Analysis of the current status and future development of LED downlights

Since China's National Development and Reform Commission released the "China Phase-out Roadmap for Incandescent Lamps", the roadmap stipulates that from October 1, 2012, the import and sale of 100-watt and above ordinary lighting incandescent lamps will be banned. It is also expected that from October 1, 2016, the import and sale of 15-watt and above ordinary lighting incandescent lamps will be banned, which means that the phase-out of ordinary lighting incandescent lamps in China has been settled. With the gradual disappearance of incandescent lamps, LED lamps have gradually emerged as a new force in energy conservation and environmental protection and have become well-known to people.

　　As the price of fluorescent powder continues to rise, the cost of ordinary energy-saving lamps continues to rise. As a new lighting fixture, LED lamps have gradually entered the public's field of vision. Since the birth of LED lamps, their brightness has been continuously improved, gradually moving from LED indicator lights to the field of LED lighting . LED downlights have slowly transformed from high-end lighting newcomers to the new favorites of the application market.

　　Downlights are generally used for indoor lighting in shopping malls, offices, factories, hospitals, etc. They are easy to install and are loved by people. LED downlights inherit all the advantages of traditional downlights, but they generate less heat, save electricity, have a long life, and have minimal maintenance costs. Early LED downlights were not accepted by customers because of the high overall cost of the expensive LED lamp beads. With the reduction in the price of LED downlight chips and the improvement of heat dissipation technology, a solid foundation has been laid for LED downlights to enter the commercial field.

　　LED downlights are composed of LED lamp beads, downlight housing, and power supply. For downlight lamp beads, it is advisable to use high-power lamp beads such as single 1W lamp beads, and it is not advisable to use low-power lamp beads such as 5050, 5630, etc. The reason is that the brightness of low-power LED lamp beads is bright enough but the light intensity is not enough. The vertical distance of LED downlights is generally 4-5 meters. Due to the insufficient light intensity of low-power, the light intensity on the ground is not enough. High-power lamp beads, especially integrated light sources, have a large light intensity and have become the first choice of LED downlight manufacturers. At present, high-power lamp beads such as single 1W lamp beads are commonly used to make downlights of 1W, 3W, 5W, 7W, 9W, etc. The maximum can generally be made into 25W. If a high-power integrated solution is used, a higher power can be made.

　　There are three main parts that determine the life of the downlight: LED lamp beads, LED heat dissipation "shell design", and LED power supply. The LED lamp bead manufacturer determines the main life of the LED downlight. At present, foreign high-quality chip manufacturers include American CREE, Japanese Nichia, Citizen, etc., and cost-effective ones include Taiwanese manufacturers Jingyuan (in China, it generally refers to the products purchased from Jingyuan LED chips and packaged, mostly produced in China by Taiwanese factories or packaging factories on both sides of the Taiwan Strait), Everlight, etc. Mainland manufacturers include Sanan Optoelectronics, Inray Optoelectronics, etc.

　　Generally speaking, high-quality LED downlight manufacturers will use LED chips from foreign companies such as Citizen, which are at least one of the most stable products recognized in the market. The lights made in this way are naturally brighter and have a longer lifespan, but they are also expensive. The chips from Taiwanese manufacturers also have a longer lifespan, but the price is relatively low, which is basically acceptable to customers in the Chinese mid-end market. The chips in the Chinese domestic market have a shorter lifespan and greater light decay, but the lowest price has become the first choice for a large number of small manufacturers to compete on price. What kind of LED lamp beads and LED chips are used also directly determines the positioning of LED downlight manufacturers and the social responsibility they present in the industry.

　　LED power supply is the heart of LED downlight, and has a great impact on the life of LED downlight. Generally speaking, LED downlights are powered by 110-220V, and the domestic market in China is powered by 220V. Due to the short development time of LED lights , the country has not yet set standards for its power supply, so the LED power supplies on the market are uneven, and there are many low PF values, which cannot pass EMC. The power supply is flooded in the market. The life of the power supply electrolytic capacitor also directly determines the life of the power supply. Due to everyone's sensitivity to price, they try every means to reduce the cost of the power supply, resulting in low conversion power of the LED power supply and a short service life, which makes the LED downlight from a "long-life lamp" to a "short-life lamp".

　　The heat dissipation design of LED downlights also has a significant impact on their lifespan. The heat of the LED is conducted from the lamp beads to the internal PCB and then to the shell, and then the shell is conducted to the air through convection or conduction. The heat dissipation of the PCB must be fast enough, the heat dissipation performance of the thermal conductive silicone grease must be good enough, and the heat dissipation area of ​​the shell must be large enough. The reasonable design of several factors determines that the PN junction temperature of the LED lamp cannot be higher than 70 degrees when it is working normally, so as to ensure that the LED chip is at a normal working temperature and does not produce light decay due to excessive temperature and too fast.

　　LED heat sinks can effectively solve the related problems caused by the heat sink's inability to remove the heat from the lamp beads and the internal PCB: a national patent has been applied for; it is made of high-quality 6063 aluminum, forming a heat conduction and heat dissipation effect, achieving high-efficiency heat conduction and heat dissipation; the top of the heat sink is designed with multiple heat dissipation holes, which are connected to the heat sink outside the heat sink to achieve air convection. Just like multiple chimneys, the heat of the LED is discharged upwards, and the heat is dissipated through the heat sink, thereby achieving efficient heat dissipation.

　　A wire pressing plate is designed at the wire passing point of the radiator, so the wire is not easy to be pulled off, which meets the safety requirements. Its structure is cylindrical, and the surface processing is smooth and has no burrs, which is safe and does not hurt the hands. It also has a novel and beautiful appearance, and is light in weight, which is convenient for engineering installation personnel of mid-to-high-end customers to install and debug;

　　With the rapid development of LED downlight technology, a considerable number of responsible manufacturers have gradually realized the importance of quality. Only precise quality products can impress customers to replace traditional light sources and relieve their worries.

　　The quality of LED downlights determines the future development of downlights. To effectively remove the shackles of the development of LED downlights, we must work hard on quality, truly achieve efficient lighting, ultra-long life of more than 5W hours, and truly light up the future of LED downlights with high-quality and impeccable products. In addition to quality control, industrial design improvements on the appearance of LED downlights must also be put on the agenda.

　　In addition to strictly controlling the quality, the future development of LED downlights must break the traditional modeling ideas and make the best use of LED downlights due to the advantages of LED solid lighting itself. LED downlights can also be widely used in the lighting field of mechanical equipment and other equipment by giving full play to the characteristics of energy saving and low heat generation.

　　LED downlights are more and more widely used, and all kinds of inferior LED downlights are flooding the streets. The unstable quality occasionally breaks people's expectations for the new favorite downlights. Due to the lack of LED industry standards, consumers have no way to complain about low-quality manufacturers, which casts a thick shadow on the future development of LED downlights. Will it sink in the pessimistic wait-and-see of the market or fight hard under the pressure of survival? Time will give us the answer, and this answer is obtained by the joint efforts of a large number of responsible manufacturers. We look forward to the introduction of new standards to help the development of our LED downlights, and for the majority of LED manufacturers, do not destroy the overall development of LED downlights for the sake of the immediate petty profits. The future of LED downlights is bright, but we must aim high, and spring will come faster after learning from the pain.