Cree shatters LED theoretical maximum efficiency of 200 lumens per watt in the lab

By Jake Adams on May 09, 2011

Today Cree announced that they have trounced previous luminous efficiency records of Light Emitting Diodes with 231 lumens per watt being produced by a single-die component. The record-setting efficient LED has a color temperature of 4500K, the results were produced at room temperature and the LED was running at 350mA, or about one watt. Back in the day (only a few years in LED time) it was believed that 200 lumens per watt might be the theoretical maximum for an LED:

“It wasn’t long ago when 200 lumens per watt was considered the theoretical maximum efficiency for a lighting-class LED. We broke that barrier in 2010, and have now achieved 231 lumens per watt,”

Although 231 lumens per watt is an astounding level of efficiency, at the moment we will have to contend with a measly 135 lumens per watt that XPG LEDs give off at 350mA. It’s only a matter of time before Cree packs this level of performance into components we can actually get our fins on but in the meantime, it’s nice to know that LED engineers are pushing the envelope of solid state lighting on a monthly if not weekly basis.

[Cree]

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_3PQR2S2EAZUDJKVYUCKLCWJ37Q Micheal

Hmm wonder how they got that 200 lm/W as the theoretical maximum. Because that is no where close to the REAL theoretical maximum, i.e. a device that is 100% efficient.
http://profiles.google.com/electronicka28 Nick Dominicus

when they put these lights in a fixture they will probably start at $1,000,000 for a 12″ fixture
Anonymous

Another example of why if your LED setup isn’t modular then you are making a mistake. This technology moves too fast to get locked into a non-modular fixture.
http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/FKKXICJCRCA5WK2M7ETT3DHNDM Frode

I have 10 Cree XP-G on the shelf waiting to replace some XP-E in my DIY LED-fixture.
I waited to long, and now I wonder if it wouldn’t be more realistic to buy some XM-L’s instead.
If I wait any longer still, I can skip the XM-L and get the newer …’CREE 230+’

But my XL-E still have a lifetime ahead of them…where is this going to?

This is gonna cost me a lot of money to save some :LOL:

Well, on the positive side, I can buy less and less LED’s en get more and more light.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Matthew-Tibbits/8640355 Matthew Tibbits

This is true, but you should be honest with yourself about your fixture. If you’re going to keep the exact same tank for 10 years then a modular fixture is wonderful. If you’re going to upgrade two years after you set it up (like most people seem to), then a modular fixture isn’t as big of a problem. Also, a well done XR-E array is still a good light fixture. It might not be as good as a brand new XM-L and XP-E array, but soon you’ll be getting to the point with LEDs and optics where you don’t need any more lighting power. The biggest advantage of the new types of LEDs is that less wattage will give you the same power as opposed to the same wattage giving you more power (if that makes sense). Remember a lot of people bleach their corals from light shock when they switched over to XR-Es for the first time.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JSGHE5DIANEZ5SXKVUM7GBSD3Y howard_roy

wow 231 lm/w, that’s incredible!

At this pace, we’ll probably see 300-400 lm/w LED bulbs before 2013!
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JSGHE5DIANEZ5SXKVUM7GBSD3Y howard_roy

wow 231 lm/w, that’s incredible!

At this pace, we’ll probably see 300-400 lm/w LED bulbs before 2013!
http://www.AtlantSchmidt.com/ Atlant

It all depends what color you like your light.

If you don’t mind monochromatic green light (at 555nm), you can manage 683 L/W, but if you expect broad-spectrum light that most people would consider “white”, you’ll have to settle for a good deal less. That’s where the “200 L/W” number comes from.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminous_efficacy

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