Making good use of LED lighting design is the key

Preface: LED is widely used in the lighting industry and can be seen in all major lighting projects. However, with its large-scale use, many problems have also surfaced. How to make good use of LED has become a concern of the industry. Based on its successful experience, Zhimei Lighting, a practical lighting design company, tells everyone: It is not difficult to really make good use of LED!

As a newcomer in the lighting industry, LED has been widely promoted in the Chinese market, especially in large-scale lighting projects. The Beijing Olympics, Shanghai World Expo, Guangzhou Asian Games, and other large-scale events held in China have all left a lasting impression on the brilliant light of LED. More and more engineering companies and enterprises are beginning to adopt LED because they are optimistic about the beautification effect of LED on the night view of cities.

The city's night scene is gradually being lit up, however, problems are also coming one after another: uneven lighting effects of LED lamps, gaudy lighting effects, glare pollution and other results that are very different from expectations have caught many owners off guard: This is not the LED I want!

Regarding the failure cases from various parties, Mr. Ren Jian, chief designer of Zhimei Lighting, analyzed: LED is a double-edged sword in the lighting industry. To make LED effective, scientific and reasonable lighting design is the key:

First of all, not all lighting has to use LED

At present, there are 1,950 LED companies in my country, but due to the restrictions on upstream chip technology by lighting giants such as Philips and Osram, domestic manufacturers are mostly engaged in LED post-production and processing. Imported LED chips are expensive, and the chips produced by local manufacturers are uneven, resulting in great quality risks in LED lamps on the market.

In addition to the quality issues themselves, LEDs have different control methods because there is no industry standard. Many products use their own brand control protocols, resulting in poor compatibility. Although most products are compatible with the DMX512 control protocol, it is still not flexible and convenient to control large-area, high-power LED lamps. The differences in production processes may lead to color differences in products of the same brand, model, production line, and batch. Compared with traditional lamps, the probability of this phenomenon is higher for LEDs.

Ren Jian pointed out that designers must consider whether LEDs must be used according to the situation, and should not blindly pursue new technologies while avoiding their shortcomings. Facts have proved that traditional lamps are more stable and reliable in some places. Where LEDs must be used, suitable products should be selected according to the actual situation, while comprehensively considering various factors such as product performance and working environment. For example, in the Shanxi Sports Center project, Ren Jian used a combination of LED and traditional lighting fixtures.

Shanxi Sports Center covers an area of ​​1,238 mu, with a total investment of 2 billion yuan. It is the leading sports center in the northwest region. The main stadium is an abstract form of local elements such as the shape of a drum, the structure of a lantern, and the decoration of paper-cutting. It is similar to the Bird's Nest but has more traditional Chinese art elements. It caused a sensation when it was first put into construction. On the elliptical behemoth with an outer diameter of 300.6 meters, the functional and technical requirements of lighting design can be imagined. While using LED lighting fixtures, the designer Ren Jian set the main roof projection light and the facade grille projection light to metal halide lamps. For large-scale lighting design, the performance of LED high-power products is not yet fully mature, while the performance of metal halide lamps is very stable. At present, the Shanxi Sports Center, which was completed in July, is making the final sprint. I believe that it will wave to the world with a stunning appearance by then.

Pictured: Main Stadium of Shanxi Sports Center

Secondly, reasonably design color and dynamic lighting

Nowadays, when walking on the streets, you can see that many buildings are armed with dynamic LEDs. In pursuit of dazzling effects, the functions of many lighting projects go beyond the scope of lighting. The overly complex and gorgeous lighting has not made it an iconic night scene, but has increased the city’s "light pollution".

As a professional in shaping "noble landmark" buildings, Ren Jian's response to such phenomena is simply: My LEDs don't cause any trouble. He said that LEDs are single-wavelength light sources that can emit light of any wavelength, that is, light of different colors, and can mix colors with multiple light sources, which is superior to traditional lamps in terms of beautification effect. Moreover, LEDs are easy to adjust the brightness and darkness. Under normal circumstances, 8 levels of dimming are used, and frequent switching and dimming basically do not affect the service life. Traditional light sources are difficult to achieve, and even if they are achieved, they will affect the service life. Therefore, whenever it comes to visual effects, designers prefer to use LED lighting. In order to highlight the characteristics, dynamic lighting is widely used, fearing that they cannot achieve the eye-catching effect of flashing, bright, and dazzling in the ocean of lights.

Often, a good lighting project not only requires visual beauty, but also highlights the cultural connotation of the building. Based on the project type, space environment and other factors, designers should be cautious in using colorful and dynamic lighting effects. Sometimes, monochrome and static lighting effects are more upscale. If you must use colorful and dynamic lighting effects, you should choose the appropriate light color in combination with the material and color of the space to avoid changing all colors in turn. When changing dynamically, you should combine movement and stillness. You cannot blindly use fast and high-frequency change effects. Try to use soft changes as much as possible to avoid visual fatigue from long-term viewing.

High-profile and gorgeous is not necessarily the best, low-key gorgeousness is more amazing. The lighting design of Chanel flagship store in Ginza, Tokyo is a good example. At the beginning, the designer found that the buildings in Ginza were brighter than the other, but "brighter" obviously did not fit Chanel's luxurious and steady brand image. So they decided to adopt the idea of ​​"everyone is bright, but I am dark", abandoning the bright colors of LED and only using black and white. At night, LED will create the classic Chanel double C pattern, Chanel classic lines, new creative styles, etc. In the eyes of tourists, Ginza is very bright, but this building is very dark; other buildings are dynamic and flashy, but this building is gentle and classic.

Pictured: Chanel flagship store in Ginza, Tokyo

Again, mastering LED performance will be more energy-efficient and durable

Theoretically, the light efficiency of LED can reach 100,000 hours, while the traditional light source generally does not exceed 10,000 hours. The traditional lamps need to be refurbished cumulatively to compete with LEDs, and the power of each low-power LED does not exceed 0.1W. Therefore, even if it is expensive, many owners still choose to use LED lamps.

In fact, if you master the physical properties of LEDs, you can not only enjoy their extra-long lifespan, but also save electricity and have more stable performance.

In all previous cases, Zhimei Lighting has tailored a professional lighting system for each customer, creating a perfect night view effect while making the subsequent maintenance and monitoring process no longer cumbersome. During the design, the professional team of Zhimei Lighting will consider and reserve for long-term use based on factors such as the light decay, color difference and lamp accessories of the light source. For example, a 30W lamp can achieve the lighting effect, you can consider using a 40W lamp, and use dimming control to appropriately lower the brightness, and then adjust it to normal brightness after the lamp decays. In the selection of lamp accessories, Zhimei Lighting will also carefully match them for customers and strive for perfection.

Pictured: LED lamps

In this era of comparison, LEDs all over buildings are no longer a status symbol. LEDs are a seed that concentrates the content of science and technology. Only through the designer's imagination and careful cultivation can they bloom into flowers of art and culture.