.
　　Figure 3 shows some of the models currently on the market that use and follow this LED light engine product specification:

　　Figure 3

　　3. Pluggable LED downlight engine with external control device

　　In February 2011, the ZHAGA Alliance approved the third LED light engine product specification, which is an extension of the first product. In order to make LED downlight light engine products more flexible and convenient in application, ZHAGA launched a pluggable LED downlight light engine with an external control device, enriching the range of LED downlight application light engine products. Its specifications are shown in Figure 4.

　　Figure 4

　　4. LED street light engine with external control device

　　Taking into account the harsh conditions for outdoor, especially road application of LED light source products, the ZHAGA Alliance approved the product specifications of the LED street light engine, which is currently the only external control device, at the end of 2011. Its specifications are shown in Figure 5.

　　Figure 5

　　Summarize

　　Although the current application of LED light engine products is rather chaotic, with some problems and obstacles, and the ZHAGA Alliance's LED light engine product specifications are still relatively few, with the LED market becoming more mature and LED light engine product specifications gradually being introduced, it is undeniable that the future of LED light engine products is bright. As long as we maintain a rigorous attitude, scientific methods and a responsible mindset to develop LED light engine products, promote LED light engine products, and apply LED light engine products, then the benefits that LED light engine products will bring to us, the LED lighting industry, and mankind will be in the near future.

　　Therefore, I firmly believe that LED light engine products will bring us a brand new future of LED lighting applications!