The following FAQs should help to answer many of the questions you may have. Please contact Litecontrol if you have a specific question that is not addressed here.

We believe that an SSL luminaire must be viewed as a coherent system, rather than as a collection of independent components. This differs from the traditional lamp-ballast-wiring-optics mentality that often pervades luminaires using other light sources. The components in an SSL-based luminaire interact at a much higher level than traditional light sources. This offers opportunities for entirely new designs if all of the interactions can be managed simultaneously. Litecontrol strives to accomplish this through the simultaneous design of all sub-systems into a unique, optimized assemblage of the SSL components, power conversion/current control, thermal management, optics, and styling.

Power Supply/Drivers: Yes

The Mainstream family of products has been designed to enable access to the power supply / drivers without disturbing the thermal management properties of the other components in the luminaire. Therefore, the power supply and drivers can be replaced in the field.

LED Modules: No

The reliability and performance of an SSL luminaire depends on adequate thermal management, where the heat generated by the LEDs and electronics is extracted along a conductive path and ultimately transferred to the surrounding air through convection. The thermal management path is limited by the weakest link in the chain; in this case the weakest link is the material interface between the LED module and the heat sink. This interface must be produced under specific conditions that are not realistic outside of the controlled manufacturing environment.

Additionally, our design strives to reduce material and extraneous components, so in the case of the P-D-L10/L20 pendant, the heat sink is the housing and we do not utilize a secondary housing to hold the LED module. The benefit is less material relative to SSL luminaires in which the LED module and heat sink are mounted in a secondary housing. But it does mean that the entire assembly must be returned to our factory for servicing, to ensure that the designed thermal management properties are achieved.

The expected lifetime for an SSL luminaire is a combination of the reliability of the individual components – LEDs, drivers, power supplies, electrical connections, etc. – and is affected by the thermal management and other application properties of the luminaire. Because this is a rapidly evolving technology, many of the components have not been in existence for as long as their estimated lifetimes. And the testing methods for determining lifetime and reliability are not yet finalized.

As a result, life ratings for SSL luminaires are based on statistical probability assessments of the various components and assemblies. (This is similar to other solid-state devices, such as computers.) Litecontrol has taken every step to ensure that the systems comprising the luminaire are optimized to ensure long life, and are backing this with a 3-year warrantee. As our statistical models advance and our experience with the components and assemblies increases, we will continually evaluate our warrantee position.

Refer to the LM-79 photometric tests and the related labels from the Department of Energy's Lighting Facts program. Our initial tests of the 7 Watt/foot L20 fixture with 4000K CCT showed 63.2 LPW, and the 3 Watt/foot L20 with 4000K CCT showed 65.4 LPW. These fixture efficacy values exceed those of similar fluorescent luminaires.

Our Mainstream design philosophy enables us to utilize several different manufacturers' LED packages. For our initial offering, we have selected CREE MX-6 packages based on their performance, quality, and availability. In our ordering code, the "C" before the CCT rating indicates that Cree LEDs are used. The LEDs are mounted on our custom-designed high-thermal-performance Metal Core Printed Circuit Boards (MCPCBs) for use in our luminaires.

The cornerstone of our Mainstream product is the luminaire thermal design, involving several steps at each interface. First, the thermal resistance from the LED Junction to the MCPCB is an important consideration in our selection of an LED package to ensure good thermal conduction away from the LED. Next, a high thermal-performance MCPCB is utilized with an efficient Thermal Interface Material (TIM) which facilitates the heat transition to the heat sink/housing. As an additional measure, the TIM is kept in compression through the life of the product with an injection-molded hold-down instead of screws or other mechanical means. The air gaps present around screws or other such devices can resist successful heat transfer, so we avoided them in our design. Finally, the primary housing IS the heat sink, engineered to both maximize the convective surface area and minimize the internal thermal resistance.