CREE LED Lighting in the Lab - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Terabyte2007
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 26, 2014, 05:52:40 pm
content: Just finished upgrading all the lighting in my lab to CREE LED lighting. I now have 10,000 lumens of 5K bright white light in the lab!What a difference over the halogen that I was using. A total of 108 watts for full on usage as opposed to the old 500 watts of full on usage before. I was at about 6,000 lumens total light output prior to the upgrade and now a hair shy of 10,000. Of course, these are MFG rated figures and actual will no doubt vary. I'll test with my light meter to get some actual working values soon. There is already a huge difference in the color temp and light output over the old lighting which helps a great deal in the lab. Real happy with it so far!

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 26, 2014, 09:05:19 pm
content: I converted the 500W linear halogen to 70W metal halide, and bought a box of 12 at auction for $2, so a lifetime supply of lamps. Later I replaced the MH lamp wth a 10W LED unit, as i really did not need the light. Currently lighting is by 15W or so of LED lights. Good enough to see, but to work I use some local fill lighting.

author: marshallh
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 27, 2014, 01:21:38 am
content: CREEs have the best color rendition of any ones I've seen so far. It's getting to the point where I'd actually give them a shot over the old warm 100W CCFLs.

author: Terabyte2007
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 27, 2014, 10:43:33 am
content: Quote from: marshallh on October 27, 2014, 01:21:38 amI would have to agree. I did quite a bit of research before hand even testing some cheaper chinese brands and I kept coming back to the CREE brand. In my opinion, the best LED lighting on the market now!

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 30, 2014, 08:31:16 am
content: I still prefer the Luxeon LEDs to Cree LEDs. The Luxeon Z's allow you to completely tailor your spectrum if you're spinning a board to mount them on. The lime colour is very unique, but allows a much better spectrum to be created if you want a good white light.If you just want loads of light, the Luxeon K's are hard to beat for the price and can easily be slapped onto a heatsink without faff.

author: Terabyte2007
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2014, 01:12:21 pm
content: Quote from: SteveyG on October 30, 2014, 08:31:16 amI have and still use the Luxeon LED products but mainly for portable lighting. I have a 3K lumen torch that uses the Luxeon LED's and it works well! But for ambient room lighting, it appears the CREE does a better job with overall illumination, at least in my lab.

author: Terabyte2007
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2014, 01:36:08 pm
content: For anyone that may be interested. I have included some spectrum data captured with my spectrometer. Keep in mind these have a color temp of 5K hence the 454nm peaks to give them the cooler temps. I have included the raw spectrum image and the frequency analysis.

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 30, 2014, 02:32:14 pm
content: Which devices are you using, if you don't mind me asking? Any pictures?

author: mzzj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2014, 03:12:06 pm
content: Quote from: marshallh on October 27, 2014, 01:21:38 amCRI 90 bridgelux COB's IE. VERO 18 and VERO 29 series are also really nice.

author: steve30
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2014, 04:46:04 pm
content: I'd also be interested to see some photos.What's the colour rendering like? The spectrum looks decent, but I'd be more interested to to hear an opinion. I might get a few to try if they are good.My room is mostly lit by high quality European fluorescent tubes, but my bench is illuminated by a Bridgelux COB LED (about 2700k, >90CRI) which is really nice. I can recommend Bridgelux.