Output details

Extending the lifespan of LED-lighting products

The research reported here is part of the FP7 cycLED project http://www.cyc-led.eu supported by the EC Eco-Innovation programme, bringing together 13 partners across the EU states, with the NTU team led by Professor Su as a key partner, leading the work package (WP) ‘Production and Manufacture of LEDs’.

One objective of the WP is to determine the operative lifespan of LED lighting products and develop guidelines for manufacturers and users to extend the lifespan. To achieve this, Su and his team worked with industrial partners to conduct a survey amongst manufacturers and users (domestic and non-domestic). Su and et al. analysed the survey results, developed a novel method to calculate the real operative lifespan, and develop the guidelines.

The novelty of the research is as follows:

1. No real operative lifespan indicators exist in the literature and market for LED lighting products. Data indicating the LED lighting product lifespans are provided by LED suppliers, from time-limited tests under controlled conditions which are then extrapolated. This does not provide the whole lifecycle analysis of LED based luminaires. The supplier assumptions do not reflect the real environmental impact of the LED lighting system. There is a need for real operative lifespan data of LED lighting products, and the outcome of this research meets the need.

2. There has not been a method to calculate the real operative lifespan of LED lighting products. This research developed a method to calculate the real operative lifespan based on the survey results, and proposed the lifespan indicators based on the best and worst case scenarios, which is a novel contribution in the calculation of LED lighting product lifespan.

3. The guidelines developed are valuable for the designers and the consumers for extending the LED lighting product lifespan.